I think if you cruise the NW board you will find plenty of WorldPerks members who are doing the opposite -- e.g. thinking of a switch to CO because they don't like the look of the post-merger DL program... higher fees, devalued miles, more restrictions. As a former CO plat flying out of SEA I know how hard it is to accomplish that while based in this marginal station for Continental, and SEA-EWR and SEA-IAH are two tough upgrade routes. If i were you I would transition to AS for awhile and watch the trends. Maybe DL SkyMiles won't come out as terrible as people predict, but it sure looks bleak, and as a recent NW elite I'll probably circle back to AS, CO or UA myself.