Thinking of switching to Delta
 

So.. I've been a loyal JetBlue fan since the inception of the airline -- it always provided exceptional customer service and comfort, even if not always the best on-time performance. But after a few years away from New York I've started a new job involving a lot of New York travel, and that has drastically increased the number of times I fly JetBlue. I've only flown four round trips so far since starting this new job, and have already encountered the following:

1) On one return flight at T5, kiosk bag tag printing was broken, requiring everyone in the airport to stand in a very long line to manually get bag tags

2) JetBlue IT had some sort of glitch where they claimed to have ticketed my flight, sent me an email to that effect, but the ticket didn't actually go through. I only happened to discover this because I was reviewing my flights online and saw it was in this weird "ticket not issued" state. JetBlue never sent me an email warning me this had happened. Three hours on the phone in the middle of the night and JetBlue refused to take responsibility for the error, claiming that my bank (Chase in this case) had declined the charge. Of course, when I called Chase they said they'd never seen the charge, they had never declined any charge from JetBlue. JetBlue finally agreed to rebook me but insisted I pay a higher fare, even though the entire thing was their fault. I'm planning to file a complaint with customer service.

3) Food quality at T5 has declined. Lucy's Asian Kitchen used to be a decent fast casual Asian food vendor at T5; I actually looked forward to eating there. For some reason the vendor replaced the cooks that used to work there, and you can see from the Yelp reviews that they are understaffed. What's more, the food tastes awful now, and it takes forever. Yelp reviews have plummeted. When I contacted JetBlue customer service they said vendors are independently owned. So? They can't fire the vendor? They don't care about food quality in T5? Given that JetBlue doesn't offer that much in the way of on board food, quality of take out in the terminal is pretty important if you want to eat on the plane.

4) Food quality on board Mint-class planes has plummeted. When JetBlue first introduced the Mint planes, on board food options were excellent. The food boxes were extremely high quality. I just tried their sandwich --- sub-mediocre at best.

5) The one bright spot, on-board free high speed wifi, remains a plus; it's possible even to stream video on it. But -- it's flaky. Cuts out many times during a flight. It's still way better than most airlines -- but other airlines aren't standing still.

Delta has issues, too, such as their dynamic award pricing and the lack of consistently good wifi on all flights. But, they're deploying very high speed wifi across their fleet, and their CEO has announced they, too, will provide free wifi in the near future. SkyClubs are extremely nice and I have free access to them via my Amex Plat. Customer service is quite good. Once my current JetBlue bookings are up I may end up switching most of my business to Delta.

I like Delta, but I love Jetblue. Jetblue is sking over Delta in my eyes. I live in NYC. I'm a longtime Jetblue customer myself, but I still fly on Delta at times. It sucks that you had those glitches, but I still feel that Jetblue's customer service is unmatched against Delta.

But of course, do what makes you happy.

Do you have specific examples where Delta’s customer service fell down relative to JetBlue?

I flew JetBlue for many years when I lived in New York and was very happy with it all around. But honestly my experience in the last several months has fallen well short of my prior experience. I’m beginning to think current JetBlue management is letting things drift a bit, resting on their laurels. However I’ve not flown Delta that often, so I don’t have a lot to compare it with.

I just flew a short haul SFO -> SEA on Delta and was rather pleased with the flight. It was Economy Plus though, or whatever Delta calls that, and one thing I’ve always liked about JetBlue is their lowest economy class seats are quite comfortable. Have yet to try Delta’s basic class of service recently. I have to say I found the seats very comfortable, the IFE superior to JetBlue, the lavatories were very clean and comfortable, and the WiFi was solid albeit not free.

But also: the SkyClub was very nice. Spacious, quiet, comfortable. That may be one of the chief reasons I’m considering this.

I spent a whole year over on the Delta side this year, and I have to say, the grass is certainly greener on Delta if you're flying up front, but in Economy, JetBlue ever so slightly still edges them out. I had a decent time, but that's only because Delta recognized me as an Gold Medallion. I'd imagine that if you had no status at Delta, JetBlue would win hands down.

As far as the IFE being superior to JetBlue, that is changing. 28 A320s and all of the A321neos (3 in service right now) have the same system that Delta has.

I will always go for Delta and JetBlue over other US carriers and between the two I just pick the cheaper fare. They both treat me very well with no status. Delta has a fine transatlantic product as well. Once the economy refresh rolls out there will really be no difference between the two (mainline Delta and B6) for me.

