thanks for the input... Yes, I do fly into MXP. AZ is so iffy these days that I'm afraid to buy a 50-day advance purchase ticket and end up at the airport as I did with Pan Am in '91... even though non-stop is quite convenient. I had DL Platinum for some time and found that to be close to useless (no expanded availability, upgrades never available to Europe...)
The question I guess would be, does AF treat its Platinum members well? Is there a benefit to AF vs NW Plat as a US resident only traveling to Europe?