Currently, I have miles with United, AA, and US. It seems like the low hanging fruit available is with Delta, as I can easily get 30K miles with a credit card of only 1K of spend.

However, I do not even know if it is worth it for me to do it. The program seems to have some value since I can redeem one-way flights, but I am really having a difficult time seeing how to actually get the reward tickets at a reduced rate (the low tier amounts)

Most likely, the 30K miles would go towards a trip to Europe.

Should I even bother with Delta?

The answer to your question lies with Delta.dumb.

Assume you have 200k SkyMiles, and then go to Delta's risible website and try to book an award flight to somewhere other than Augusta.

Compare this experience, and your options on alliance partners, to AA or UA.

There is a reason why Delta comes in at the bottom of frequent flyer surverys - an inflated currency coupled with the best IT that the 1990s had to offer is a heady brew.

Remember that one-way redemptions don't kick in until 2015, so the results you're seeing now will still be RT prices, even for one-way bookings.

While many complain that it takes more DL miles to get anything worthwhile (and usually, it does), it's also quite a bit easier to rack up DL RDMs if you look in the right places.

well, it seems like it is easy to get to Paris in January.

Yes..

Having 30,000 miles in any program may be useful. I might need to make a last minute trip this weekend. Flights for my route are $900 in coach but only 25,000 miles round trip.

I agree. I only fly UA 2-4 times a year, so I put my Hilton double dip points in there to supplement those. That way if I ever need a one way or round trip and can't get something on DL, I have points on UA.

I have enough DL points and enough Hilton points so this seems to be a good way to do it.

Short answer: No.

Then again, I'm no fan of collecting credit cards for signup bonuses. And Skymiles has been devalued to virtually worthless.

I'm not much for airline credit cards and feel that hotel cards offer better value. However, there is certainly some value to 30k DL miles. I would also note that the gap between DL and AA on availability has closed substantially, primarily owing to a worsening availability situation among OW airlines. I can't speak much to UA, as I have little interest in flying UA.

If I were looking for an airline credit card, I would consider the BA card. The mileage bonuses are pretty decent and Avios can deliver pretty solid value for short-haul (both US and Europe), as well as upgrades on BA metal.

I hope so.

It is simple to earn delta status and miles. They hand them out like candy. I fly 100% for leisure. I have diamond status thanks to Amex. I use both companion certificates I earn with Amex on expensive transcons that are now not upgrade eligible or for two travel companions to keep me upgrade eligible.

As far as miles, I flew JFK-gru rountrip for 100k. It was great. I just cashed in 640k for four seats in business: JFK-lax-syd (stop)-akl (destination) per (open jaw)-Mel-lax-JFK. I already have another 200k.

I appreciate the SPG crossover rewards. I've gotten some decent upgrades already with "plus" and I'm now gold with them.

I earn most of miles through credit card spend, and I churn non Amexes.

Delta's booking process is a pain, but if you know the rules and are flexible, it's just fine.

As an aside, is your Australia trip on DL or Virgin?

I'll be looking to book something similar for Mrs. Lee and me next year.

Virgin. It was actually pretty simple. I found all segments effortlessly on DL's site. It seemed like the virgin inventory opened up a few days later than delta's 331. I booked all four seats on the same flight. And I went back to check and there were still more low seats! PM if/when you need help booking.

Such as? For MQMs sure, but other than anecdotal evidence that miles get thrown around like candy as compensation, what scheme is there that other programs don't have? Certainly not credit cards, hotels or rental cars. Not shopping portals or other retail partners. They all have those. I see this asserted periodically, but I'm just not certain upon what it is based.

Excellent! I have quite a bit more FT reading to do, but what little I've seen so far indicates that Virgin availability seems to be quite good. Thanks for the offer for help - you may see a PM from me in a couple months when we start planning.

I'll admit my opinion is skewed since 95% of my flying is on DL, so that's where I look hardest for the promos and deals.

But it seems to me that:
- The CS recovery miles as you noted
- DL-branded CCs are easier to churn, esp. when you consider the stable of biz Amexes you can keep
- Elite RDM bonuses are similar to AA but better than UA; MQM rollover helps you keep your elite bonuses
- While targeted, if you do get hit with one of DL's double mileage promos is often a goldmine
- SPG Crossover - Has been quite good to me, much moreso than just crediting hotel stays to DL

And at the macro level, without any numbers to back me up (so I admit I could be wrong), the feeling of the sheer size of the DL-Amex relationship indicates that Amex has piles and piles of DL miles to hand out. All those miles have to go somewhere, right?