Originally Posted by
Beckles
But if you can't SDC to a new route you have to consider again that the poster was flying CLT-LGA, a route with only two flights a day, it's not a more heavily traveled route with a connection in Atlanta. As I mentioned in my last post, if this offer was only available because the poster booked CLT-LGA and would not have been available if the poster had booked CLT-ATL-LGA as an alternative, the implications here are relatively limited.
I would pay $50 more for a round-trip first class fare (out of my own pocket on business travel or personal travel) on any trip for the additional MQM and RDM, avoidance of the upgrade lottery, better choice of seats than winning the upgrade lottery and the SDC flexibility (even if limited). A couple weeks ago I was glad I had paid $100 more (10,000 miles with PWM actually) for an FCM fare on a one-way LIT-ATL-MCI, I was able to SDC onto flights that got me home two hours earlier when my meeting finished early.
In a couple weeks the additional RDM's will be going away but the MQM's are still nice seeing Delta is charging $2k for 10,000 with the buy MQM offer.
I would never think of paying $70 for a first class ticket for DTW/ORD short flight but someone in my office did a couple days ago. They would prefer to fly in MDW instead of ORD and the fare difference on the flights they wanted into and out of MDW were $120 more. By paying the extra $70 they will have a confirmed first class seat, a bonus 500 MQMS and as long as there is a FC seat on the MDW flights 24 hours out he just needs to call the diamond desk and will be confirmed. And if for some reason it doesn't work out he'll just spend the extra 20 minutes getting to ORD instead of MDW. I'm considering the same strategy for a DTW/MIA trip I have to make in a couple months. He said he has also done it for DTW to NYC tickets, FCM isn't much more to EWR or JFK than LGA and he'll buy a FCM EWR or JFK ticket and then SDC 24 hours out to LGA. First class to FLL is only $75 more than coach to MIA. I can do PWM for the $75 difference and just confirm into MIA 24 hours out and if for some reason first class is sold out just use FLL, won't be a big deal.
It's my understanding non status and silvers still have to pay $50 anyway so it will only work for GM's and higher and most leisure travelers don't care about leaving earlier anyway. And the co-terminaling I mentioned above is only available for diamond's so I can't imagine many people do that either.