PremEx --
My apologies. I certainly didn't mean to offend you; since you usually post primarily on the UA board, I (wrongly) assumed you were offering your opinions about DL without actually flying DL. Again, my apologies, and, of course you have every right to criticize your/our program (God knows, there's lots to criticize
).
As a DL PM and a UA 1K, however, I believe that the DL program is slightly better (for now), for the same reasons I posted above (free lounge access, unlimited upgrade certs, and no 100-hour rule on the upgrade), none of which are offered by UA.
Yes, to be fair, I manage to upgrade most of the time on UA (although I've been unable to attain your 100% rate), and they often don't take my upgrade certs (we'll see how this changes when they go electronic).
BUT, I manage to upgrade 100% of the time on DL (probably because I can do it at time of booking), and there's NEVER any certs to deal with (because they're not required). Plus, FREE access to both the UA RCC and the DL CR.
Granted, DL's program is declining. Fast. And United's has remained unchanged for several years. So, yes, looking at the trends, DL's VIP-elite levels will be at the same level (or lower) than other airlines'. Delta is destroying the one asset/perk where it has a clear and definite advantage over other airlines. I believe it will soon be "just like one of the others", including UA.
Just MHO. Thanks (and sorry, again, PremEx).