Originally Posted by
redtop43
I played the manufactured spending game full-bore for about 10 years and ended up with, among other things, about 1 million miles on each of AA, UA, and DL. For several years I was flying actively on AA so not often redeeming miles, but I've now effectively retired from both work and travel, and I'm a free agent among where I redeem my miles.
When I compare prices in miles, it seems that DL are always the highest and often by a lot. Domestic, overseas, Y/W/J, always much higher.
As a long-time flyer, with loyalty varying according to location and travel pattern, I'm well aware that the grass is always greener; devotees of a particular carrier bemoan their fate, the whole loyalty game run amok, I'm just saying - I'm sure people on this forum whine about devaluation, but is my perception correct that DL is devalued much more than other airlines?
You spent a decade manufactured spending and earning *DL miles*? The devaluation happened a decade ago. If anything, DL miles have become more valuable in recent years with the AMEX 15% benefit.
There are definitely times where DL's mileage prices are cheaper than the alternatives, but it has to be the right scenario, as others have mentioned. Int'l J flights that don't touch the US. Domestic flights where DL has a competitive price. The days of just amassing a bunch of DL miles and deciding where you want to go at a flat rate are long, long, long, long gone and have been for many years now.