Originally Posted by
jinabe
In comparing the two status in 2010,
•Diamond gives 125% mileage bonus (Platinum members get 100%)
•Free SkyClub membership (but I am a lifetime WC member anyway)
•Priority upgrades over Platinum members
•Two more SWUs than Platinum or other “choice” benefits
•A dedicated phone line (but I usually get thru the customer services fine)
Personally, the tangible differences between the two status are the 25% bonus miles and two SWU. Assuming that the SM program does not change drastically, I feel staying at Plat for 2011 and almost securing the Plat status in 2012 is the way to go. If I am missing anything, I would appreciating your pointing them out.
Sadly, you're not missing anything. Diamond is worth very little compared to Platinum. My partner and I made the mistake of giving DL one last try by making Diamond last year and then planning to make it again this year. Fortunately, we will each end the year around 120k and will remain Platinum for 2011 and can easily retain it for 2012.
Here's my take:
* Who needs 25% more of the worst miles around? We have over 2 million SkyPesos in the bank, and we're not sure how to spend those. We can only take so much of Air France business class.
* We're paid up on SkyClub through 2014, so we're not too concerned with free club access. Granted, this is a valuable benefit.
* Priority upgrades are worthless if it means that you end up number 2 on the not upgraded list instead on number 40. My upgrade percentage on transcons is 40% so far this year. Anything below 90% is unacceptable to me. AA and UA are vastly superior in this area.
* More SWUs are helpful for getting domestic upgrades on K fares, but why pay more on DL when I can buy a cheaper ticket AND get a free upgrade on UA or AA?
* I've never used the "dedicated" line. I have the general Medallion number memorized and actually never realized there's a different number! Maybe if I call them, they can correct my upgrade problem.
