I still think that the majority of the complaints about the SkyMiles program are driven by an irrational comparison to the past. Comparing DL's current FF program to the FF program it had ten years ago is silly. All you can compare it to are the other current FF programs like AAdvantage and Mileage Plus. In 2016, AA has the most rewarding program, but the difference between SkyMiles and AAdvantage is not as big as you might think from reading some of the doom and gloom threads. It's certainly not as big as the difference between SkyMiles today and SkyMiles ten years ago, which is the mental comparison that many long time flyers make.

I live by an airport that's a battleground for DL, AA, UA, WN, and B6, and I travel enough that I could easily have top tier status with any of the airlines, or some combination like DL PM and AA Plat/UA Gold. Personally though, I value the marginal superiority of the hard product that DL provides more than the marginal inferiority of the rewards program, but everyone should make his own value judgment.