Not sure how anyone answers this without knowing which carrier better suits your routing, pricing, class of service, hard product, and soft product needs. What are those?

Mint may or may not be great, but it doesn't exist on most routes, while DL's F/D1 exists on pretty much all routes. Thus, maybe there is a comparison if you are a JFK-LAX flyer, but not on most routes. Same thing with lounge access, frequency, and price.

Without knowing your needs and preferences, all you get here is people telling you what they like about their particular circumstances which likely have none to do with yours, e.g., international.

I feel like Delta getting free high speed WiFi is one of those things where I will believe when it's actually available. they made that claim a couple of years ago and still no progress. With JetBlue, you know it's the fastest out there.

As for Ife, it's getting a huge upgrade with a320 phase 2 reconfig. All the newly delivered a220 and a321neo will have the new Ife also. And if you fly to NYC a lot, you are likely not to get the old e90 Ife. You can look up some of reports on a321neo. It's pretty impressive.

For me, the main reason to not fly JetBlue is their small network not working for most of my needs. In that sense, delta network is pretty sad to where I need to fly to also. hard for me to see how delta wins in economy class with less leg room, seat width and lack of free WiFi and satellite TV.

Sorry I should clarify; I’m not saying Mint food sucks, I’m saying the economy food on Mint-equipped planes sucks, when it used to be really good. I’m a mostly business traveler who flies economy to save money (currently working for a startup with solid funding but as with most early stage startups we’re trying to be efficient with our funding.) lf my company could afford to put me on Mint every flight I wouldn’t be even thinking of changing airlines :)

As for me, I’m traveling most between west and east coast round trip, usually LAX to JFK but occasionally between LA and SF though I usually go Southwest for that given their no fee changes.

My main consideration is I need enough legroom in coach to work on my laptop (32” absolute minimum), WiFi needs to work, and food quality (either onboard or in the terminal to go) and IFE are also factors. Lounge access is also important; I’ve been doing Centurion in SFO then walking across to JetBlue, which to me is worth the 10 minute walk, but Delta SkyClub is appealing.

Glad to hear JetBlue is doing an IFE upgrade. If Delta is upgrading their economy seats though that might tip it back to Delta for me. The WiFi not being free is a price issue but if the overall flight is within budget it could still be worth it. It sucks that we’ve lost the Gogo benefit on the Amex Plat though.

I think the biggest question I'd ask you is "how much will you fly in 2020?"

It sounds like your comparison is based on having no status with either airline.

If you fly enough to reach Mosaic with JetBlue, the benefits may be appealing -- no change fees on (non-basic) flights, and steeply discounted EMS seat purchases with points being the two that jump out at me.

At least for me, Mosaic offers more than Delta Gold Medallion, especially now that Comfort+ isn't at time of ticketing.

If you fly enough to hit $75k (and the requisite MQD), I suspect the Delta Platinum experience would edge out Mosaic.

I fly at least once a month round trip cross country for work, and a handful of times for family trips and so on. I do fly to Korea usually at least once a year but Delta wouldn't be my choice -- they are partnered with KAL which I really dislike (no wifi at all, which to me is ridiculous in this day and age). According to my calculations if I switched to Delta I'd easily make Silver but even Gold would be iffy because of the MQD requirement.

But this is the reason I (used to) love JetBlue -- I didn't need status for a good experience. JetBlue economy seats are perfectly good enough for me -- never felt cramped at least on A321's in economy. Mosaic would be nice but doesn't really change the game as far as that is concerned, and unless I spend all my money on the JetBlue Plus card I'm not going to make it anyway (and I have much better places to put my credit card spend).

The real question for me is whether or not Delta economy is decent at least for transcon. It looks like they're at least 32" typically, which is tolerable if not luxurious.

There is no domestically configured dl flights with 32 inch seat. You are going to be very disappointed if you expect that. Even their domestic first only has 36 inch in pitch.

At the same time, the entire fleet of b6 will have 18 inch+ wide seats. You are not getting that with delta.

If you want a guaranteed 32" pitch with a "regular" Coach seat, I'm pretty sure that you need to keep flying JetBlue.

