Great to hear about the new medallion program, and the new Diamond Medallion status. Many FTers will be able to reach DM status. Everything else will be staying the same, nice to hear as well.

Hopefully I will qualify for FO next year!!

Complementary upgrades
 

So... here's the $500 question.... will a PM on a K fare upgrade before a DM on a sLUT fare?

Just chiming in on the new SWU to voice my disappointment. Y/M/B fare SWU is friggin' useless to me - did it occur to anyone at DL that this restriction is EXACTLY WHY NOBODY USES THEIR SWUs? My god, get a clue.

NW Platinums got 2 any fare SWU upgrades last year in addition to the restricted SWUs. At the very least, I would like to see DL treak the SWU to match the NW version of it last year. I cannot fathom why anyone would be motivated to fly 125k MQMs on DL at this point.

You'd better not.

From what I read it will be more like EP in that it goes:

DM Y, PM Y, GM Y, FO Y
DM (w/Reserve) B/M/H/Q/K/L/U/T
DM B/M/H/Q/K/L/U/T
PM (w/Reserve) B/M/H/Q/K/L/U/T
PM B/M/H/Q/K/L/U/T
GM (w/Reserve) B/M/H/Q/K/L/U/T
GM B/M/H/Q/K/L/U/T
FO (w/Reserve) B/M/H/Q/K/L/U/T
FO B/M/H/Q/K/L/U/T

The Unlimited Complimentary Upgrades section of the 2010 chart refers to Full Y fares and Discounted Fares, seeming to imply any fare < Y is a Discounted Fare.

WBurcham just reminded me to ask the secret, unpublished question: will DP fully replace EP, or will a revenue-based "white envelope" tier remain above the highest published tier?

Wondering this, as well. My guess is that EP will still be around...at least for 2010. My 2009 package included a note that I would requalify for 2010 with at least 125K MQMs. That could change without disappointing me too much. The only real advantage I see to EP over DM is the upgrade priority.

Of course, they could always sweeten up the EP bennies, too! ;)

The Plat should NOT win that battle. The only really good benefit (not worth 125k though) and I read the verbage as "5 day w/ Priority" to mean priority across the board.

I can't believe the .....ing over this announcement. FF programs are not a government entitlement.

Each FF program has it's plusses and minuses. I have been top tier on all three alliances for the last 2 years. The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence (but it is greener over the septic tank).

The Airlines look carefully at their programs to maximize the programs' benefits to the AIRLINE's bottom line. The airlines are in the transportation business, not the FF program business.

It is each and every flyer's responsibility to determine which airline better caters to the individual flyer's needs, in terms of route structure, pricing, services provided, and FF benefits.

I get upset occasionally when an airline does not follow through on promises (like not crediting miles properly as happened to me recently), and I can see communicating desired FF benefits to an airline, but some of you are cutting your noses off in spite of your faces by seemingly demanding additional benefits "or else".

I suggest that a careful review of alternatives is in order for all. If there is a better alternative for the individual flyer, then vote with your wallet and politely notify DL of your intentions and the reasoning behind it. That way DL might devise a program that will better match your needs in the future. If there is no better alternative, then aside from letting DL politely know your desires, there is no recourse, as for that flyer it will indeed be "best in class".

And that is exactly what is being done - also knowing that DL does look at this forum - it alows us to say how we feel in a public forum...

Agreed. The real valuable benefits are being given to everyone, not solely to the Diamonds.

And as for what milk cost yesterday, I don't care. But I also have no problem pointing out that the folks selling the milk are extracting a larger margin than they used to and that things aren't as good as they could be.

I don't think that is what is being done at all. Count up the comparisons to an NW program that no longer exists. Compare that number to the number of comparisons to UA or AA. Does this proportion really suggest that most here are really discussing the alternatives?

Fair enough, but we can also add that the economic crisis has thrown the milk industry into a tailspin, and that most of the milk industry is losing money or barely scraping by.

David

Larger margin? In the airline industry?

As I mentioned earlier, my first TATL 35 years ago cost somewhere around $525. I've gotten 3 different TATL tix this year for less than that, and one for under $600. No way are the margins anywhere near what they used to be.

This is an industry that is barely staying afloat, and we're upset that they trimmed the benefits we receive.

That said, I do wish Jeff had come right out and said that they looked at the numbers, and this was the most they could afford to do for us.

Based on just searched pricing on DL.com for JFK-LHR return in October, sLUT is $537.97, and full fare J is $9,076.16.

If you did 19 sLUT returns you'd reach DM, total cost $10,221.43.

If you did 13 J returns you'd reach DM, total cost $117,990.08.

I still think the 4th tier should have been solely revenue based, and solely for paid business/first fares.