MarJon

Am about to hit AA 1MM Gold for life and thinking about doing status match and switching to Delta after that. I'm AA EXP but I'll probably only be able to earn DL 75K PM each year. So, are you happier with Delta? Are you able to upgrade? Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

emma dog

I was AA PLT and made 1MM with the merger with US. I moved to ATL in 2010 and was semi-loyal to AA... essentially only used them for international flights and transcons after the move.

As an ATL flyer, I found that I was “never” upgraded as a 50k/year flyer. I also think the valuation of skymiles is poor. On the other hand, DLs planes are much nicer and the IFE is better than AAs planes... as are taking nonstops.

So... I’ve given up on the upgrade game and buy the seat I want. Ie WFBF, or even WECBEC (want economy comfort, buy economy comfort). I’m also not tied down to any particular airline. I still fly 30-50k/year, but am liberated to do what’s actually in my best interest.

Funny story. I flew to Orlando this week with my kids for a vacation. We bought the tickets back in June and F was nominally more expensive than a standard coach seat, so I did it. As the plane down boarded, some DYKWIA glared at my 11yo daughters and me and made a statement to her companion about her upgrade being “stolen” by other passengers and one day she’ll finally be upgraded. I sat there smiling, reflecting on how assumptions and ignorance really make one look like a jerk sometimes.

ty97

I was AA EXP most years of the past decade. I status matched to DL PM last year for a few reasons:
- I've lived multiple places while being EXP, but most recently I live in NYC. Delta has many more non-stops out of NYC and I found myself flying them at times even when I was EXP just to avoid connections on AA. I am not sure of your location and what the pros/cons of flight availability are for you re: AA vs DL.
- AA's strength, for me, was the AAdvantage program. When they (inevitably) updated it to match the DL/UA elite programs, the strongest string holding me to AA withered

Both airlines have pros and cons. Generally, IMO:
- Delta operationally seems to run smoother than AA. You will have IRROPS for sure, but seem to run a better operation right now.
- Delta emphasizes customer service more than I noticed on AA. Great (and poor) employees at both airlines, but service culture appears to be emphasized at DL.
- You will almost certainly be upgraded less on DL than on AA due to First Class Monetization (FCM). DL wants to sell as much as the first class cabin as possible, via cheaper F fares, upgrade offers, etc. AA has not (yet?) adopted a similar practice. You'll also be PM rather than DM (which is really the top-tier equivalent of EXP) so this will hurt upgrade chances. I certainly still get upgraded, but not as much as I did as EXP. And practically give up on hopes of upgrades traveling through ATL.
- Partner lounges, especially the First Class lounges, you had access to as an EXP (CX F lounges, QF F lounges, BA F lounges) - you'll find nothing like that in SkyTeam that I've seen. I enjoy transferring at AMS far more than LHR, but the KLM lounges at AMS are overcrowded and somewhat pitiful. I haven't visited every international partner lounge (not even close!) so I'm sure SkyTeam has some gems, but the oneworld lounges were superior IME. That said, I find the SkyClubs to be better than the Admiral Clubs (though not hugely better).
- Note that Comfort+ (effectively MCE on DL) works via an upgrade system in most cases. This is not a bad thing, just learn how it works to avoid finding up in a middle seat in Comfort+.

3Cforme

Don't expect lots of complimentary 'domestic' upgrades on Delta. Depending on your routes you can get a much better travel experience, however:

More mainline. More 2-class RJs - fewer single-class RJs.

More AVOD. More satellite wifi.

100% lie-flat seats in long-haul business, and everything except 757s will be aisle-access.

Broadly available rebooking in IROPs via the app or web.

Native booking of tickets - even award tickets - in the app.

Automated upgrade processing - board with a coach boarding pass, the machine beeps and spits out your new F boarding pass. Same thing clearing standby - board with a seat request card.

Better on-time performance. Better mainline completion rates. Vastly more reliable and faster baggage handling. Much less IDB. Way more opportunities for VDB.

flightline87

Former AA EXP for many years and now (only 9 months in) DL PM. I haven't looked back! AAdvantage was the only thing keeping me with AA. Now that all the programs are relatively crappy, DL is the clear winner, esp as a NYC-based flier.

