sdix

The fierce loyalty I had to any one program is now in the past.

In the SF Bay area I have lots of choices so am not captive to any specific airline.

Therefore, I fly based on schedule. Since I am generally buying F or business tickets the "perks" of high status aren't required.

With this strategy I have been able to amass all the miles I need for redemption.

gigglypug

While I’m close to LAX and it’s many direct flights (on any carrier), it’s a SoCal close...in distance, not in time given the terrible traffic.

So I prefer to fly out of SNA, which means connecting through a hub for most flights and again on any carrier. Delta has no advantage or disadvantage over UA or AA for me.

Similarly, on price it’s a toss with some routes being more and other being less. Flying OPM (but only Y) and no routine destinations (other than domestic), again, no clear advantage.

Since I do want to pick a carrier and stick with them, it comes down to FFP, and there Delta now has the clear disadvantage.

So escape in progress, waiting for my UA CC, transfer my recurring bills, then cancel AMEX. Submit for match in December and start flying UA in January.

Ironic, since I JUST requalified for DM...

kar don

Yes I do agree 100%, DL handles IROPS absolutely the best and one of the things I miss on AA.

beachmouse

Eliminating mainline flights to Podunk Field in favor of all Delta Connection. I actually fired Delta once already over the (insert expletive then noun of choice) that was ASA in the early 00s, and only got pulled back over during the merger when things seemed to get better and VPS got more mainline.

remyontheroad

Basically, the way I figure it is that being a FF eliminates many of the infuriating things about modern air travel.

This is partly from being loyal to delta but also from being an experienced traveler and things like Global Entry/Precheck, which at $20/year is a no-brainer.)

When I travel - mostly TATL from JFK - I walk past long snakes of frazzled people and check bags with no (or minimal) lines, at no cost. I get through security relatively quickly and painlessly. I walk past the ...... newstands with the snacks and drinks that I very happily couldn't actually tell you the prices of anymore and go to a lounge with some amount of free food and drink and (usually) a seat with an outlet near it.

I then walk to the flight at my leisure, past a long line of people who are (absolutely rightly) tense and frustrated, and I take an almost always decent seat with a reasonable amount of legroom and off season and off peak (which I happen to have the freedom to choose) an empty seat next to me.

I could probably have a similar experience on any of the big three, but DL is the one that lets me do some of the heavy lifting for MQMs with my corporate Amex spend.. so the years where I might come up short, it still works.

Upgrades have become rarer, mileage earning has gotten anemic and lots of other devaluations have happened along the way, but until I see a better option I'll stick with the devil I know.

Lot's of this can be recreated buying premium tix, of course, but on TATL flights it's just not realistic.

Probably the major thing that would devalue it for me is the Amex waiver and MQM boost disappearing, but I still probably make at least gold every year if not Plat without it, so it wouldn't definitely be a deal breaker either.

Don't get me wrong. I recognize that not everyone has the flexibility I have, and I'm not saying there aren't things that are frustrating as heck about DL, but there's still a good ways to go before it becomes a dealbreaker.

ND76

Elimination of upgrades. As a practical matter, on any of the interesting flights (i.e., ATL-SFO, DTW-LAX, etc.), you have to be DM with an expensive coach bucket to have any chance of an upgrade if you don't have RUCs. I enjoy the comp upgrades on routes such as DCA-CVG, but if

I'll be 64 years old when I get demoted out of DM; I'll probably be PM in 2019, but will be GM in 2020.

I'll start looking around for the best FCM deals domestically (I may even try Spirit or Sun Country); internationally, I'll probably stick with SkyTeam because of being STE+ and lounge access.

SYRRDU

I am <60K from 2MM and haven't stepped on a DL plane in nearly two months... (this is my perspective) DL has had a bad year and they continue to fall below simple expectations, all but one flight this year was delayed, more missed connections this year than many years combined, poor IRROPS, poor CS, RDU staff is either new or tired, but all are disinterested, the continued loss of FF benefits...

DeltaFan4Now

Can you provide some illustrative examples of "Podunk Field"s that are served mainline the should be eliminated? I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just curious about your thesis.

beachmouse

I'm all for mainline to smaller airports, which is why Delta gets my local support. The extra $20-$30 it typically costs compared to the American Eagle option out of Podunk definitely is worth it to me both because the 717 or Mad Dog is a far more pleasant hard product, and when I've given the barbie jets a try (had some American gift cards to use up) the soft product made me realize the only difference between PSA and the late unlamented ASA is one letter in the name.

