Originally Posted by
emma dog
The only importance these fares have for DL is: 1) FIll seats that would otherwise go unsold, and 2) Act as a hook to get referrals from Google Flights for passengers to then say "nah... I want main" and then pay the additional fee. Re the "very little" that Main offers over Main... I won't fly without the seat assignment and guarantee I can travel with my cabin luggage. I won't fly middle seat for a flight that's more than an hour.
But your argument is missing the point: Delta doesn't really care if the passenger who buys Main Basic selects them over Spirit. They know that that passenger is flying the cheapest fare they can find. They'd rather take the passenger who will pay a little more... and they also really only want to "reciprocate" loyalty to someone who does this consistently. From Delta's perspective, the passenger that won't even pay for a seat assignment is a bargain basement flyer. It doesn't matter what you think about the fares.
That statement in bold right there...is the reason why I still earned miles from my DFW-SEA trip last Christmas. I did not earn miles from the trip, but IIRC Delta awarded me miles for paying to choose a seat. Not sure if they also awarded me miles for paying to check a bag (I'm pretty sure not).
I took Alaska on the way back, and I didn't earn any miles whatsoever whether from checking a bag or paying for a preferred seat.
Originally Posted by
emma dog
You’ve described yourself as a price sensitive shopper who is willing to select between several airlines. You’re not the customer Delta “wants” to have a loyalty relationship with. They believe your purchase patterns demonstrate that your business is interchangeable with millions of other people who are also shopping for the lowest fare among multiple carriers.
Let’s also acknowledge that Delta is a company, and companies have no feelings. Consumers feel loyalty. Companies take advantage of our feelings and get us to engage in behaviors that go against our self interest (pay more, fly undesirable routes or times, etc). You’re saying that you’re not willing to pay “a little extra” for the sake of a “relationship” with Delta. That’s totally reasonable. But that decision also comes with the intentional cost of Delta saying they don’t want to spend anything extra for the sake of having a relationship with you.
I think this is the essence of a "frequent flyer" program. In order to earn more benefits, you'll basically have to "pledge your allegiance" to an airline and fly with them or their partners, or shop using their/their partner's credit card. This is how I rack up miles very fast on United but didn't earn any PQP/PFP.
In my case, I let go of all non-US frequent flyer programs (including Krisflyer, ANA Mileage Club, etc.) and consolidate it to US-based programs. When the time comes and I want to rack PQP/miles/qualifying flights, I would just fly on their partner airline and maybe that specific airline on the domestic leg, so technically I'm trying to be loyal to an airline...without actually flying that airline too many times. If I merely only want to rack miles without PQP, I can just shop using a card or buy something from their partner, e.g. Delta SkyMiles with Lyft back then.
For instance: most of my Delta SkyMiles points were from Lyft and previous SkyTeam partner flights (KE, GA), 100% of my Atmos Rewards points were from Starlux, most of my MileagePlus points were from Chase and Star Alliance partner flights (ANA, TG), and most of my AAdvantage miles were from JAL and other OneWorld partner flights.