Perhaps I'm an outlier, but I'm upgraded 75-80% of the time. And when I'm not, I've at least got C+ with extra legroom and free drinks.

I think the biggest thing I'll miss from my EXP status was the OW partner lounges, esp the CX and BA First Lounges in HKG and LHR, respectively. KL in AMS and AF in CDG don't even come close.

kop84

TLDR - it's not the early 2000's anymore, upgrades aren't as plentiful anywhere.

to me it seems that upgrade percentages have far less to do with status level and far more to do with O/D's and days of the week.

I'm sure there are DM's who are batting near zero when they book early and fly ATL/LAX Monday morning and back Thursday afternoon

And there are probably FO's and GM's batting near 100 but they fly Wednesday and Saturday evenings CMH/RDU (or some other similar point to point route)

And looking at the AA and UA boards it really doesn't seem like anyone is head and shoulders above anyone else in the upgrade percentages, but there are obviously variances when it comes to individuals.

MCO Flyer

OP can you give us some more info like what is your home airport, what routes do you typically fly and what days do you normally fly on? That could probably help you get some better responses on how your UG odds look.

javabytes

I made the switch the other way in the last year. After 8 years of DL GM, PM, and finally DM, I bailed on DL and worked my way up through AA Gold, Plat, then EXP. I don't regret the change one bit.

DL is the last place you want to be these days if you care about upgrades. Now that DL is treating Comfort+ as an upgrade, that statement applies to those seats as well. I found I had a much better shot at getting MCE on AA as a Gold or Plat than Comfort+ as a low level elite on DL. I also found upgrade lists on AA to be much less ridiculous.

AA premium cabin award availability sucks as hard as DL these days. Maybe worse. DL has many more cheap awards available for advance purchase domestic coach travel, especially short to medium length non-stops. Getting to Europe on awards is better on DL/SkyTeam as you avoid BA and it's surcharges; getting to Asia is better on AA/Oneworld.

DL has slightly better operational performance, by it's not night and day. As much as DL captives pretend otherwise, DOT statistics show there are only a few percentage points separating the big 3.

DL will continue to be at the forefront of every loyalty program devaluation. While AA may follow suit, at least you will have more warning.

MarJon

Thank you all for your input.... If I bail, I'll do it early 2018.... You've all given me a lot to think about... very appreciated....

Most of my miles lately comes via BA..... Needing 12K Dollars on AA for EPlt is alot easier when flying BA's WTP (economy plus) since a $1,200 ticket has earned me $3,900 Dollars... As mentioned above, I really enjoy the FC lounges when traveling abroad... especially CX in HKG!!!! I am able to upgrade about 60% of the time and have even been given OPUP on BA to CW (J) from WTP.

ubernostrum

I was CP on US before the merge, then EXP on AA. Status matched to DL PM in the last quarter of 2015 after I got fed up with The AA Way™.

Now I'm SFO-based and mostly fly VX/AS, but my time with DL was fine. I snagged a few upgrades, but I also mostly just buy F when I want it. The thing for me with DL was that I knew I was never going to be stranded overnight in an AA hub again, and that was a big deal. Anecdotally I prefer DL's cabins to AA's, vastly prefer DL MD90s even in Y to the Barcaloungers in AA's Mad Dogs, and found DL cabin crews to be on the whole better than AA's.

Next year I'll probably have at least a bit of flying that VX/AS can't cover for me, and I'll just pick the most convenient routing on DL.

IggySD

I'm currently AA EXP and DL DM for a few years now and overall the experience is much more pleasant on DL, primarily in attitudes from the staff. There is a lot of bitterness on the AA side. I qualify on segments for both and If say 90% off the time the DL experience is great, on AA it's closer to 50%. Upgrades on DL are a much better percentage for me this year, although I'm through SEA and SLC alot which I think have better chances overall. AA is primarily through DFW and PHX and used to be a sure thing. DL is also a much better bet for a PDB.

Although Aadvantage has been gutted AA still wins hands down as far as partners and redemption opportunities. The best ST has to offer, AF, KE, KL in J are mediocre when compared to OW airlines never mind that you can't redeem for partner F with DL. The lounges are also far better in OW, even when just comparing J lounges. Domestically however SC is much better than AC.

My experience essentially is that I prefer spending my AA miles but I much prefer the experience when earning my DL miles.