I am only Gold due to earnings split between NW and DL and the Hilton promo not crediting correctly - I'm at 74,800 on NW and 15k on DL right now. I'll easily break 100k by the end of the year and could do 125k if I kept my CC spend in the same spot and/or picked up some optional Europe travel.

I wouldn't be able to make 125k on AA/UA/CO since they don't hand out elite miles like candy, but could make 100k. And the 100k program on AA is definitely superior to DL's 125k, and I think UA's 100k is better as well.

Throw in ease of mileage redemption, the only thing DL has going for them is convenience, but even that's getting to be a tough argument when only managing 2 flights a day into my home airport and not letting me book anything with more than a 4-hour connection in MSP.


The reality of the situation is I think I'm better off just buying the cheapest ticket. I fly enough that I'd stil keep base-elite on at least two alliances for free bags along with free bags on Southwest and have access to the largest network on the planet (every airline).