Delta jumps Europe business class LEVEL 1 awards to 70,000 OW
#61
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: PIT
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Seriously?!?!?
Why does ANYONE want to attain DM status?
1) UGs. I fly on the absolute CHEAPEST Y (X & V) tix possible, or I don't go. My UG % is probably 90%.
2) SkyPriority handling at every airport I transit.
3) SkyClub membership & GLOBAL partner lounge benefits. THIS is truly amazing!
4) PreCheck (I never applied for it)
5) GUCs
6) SDC benefits - published and unpub'd
7) Waivers granted nearly every time I had a crisis.
8) Unparalleled IROPS handling.
9) Lightning fast priority DM line phone service and handling.
10) Treatment that feels truly over & above when things happen. I could list things, but there are way too many!
I'm SURE there are dozens of other reasons that I can't think of right now. Also, I'll be hitting 2MM sometime next year.
I'm hoping that they maintain theLIFETIME ANNUAL GM status for 2MM, so that when I retire, and my travel is decreased, I can at least be GM / STE+.
My travel is all for fun - NEVER business, so, I pay for cheap tix to go where I want to go. As I get older, my travel will be slowing down, so, as I get closer to retirement, which will surely mean less income, I figure that my miles will take care of any travel I want to do down the road for free.
Why does ANYONE want to attain DM status?
1) UGs. I fly on the absolute CHEAPEST Y (X & V) tix possible, or I don't go. My UG % is probably 90%.
2) SkyPriority handling at every airport I transit.
3) SkyClub membership & GLOBAL partner lounge benefits. THIS is truly amazing!
4) PreCheck (I never applied for it)
5) GUCs
6) SDC benefits - published and unpub'd
7) Waivers granted nearly every time I had a crisis.
8) Unparalleled IROPS handling.
9) Lightning fast priority DM line phone service and handling.
10) Treatment that feels truly over & above when things happen. I could list things, but there are way too many!
I'm SURE there are dozens of other reasons that I can't think of right now. Also, I'll be hitting 2MM sometime next year.
I'm hoping that they maintain the
I think there's a difference between "saving for a rainy day" (such as the example in that thread) and "hoarding". If you just hoard, what you may find is that what you "saved" by having that large balance when you "needed" it, you still lost due to mileage inflation and all those times you chose to pay a cash ticket instead of using miles when the miles were valued a little higher.
#62
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#63
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: HNL
Programs: DL PM/1MM, BW DE (lifetime), HH DE, Marriott PE (lifetime), National Emerald Executive
Posts: 7,195
Just what I was going to say.
Flying the best price/schedule/aircraft/service (whatever matters the most) will be more rewarding than just flying one airline/alliance. In terms of mileage earning also. E.g. with UA, spend $2500 earn 50,000 miles on top of normal 5x of spend (promo available to practically everyone since spring). Many fold higher earnings than with DL as a DM. As a nobody still treated better than a DM at DL, where every res./CS agent is clearly on a mission to impress. Fly on AA on their new aircraft and much better food than DL. Mix in some B6, AS, VX, etc. That's the way to go. And it'll save $ also. It's all win and practically nothing to lose.
In terms of miles, service, and keeping travel interesting (not always the same), that's the way to go and much more rewarding. IMO, at least.
Flying the best price/schedule/aircraft/service (whatever matters the most) will be more rewarding than just flying one airline/alliance. In terms of mileage earning also. E.g. with UA, spend $2500 earn 50,000 miles on top of normal 5x of spend (promo available to practically everyone since spring). Many fold higher earnings than with DL as a DM. As a nobody still treated better than a DM at DL, where every res./CS agent is clearly on a mission to impress. Fly on AA on their new aircraft and much better food than DL. Mix in some B6, AS, VX, etc. That's the way to go. And it'll save $ also. It's all win and practically nothing to lose.
In terms of miles, service, and keeping travel interesting (not always the same), that's the way to go and much more rewarding. IMO, at least.
#64
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: PIT
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Posts: 15,408
I do mix it up - a little, when possible . . . .
I fly WN occasionally. B6 only flies from PIT to BOS or FLL.
I flew Frontier recently. RyanAir in Europe.
AS & VX nowhere near me.
I have 670K miles on UA (mostly leftover from CO days), so, I use them occasionally, but sparingly.
Bottom line, as I see it: For UGs from cheap Y tix, and overall best treatment, DL is my best bet.
I fly WN occasionally. B6 only flies from PIT to BOS or FLL.
I flew Frontier recently. RyanAir in Europe.
AS & VX nowhere near me.
I have 670K miles on UA (mostly leftover from CO days), so, I use them occasionally, but sparingly.
Bottom line, as I see it: For UGs from cheap Y tix, and overall best treatment, DL is my best bet.
Last edited by davetravels; Aug 31, 2016 at 9:08 pm
#65
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: HNL
Programs: DL PM/1MM, BW DE (lifetime), HH DE, Marriott PE (lifetime), National Emerald Executive
Posts: 7,195
I do mix it up - a little, when possible . . . .
I fly WN occasionally. B6 only flies from PIT to BOS or FLL.
I flew Frontier recently. RyanAir in Europe.
AS & VX nowhere near me.
I have 670K miles on UA (mostly leftover from CO days), so, I use them occasionally, but sparingly.
