Originally Posted by RealHJ

I wonder if the award pricing is purposefully mis-programmed. Even for simple domestic itenearies, if you mix AS and DL, it will price out as two one ways vs. return, online and for agents by automatic pricing. The only solution is to book DL and DL (undesireable flights). Then call DL, ask to change to AS portion, when agent says with AS for the same route (say, DCA-SEA) it's now ~twice higher miles, insist that no, it can't be as only low mileage is available at partner airlines. Argue for a good 5 minutes (the agent will, doubtlessly, try to pitch some hare-brained ideas how the mileage is always some random amount and is so much higher with AS and partner airlines, that with partner airlines it's an unpredictable, random higher number always - really, that is what they will say!), in the end ask for supervisor, be on hold half an hour, in the end have agent come back and admit that (s)he was wrong and that his/her supervisor is now on hold trying to get the small and understaffed department that can override the DeltaMatic badly broken (misprogrammed - I wonder if on purpose?) pricing engine to reprice. What one should be able to book online turns into a close to a two hour effort by phone. Of course, one also can book it online, but then one will overpay close to a factor of two.

Now, isn't that by design? You can book the iteneary online, but you will be overcharged and charged against Dullta's own fare rules. Or, you can call on the phone, argue and fight, and after some two hours on the phone it will be manually priced correctly as per the fare rules. But, the automatic pricing (bookable online and by phone agents) will not follow the fare rules and will be greaty overpriced, with no reason or justification for it.