Some interesting changes, a lot of them too. I was surprised to see the vast number of changes.

Medallion Qualification: Some big changes here, and of course, it's a hit to Medallion members who mostly fly on LUT fares. It's an attempt to generate additional revenue, and as such, definitely rewards full fares and premium cabin pax. I was surprised that they took out the qualification by segments. With the RPU guarding segment enhancers (i.e. triple/quadruple connects cross country), I figured they would still allow qualification by segments, at the very least, qualification by full fare segments (like NW will be doing starting 2003). In a few years, this will also weed out the ranks of Medallion members. My question here is whether or not Medallion Qualification Miles will have a minimum of 250 miles.

Upgrades: The PM upgrade changes are quite severe. DL did have a very favorable program with unlimited confirmed upgrades at time of booking. As mentioned, this basically offered PMs first class at K fares. I was expecting that either the unlimited upgrades or the confirmed at time of booking would go, but I am very surprised both were taken away.
Upgrades certainly have been made a lot chinchier, and now matches AA and UA's programs. The difference of course is the time of confirmation. It's still time of booking for full fares, but day of departure for ULT fares. It's also interesting as it appears that mileage upgrades will be available on all fares (including ULT) in North America, at least for Medallion members, starting Jan 1, 2004. I wonder if this will be available for regular SkyMiles members. Now that all fares will be upgradeable again, does this mean Delta has come to realize that not offering upgrades on LUT fares does not make most Medallions buy K+ fares? Are they conceding on the upgrade front and choosing instead to go after the status mile front? It should be interesting to see just how many Medallion members will buy K+ (or even M+) fares for the status miles.

Additional Rewards: I think these changes were quite original, even if they are taken from other programs. They are original from a US FF program standpoint. The Million Miler program is a nice change, especially for those who have already flown a lot on DL.
The new incentive levels are quite interesting in that it allows for gifting of status (like BA) or a carry over of status miles. It's quite inventive, in my opinion, as it does give a lot of flexibility in terms of the time frame to earn status.
I also liked the option of earning 5000 SkyMiles instead of upgrades at each 10000 mile threshold. This is essentially a 50% extra elite bonus and would be quite useful for international members, and premium cabin passengers, or those who don't neccessarily want to upgrade. My question regarding to this whether or not this option can be changed. That is, can I choose to earn the 50% bonus in 2004 but earn upgrades in 2005?

Overall, I can't say whether or not I like or dislike these changes. On the one hand, I will be able to upgrade on any fare (or get more SkyMiles). On the other hand, medallion qualification is now twice as hard.

As for other carriers matching these changes, with so few days left in 2002, I can't imagine another carrier announcing such sweeping changes before the year is out. I would imagine that most carriers would watch the reception of these changes first and then re-evaluate the changes for implmentation in Jan 2004 or at the earliest the middle of 2003.

[This message has been edited by keithguy (edited 12-11-2002).]