Originally Posted by
bwhite
I see DL's program being linear in terms of perks as you advance thru the 4 levels. AA's appears more logarithmic, with fewer less meaningful bennies for GLD and PLT then much better for EXP. I wouldn't mind seeing DL's program becoming more logarithmic in nature but also becoming harder to acheive without BIS (like AA). Maybe something halfway between what it is today (too easy) and what AA is today (out of reach for most).
Even though you are way more than correct here the main purpose of many people starting to look at AA as an option is only for EXP, the reason is DL started the 4th, better than life tier, with all this anticipation. Even at 25% higher requirements than EXP they did not become best in class.
If we look at both programs as a whole, people between 25K and 100K are better off with DL for upgrades; lets not discuss using miles, that is another joke.
For people that fly over 100K, and have a choice, EXP is superior in the upgrade game.
At AA it is to the highest tiers benefit if free upgrades are not given for the lower tiers, why you may ask since they clear so much earlier. I have been forced to make a change to an itinerary many times that put me in a time frame where FO and/or GM were past their times for upgrades. I've sat in back in those situations many times. I have also bought last minute tickets that were after GM and/of FO window for upgrades.