If my only option out of VPS is whoever is dba Delta Connection instead of mainline Delta service, then my local options are starting my travel day on one of three mediocre to poor regional airlines and Allegiant. So might as well get the cheapest non-Allegiant fare at that point.

kpbadger

I've done well on upgrades with strategic choices of travel dates (Tuesday-Saturday) and routes (DTW connections not ATL). I've appreciated the sky clubs (especially SFO) and decent on time performance. Service from the DM line has been good for the most part.

I travel just enough to maintain DM when coupled with the AmEx boosts and the waiver. My MQD for 2017 will end up around $8000. I'll be DM again next year but have no shot after that due to the waiver changes. So 2018 will be a mix of DL and other airlines with cheap FCM when I care, and 2019 will be free agent all the way with a handful of RUCs to burn. I may end up still as GM on DL (assuming it's not entirely revenue based by then) because the flights are better. Mid-2018 marks the end of sticking solely to DL as I have done in the past 3 years, since it'll be impossible for me to hit DM due to the effective elimination of the AmEx waiver.

Haven't decided about trying a status match next year because both AA and UA mostly connect through ORD from my home airport and that's not something I'd want to make a habit of.

jrl767

unless you’re dumping the AmEx as part of your move to free agency, I’m just curious why you don’t think DL PM is worthwhile ...

kpbadger

I will certainly be downgrading my reserve card probably to the DL platinum come renewal time, which is shortly for me. That will let me get the waiver to quality for PM next year (and 10k MQM are nice to have, but no longer necessary for me to qualify). I will no longer have reason or incentive to spend more than 25k on the card due to my ceiling being PM.

steveholt

You don't appear to have read my post, which doesn't say that I'm dissatisfied with Delta or whine in the slightest. It's asking what other peoples' breaking point is.

CAETravlr

I've been contemplating a switch for a long time, but the severity of the change to the waiver for DM may be it for me. I don't begrudge Delta's right to do that for the sake of making Diamond more elite, but by also making it so difficult to use the GUCs that come with it, it is no longer worth it. There are other carriers that make it a bit easier and significantly more rewarding to reach their top tier, and I am seriously weighing the pros and cons. There is a lot that I like about Delta, but I think keeping my PM status for this year and giving another carrier a try this coming year is going to be the game plan.

GrayAnderson

For me, the trigger for bailing on DL would be a significant mix of three things:
(1) A generalized decline of service quality (I'd argue that DL is the best of the large domestic carriers [DL, AA, UA, WN] as well as better than AS; I think and have long thought that VX was better, while B6 isn't quite comparable at the moment), probably including the demise of non-JFK-LAX/SFO domestic lie-flats;
(2) The collapse of the DL/VS partnership and nowhere else reasonable to get value off of DL flights; or
(3) A major expansion of B6's route network as well as providing an "actual" premium product on middle-distance routes (this doesn't need to be Mint but it would need to be roughly on par with Legacy carriers' domestic F).

Really, you'd probably need either all three in some fashion or a major version of #1/#2 alongside the emergence of some other substitute (UA/AA/WN don't work now; B6 is the obvious candidate, but there are some odd-and-end options I'd go with if they opened up (e.g. one of the major foreign carriers starts doing lots of fifth freedom stuff between either YUL/YYZ and LAX/SFO or WAS/NYC and YVR with accessible international J on that leg). DL has me at the moment because on balance they're the best major domestic airline in terms of their value proposition.

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As to ditching SkyMiles? While my relationship with DL is pretty tight at the moment, my relationship with SkyMiles is very much a transactional one. We'll see if I'm able to knock my way to Gold for 2019 (I should have no problem clearing 15 segments on a status match...I've probably got five lined up this weekend and a few more coming "naturally" over the next month or two). No Gold (or a loss of the SDC waiver at Gold)=back to external crediting, since most of the other benefits (and indeed, most of the Silver benefits) aren't terribly useful for me (even Crossover Rewards are of limited value).

I'm going to have to run the math on how far I'll get on this by April (when my VS account year resets; for me, VS Gold>DL Gold), but depending on what I do with credit cards I may only need to grab 30,000 MQMs for that (since IIRC I should be able to stack the 10k MQM sign-up bonus and the two 10k MQM spend bonuses). This should be feasible since I should be earning 150% of miles traveled on almost all travel; 20k miles traveled shouldn't be too hard; I can already count on 4-6 segments with probably somewhere around 4500 miles traveled off of one trip).