Originally Posted by
frankflieslots
delta code shares a lot with china airlines. make sure you book them in DL marketed flight numbers so you get the full delta MQMs and MQDs. i have done it several times, and they were actually cheaper than buying directly from china airlines.
That's the biggest joke ever. DL coded CI flights are almost always more expensive than CI's own ticketed flights.
For a given dollar amount, the miles you collect on a DL coded CI flight is worth far less than if you take the CI coded flight and credit into CI's FF program. I did the calculations multiple times and can back up this claim with real numbers. The only time it works to your favor is if there are a lot of unsold seats and DL is trying to drop the fare on the CI flight, in which case you will get screwed on your MQD.
You also do not get preferred seats on DL coded CI flights... The only thing you get is early boarding, for SKY and ZONE 1 based on your DL status.