Bottom line, as I see it: For UGs from cheap Y tix, and overall best treatment, DL is my best bet.
I fly WN occasionally. B6 only flies from PIT to BOS or FLL.
I flew Frontier recently. RyanAir in Europe.
AS & VX nowhere near me.
I have 670K miles on UA (mostly leftover from CO days), so, I use them occasionally, but sparingly.
Bottom line, as I see it: For UGs from cheap Y tix, and overall best treatment, DL is my best bet.
And for domestic upgrades, yes, for now, it makes sense...until DL takes it away.. and take it away DL shall, I believe, it's only a matter of when...if not officially then in practice, with C+ "upgrades" replacing F upgrades I'd suspect in the not too distant future.
#66
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Join Date: May 2005
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I see. Then for you DL may be indeed the best strategy, coupled with a good mixing it up once in a while to keep it interesting.
And for domestic upgrades, yes, for now, it makes sense...until DL takes it away.. and take it away DL shall, I believe, it's only a matter of when...if not officially then in practice, with C+ "upgrades" replacing F upgrades I'd suspect in the not too distant future.
And for domestic upgrades, yes, for now, it makes sense...until DL takes it away.. and take it away DL shall, I believe, it's only a matter of when...if not officially then in practice, with C+ "upgrades" replacing F upgrades I'd suspect in the not too distant future.
WN now has a nonstop to LA. (I LUUUV LA! )
It's currently offered for $104 each way! That's pretty amazing! BUT - - -
Where will I end up sitting for 5 hours?!? On DL, I book months in advance, so, I ALWAYS get to choose the BEST Y / C+ seats. and, of course, the possible UG. So, when I find CHI/LAX for around $140~160 - (I'm in CHI monthly) - I start a multi-city trip plan!
So, flying DL, I'll have access to SkyClubs at ORD/HUB/LAX. SP services. PreCheck . . . yada yada!
On WN, I'm a nuthin'!
#68
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Join Date: May 2005
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One more thing.....
I really didn't mean to hijack this thread.....
On my semi-frequent trips to Berlin, I luv my stopovers in Paris and Amsterdam. Sometimes, even just 23 hours between flights. My August trip, I stopped in AMS overnight in 1 direction, and CDG on the way back. Luv both!
My buddy, a UA nut, tries to get me to convert. I tell him....
Where will my stopover points be? Boring FRA? MUC? Nah.
I really didn't mean to hijack this thread.....
On my semi-frequent trips to Berlin, I luv my stopovers in Paris and Amsterdam. Sometimes, even just 23 hours between flights. My August trip, I stopped in AMS overnight in 1 direction, and CDG on the way back. Luv both!
My buddy, a UA nut, tries to get me to convert. I tell him....
Where will my stopover points be? Boring FRA? MUC? Nah.
#69
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS
Posts: 15,027
One more thing.....
I really didn't mean to hijack this thread.....
On my semi-frequent trips to Berlin, I luv my stopovers in Paris and Amsterdam. Sometimes, even just 23 hours between flights. My August trip, I stopped in AMS overnight in 1 direction, and CDG on the way back. Luv both!
My buddy, a UA nut, tries to get me to convert. I tell him....
Where will my stopover points be? Boring FRA? MUC? Nah.
I really didn't mean to hijack this thread.....
On my semi-frequent trips to Berlin, I luv my stopovers in Paris and Amsterdam. Sometimes, even just 23 hours between flights. My August trip, I stopped in AMS overnight in 1 direction, and CDG on the way back. Luv both!
My buddy, a UA nut, tries to get me to convert. I tell him....
Where will my stopover points be? Boring FRA? MUC? Nah.
#70
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Join Date: May 2005
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Posts: 15,408
#73
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Whenever these increases happen, there are ALWAYS posts saying, that flyers are glad they burned their miles, when the rates were low. I say the opposite! I have, what I consider to be a HUGE balance, from back when earning lots of miles was easy. . . .
...
That said, I feel that, when there ARE increases like this, I'll still be able to fly for free, when others will have burned their balances...
...
That said, I feel that, when there ARE increases like this, I'll still be able to fly for free, when others will have burned their balances...
Last edited by javabytes; Sep 1, 2016 at 3:30 pm Reason: Math is hard
#74
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Join Date: May 2005
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This is not making sense to me. Let's say we both earned a million miles back in the days when "earning lots of miles was easy." Back then, a TATL flight in J was 100k round trip. Perhaps I got 5 trips in at that level before the increase to 125k. Then after that, continued to burn my miles and got 4 more before my stash of miles was exhausted. You, on the other hand, banked your miles. If you didn't spend any, you're now only able to get, at most, 7 TATL trips out of your million miles after the increase on 1/1. True, you have miles left and I don't. But I have already gotten 43% more out of my miles than it is even possible for you to get today... and the gap only widens as award prices increase. I don't see how you are better off for having saved those miles.
But, if I used miles for any more big trips, I wouldn't have been able to maintain PM, and ultimately DM status. Does that make any sense?
So, it's a constant struggle to try to maintain status, and also get the best value out of my miles, and fly where I want to go.
#75
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: CPT,AMS
Posts: 4,409
And even with ~400 for a r/t, it is still nothing compares to what a paid J ticket SFO/LAX/JFK would otherwise cost you, probably one of the best routes for award redemptions.