Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - Newbie needs help: Leaving CO. AS or DL??

I'm a CO silver elite and lifetime member of DL Club (long story). I've been flying CO for years, mostly out of Seattle to East Coast, but some up and down West Coast. I also have a CO Visa which I can switch.:confused:

I assume I can switch to similar elite level with AS or DL programs. Any ideas about which to chose? Most of my friends tout AS, but they rarely fly to East Coast.

Thanks for ideas. Apologies if there is another thread on this.

Where on the east coast do you fly? Cities that Alaska flies non-stop to?

As a general rule, I'd say that Alaska Mileage Plan is a much, much, more attractive program than Delta Sky Miles (your miles are worth more per mile). Also, if you continue to fly 25k-50k Alaska and partner miles in a year, you'll earn a 50% bonus. On Delta, you'd only get 25%.

But, if you're going to spend your time flying Delta (because Alaska doesn't find where you're going) you may find the elite benefits you receive to be a plus for Delta.

There are a number of people who would say CO > AS in terms of the F experience. Not sure where DL fits in there (as I've never flown them in the pointy end).

Going DL to the East Coast means either a) JFK or b) midcon plane transfers, or c) flying AS anyway.

AS has a very large set of partner redemption options for rewards (much better than DLs, and in some cases, like saver business to Europe, for LESS miles on DL metal than DL itself).

Because of the implementation of AS/DL reciprocity, you'll get some benefits one way or the other. Things like which airline you'd end up stuck with baggage fees on the most might drive your decision in the end, or things like top-level on AS (MVPG or Platinum) being easier to nail than top-level on DL (125K Diamond).

There are a number of people who would say CO > AS in terms of the F experience. Not sure where DL fits in there (as I've never flown them in the pointy end).

Going DL to the East Coast means either a) JFK or b) midcon plane transfers, or c) flying AS anyway.

AS has a very large set of partner redemption options for rewards (much better than DLs, and in some cases, like saver business to Europe, for LESS miles on DL metal than DL itself).

Because of the implementation of AS/DL reciprocity, you'll get some benefits one way or the other. Things like which airline you'd end up stuck with baggage fees on the most might drive your decision in the end, or things like top-level on AS (MVPG or Platinum) being easier to nail than top-level on DL (125K Diamond).

AS is working hard to have recip bag fees waived for upper level MP members and comparable with DL... (not sure it will work for MVP's)...

As for DL vs. AS... being in SEA I'd tip my hat to AS, especially if using the west coast (unless you like SLC :rolleyes:)

Quite a few nonstops... and if you end up on DL, eventually (End of Q1 2010 right now) we'll see recip upgrades on DL...

However, on the transcons- you may see higher upgrades on DL... not sure though- but then fewer nonstops...

Thanks for the advice.

This split up poses a real dilemma given the lifetime Skyclub card and the DL/CO split. Before it used to be good on every airline we flew. CO seems to be making a real effort to acquire new elite members, but haven't heard anything from AS or DL.

Is there anything else that I should be doing at this point?

disregard..trying to delete

There are a number of people who would say CO > AS in terms of the F experience. Not sure where DL fits in there .

If I didn't have the lifetime DL Skyclub card, I'd be tempted to stay with CO, although they don't do much up and down the West Coast and I've had a hard time using my miles with them, esp. for Europe.

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Thanks for the advice.

This split up poses a real dilemma given the lifetime Skyclub card and the DL/CO split. Before it used to be good on every airline we flew. CO seems to be making a real effort to acquire new elite members, but haven't heard anything from AS or DL.

Is there anything else that I should be doing at this point?

AS is actively seeking elites to switch to AS... And when flying AS, you do get access to the AS BR... :cool:

you still don't say what your primary routes for flying are?

I believe AS and DL have full reciprocal lounge benefits, so you're down to who is going to give you the most butt in seat benefit..and for that we need to know your flying pattern :)

If you go with CO, you'll be flying UA/US up and down the West Coast if you want to maximize your EQM/RDM, with only *A Gold to help you out (there are rumors of reciprocity, but I am not convinced- US status is mostly useless on UA and vice versa, and I am not sure CO will be any different). I've pretty much rejected the UA/US/CO trinity out of hand, as my travel would MAYBE get me to one of 1P or CO Gold, and US and UA are not great airlines- yeah, there's E+ if I fly UA, but neither UA or US's track record is good, and I'd rather be MVPG in a smaller pond on a better airline than fighting for the crumbs that drop from the plates of 1Ks and GSs as a 1P, or being behind a bunch of CO Plats.

Also, I've seen a good chunk of DL/AA/BA/AF/KL availability to Europe on AS. If that's a concern, you DEFINITELY want AS- arguably AS has the best overall options for premium class travel to Europe.

Also, I've seen a good chunk of DL/AA/BA/AF/KL availability to Europe on AS. If that's a concern, you DEFINITELY want AS- arguably AS has the best overall options for premium class travel to Europe.

One of the problems with using AS to fly to Europe is that you can't use multiple partners on an award ticket. This has made life difficult for me in the past because, for instance, NW (now DL) flies everything to AMS and then used a codeshare with KL for the last hop. That effectively meant that I couldn't use NW to fly to Europe with AS miles unless I was flying to AMS. There's PLENTY of available space on BA to Europe, but they apply a "fuel surcharge" on each leg that makes using them pretty unpalatable.

There's a recent rumor that Icelandair will be a redemption option in the future, they'd be a welcome addition as far as I'm concerned. They have quite a bit of European coverage in the summer months, and I'd love to spend a few days on a stopover in Reykjavík.

Given that you're in Seattle already, I'd go with AS. DL has fewer partner options. Also, the lounge issue really doesn't matter much when you fly direct. I mean you can go to the airport just to go there, but why bother when you could just have more time at home to say, sleep. DL would really only be an option if you're going to a lot of small cities and will be connecting a lot.