Originally Posted by
emma dog
The answer is "it depends". Are you comparing apples and oranges? E.g. nonstop on DL from ATL vs 1-stop on AA? What are the times and frequencies of each airline, etc.
I find value in DM. Tangible benefits include the C+ upgrade at booking and the Choice Benefits. One question that has to be evaluated when pricing out a RUC/GUC is "would I pay for F on this flight?" My answer is generally "yes." So my GUCs save me on average $8k-ish and my RUCs save me maybe $3k. It may be more. I don't place value on F upgrades since they're random and infrequent. I'm not sure how much better customer service is, and I'm not sure how to value it.
But as I posted in another thread, I have a trip coming up where the apples-to-apples comparison doesn't justify paying DL/AF/KL's 60% premium over the alternatives. The upside for me is I doubt this will make or break having DM next year... as we've also discussed a bunch, there isn't tangible benefit for having $28,001 MQDs.
There is a difference between choosing convenience and chasing status. I tend to non-stops where I can for obvious reasons. But if push comes to shove I am not above taking a layover to either save a great deal of money or get F for the same price as the nonstop. AA has some very attractive F fares out of DEN sometimes. I am absolutely going to have to layover, but I find the comfort worth the extra time. And DL sometimes has outstanding fares (although that is not as common). Again, layover. If I fly UA out of DEN I get the nonstop but I also get no upgrades or any appreciable value beyond arriving at the location.
If I flew on someone else's dime still, I would not care. I would only consider convenience to myself. If all travel comes out of an individual's bottom line it becomes a very different discussion.