steveholt

Hi! I'm trying to figure out what my strategy for accruing mileage should be going forward, and I figured getting some expert opinions would help.

My goal in the short-term is to get as many automatic domestic upgrades into first as possible while buying coach tickets. In the long-term, I'd like to build an around-the-world trip in business.

I live a few miles from BOS. If I move anywhere in the next 12-24 months, it'll be to NYC. I work remotely, and I can travel on short notice, on weekdays, etc. Virtually all of my current travel is domestic, with plenty of BOS->NYC and BOS->LAS trips.

At the moment, I have a few flights and one MR booked on DL over the next three months, which will be enough to get me my first medallion award at the Silver level. Any rollover MQMs I have will be miniscule, so outside of my to-be-earned status on DL for next year, I'm open to suggestion. I have 55k AMEX MRs, 80k SkyMiles, and will have 50k Avios on BA thanks to their credit card.

My thought is that AA might be a better choice for me in the long run because their shuttle service to NY is more frequent than DL's and because, from what I can tell, their alliance produces far better flight options internationally (when I do decide to go on my trip) than Delta's. On the other hand, because I don't have elite status with AA, shuttle trips from BOS->NYC only accrue ~375 MQM RT, while the 500 pt minimum with DL, along with the 25% Silver bonus and 2x pts for the gold SkyMiles AMEX, means (I think) that I'll accrue 2500 SkyMiles and 1250 MQM RT on every BOS->NYC flight. And if I move, Delta's service out of NY seems stronger than AA (although I'd be taking the NYC->BOS shuttle in reverse.)

OK. That was a mouthful. So, what should my plan be for 2012? Should I stick with DL and rely on segment-heavy medallion strategies, or are there frequent-enough MRs or double/triple MQM specials with AA in the Northeast to make it worth switching? Or should I consider a different airline?

Please let me know. If I forgot to include anything in here that might be useful, just yell at me and I'll add it. Thanks!

Ooompa Loompa

This is wrong. You will achieve 1000 MQM and 1250 skymiles on BOS-NYC RT. MQMs do not receive a medallion bonus, and 2x pts for Delta Gold Amex only counts towards spending. So if you purchased the tickets for $200 on the Amex then you would earn 400 Skymiles from the card plus 1250 miles from the actual flight resulting in a net total of 1650 Skymiles.

PV_Premier

and as O.L. stated initially, only 1000 of them will be MQM

since you already have the card, you'll earn more miles on DL which will get you to that RTW faster, i'd stick with them, on the routes you are flying regularly exBOS you can pretty much forget about upgrades as a silver and probably even as a gold (DL guys correct me if i'm wrong?). maybe i didn't understand your original post, is there any probability you will get closer to a higher level of status based solely on "real" travel (non-MR's) in 2013 either based on segments or miles? or are you going to be perpetually at that "almost silver" level? you have to weigh the costs of MR'ing to higher levels of status versus what the airline rewards you with, not just the ticket cost but also the time you spend doing it, the incidentals (parking/transit to airport, hotels if you have to overnight, etc) and determine if you can get those benefits another way that makes more sense based on your perceived 2013 travel pattern. i have no idea of the elite situation on delta since i am a GM and have a total of 6 segments on them this year, but i would never MR to get to silver on UA unless it was a situation where i literally needed just one easy MR at the end of the year. gold isn't much better but it's a slightly different story at least on UA. i'm not MR'ing for it this year but i am taking 1-2 low cost trips i might not have taken if i wasn't on the threshold of requalifying.

clacko

status match challenges are often available when changing programs.....aa has gold & plat challenges.....maybe look into these?

TheBOSman

Not sure where you see AA has more frequency than DL to NYC. AA has 3 BOS-JFK flights a day, DL has 5 BOS-JFK flights, and more notably for you, the Delta shuttle to LGA. AA no longer serves LGA from BOS. DL blows AA out of the water on that route. BOS-LAS or JFK-LAS is likely even between DL and AA, both serve JFK-LAS nonstop (I don't know the frequencies), and both have lots of service from their hubs if you'll need to connect (ORD/DFW for AA from BOS/NYC, ATL/DTW for DL). I'd likely stick with DL in your case. The only concern is where you might want to go on your RTW. AA's alliance, Oneworld, is stronger than DL's Skyteam in some areas, but Skyteam will be stronger in others. Where would you want to go on your RTW potentially?

steveholt

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Sorry for being so slow in responding and for getting so many initial things (AA vs DL frequency out of BOS, DL credit card bonus) wrong. Really appreciate people helping out.

Some quick responses that might help make my plans/planning easier:

That would be a bummer. I've seen some positive stories in other threads about silvers getting upgraded, even in seemingly-tough situations. I've also taken a couple of mostly-empty JFK-LAS flights over the past year, so I might get lucky once in a while. I know it'll be tough on some of the busier routes, but I'm hoping that being able to fly at somewhat odd times will be to my benefit for the complimentary upgrades. I will have enough expected travel to probably be somewhere between silver and gold next year, so my hope might be to stick in a MR or two to push me into gold for 2014, or preferably further to get some systemwide upgrades. (The BOS-ATL-SIN flight that's being discussed at the moment would work for me as I can do in midweek, kill a couple of days in the air, and would only actually be in SIN for the better part of four hours!)

Still hard to say, although nowhere particularly extraordinary/out-of-the-way. It would be one Asian leg and one European leg, with possible Asian destinations including SIN, HKG, NRT, and BKK, and European destinations including LHR, CDG, ARN, HEL, MUC, BER, ZRH, and PMI.

I was initially thinking that I'd take it this upcoming spring, but I might wait a couple of years to churn enough miles/points to make it cost-friendlier. Which makes the planning all the more important! Any help you guys can provide would be wonderful.

Apieinthesky

Hi steveholt. I haven't flown DL in a few years, but will make a case for AA.

If you only fly enough to qualify for the lowest tier status, I think AA has the strongest program at the 25k level. I wouldn't even consider UA; things don't seem to be going too well at the UA forum. The one major drawback is the complimentary upgrades, as AA does not offer them to anyone but to EXPs, their top tier elites. Instead, you need to use stickers or "500 mile upgrades," which you can find out plenty about if you're interested. However, the advantage of stickers is that upgrades are much more likely (many people won't pay for them). So this will depend on how much you value your upgrades; are you willing to pay for them?

I just did a search, and DL's LGA-BOS shuttle seems very expensive...unless I'm not doing something right. DL does have better frequency between JFK and BOS, but maybe you could live with that.

I've a NYC native and have been in NYC for many years; AA has served me quite well. Out of BOS, AA only has flights to its five hubs and LHR (though there are rumors about AA buying jetBlue, which would make AA the dominant carrier at JFK and BOS. Only speculations though )

I'd say AA's miles are more valuable compared to DL Skypesos, and there's currently a 100k bonus for two Citi AA cards (you can check it out in the MilesBuzz! forum). That will definitely start you off on your RTW trip. Also, I believe oneworld has good coverage of the destinations that you listed.

Of course, it's hard to switch airlines if you already have status with one. However, I'd like the point out that while it's true you won't get the 500 mi minimum, BOS-JFK rt is 373 miles, the difference being 627 miles. Even if you fly that 10 times, that's not a whole lot of miles lost. At worst, you fly 15 of those before you hit Gold on segments. AA does offer challenges for Gold and Platinum that you could take a look at.

JPG3392

AA gives mileage credit for JetBlue flights to many cities from BOS and JFK.