4 upon hitting silver, 4 for each 10K miles flown after that (gold also gets 4 additional when hitting 50K and then 8 for each additional 10K) in a given calendar year. You can purchase additonal points if needed with miles or cash.

Points can be used for any flight segment up to 800 miles or combined for longer segments. They are only valid on domestic flights plus flights to/from Canada, Bermuda, the Carribean and Mexico. They can't be used on the famous LUser fares (the lowest two tiers in DL's fare structure).

Plats can confirm upgrades using segment points any time; gold within 72 hours of the flight time; and silver within 24 hours of the flight time.

For all elite tiers, you get 2 of these when you reach 40K miles in a calendar year and 2 additional for each 20K miles in that same year.

They are good for the same destinations and fare classes as the 800 mile segment upgrades. Their advantages over the 800 mile segment upgrades are that you can use them to upgrade a companion (must be travelling with you) and can be confirmed at the time of booking.

I'm a new silver on DL and have been focusing my optional travel on requalifying for NW silver for next year since I hit 25K on DL. Ergo, I've not tried to use my upgrade points and am probably not as qualified to comment. But since I come out of a DL hub, I doubt I'll have many chances to use the segment upgrades due to too much competition from my home airport. I'd probably only be able to use them on biz trips anyway since my personal travel habits are to use lower fares (the difference in price for an upgradeable fare compared to an L or U fare out of a DL hub is usually quite significant).

The upgrades aren't automated, of course, since you have to decide when you want to use them and then request them (on the plus side, you can do this via the web). Other than the possibility of getting companion upgrades as a silver, the program falls far short of NW's automated, unlimited space available upgrades. Also, because I don't fly out of an NW hub, I am usually upgraded; most of the flights ex-CVG are ARJs.

NW sent me one of those temp silver combined with a challenge targeted promos and I've done all of my discretionary travel this year with them, so I guess it worked. I also had the good fortune of having CO flights for some of my biz travel. And you can best bet that when I have a choice (similar pricing) between NW/partners and DL for biz, I'll be choosing NW.

Nothing against DL. As I said in the buzz thread, I do love the service I've always gotten from DL and for some routes, they're the best game in town. But in the position I'm in now, I'm most likely to end up silver (or maybe gold if the pricing works to allow me to send ALL my biz travel to one airline). So I have to go with the airline that will give me the most bang for the miles I fly.

I love flying so much that I envy the folks who can fit in 100K a year. I'm working full time in a position with a small bit of international travel, but I am also working toward a degree in night school on the side, so I couldn't increase my travel just yet even if my employer weren't consciously cutting back. But it is my hope to be a top tier level flier as part of my career once school is over. And you can bet that if NW is still doing so well by me, I'll still be doing so well by NW.

Holly

(edited: never confuse "few" with "many" )



[This message has been edited by HollyHP (edited 12-06-2001).]