How do you feel about flying AA? Assuming that you purchase non-discounted Coach, four LAX-JFK AA round-trips credited to Iberia would get you oneworld Ruby status, which would entitle you to free Main Cabin Extra (34" seat pitch) seats on AA at T-24 -- if any such seats are still available. It would also entitle you to free, same-day standby, a free checked bag, and priority boarding.

After eight such round-trips credited to IB, you would have oneworld Sapphire status, which would entitle you to select MCE seats for free at time of booking, along with Admirals Club access -- even when flying AA domestically.

So you mean the EatUp Cafe food, which is available on most flights over 4 hours at this point. I was confused at first when you were talking about "food on [Mint] planes." I like some of it, but all of that food is so extremely unhealthy I do my best to avoid it. Look at the nutrition facts at your own risk.

The Mint planes are not getting an IFE upgrade. All planes with LTV4 (the 321, 32S, and 32M Phase 1) will keep what they have for the foreseeable future.

I wouldn't blame you if you switched to Delta. Their bigger network is their biggest advantage, as well as for the most part being very reliable and on-time (compared to JetBlue, where on-time performance is more of a running gag).

guv1976 has a really great point about flying AA and crediting to Iberia. AA flies the A321 in their Transcon config on LAX-JFK with only 102 seats on the plane and six (!) flight attendants. I flew them once in MCE and it was fantastic. They have limited food options, but their food is free onboard! (Delta is also free from my understanding, but the fast track to getting at least MCE would be nice if you fly a lot.)

-J.

When Mint was first introduced they had a different (and very good) food menu in economy than other domestic B6 planes. I guess that’s no longer the case and it’s just “Eat Up Cafe”.

According to Seat Guru domestic Delta is 31-32” in economy. That is worrisome.

As for AA that is an amazing trick. I am very loathe to fly them for many reasons but if it’s that easy to get status maybe it’s worth it. I have to look into that.

EatUp Cafe has been in Core for several years. It used to only be on Mint flights, but now it has expanded to the majority of flights over 4 hours. The menu changed significantly a year or two ago. I miss the soba noodles.

-J.

There is no domestic Delta at 32 inch in economy. There are a few that are 30 inch.
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/De...s_A321-200.php
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/De...bus_A320_C.php
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/De...A320_B_new.php
They managed to squeeze 192 seats in A321 even with 20 First class seat. JetBlue all-core has 200 seat with no first class seat. That should give you an idea of how tight some DL flights are.

Again, the worst part is not the pitch alone. It's that they have a lot of 737s and 757s on these transcons that are just narrower seats (1 inch narrower). B6 is going to easily have the widest seats domestically once A220 is in service.

The thing great about AA at least out of NYC is that upgrades are now easily obtainable even for people not in the top level ff. Whereas DL ff need to be pretty high to get FC upgrades out of NYC.

Also agreed on AA and A321T. Their MCE is a really good product.

sounds like he does mostly transcons, where Jetblue does actually have pretty good coverage out of JFK. And also, mint runs significantly more on time than rest of their network.

Also, DL's network really only covers domestic and Europe well. If you travel to Asia a lot like me, *A is the way to go.

If you do opt to fly AA and credit to IB, be aware that IB's year for accruing status runs from April 1 to March 31. ;)

Yeah those noodles were amazing. The sandwich, not so much.

I looked up AA at least at present on the routes I usually fly and the economy seats are a painful 17.3 inches wide, whereas Delta on the flights I usually take are 17.9, only .1 inches narrower than JetBlue. I don’t know that I’m willing to suffer through 4 or 8 round trips to get status with that kind of flight...

I guess I’ll just have to try Delta with their “31-32” seats and see if they’re tolerable for laptop work...

It depends on the aircraft. The 737 and 757 are always going to be close to an inch narrower. Both delta and aa fly them. JetBlue only have aircraft with wider seats.

Again, you are not finding 32 inch coach seat on delta. They don't exist.

Assuming "non-discounted coach" is Y(/M/B) fares, I strongly suspect synzero is not buying those.

I'm mostly flying LAX-JFK and those are 767-300ERs, which have seats supposedly close to the same width as JetBlue. Since I work with my laptop, elbow comfort is key. As for not finding 32" on Delta, again I'm assuming that when SeatGuru says 31"-32" it means the pitch varies between 31" and 32". I wonder if "preferred" seats are more likely to have the slightly larger legroom. I guess I'll find out when I try this.
If you need to buy Y to get status, then of course we're not buying that (again: early stage startup). I usually know my flight dates at least a month or two in advance and paying the change fees when we do change plans is way cheaper than buying flexible fare economy.

