Originally Posted by
martin33
The chart does seem strange at first glance. Any existing elite at AA, UA, or CO, particularly in the top tier, should have deep enough knowledge of their current program not to be seriously tempted to change.
That means the chart must really only be there to target the existing DL and NW elite members, to convince them there's no reason to even investigate alternatives. It's classic defensive marketing.
While DL management may have anticipated some disappointment with DM, I'm guessing they miscalculated the magnatude of the dissatifaction as well as the unintended consequence of having many PMs/future DMs be fully educated on competing FFer programs.
As a consumer of travel services, I am glad for this information. However, were I in DLs management, I wouldn't want an announcement of a highly anticipated and touted new loyalty program for my best customers to result in those same customers reevaluating whether they should continue with DL. Capitalism is good, but I can't imagine an airline in any environment intentionally giving their most frequent flyers reasons to consider a competing airline, especially not with the announcement of a new elite program that was intended to increase loyaly.