Skymiles are absolute worst
Sep 2, 2012, 1:25 pm
#46
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: 1/2 way between FNT,DTW
Programs: DL Plat, US Gold
Posts: 711
I have to mostly agree with this comment as well. In the pasy 12 months I have booked numerous low domestic first (HNL included from ATL at 85K) low international first with a HNL stopover, DTW-SEA-HNL stopover, HNL-MNL on HA, MNL-DTW on 747 with NGO layover for 120K. Got a last minute DTW-LAS this weekend for 35K, coach with gate upgrade Friday and first class home tomorrow morning on 11AM non stop flight. Yes, sometimes you need to be flexible, need to check partners, game the system by searching individual flights, but in the end, I almost always get what it is I am looking for on the days I want or at worst a day before or after what I was looking for.
Sep 2, 2012, 7:22 pm
#47
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 209
Which partners did you check and how did you check them? No one is claiming that using DL miles is easy, but if you were quoted 170K miles RT, it seems like you had medium/high DL across the Pacific plus maybe a partner flight intra-Asia. I'm very skeptical that anyone actually checked CZ or MU for the TPAC flights. You tend to have to spoon feed agents with flights and dates to find things.
Sep 3, 2012, 10:58 am
#48
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: DL GM
Posts: 640
That's not surprising, from what I've seen doing my searches for low BE inventory (TATL or TPAC), Delta only opens up 1 seat at a time. Once you search for 2 awards it's hopeless. I've never tried this, but you might consider booking one seat at low, and wait for them to potentially reset inventory and then book the other. I have no idea if they actually open up more low once the first one is sold.
Sep 3, 2012, 11:05 am
#49
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: LAX, SFO
Programs: Delta GM, Lifetime Marriott Platinum, Avis Preferred
Posts: 1,634
I have to mostly agree with this comment as well. In the pasy 12 months I have booked numerous low domestic first (HNL included from ATL at 85K) low international first with a HNL stopover, DTW-SEA-HNL stopover, HNL-MNL on HA, MNL-DTW on 747 with NGO layover for 120K. Got a last minute DTW-LAS this weekend for 35K, coach with gate upgrade Friday and first class home tomorrow morning on 11AM non stop flight. Yes, sometimes you need to be flexible, need to check partners, game the system by searching individual flights, but in the end, I almost always get what it is I am looking for on the days I want or at worst a day before or after what I was looking for.
+1, but it's a shame that ordinary folks who don't have the knowledge or miles we have on this board have to go through you know what just to get an award ticket at a decent redemption rate.
Sep 3, 2012, 12:01 pm
#50
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: United Mileage Plus Premier Executive, AmericanAdvantage Gold
Posts: 180
Deltas program is awful.mi would never fly them again due to this and other service reasons. I would stick to American or United for decent mileage programs in the US.
Sep 3, 2012, 12:02 pm
#51
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: USA
Programs: DL PM - IC RA - HHonors Gold - Hertz Gold - AA - US - CO - Choice Privileges
Posts: 1,678
In the end those with the skill set to navigate the loyalty programs will receive much greater benefits from the loyalty program.
Sep 3, 2012, 1:48 pm
#52
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: LAS
Programs: PA FT, TW Gold, NW/CO PE, VK Eagleflyer
Posts: 7,173
In the end, airlines with IT skills will provide the benefits of the loyalty program to their customers without making them "navigate" for them.
Sep 3, 2012, 4:44 pm
#53
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 5,292
Sep 3, 2012, 6:59 pm
#54
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: UA GS>1K>Nothing; DL DM 2MM; AS 75K>Nothing>MVP
Posts: 9,344
And.... in the end those with the brains to pick an airline with a decent loyalty program (i.e. anything other than SM) will receive much greater benefits.
Sep 3, 2012, 7:16 pm
#55
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: VPS
Programs: IHG Diamond, Delta PM, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 7,282
And there are those of us who are stuck living in places where Delta has 75% of the gates in a 150 mile radius. (Not a great time for us to move for assorted reasons.) Yeah, I'm less than thrilled with Sky Pesos, but not annoyed quite enough yet to end up having all my flights out of Florida be by way of Texas when the goal is to otherwise go north or east of here.
Sep 3, 2012, 7:41 pm
#56
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,099
Sep 3, 2012, 7:42 pm
#57
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: UA GS>1K>Nothing; DL DM 2MM; AS 75K>Nothing>MVP
Posts: 9,344
And there are those of us who are stuck living in places where Delta has 75% of the gates in a 150 mile radius. (Not a great time for us to move for assorted reasons.) Yeah, I'm less than thrilled with Sky Pesos, but not annoyed quite enough yet to end up having all my flights out of Florida be by way of Texas when the goal is to otherwise go north or east of here.
Sep 3, 2012, 8:20 pm
#58
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Planet Earth
Programs: | *G | STE | HGP ♦ | SPG Au | MR Au
Posts: 3,772
Oct 21, 2012, 11:23 am
#60
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: BZN
Programs: AA:LT Platinum DL:LT Gold UA:1P MAR:LT Titanium
Posts: 8,291
Internationally, Delta is indeed weak in most respects of both award redemption and elite perks (albeit there are some specific areas where they excel).
Domestically, where the vast majority of their revenue and routes are, they not only don't lag, but they truly are "best in class" in most respects. This is particularly true for mid-level and higher elites. Sure, they don't offer one-way awards. They also tend to be relatively weaker in far-in-advance bookings. But when you compare apples to apples (various ot-cited "studies" don't do this - they use a narrow scope), Delta excels. To see this, pick out a sufficiently random sample of routes and dates (both close-in and in advance). Search logged in as an elite for the various programs. See how many miles it takes, on average, to get a coach ticket. Be sure to factor in that on Delta, you can get confirmed first class upgrades much of the time within your upgrade window, and if you're Platinum or Diamond, will be upgraded 90%+ of the time regardless. Next, see what it costs to *acquire* the miles required. If you don't spend much on affinity credit cards or take part in various promotions, then Delta will lose some of its edge, but will still be about the cheapest. However, if you use branded credit cards and utilize various promotions, only US comes anywhere close to Delta's cost of mile acquisition.