If your trans-continental trips will not be on full-Economy fares, then crediting AA flights to Iberia will not work to get you oneworld status quickly.

They don't; they are just better locations. That's why in some rows middle seats are not preferred, but the window and aisle seats are.

I have never had an issue using a laptop on Delta. It is nice that all of their planes have power outlets of some sort now. I flew on their 737-900ER back in April in the exit row, in the window seat with no seat in front of it. The legroom was great, and even though the tray table was in my armrest (meaning the seat was even narrower) I didn't have any issues.

-J.

I think you probably need to shell out for comfort+ seat on DL 767 to get the same level of comfort as mint A321s. My personal experience with 767 have always been the seats are more narrow than the airbus seats or 777 9-across. But I guess to each his own. You do get "meal" on these D1 aircraft, but mint does have the market place. As for working on laptops, I think it's hard to replicate the same wifi speed on DL planes as on B6 planes, even factoring in the paid version.

Also, if you are doing mostly JFK-LAX, you should consider AA. Their A321T on this route is quite nice (unlike the regular AA configuration). The MCE seating is almost as spacious as EMS on mint. And if you get the exit row, there is basically unlimited leg room. And the upgrades are far easier to obtain on AA than DL. Believe me on this one. Especially on Saturdays.

I agree 100%. Delta's wifi will supposedly improve soon, but they have enough IFE options that I don't need to stream video.

Delta and AA also have music, which is something that the Mint A321s and Phase I A320s have (XM), but the Phase II A320s do not (they have no straight music option). I always enjoyed listening to music and just watching the moving map; on many non-Mint flights, this will not be an option for long.

Finally, AA's 321T is really a special product. I prefer Delta overall airline-wise, but I would not hesitate to fly AA on that airplane again. I had the exit row on that plane and it truly was several feet of space.

-J.

Based on your advice I did some research into the AA A321T - there are some appealing things about this. For one thing AA "Main Cabin Extra" is, from some cursory attempts to book flights on my usual dates, a lot cheaper than Delta "Comfort+". I could easily book that and stay well within our company budget for the round trip. The problem of having the IFE box taking up such a huge space wouldn't be an issue if I was able to book Main Cabin Extra, I think. AA is also Hyatt's partner.

However, I think the deal killer for me is lounge access -- basically no Admiral's Club access on my domestic travel unless I sign up for a pricey $450/year credit card, which I'm unlikely to be able to expense. It's possible I could qualify for Platinum in a year but even that doesn't get you lounge access. Whereas with Delta I've got SkyClub access with my Amex Plat, and getting checked bag free comes with any of their cards except for the no annual fee card, so that's a no brainer. I guess after the Centurion Lounge opens up in LAX and JFK things might change -- won't really need Admiral's Club access so AA might be worth a second look.

In the exit row, your bags have to go up top anyway. A small price to pay for unlimited legroom.

As for the club, I stopped going to the Sky Club years ago (of course, when I stopped flying Delta so much and switched to JetBlue). Now I just show up as close to departure as I can, usually an hour or so before with PreCheck, so I spend at the most 10 minutes at the gate before boarding. I can get a drink onboard, or even have something at home before leaving (if you keep some disposable paper/plastic cups at home, you can even make a roadie to finish while in line at security). I know this isn't the popular opinion, but for me, lounge access is not the deal breaker. (That said, it would have been nice during IROPS.)

-J.

That’s what I used to do before I discovered the pleasure of lounges :) For some reason for me just having some time before my flight to sit and work in a calm environment dramatically improves my overall trip experience. Plus I love getting free food/snacks.

After all this it’s going to be Delta. If I were still based in SF I’d actually stick with JetBlue despite all my negative recent experiences with them because Delta is narrowbody SFO-JFK. But it’s a nice wide 18” seat LAX-JFK and I’ll have to take my chances with seat pitch and hope it’s workable with my laptop. We shall see!

