discoseal

Being based out of DTW, I enjoy being able to use DL for most of my domestic travel. However, as far as international travel goes (India and HK) our account now prefers us to use AC. Having said all that, the one airline that collects miles from both is GOL. I'm a lowly Silver Medallion on DL, and have no problem flying AC as I do enjoy them more, but given my situation, should I stick with DL, switch to AC, or go with GOL? I'd say 70% of my flying is domestic and I can rack up 45k/yr.

I apologise if this is the wrong place

eigenvector

GOL is not a Star Alliance member nor SkyTeam member. So accruing miles there is not going to get you any status that you can use on DL or AC, and your redemption options for the award miles you get will be very limited.

How much are you flying on AC? Business or economy? Being in DTW, moving your domestic travels to United to consolidate your miles in one place doesn't seem like a good idea, you are going to waste a lot of time connecting in ORD or EWR.

discoseal

I take about two trips to India and HK every year in Y/Y+. Other than that, I do have some travel to YYZ maybe 3 times a year all on AC.

DrunkCargo

WRT to comparing products, I do not have any longhaul DL experience in Y/Y+, but I think that's really what I'd base my flying on: Which airline seems to provide more of what I want.

I'm not convinced that 45k miles a year, split or not, is going to make a big difference. If you currently benefit from your Silver medallion (baggage, unlimited regional upgrades) with your current domestic pattern, I'd say at least hit your 25k this year. Don't forget DL has rollovers you can take advantage of, especially at the 45k mark. Perhaps that gives you an opportunity to experience more AC vs DL for longhaul this coming year without losing silver for 2018?

For some background, I was fully qualified for AC*SE for 2016 as well as DL Plat, but have tapered my AC flying to under 40 flights this year (vs 150+/year prior)

YOWgary

When you say 70% of your flying is "domestic", do you mean domestic within the United States, or, since this is an Aeroplan forum, do you mean within North America?

YXUFlyboy

I take it mean within the United States. Neither airline considers travel between Canada and the US to be "domestic" and if you ask any American they'd be happy to tell you Canada is indeed a foreign country

The only reason Canada puts U.S. travel as it's own category is because of pre-clearance.

DrunkCargo

I took it to mean that too, since the OP mentioned 3 times on AC to YYZ; although perhaps he meant normally takes DL to YYZ and a few times a year gets the treat of AC.

YOWgary

You've clearly met different, better, Americans than I have.

OP made a distinction between "international" and "domestic" travel, but as he's based in the US, and asking about flying AC, I thought I'd ask for a little clarification.

Perhaps we can just wait for OP to clarify.

discoseal

I meant US-travel for domestic haha!!

Spot planes

I recently flew DL F (well J in my mind) YVR-SLC-LAX and was very surprised how good it is. The return fare was $576 return. AC wants $800 one way YVR-LAX and $750 LAX-YVR. This was my first flight with DL in a long long time (over 15 years).

My friend flew DL SEA-HKG in business and he said it was very good, comparable to AC YVR-HKG.

I would suggest the OP fly DL from home base to the farthest transfer point then connect to a Skyteam member to Delhi to get maximum DL points. Then try AC to Dehli via YVR or YYZ. Compare the 2 airlines.

AC Y is using 17" slim seat.

DrunkCargo

If we're comparing J product, I'd lean towards AC for hard, DL for soft.

But OP is on Y/PY for longhaul and I've yet to experience Y/PY on skyteam this decade except once domestic. But here's a quick list of what I can think of...

AC
- In J, Predeparture bev limited to Water, OJ "Domestic" (includes US/CAN), add Sparking Wine/Water International
- Power outlets on all metal even in Y, albeit not 1-per-seat
- IFE at every seat, I only know the map works great
- English and French announcements EVERY TIME, domestic too
- AC's done an amazing job timing the connection for DTW-YYZ-DEL; short connection in YYZ, and almost a "non-stop" experience... short hop followed by long nap. This is, after all, AC's strategy to capture more 6th freedom traffic. In fact, it might actually be your fastest option from DTW from what I see
- Gogo only on narrowbodies (for now); my experience is spotty performance. Narrowbodies do not fly international, therefore YYZ-DEL is good for IFE and sleep... but make sure to try the banana bread before landing!
- I feel a get a lot more value out of Aeroplan than DL miles, but DL mileage balances look very impressive!

DL/KL/AF
- Unlimited regional upgrades (not sure how well they clear for your typical routes with Silver)
- Full drink selection including booze for predeparture beverage
- Free drinks in PY domestic, and chance of unlimited regional PY upgrades if F doesn't clear
- All DL Group 1 Partners credit 100% MQM, no need to limit to DL only. KL and AF are not disadvantageous
- Rollover MQMs; feel free to check out AC without fear of wasted MQMs below threshold
- More food choices in International Y, a la carte choices and hot towels even in Y on KL
- I personally think the domestic seats are more comfortable, but also older. This may change as DL "modernizes".
- Inconsistent IFE offerings and availability
- DTW-DEL would likely be longer flight times/distance with 1 longer stop roughly 50% of the way through, could make for interesting mini-stopovers (AMS? CDG?) but also makes it hard to get a solid block of sleep
- Gogo wifi everywhere; my experience is fast; International too. Kinda makes up for the shoddy IFE.
- If this applies to you, Skybonus - Yay! more points!

In the end, try them both. Who knows, maybe the hot towel will totally make the rest of the flight amazing in Y... Or maybe it'll burn you with scalding hot water dripping everywhere...

epiphani

Curious. I have been status matching over to DL for the last few weeks and was debating writing a very similar post. I should qualify for Platinum for next year.

A few things I'll add to DrunkCargo's post:

- Took a pic of my SE card for the status match. Had Platinum status within 5 days.
- IFE I've seen is generally better than AC's IFE (even comparing against AC's new IFE on the 787s).
- I've gotten 3 upgrades to "first/prem" out of 9 flights, with the other 6 going into their y+ category. Not bad for the equivalent of E50k.
- Their Android app is way, way better than ACs.

I've also only done short-haul... longest leg I took was SLC->YYZ.

CrownRoyalForever

If you're racking up 45k/yr domestic, then I would suggest getting the Amex Delta Platinum card. The current offer (in referral form only at the moment) gives you 10k MQMs and 70k RDMs as a signup bonus. Plus 10k MQMs for every $25k in spend (which also waives the MQD requirement for elite status).

I say this because DL Gold status is only 5k away for you, and well worth the stretch.

DrunkCargo

Oh, departure time is always correct to the minute. And 1-minute anticipated delayed arrival time opens up free SDC via the app, many times with lots of options. I can't figure out AC's app; half the screen is spent on a face of some FA. I've done a few SEA-ATL and reverse, qualifies for unlimited regional upgrade and several times a day with lie-flat all-aisle access. But yes, older cabins, showing a bit of wear. Mind you, many times I just buy the F. Less headache than wondering if I'll get a basic meal.