Originally Posted by
ruckzac
I think [MENTION=296998]drminn[/MENTION] meant that you should continue to fly Delta, but credit your miles to a partner airline. For example, you could credit your miles to Flying Blue.
However, a downside of doing this is that you won't be able to realize any of the benefits of your DL status when crediting miles to a partner frequent flyer program where you don't have status. That means no upgrades, no preferred seats, no waived SDC fee, etc. You could change the program you credit miles to before you fly, though, if needed. I'm not sure what happens to preferred / upgraded seats, though, if you do this.
If you're worried about expiration of RDMs, one good way to keep miles active is to get a credit card with that other airline.
Thank you both for your suggestions...
I actually do understand Drminn's suggestion. But in short, I have a very dim view of those other skyteam programs... thats also a big reason why I don't already have one of their credit cards..(I actively churn cards) ;-)
Since this one big (potential) trip is in business class, I won't really need any of the perks of having DL status. So its really a loss of MQM and putting RDM in another airline... To be honest, I find AA miles more useful for my purposes anyway... but personally, flying domestically, I really enjoy flying DL more than other airlines (mostly due to my status, but also due to familiarity with the nuisances of 'navigating' Delta's rules and practices.