Would like others to poke holes in my thought process here:

As a hub-captive DL flyer who flies ~50 segments a year (almost all domestic Y, majority paid by company, base fares enough to land me in between GM and PM), I’m trying to re-optimize my credit card strategy. It seems to me like there’s no longer much reason to hold any DL cobranded credit cards, even if I’m chasing PM.

Instead, a combination of traditional AMEX Gold/Plat can offer a more pleasant road to PM, as follows:
- I accumulate transferable points through purchases (and perhaps unlock Sky Club access on Plat)
- As needed, I transfer those points to SM and use SM to opportunistically upgrade my coach segments
- The upgrades boost my MQDs while offering me a better flight experience
- Rinse/repeat until I hit PM, then transfer no further SM the rest of the year

Am I missing something here? It seems to me like the only downside here is the need to liquidate AMEX points to pad my MQDs, but that in exchange for that, I’ll fly a higher percentage of segments in F, and have keep point redemption options open beyond SM.