Pivoting from Flying Blue to Sky Miles?
Apr 22, 2019, 9:02 pm
#1
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Join Date: Apr 2019
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Pivoting from Flying Blue to Sky Miles?
I am from Europe, but I have been living and working in the United States for a few years. FB has been my FF account of choice for a few years, though it’s only recently I have earned Silver status; I’ll unlock Gold on my next trip overseas in a couple of weeks. I don’t travel that much for work, but I do a fair amount of personal travel and have been lucky enough to always find good Delta flights for domestic trips, and Delta/KLM/Air France/Alitalia always have convenient options for my travels to homeland Italy from where I am based (Boston). Pair that with some business travel both domestic and overseas, I am flying frequently enough to have some status.
I initially signed up for FB because I was living in Europe, but now that I am in the US, I wonder if I should sign up for Sky Miles and switch to crediting that instead. Is there a fast track to status where I can maintain what I have now on FB? Any way to transfer miles between the two? Most importantly, which of the two programs gets me the best mileage if my travel is pretty much equally split between US domestic and overseas to Europe (usually Italy)?
My apologies if I have in any way misspoken; I am by no means an expert here, but I have been enjoying this foray into status and would love to keep it, or do better!
I initially signed up for FB because I was living in Europe, but now that I am in the US, I wonder if I should sign up for Sky Miles and switch to crediting that instead. Is there a fast track to status where I can maintain what I have now on FB? Any way to transfer miles between the two? Most importantly, which of the two programs gets me the best mileage if my travel is pretty much equally split between US domestic and overseas to Europe (usually Italy)?
My apologies if I have in any way misspoken; I am by no means an expert here, but I have been enjoying this foray into status and would love to keep it, or do better!
Apr 23, 2019, 4:41 am
#2
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Is there a fast track to status where I can maintain what I have now on FB? Any way to transfer miles between the two? Most importantly, which of the two programs gets me the best mileage if my travel is pretty much equally split between US domestic and overseas to Europe (usually Italy)?
Delta does have status challenges but I don't know that they will offer a challenge to come over from a JV partner program. Here's the big status challenge thread - look at the Wiki then go to the end and work back:
Delta Air Lines Elite Status Match Challenge : The Definitive Thread
There is no way to transfer miles between SkyMiles and FB, although you can redeem for lowest-levels awards on the other carrier's flights.
Miles that can be used for awards - redeemable miles or RDM in this forum - are earned as a function of fare paid and status on Delta/Delta-marketed flights in SkyMiles. If you're paying high fares (business travel?) you may do well. In addition to RDMs, one needs to worry about elite miles - MQM - for qualifying, as well as elite spending - Elite Qualifying Dollars, EQD. EQD does not apply to members with non-U.S. addresses.
https://www.delta.com/content/www/en...-partners.html
Apr 23, 2019, 8:47 am
#3
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Your company might be able to get a status match or status challenge or outright temporary comped status if they have a corporate travel contract and you travel for work. Ask your travel department. The standard public status challenges offered by DL will not match status from a partner.
In general if there's no special circumstance, it's better to maintain status on the airline you actually fly rather than an alliance partner. In your case, as a DL GM you'd have higher priority for a free domestic upgrade than as a FB ElitePlus on DL domestic flights, although don't expect lots of upgrades as a GM to/from hubs and/or at peak business travel times.
However, if you see yourself moving back to Europe in the next few years, it might be better to stick with FB.
In general if there's no special circumstance, it's better to maintain status on the airline you actually fly rather than an alliance partner. In your case, as a DL GM you'd have higher priority for a free domestic upgrade than as a FB ElitePlus on DL domestic flights, although don't expect lots of upgrades as a GM to/from hubs and/or at peak business travel times.
However, if you see yourself moving back to Europe in the next few years, it might be better to stick with FB.
Apr 23, 2019, 10:23 am
#4
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Your company might be able to get a status match or status challenge or outright temporary comped status if they have a corporate travel contract and you travel for work. Ask your travel department. The standard public status challenges offered by DL will not match status from a partner.
In general if there's no special circumstance, it's better to maintain status on the airline you actually fly rather than an alliance partner. In your case, as a DL GM you'd have higher priority for a free domestic upgrade than as a FB ElitePlus on DL domestic flights, although don't expect lots of upgrades as a GM to/from hubs and/or at peak business travel times.
However, if you see yourself moving back to Europe in the next few years, it might be better to stick with FB.
In general if there's no special circumstance, it's better to maintain status on the airline you actually fly rather than an alliance partner. In your case, as a DL GM you'd have higher priority for a free domestic upgrade than as a FB ElitePlus on DL domestic flights, although don't expect lots of upgrades as a GM to/from hubs and/or at peak business travel times.
However, if you see yourself moving back to Europe in the next few years, it might be better to stick with FB.
Apr 23, 2019, 4:29 pm
#5
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Your company might be able to get a status match or status challenge or outright temporary comped status if they have a corporate travel contract and you travel for work. Ask your travel department. The standard public status challenges offered by DL will not match status from a partner.
My company offers occasional bids on status (you can bid with credits you've accrued for traveling under the company's caps for flights and hotels) and sometimes even for "purchase" via those same credits. They typically rotate airlines, and it's good to keep an eye out!
In general if there's no special circumstance, it's better to maintain status on the airline you actually fly rather than an alliance partner. In your case, as a DL GM you'd have higher priority for a free domestic upgrade than as a FB ElitePlus on DL domestic flights, although don't expect lots of upgrades as a GM to/from hubs and/or at peak business travel times.
Apr 23, 2019, 4:31 pm
#6
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Yes, we do have that at my company! With at least both DL and UA. We also have occasional lotteries for status and even status "purchases" using credits accrued by traveling under company caps for flight and hotels. But no status matches that I've heard of.
Apr 24, 2019, 7:10 am
#9
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Apr 24, 2019, 8:01 am
#10
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