Have you looked into flying out of BUR or LGB or even ONT? if you are not flying business, BUR-JFK might be the best option. Both flights are going to be on A321s next year and most likely with A321NEO and the new IFE + pantry. There is no lounge, but it's a lot easier flying out of these local airports vs LAX.

for me, lounge access really depends on how crowded it is and what the rest of the airport is like. AA's flagship lounge in JFK is good for much of the day, because it doesn't get that crowded. I heard DL sky club gets really crowded in T4. I think B6 with the new combined terminal at JFK should get at least a couple of lounges you can get in with priority pass.

It's true that there is no cheap way to access Admirals Clubs on a domestic Coach ticket unless you have at least oneworld Sapphire status from another oneworld airline. However, if you wanted to try AA before the Amex Centurion Clubs open, you might consider getting a credit card that gives you access to Priority Pass restaurants, and not just Priority Pass lounges.

The US Bank Altitude Reserve card provides four annual Priority Pass visits (including restaurants) to cardholders. After annual travel credits, the card's annual net cost is just $75, which also gets you twelve GoGo WiFi passes, and primary car rental LDW. All "travel" charges (as defined by US Bank) and all mobile-wallet purchases also earn 4.5% back, applicable to future travel (subject to certain minimums on lodging and rental-car charges).

The Chase Sapphire Reserve will have a somewhat higher annual net cost, but includes unlimited Priority Pass lounge and restaurant visits, as well as primary LDW.

Currently, Bobby Van's Steakhouse -- in the AA terminal at JFK -- is a participating Priority Pass restaurant.

There are no Priority Pass lounges or restaurants in the LAX AA terminal, but there are some in the TBIT and LAX T7, both of which should be accessible airside from the AA terminal.

Edited to add: If you're primarily a Hyatt guy, and can achieve WOH Globalist status, you might be interested in this recent FT thread:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyat...lobalists.html

While it's true that even AA EXPs don't get lounge access on domestic Coach flights, EXPs should be treated very well by AA -- and you would get free MCE seats, free checked bags, etc.,etc.

The AS lounge at LAX T6 supposedly accepts PP as well. I've read plenty of reports of people being turned away or told to wait. I'll be going there in February, and I plan to wait if necessary :D

-J.

I assume you mean on JetBlue -- they're the only airline with nonstop to JFK from BUR or LGB. But the whole thing that prompted my current musings around switching to another airline have been some (perhaps bad luck) mishaps on JetBlue, in terms of my own ticketing as well as in the terminal, and what I perceive as a steady decline in quality of the details like food at T5, the on-board "Eat Up Cafe" on domestic economy, etc. But also, as I mentioned I really like lounges, I don't care if they're crowded as long as I can find a seat somewhere -- even SFO Centurion has always been fine for me, at the times I typically fly. It refreshes me. I had my first experience at the SFO Delta SkyClub which was very nice IMO and that started me thinking about this. But personally I kind of hate Burbank airport for some reason. I don't know why. LGB airport is much more appealing, but Burbank is closer to me. However again I love getting recharged in a (nice) lounge before my flight, so I doubt those options will end up really working well for me.
I already have the Chase Sapphire Reserve -- basically I'm both a Chase and an Amex guy. I like Chase for Hyatt, primarily -- easy to get 2x - 4x in value from the points -- maybe slightly less than that with the recent devaluation but still, it's been great. Amex I use almost exclusively for the perks and for things like return protection and so on for big ticket items, though now that they've added travel insurance to the Plat I will probably start using it a bit more for travel. Honestly it's a bit difficult to come up with reasons to use my Plat for organic spend. I'll probably end up getting the BBP and personal Green so I can put more spend on my Amex cards.

I have read about the Globalist/AA link up. I'm a mere Explorist right now, though I intend to hit Globalist next year, there's no guarantee the AA Exec Platinum thing will still be happening by then. But who knows, maybe it will. By then both JFK and LAX should have the new Centurion lounges so like I said I may reconsider all this for 2021 and give AA a try.

With you 100% on Burbank. I would pick LGB every time. The terminal in Burbank is old and run-down, and has very few food options. Also, the short runway means some flights to JFK/BOS occasionally have to make a stop for fuel on the way back east. I am only going to LAX in February since it was cheaper (on AS); otherwise I would have picked LGB hands down. I love that airport.

-J.

I like LGB too, but next time I head to LA, I'm going to try BUR assuming that I don't want to shell out extra money for J seating. With A321NEO, fuel stop should no longer be a concern.

