Originally Posted by
ShamRockSteady
I am about to take my first trip of 2018 and am on the fence about whether to commit to Delta or American. I don’t fly much and expect to do three transatlantic trips and three domestic US trips this year. I never fly enough to attain any status and usually fly Delta out of habit. I have about 150,000 SkyMiles and 66,000 AAdvantage miles.
I know it’s a bit like asking how long is a piece of string, but a colleague who barely flies always seems to have American gold status and I’m wondering if it’s easier to attain status with them. For what it’s worth there are plenty of easy routes for my destinations with both airlines.
Mostly I'm just curious to see if someone who flies as much (or as little) as me can attain status with one of these airlines, so I thought I’d turn to the community for advice. Any thoughts? If there’s no meaningful difference I’ll probably just stick with Delta as I find them to be relatively reliable for me.
Your colleague must be flying enough to keep AA Gold. He may be flying on expensive tickets.
Earning status with any airline is hard. Especially on cheaper flights.
Three transatlantic trips and three domestic US trips may get you on the way to status. Will these flights be cheapies or more expensive/better class?
AA have a status challenge for a $ fee, but cost many be more than the benefit for an infrequent flyer.
With AA you have to have eligible activity in 18 months to stop ff miles expiry.
Delta ff miles do not expire.
With the change of most USA based ffp's to revenue based for flights on own airline, flying the airline with best fares and best schedule that matches your requirements now has merit. And then treating any ff miles as a bonus, which may or may not, be able to be used.