SkyTeam - Help me strategize which alliance I should switch to

Hello wise ladies and gentlemen,

I am a Flying Blue Gold member residing in NYC, who is not going to requalify for 2012 (so, soft landing to Silver). But in 2012, I should have far more intl travel, so I m wondering if I shouldn't cut my losses and ask for a status match right now, while I still have Skyteam elite +.

I m currently also a FF on British Airways, status less, but with 130,000 + miles (that old 100,000 signing bonus with the Chase card in 2010); and I have 30,000 odd miles on United from various bits and bobs.


Most of my travels are NYC - France, which besides Air France is served direct from NYC by Delta, Continental (codeshare United), AA (codeshare British Airways).

My upcoming travels include two Transatlantic roundtrips I haven't booked yet for mid-Dec and late Jan. If I throw in some transcontinental American flight before mid-March rolls around, I should have enough travel for, for instance, a successful challenge to United, I think.

Is that the best I can do? Do some airlines status-match without challenges?

I wish I could get British Airways to up me, but I can't seem to figure out whether it's doable.

Tell me what you guys think.

Thanks so much!

CO used to status match DL up to Plat, but as far as I know UA and AA only offer a challenge. Being NYC-based, I'd say DL makes a lot more sense than FB (DL elites can upgrade into AF Affaires from Premium Voyageur). That being said, I don't think DL would match FB, so your best bet might be to do a challenge on AA or UA and then match to DL.

All Flying Blue members (not only elites) can upgrade PV to Business. There is nothing special about Delta here.

Being NYC-based, I'd say DL makes a lot more sense than FB (DL elites can upgrade into AF Affaires from Premium Voyageur).

The OP could continue with the AF product he knows while avoiding most AF fuel surcharges if the Delta SkyMiles redemptions originate in the U.S. That's a savings of about $100/ticket on a JFK-LAX-JFK redemption.

All Flying Blue members (not only elites) can upgrade PV to Business. There is nothing special about Delta here.

Oh I hadn't realized. I always thought FB did not allow for SWU-type upgrades. My mistake.

If you reside in NYC and depending on how much you typically spend on credit cards, you could also get the DL Platinum Amex or DL Reserve Amex which give you Medallion Qualification Miles based on spend (as well as a few when you sign up).

Thank you for your reply, all. And particularly the tips on the difference between the FB program vs. SkyMiles program (interesting bit about the lower fees from SkyMiles).

My problem with going into the SkyMiles program is that i'd be starting there at the bottom, since Delta is not going to match my FB gold.

Hence why I was wondering to which alliance - so, not SkyTeam - I could status match into in the next few months, while I still have a shiny Flying Blue card to show off ;)

Star Alliance would be good in that the CO/UA flights from New York to Fr are almost always the cheapest. But * isnt great once I m in France, because out of Paris, it's an AF game. So it's not perfect. British Airways is better once in Europe, because if I m going to transfer someplace, I d rather transfer in London than in Frankfurt or Munich (Lufthansa's hubs). But I don t know if there is any way to match into BA.

Do all of you think that my best bet is to match into UA via a challenge and then get matched from UA into DL?