I would definitely make the switch to Delta. Their on-time performance is excellent, their flight attendants and customer service is fantastic, and having access to the skyclub is a game changer. I don’t think the extra inch of legroom matters as I’ve never had an issue using my computer on a delta flight. Their new planes are also extremely nice, and their route network is much more extensive than JetBlue’s.

I managed to get a taste of the 767-300ER on this Seattle-Paris international flight (it's only because of this thread I realize this flight which I'd scheduled months ago happens to use the exact same plane as Delta's LAX-JFK). I'm actually posting this from the plane as we speak. The legroom compared to JetBlue is noticeably more cramped, but, it's workable. JetBlue's 34" feels luxurious by comparison. But the guy in front of me is reclining yet I can still open my laptop and more or less work. But, so far, the wifi has been stable and solid, unlike JetBlue's Viasat which, while blazing fast when it works, usually seems to cut out completely several times per flight, which is annoying and makes working a lot less productive.

Food was nothing to write home about but it was decent, and a step up from the current Eat Up Cafe options. Also, the power outlet works without having to constantly unplug and plug it back in, as I usually have to do on JetBlue.

Basically, my conclusion is JetBlue is coasting --- Needleman started it with a vision, a higher quality experience even in economy, and there are lots of elements of that which survive. Seats are still more comfortable and spacious in every class of service than every other airline including Delta, things like super high speed wifi for free, that's a perk. But -- I feel JetBlue lacks something in the area of operational consistency. Things like Viasat constantly cutting out, the power outlets being flaky, the IFE systems often having to be rebooted, T5 food quality dropping, IT issues with ticketing and bag tag printing, even the way the toilets constantly flush in T5 when you're still sitting on them -- it just adds up to an attitude, to me, of complacency. There are two things to running a business: introducing a product and then maintaining and continuously improving quality. I just feel my experiences with JetBlue this year, while each individually a minor annoyance, taken together to me point to an overall lack of attention to the "continuous improvement" aspect which I particularly value.

Delta is definitely a step down in terms of the physical in flight seat experience. But I'm still going to give Delta a try this year.

Meanwhile, over at AA, the "Project Oasis" retrofit continues unabated:

https://viewfromthewing.com/american...-real-success/

which kind of makes me want to stay away from AA forever. They're not only making "first class" a downmarket product with no IFE, but they're even removing a ton of their economy plus seats, and they're squeezing the ones that are left so they have less seat pitch than JetBlue's baseline economy class. Definitely an airline going rapidly in the wrong direction.

I've been having similar struggles over the past year as JetBlue clearly is no longer the same airline as it used to be. And living in NY with my client base, Delta would be the likely alternative for me as well. I like Ed Bastian a lot and I've done some work for Delta so I'm familiar with things on the inside. That said, I had a medical issue on a Delta transcon in late 2017. I only flew Delta that day because I didn't want to fly the JetBlue redeye. The Delta FAs were not compassionate at all and passengers around me were all business travelers who were very unkind in general. Just an overall bad experience for me that to this day has left a sour taste in my mouth for Delta. I can't help but feel that that would not have happened on JetBlue. Other than that, my experiences on Delta have been fairly positive as someone without status. I do agree that it's more favorable to have status though.

I don't really care about lounges but I do like gate areas that are not cramped.

This will be likely be the year I decide whether to stick with JetBlue or move to Delta. If I didn't live in NY, I'd probably go with Southwest.

I have to disagree. I think Delta has become far superior. Most planes have TVs now, USB power ports at every seat, newer planes, and cleaner. Since jetBlue has been cutting routes, Delta has far more flight options. I am Mosaic, have been since the minute the program was implemented, and have been every year thereafter. I recently jumped ship to Delta after several bad experiences with jetBlue (poor treatment by reps on several occasions...and I'm not a high-maintenance customer). Customer service has plummeted (I think part of the problem is they're used to servicing low-end customers and don't know how to treat an elite flyer), and now that they've done away with Blue, Inc., I have no reason to stay. Even the snacks are sucking as they now never have any gluten-free option for me and get pissed if I ask if they have potato chips (usually they have them but won't give them out unless you ask). I became Gold on Delta very quickly once I dumped jetBlue, will most likely get to at least Platinum if not Diamond this year. Delta has done more for me in the last month than jetBlue has in years. I have a lot of jetBlue points to use up, but I won't be paying for any more flights with them.