The OP will have to pay for any bags that he and the wife check also. And if he has to change his plans, there will be big fees for that, plus fare differences. The list goes on and on.

There are other airlines whose business model is perhaps better suited to non-elites who don't like paying the fees charged by the legacies. Of course, until 2014, WN can't fly DAL to BOS nonstop.