Smitie

Hi there,

Would appreciate any thoughts/advice on this:

I've moved to US from Europe (Denver specifically - a United hub). I've had Platinum status with AF since 2005 and based on the rollover of level miles earned to date, I should get lifetime status either this year or next.

So...having tried unsuccessfully to get longhaul award flights ex DEN recently using my AF miles, I am considering opening a Delta Skymiles account (according to AF, Delta doesn't provide many free seats for their members). Since I travel to Europe in business approx 8-10 times a year reaching Delta Gold or Platinum should be do-able. But...is this a smart move or should I keep earning miles on the AF program?

Thanks in advance!

DLMIAHVF

IMHO, you're better off going with United, and taking your int'l travel to Europe to Star Alliance... I'm a Delta GM and can never find good service into Denver compared to UA or Frontier... given that you are a HVF who flies Business Class, you'll want a legacy airline... I don't like United, but seems by far like your best option unless you're specifically flying to France all the time. Obvs you want to get your lifetime status on AF but what will that get you if they don't fly where you live?

I'd say go for a status match with UA... they status match with DL... not sure if they do with AF but call up and explain what your flying plans for the year are, and if they're smart they'll match you to Premier Gold... more info here:

http://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps...0D44FEF99C2BFC

Smitie

Thanks for the quick reply DLMIAHVF!

Would I be right in presuming your advice to go with United would be the same regardless of me being Gold status with Lufthansa? I've found that getting award tickets ex DIA using LH miles is also a rarity.

Thanks

HatAndJacket

If you fly Lufthansa and especially if u have status with them, that bodes well with u and United b/c Lufthansa and United are *Alliance partners... you should be able to use United Miles on LH awards

irishguy28

Given that you're so close to achieving lifetime platinum - which gives you perks on all Skyteam carriers, including Delta - don't you consider it worthwhile sticking with Flying Blue for the next year or so?

Once you have attained your lifetime status which will be recognised by all Skyteam members, then you can consider if putting your Skyteam miles in a new SkyMiles account is better for you than continuing with Flying Blue. But, at least, you will always have Skyteam status thanks to your Flying Blue account.

Oxymore

Just three thoughts: LH *G won't get you economy plus on United, so keep that in mind if you ever fly in Y.
Flying Blue earnings for J aren't that bad - and sometimes better than Skymiles, and I second the idea that it would be a pity not to achieve lifetime platinum
Finally, you might want to look at the changes DL announced this morning for the 2015 Skymiles program, which will become revenue-based.

HatAndJacket

DL sky miles is massively changing for the worst as of last night... stay FAR away from delta

irishguy28

It just brings it closer to what Flying Blue already is. If you think this is a reason to move to FB from SkyMiles then you are sorely mistaken!!!!!!

(For those FB denizens that haven't heard - earning on SkyMiles changes from Jan 1 to be more in sync with the money paid for the ticket - in fact, the earning is completely decoupled from the actual distance (as far as I have understood it) and will instead be expressed as a multiple of the actual price paid for the ticket. The multiplier will be much larger for premium cabins (or for more expensive economy classes, perhaps?) than for cheap economy fares.

So while it is expressed in a completely different way, it sort of mimics the Flying Blue effect of having 25%/50%/75%/100%/200% earning rates, etc etc...

Gajan

Indeed, there is a long thread on the topic in the Delta forum: already nearing 40 pages (!)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...ay-awards.html

mmichael453

Yeah, when we panic on the Delta board, we do it right.

DEN is hard as it's a UA hub. That's the bad news. The good news is there are 7 flights a day from DEN to ATL on DL, and also flights on UA, NW, and F9. Once you are in ATL, there are three daily flights from ATL to AMS on DL or KLM plus some number on AF to Paris. DL also flies to a number of other European destinations, but getting DL awards might always be a problem.

So, if you can stomach Y from DEN to ATL, you could just buy Y tickets to connect to KL award travel in ATL (assuming you can plan far enough in advance to snag award tickets). At least until you get lifetime platinum.

It looks like from DEN there is only the one daily flight (on LH) direct to FRA, and one daily (on BA) to LHR. Everything else requires stopping at another US gateway, so there may not be a ton of advantage with anyone else.

3Cforme

People buying business class tickets will actually earn a lot more miles in 2015. It's the people buying deeply discounted coach tickets long haul who suffer.

For U.S. originating itineraries to Europe, DL does not charge AF/KL's 'fuel surcharges'. Nor are there these surcharges for awards on any DL-operated flight.

Smitie

Thanks all for the inputs.

Regarding lifetime platinum with FB, I should achieve that regardless in 2015 as my travel in 2013 ensures that I've sufficient miles to rollover and achieve Platinum both this year and next. I definitely wanted to ensure I'd that done before considering a switch.

So in summary from above, looks like I should check my earning potential on Delta with business class fares under their new Skymiles structure, and in tandem, check whether United will do me any favors if I switch my business to them...

Gajan

Please note that to benefit from roll over level miles in each year you need to make at least 1 flight in a mileage earning booking class (otherwise no roll-over even if you have earned the miles in a previous year).

Mwenenzi

Is the move to USA permanent?

Also consider Alaska. Has many partners, including Delta, AA, KLM & AirFrance
http://www.alaskaair.com/content/mil...ePlan-partners

Having status/miles with another alliance/non alliance airline can be better than having dual status/miles in the same alliance

Other "which FFP" threads
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/star-...post-here.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...help-here.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html

Smitie

@Gajan - thanks; wasn't aware of that

and yes, the move to the US is permanent...whether Denver will be the final stop is another question!