124,999
 

With the small difference in benefits between Platinum and Diamond, I'm shooting for 124K mqm's and start at Gold next year. I'd be a fool not to being that I'm usually around 120k per year anyway. Better than starting at zero.:rolleyes:

And most DL partisans are willing to offer that DM is roughly equivalent to 120k NW Plat. You have been leading the charge in claiming that 75k Plat equals DM. This is patently false.

Welcome to FT!
The unlimited upgrades are domestic. The SWU's are generally used for international travel, but can also be used to push yourself upfront if the upgrade list doesn't look good.

Personal attack aside, that is not right. NW Plats at 120k EQM got real SWUs. DL DMs at 125k MQM will get junk PMUs. Therein lies the rub. ...and the fact that it isn't competitive with what AA, UA and CO are offering.

Unfortunately, this tired debate permeates virtually every thread in this forum.

Very excited when I got the email today. Rushed to FT as soon as I got home after a crazy hectic day to gauge response. Honestly, I'm a little surprised by all the negative reaction. Have to admit, I glossed over much of the bickering, as I have been for awhile now.

Why am I excited? Well, I think it's because I am a DL (versus NW) customer, a PM/CRC member who will almost certainly requalify, but will -- based on the current outlook for my travel schedule -- not make DM.

So, for me, the pros are ...

- Sacrificing PMUs in exchange for something that's actually of value: FO for my most frequent traveling companion, or maybe a decent gift card. Seriously, I have six PMU's in my travel wallet and I doubt I'll use them. If my employer happens to buy me a Y/B/M international ticket and Z is available, I have plenty of miles I can use to upgrade.

- Rollover MQMs is huge. Absolutely huge. I ended with 90k last year. A 15k head start on this year would have been darn cool.

- DTC waivers are also wonderful, wonderful news. I've been burned on DTCs when I wasn't expecting them twice this year.

For me, the cons ...

- DMs will trump me on UGs unless I'm flying full Y. But, EPs trump me now and I generally fly K or higher domestically - mostly B/M.

- I can no longer claim to be top-tier elite. It's an ego thing. ;) :D

So, for me, the pros WAY outweigh the cons. Call me an apologist, a sympathist, a whateverist. That's my take, and for that I say thank you to Jeff and DL for providing me with a better set of benefits than I currently have.

FWIW, I can see how someone who does 150k BIS each year easy would be underwhelmed by DM. Particularly since they're likely already CRC members and that appears to be the biggest perk. These fliers are likely heavy TATL and TPAC riders and also would be most likely to want more improvement to PMU rules.

My goal is to do what someone upthread suggested ... I'm aiming for 100k MQM, which gets me an improved PM, a 25k start on status for next year, a choice bonus AND a threshold bonus.

My 0.02. Don't plan on reading any of the other threads on this that are popping up. :rolleyes:

So if they're Junk PMUs, why are the others b!tching and moaning that PM has been devalued with only 4 instead of 6 PMUs??

I am sorry pbarnette, but this is correct - the 120k SWU with NW was ANY fare class - got that ANY fare class!!

Because 6 pieces of junk is > 4 pieces of junk? Seriously, look at jbatl's post. That is from a supporter of the changes who admits to probably not even being able to use one. They are worthless to many. I just think DL could and should make a small amount of SWUs available on any fare class to any destination for those who attain this new top tier. You may disagree, but I don't think it is a wildly outrageous request.

Great post ^

Trust me, there will never be "a lot" of Diamonds, period!

basically you now need 125k to get less benis than before the whole devaluation thing started ... great!
Reads like a bunch of useless things they offer; really not impressive.

If this is what DL partisans are thinking than I will have to disagree. Until one of them lives through buying a ticket to Asia for under $1000 for a personal trip and making one phone call and getting a ride in Business class without any issues, is a specific class available, blah, blah, blah I would like to see their reactions to getting real SWU's at a very hard to obtain 125K. For the more serious flyers here another 2 at 160K.

Going by what you are saying maybe the light bulb is going off why DL partisans think NW partisans are just a pain in the you know what cry babies. Since they never tasted the nectar they do not know what they are missing.

I guess people think if you repeat something often enough, and long enough, it becomes the truth.

Not all of us are fans of that J seat on NW, on either the A330 or the 747. The whole inclined-flat thing just bugs me.

A close British friend took the NW A330 back to London the other day, his first experience on NW. He has flown BA, Virgin, DL, AA in the past. He thought the seat was inferior to BA/Virgin and actually liked it less than the cradle style BE seat on DL.

So, before acting like the NW hard product is/was the unchallenged leader of the free world, realize that not everyone accepts that as fact.

So the outcome is...
 

From what I'm reading the general concensus says they are underwhelmed and will focus on flying around 120K miles to take advantage of the rollover miles. Very few people will be switching airlines, if any. I just want to go on record as saying that I appreciate Delta making an effort (even if the outcome isn't spectacular) at taking care of us. I've been on far more overbooked flights this year than one with empty seats so it isn't like they stop selling flights out if the whole population of this website walks away. The point I'm trying to get across is, if you're not happy with the program, leave. Flying 124,999 miles a year on their airline isn't going to change things! I'm sure they'll be just giddy that that is your choice method of protest.

The majority of business travelers travel based on conveinence or company preference in airline. I myself have some leeway, but not that much. That said, I'll fly Delta when I can. Once I hit platinum, if an equal Continental flight appears, I'll take that until I get to gold (for the 100% miles bonus). Should I become upset with either program, I'll quit my job because I'm not flying AA or UA full time (geographic/schedule nightmares from JAX)!

I'm currently at 115k MQM and will probably end up well over 125k by the end of the year. I'm happy I get to roll over the MQMs to next year, especially considering I finished last year 400 miles from the next level on one airline(ouch!). Hopefully others will be forced to match this perk.

Once again Delta...thanks for the effort. I look forward to future improvements to stay ahead of the competition.

Don't know how this could be possbile. Even infrequent visitors to this forum since the merger announcement have been bombarded with posts about the WP nectar that now "are missing".