Originally Posted by PHXflier

It looks like I made the right decision a year or two ago when, because of dwindling upgrade percentages for Diamonds, I started to choose my itinerary based on price and convenience rather than on airline. It has worked out well for me, I saved thousands of $ and hours of time, and as long as I am in Comfort Plus (or equivalent), it does not really matter to me whether that is on United, American or Delta. And being million-miler on multiple airlines will have its advantages when I retire; reaching 3 million miles on DL really is not productive, even though that is likely to happen fairly soon. I could go back to flying mostly Delta and continue to make the Diamond spending limit (I have been Diamond since the inception of the program) but I like the freedom of choice and the significant savings better than occasional upgrades. On many Delta flights I take there are hardly any FC seats left a week prior to departure, so it does not really matter whether the Diamond herd is thinned or not; there are just no FC upgrades to be had. So, thank you, Delta, for making me experiment with alternatives and finding one that I like.