Originally Posted by
ILovetheReds
I was reading some of the older posts on the SC beverage changes and see he uses a Delta Am Ex reserve card to get in. Not sure why he bashes people for using comp. upgrades instead of paying for first yet uses the skyclub without a paid membership. Seeing the annual fee on the Delta Am Ex reserve is more than a SC membership, he must be getting MQMs from it, otherwise it would be cheaper to pay the annual SC membership.
GREAT deal on your ticket. What airline was that on? I'd love to go to India for that kind of fare.
The annual fee for the Reserve is $450 but not only does it come with the SkyClub access but also a companion ticket which easily puts the value beyond simply buying a SC membership. For me as GM, a SkyClub membership would be $400. So for an extra $50 I can get a Reserve AmEx with SC access and a companion ticket good for a first class ticket, which twice has saved me $900+. So for an $850+ overall gain (not including the value of the MQMs and miles earned), why would I not choose to gain SC access via the Reserve over buying a SC membership? The only additional benefits from SC membership over the Reserve is you can access the SkyClub even when not flying DL (and you can access the Alaska Board Rooms for now but that only helps if you're at one of the few airports with an AS board room), and if you're not SkyTeam Elite Plus, you can use you're SC access to enter those lounges too.