Originally Posted by
Terminator8
If someone happens to be an elite on AS and an elite on DL, go for it. Very few are. And those that aren't, aren't going to give up all their hard work on AS so they can begin again on DL, which has an inferior product and worthless miles that they will eventually let you redeem for free haircuts.
status matches are a FF's friend @:-)
Originally Posted by
eponymous_coward
And the freaks of nature who DO route that way and spend a lot of extra time in the aluminum tube to take my upgrades away (or, say, from SMF
), God bless 'em.
(If anything is going to hurt AS in SEA, it's losing DL longhaul. That's an ouch right there. If you do a lot of longhaul travel out of SEA and credit the DL flights to AS, it's going to be very tempting to just go to DL.)
For the record, when I connect in SEA on AS metal it's typically because I either can get upgraded on a transcon with a GGU, or the instant upgrade fare is competitive with whatever other airlines are charging.
The second point is spot on. About 50% of the crediting I do to AS program to maintain MVPG is Y or J flying on DL on SLC/SEA-AMS/LHR/CDG. I like the afternoon departure for ease of sleeping on the plane, and I refuse to drive to SFO to take KL or AF unless no other option exists or the fare is too cheap to pass up. Connecting in LAX works, but it's much more of a hassle than SEA (though far better now than in the past with the TBIT connector).