Originally Posted by
houserulz77
This was your choice to make, and you made it.
It seems to me, as a DM, if you want to account for companion upgrades you can:
1) Elect the SWUs and use them for that purpose.
2) Gift GM to your spouse and improve your position for u/gs
3) Take the 25k extra SMs and use those for mileage u/gs
Thus Delta provides options for those who want to upgrade companions outside the standard upgrade process. It's just a matter of whether someone values those options over others.
Agreed it was my choice. I have to give up choice benefits to make the DL FF system work for me. However my companion isn't always my spouse, I have taken one of my kids along once or twice as well. Never the whole crew, just one at a time. Last year there were 3 such trips out of 75. I used miles to 'buy' F for them.
As I evaluate the airline that gets my money, I take this into consideration. Last year I gave DL ~$35k. Not big money so I am a small fish. However DL has gotten less than $1k from me this year to date. I fly them when it is crazy not to but 90% of my money is going elsewhere. Does it make good sense for a FF program to drive a $35k per customer away in favor of keeping a $5k customer? Perhaps to DL it does.
Regardless if I use miles to put my companions up front or a better UG policy does it, they will be taking a seat in F out of the UG pool and some lower elites flies in the back. In the process they make me dislike the way their FF program works. Who is the winner here?
No Virgina (Ave), flying isn't as much fun as it used to be.