SkyMiles vs FlyingBlue
 

Which one is better - if at the same level, to have?. Mostly concerned about upgrades transatlantic.

Or in other words, is there much difference in award availability on CO metal (or NW metal) by being on either of these programs

Flying Blue: upgrades possible on AF/KL/NW/KQ (not on CO), free US domestic upgrades for elites on NW (not on CO). No free transatlantic upgrade coupons.

SkyMiles: upgrades possible on DL as well as DL-coded but AF operated flights. No upgrades at all on CO/NW. For top-tier members, 6 free transatlantic upgrade coupons per year.

Generally speaking, pick the metal you will be flying on most of the time if your major focus is upgrades.

So from what I've been reading

1) for non-US based member, its easier to achieve E+ status for frequent travellers on skyteam via FB. But this may not directly correspond to miles earned/usable.

2) FB is more yield based, and mileage only exists if the customer is paying a higher yield ticket - other fare classes earn nearly no mileage

3) DL upgrades are pretty much limited to the US and folk qualifying for platinum level, FB provides no official upgrades on transatlantic. But DL upgrades are only available to SkyMiles elites.

3) FB has a bit more flexibility for folk doing transatlantic routing and not looking for upgrades - and more upgrade carriers for intra-US/intra-european markets (excluding DL).

Anything else?

Correct.

Correct.

I was talking about free upgrades here.

On the domestic front, it is a toss-up between FB and DL as you get free domestic upgrades on either NW or DL, depending on the program you choose.

For trsanatlantic upgrades, there are no free upgrades in FB - but 6 systemwides on DL.

Anybody can upgrade using miles; the fare requirements (Y/B/M on DL, Y/B/K on AF) are roughly the same.

Yes.

Something of an exaggeration (FB is no BAEC!). Except for domestic French flights, only the very lowest classes on AF and KL earn only 25% miles in FB. Most coach classes are 100% earning, with a few, used mainly for consolidated/group fares, earning at 50%.

The common V and W fares which CO and NW publish appear to barely account for anything ;). Obviously the various AF websites are very inconsistent on the text - some sites do not note the class differences. Anyone know if NW V class credits as 25% or 100% on AF (US/UK)?

As a multi-year Plat in both programmes, mostof what is posted above is correct, the one missing factor however is that when you actually travel and have problems DL is 100 times better to its Plats in general when there is a service issue, etc. God forbid you have a problem with KLM or even worse AF (cancelled flights, weather, etc.). i am not in any way saying that Dl is perfect but in general treats its Plats better than the FB bunch.

25% :(