Originally Posted by
bwhite
DL PM can be achieved without ever flying BIS, or a combination of promo and 1 or 2 BIS trip EQMs. DM will require slightly more BIS. I think that is why they can't offer the same SWUs that EXP get on AA.
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).
I had no idea you could get all the way to PM without any BIS (or minimal BIS)! One can't even get to 3rd tier on AA except via BIS.
The observation about benefits is interesting. I would generally agree that AA's system is more nonlinear (convex, though, not logarithmic/concave!). Certainly 3rd tier, GLD, has somewhat minimal benefits: Business check-in, Group 1 boarding, free luggage checking, a few bonus miles, a few upgrades, and a little better handling of your rebookings in irregular ops. The 2nd tier, PLT, however, is a bit more subtle. The stated benefits are roughly on par with DL/CO/UA, except that DL and CO offer "unlimited" N American upgrades. However, at AA a PLT is not a "nobody" by any means (compare to posts on the UA forum about PE's being "nobodies"); your treatment during your first irregular ops will make that very clear. PLT upgrade percentages tend to be very good, particularly once you have the experience to pick the best flights for them. If you fly overseas, the lounge benefits and preferred/First checkin are very nice plums. In other words, PLT is a significant jump from GLD, and of course EXP is a huge jump from PLT.
Overall I would agree the lowest tiers at 25K have life comparable across airlines, and perhaps better at CO/DL given a shot at free upgrades. The 50K tier at AA is harder to rank; folks between 50 and 75K would do well to shop around. At 75K-100K, the CO/DL system is likely dominant (day to day tier benefits, as we are ignoring award redemptions here). Over 100K, UA and AA would still appear to set the standard (measured solely on benefits), but DL's new DM appears to be enough to make it a dominant option for hub-captive top level SkyMiles flyers.