Originally Posted by
xliioper
I don't find these anecdotal comparisons all that useful since it somewhat assumes no fundamental differences in programs. But the fact is that there are some fundamental differences and knowledge of those differences makes a big difference in how useful the miles can be in each program.
Skymiles awards on DL metal are going to correlate pretty highly with fare prices. Partner metal Skymiles awards to/from US/Canada have been harmonized with DL metal awards, so they will also generally correlate pretty much as well, but they don't qualify for Amex 15% discount. Note that June - mid August is a high demand period, so you can expect both fare pricing and Skymiles mileage pricing will be higher then. Pricing will start trending down in late mid-Aug/early Sept as kids go back to school and demand goes down. Cheapest Skymiles awards will often require roundtrip bookings (pretty much true for all EU bookings, domestically, it varies by market), while FB redemptions are still all one-ways. This is again all about correlating revenue fares with mileage redemption prices. As an example, the cheapest roundtrip Skymiles awards (with Amex discount) on ATL-LAX in Main currently are 27K miles ($357 for revenue fares), while the cheapest when booking as one-ways on ATL-LAX are 23K miles ($294 for reveneue fares).
I appreciate the input. Maybe I'm dense, but I don't exactly see what seasonal fare changes have to do with this comparison? Or one-way vs. R/T pricing? Are you saying that you think that in the low season, DL redemptions are consistently lower than FB? I also don't get the relevance of pricing redemptions with the Amex discount. I don't have one of those cards anymore, and since as I've said I'm not going to be a DL loyalist.
One thing also: the 27K miles number you quote for DL looks like it might be a Basic fare. FB doesn't offer an equivalent. My comparisons are based on DL Main, which is the similar class. (And what I normally book.)
I did another "anecdotal" comparison in January. (You say you don't like it, but if you know another way to get data-based comparisons, let me know!) Same dates, same or very similar itineraries
ATL-LHR: FB 58,000, DL 65,000
ATL-LAX: FB 31,000, DL 34,300 (only 3 flights available on FB outbound)
ATL-SEA: FB none available DL 54,400
ATL-LGA: FB 20,000, DL 34,800
Pretty close to what I saw in the summer. Seattle was the surprise, but I suspect availability might show up on FB closer to the arrival date. Or maybe not--who knows? I also noted out of the corner of my eye that there were occasional J fares that seemed significantly lower via FB. But I guess my overall conclusion is that there is decent availability on award flights via FB, often lower than DL.
I'm interested in the comment about the difference in miles awarded. I've noticed that, too. DL does seem more generous with doling them out, perhaps compensating for higher redemptions. But it makes me think: since I'm moving to a "free-agent fare-shopping" model, does it make sense to go with being awarded by distance (FB) rather than fare paid (DL)? Am I right about these?
On a DL Q-bucket fare ATL-LGA-ATL for $250, you'd get just 761 miles on FB and 1250 on DL. On a $450 fare R/T to LAX you'd get 1940 FB and 2250 DL. ATL-LHR in Business would be interesting. You can actually book that on the AF website, but as AF earnings are listed in euros and not dollars, I'm not sure how much you'd get booked in $ through the AF US website. If you booked it on DL (or part of a package, too, I guess?) just 8400 miles? Vs. 20K for a $4000 fare on DL? In any case, the earning differential is kind of a bummer, particularly with the transatlantic fare.
I'm still mulling all this over, so I welcome this discussion. I may just have to try it out for a year or two and see how it actually works with my travel patterns.