No feedback on my original inquiry "Moving to the Middle East," so I thought I'd try to boil it down a bit.
Does it make sense to join Alaska Mileage plan if your based in the middle east?
Flying DMM-SLC/IND, I prefer the more comfortable economy and fewer long distance legs I get with an Emirates(even Etihad/American) vs. Delta/KLM which splits the bulk of the distance into two segments with the Delta segment being less comfortable.
If I can hit $30k+ spend on a Delta card, I've got a good shot getting beyond silver to gold Medallion status.
With Alaska, I don't have to choose between flying Emirates or Delta/KLM (or even Etihad/American) from the middle east, but there do appear to be at least some penalties to mileage plan members who are not based in the US(benefits and promotions that require travel to or from the US).
Its also unclear how spending big with the Alaska card compares to Delta's card in terms of boosting you to first and second tier elite status and if Alaska status gets you anything beyond earning miles bonuses when flying Emirates.
Some incite to enlighten my endless hours of research would be gratefully received!
Shawarma
Last edited by shawarma; Aug 11, 2014 at 10:33 am
Reason: Clarification