Originally Posted by
notbeenthere
Question is at the end!
I am plat on Dl and general member on UA, with about 700,000k on DL and 125,000k on UA. I have benefited greatly over the past several years from relatively affordable M-class fares on DL to China which I upgraded to BC, which is why I remained loyal to DL. Most of my routes were to PVG, and with the recent elimination of the ATL-PVG route, the flights are full, the M-fares are ~ $4,000 (used to be ~ $2,100), and the BC award tickets non-existent. DL is now cutting back the DTW-PVG to 5 days/wk, which foreshadows only more restrictions and higher prices. To add insult, the award tickets that are available are routinely categorized as "high". Compare that to UA which still maintains daily non-stop service to PVG, has good availability of BC award seats at 125k miles (especially within 1 month of travel), and has upgradeable M fares ~ $2,500 (in the past, these fares were typically ~ $500 more then the DL fares).
My question: if my travel is primarily to Asia, with the intent on upgrading or getting award business seats, should I consider switching my business to UA, or do you think UA will migrate in the same direction?
I would switch to UA, especially with CO coming on board, but monitor DL's YBM fares. CO now does PVG/PEK and HKG non-stop from EWR, which when combined with UA, gives you a ton of non-stop options. Keep an eye on DL's upgradable fares, as these things tend to ebb back and forth.
My major issue with DL to China now is that if stuck in Y you will often be trapped on a decrepit 747 with no AVOD through NRT, while you can go non-stop on CO or others on much nicer equipment.