Who is with me on moving to AA.
 

I am ready to move with my wallet and not just with my posts.Who is up for moving their loyalty to AA from delta. This is my thought. I am a diamond with delta. I am willing to status challenge to AA to platinum level.

I think if we can get enough diamonds to transfer to AA we may be able to negotiate a better deal. Discuss....

“Loyalty” should not be the primary reason for travel. Cost, convenience and amenities are only some of the factors which I believe are more important in terms of choosing a flight which is right for you.

I am really not sure that Delta Air Lines will miss any Diamond Medallion — or any other elite level status members — who migrate to a different airline as a main airline. The reason is chiefly due to the billions of dollars in ancillary fees which comprise a significant portion of its revenue...

...and guess what? It is not the Medallion elite level status members who are paying those fees — regardless of how many thousands of dollars of spend they contribute to the revenue of Delta Air Lines annually in terms of airfare, which I would guess pales in comparison.

Let’s face it: frequent fliers comprise only a small percentage of the customer base of Delta Air Lines; and before the advent of ancillary fees, contributed a larger portion of the revenue.

Of course, I may be incorrect; but that is simply my opinion.

I wish you all of the best with your new choice in airlines, Esltroy.

If you aren't already aware, if/when you challenge on AA, make sure that you understand that an AA status challenge is based on Elite Qualifying POINTS, not Elite Qualifying Miles (and not Elite Qualifying Segments), and that you understand how AA calculates EQPs based on the fare you've purchased.

I tried but AA wouldn't match my status.

I certainly prefer AA to DL with regards to earning FF miles. I fly about 90% using FF miles, or Jumbos of one sort or another. So I go wherever it makes the most sense comfort-wise and dollar-wise.

As I've said for years, the airline business is cyclical. I stuck with NW through thick and thin, until the merger was announced. It quickly became obvious that someone else was driving the bus after that, so I booked everything I could using miles while they still had real value.

I didn't buy a DL revenue ticket for years. I finally got to the point that I'd buy tickets if they were the cheapest and most convenient.

One day DL will be hurting for customers. I have a long memory, though, and doubt that I'd ever be loyal to DL. Of course, I expect AA to downgrade their program too. It's the nature of the beast these days. I hope they aren't as weaselly as DL.

AA only requires 100K miles instead of 125K for top tier and they certainly treat their top tier a lot better. I forget if they get six or eight GU's a year that can be used internationally as opposed to four on Delta and they have a lot more inventory they can be used on. If an EP gets stuck in coach they get free drinks and food like sandwiches (I'd love for Delta to do that).

Unfortunately for me being Detroit based it is too difficult to switch to AA. I have too many non-stops here and hate the thought of connecting at ORD on most of my flights. There's also no Admirals lounge at DTW.

If I lived in a city like Chicago or LA or NYC where AA had a decent presence I would switch in a heartbeat

I didn't go the match route but have moved my legacy business to AA. It isn't the easiest thing to do from ATL, but with US they have a bit more presence and options, and I've flown non-DL carriers before at high status by feasting off things like hub-attack fares. Am 100% self-funded and mostly leisure.

Am closing in on gold, which is the low tier. If I dump the ULCCs and align everything with AA I can go up a level and get more into the benefits. OTOH, with Spirit I was in a feedback loop where award tickets at their off-peak time were easily funded via miles from only credit-card spend. They're a different animal, though, and the bag limits, cramped seats and late flights are causing fatigue. Still, sometimes it's hard to lay off a RT of around $50-60 at their very lowest-demand points, and the old method of minimizing CPM on the legacies had a bias toward longer hauls, so after years of that, some of the places for short hauls hadn't been visited in a while.

This is 100% correct. With today's airline market(ie controlled capacity), filling seats isn't a issue as long as you provide a competitive in-flight experience(Delta and all the legacy carriers do, Spirit is close)

By Devaluing their FFP, Delta is actually avoiding adverse selection. The least valuable customers in terms of benefit consumption will leave Delta. This benefits them. Since the seats will get filled(as long as the price is competitive), they don't care. The additional marginal revenue isn't worth a better FFP.

I don't like it, but it is what is it.

Several other DL vs ?? in the linked posts here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...help-here.html

Frequent Flyer Programs (FFP) are not equal.
1 (one) mile/point of FFP’s are not equal (just like currencies)
Each airline FFP can have different benefits from status.
Each airline FFP has different rules for earning and retaining status.
Each airline FFP has different rules for earning miles/points.
Each airline FFP has different rules to stop miles/points from expiring.
Each airline FFP has different rules for using (burning) those miles/points for awards and different copay $$ fees.
Each airline FFP has different rules for upgrades & different copay $$ fees.
Each airline FFP has different rules for lounge access (own & other airlines)

The grass is not always greener over the fence

Good luck in your negotiations. Keep us appraised.

Let's see how AA shakes out after the complete integration of the two FF programs.

If I were a betting man I doubt the frequent flyer will be the big winner when it is all said and done.

I am Plat on AA as an FYI (could be EXP but prefer to be 75K on AS first then finish the year on AA).

As a long time NW / DL FF and having moved over to AA 2.5 years ago I can tell you that there are some things AA does better (the 8 SWUs are a real nice benefit) and some things DL does better. I've moved away from being loyal to any one airline because none of them care about your loyalty. I take the best combination of fare and convenience I can find these days. The big wild card for anyone considering a switch is what AA's FF program will look like when the dust settles next year. My guess is that it will look more like DL's but that's just one persons WAG...:)

OP: You might want to verify that they are doing status matches right now...

This.

I've heard rumors that AA isn't doing status matches for DL/UA right now. I suppose they want to limit all the low value customers watering down their program (more) before they can change it. The best part is that once they do that: all the LVCs will come rushing back to DL/UA...with no status...

I was forced to move to AA or UA last year when I switched jobs. DL from MSP is way too expensive to be within policy on a regular basis. I have been very happy with UA. They don't handle irrops as well as DL, and there seem to be a few more of them, but the phone support is superior with every call I make. It isn't dependent on lucky on call centers. I get as many upgrades as gold on UA that I did as Platinum on DL. One of the best benefits I've come to realize is the partner network. Having Star Gold while travelling international means access to great lounges. That is important to me. UA is slowly getting their act together, by copying DL on a lot of things. Hopefully they don't copy the horrible "partner network" that is SkyTeam.

All that said, I say go to AA. I've heard some rumblings from AA elites, but you get that from any airline. Don't worry about being "hub captive". I say that is a term that only applies if you are too lazy for an extra flight and thus fewer elite miles.

I am thinking about it but for different reasons. I fly DAY-MAN monthly (approx). ATL-MAN was switched to VS metal. JFK-MAN was added but it is a nightmare to get to JFK from DAY -I still have to go via ATL or DTW or even MSP. So for me it is about schedule. I actually want to be loyal to Delta.

Seriously - not even to Plat (I do not expect Exec Plat)?

Wow - if true that does make a difference.