Just observing that SEA (and many other west coast cities) are competitive markets with long segment distances, and there are very few routes from here where SkyMiles 2015 is attractive for any elite flying coach, on average, period.

Delta's fares, as they always are, are calibrated to what they believe maximizes profit. I would neither accuse them of being too low or too high - I think they are just reflective of what happens in one of the few markets left with substantial competition from a viable full service network carrier other than the Big Three.

To gooselee's point as to why this thread and data is relevant - in my mind, it's because Delta is heavily marketing SkyMiles 2015 as rewarding high fare business travelers - but geography and competition means that's much more likely to be true for passengers on the eastern seaboard. Isn't discussion with data in line with the spirit of FlyerTalk helping fellow travelers maximize rewards by making smart decisions? In some of the ex- SEA markets, you even actually earn more miles on DL if you fly Alaska than by flying DL's own metal... that is a concrete change we can choose to make based on a careful analysis of earned rewards.