Given I just challenged over here from Delta I figured I would give you guys some color on how the Sky Miles and Mileage Plus programs stack up (for me). I am a very frequent flyer and will log 200-250k actual flight miles a year.
1. Program requirements. UA 1k = 100k miles and DL Diamond = 125k
2. Beyond 125K with Delta gets you nothing at all. On UA you get additional SWUs/Certs.
3. Unlimited upgrades. I was 100% for the last several years with DL domestically (though 80% this past year due to Elite inflation and the practice of selling upgrades) and so far 100% on UA (push)
4. Club. DL Diamond gets you free club access. Nice but the clubs are PACKED because of this.
5. Boarding. Boarding at DL is a ZOO. My experience on UA has been 1K's board early and they enforce checking. On DL they rarely send people back who are not DM or FC so it has become a free for all.
6. PDB. Love it on DL and it has started on UA (Not talking about OJ/H20 but drinks).
7. IFE. DL wins hands down. wifi on almost every ac and sat tv on most. I love ch 9 on UA but wifi is a real need.
8. Food. Push.
9. Upgradeable International fares. UA by a WIDE margin. To even have a shot on DL the min fare you can buy to upgrade is Y/B/M. The cheapest is M and it will run $3500-$4500 for a TPAC with NO guarantee you will even get it. $3000-$4000 for a TATL. Ridiculous.
9. FF program. UA Hands down. The price for a LAX-SYD trip in BE can range from 240,000 - 780,000 miles ! Again ridiculous and a sign of how devalued DL miles have become.
10. 1K line/Diamond Desk. Push. The DM desk is amazing but I have used the 1K desk already (weather) and they were just as responsive.
Generally I have had more people at UA thank me for being a 1K in the last 3 weeks (how long I have been a 1k) then in my last 7 years at Delta. They just do not get into the customer appreciation thing and, well, I do
Happy to answer any questions anyone has about the Delta program. I for one am thrilled with the move even given that there are changes coming.