Best Program: US Airways

Best Feature: Unlimited upgrades for Chairman's Preferred & companion.

Con: Lack of partners. Non-automated upgrades (you have to call and ask.) Lousy coffee. Only 2 SWUs for top tier (the 2 companion certs don't count).

Other notable positives: "Personal Liason's" are superb. Great treatment from staff all around -- ticket counter, gate, flight attendants etc.

CO's Best Feature: Automatic upgrades. Great (domestic) 1st class menu is a close second.

CO Worst: You have to fly on an old, dark and gloomy Boeing fleet -- even the brand new planes feel like they've been left out in the rain somewhere near Detroit for 30 years. The most uncomfortable 1st class seats in the US.

NW Best: Automatic upgrades.

NW Worst: Nothing notable springs to mind.

Nowthwest

Best : 1. Unlimited domestic upgrades for all elite levels
2. Internet check-in 24 hrs. prior to departure


Worst : No segment upgrades for international routes

Posting for US

Pro: NAU is good for 800 miles

Con: No flights to Pacific/Asia

DL:

DL
Best:
GM's receive 8-800 mile segments for every 10,000 miles.

PM's get free CRC membership.

PM's can upgrade domestic flights at time of booking (except LUser fares).

Web site posts miles the same day that the trip is completed on DL metal flights.

Great employees at lower and middle management levels.

Companion upgrades with NAMU's.

Worst:
Simply Good Business

LUser fares

Loss of SWU's for GM's & FO's. PM's capped at 6 a year no matter how many miles they fly.

Lack of available upgrade inventory in B/E for international flights even though the cabins have many empty seats on the day of departure.

Lack of same day gate upgrades for international flights. A disgrace!

Not being able to exchange 800 mile segments for miles (especially affects DL customers who mainly fly international).

Not being able to speak directly to the Skymiles Center. You have to deal with a SMS agent that speaks to the center. A total waste of time and manpower.

Constantly getting form letter responses to valid complaints without your problem being answered.

Upper management is totally out of touch with the needs of their Medallion customers.

Not having lounge access with their Skyteam partners for GM's & FO's even if you belong to the CRC. Also not having a CRC at CDG which is their major hub in Europe.

Cattle car seating in Y on all DL planes.

NAMU's are on an annual calendar not a rolling calendar.




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Best:
BA family plan...all miles into 1 account....great for building a Concorde trip.

Worst:
Anything to do with American West Air.

Ripe for a come back:
UA Put more FC seats on the 737 and roll things back to 1985.

CO best: Unlimited domestic upgrades.

CO worst: Mileage UG on int'l flights only on H,K,Y fares.

Southwest:

Best
(1) Free roundtrip for every four round-trips purchased online.
(2) Drink coupons (enough for four beers/wines) sent with each reward ticket.
(3) No penalty for changing or cancelling flights.

Worst
(1) Blackout dates on reward tickets. (That's much more typical of the so-called "Major Airlines" than Southwest.)
(2) Longer trips and shorter trips earn the same amount of credit.

Northwest

(There's a list)

1. Unlimited domestic upgrades.
2. On-line check in and boarding passes.
3. Generous bonus miles for higher tiers of elite.
4. Partner airline seemless upgrades (Continental).
5. On line reservation system relatively easy to use, both for paid and award travel.
6. Automatic upgrade processing and email notification.
7. Upgrades primarily designated for passengers, not employees.

Worst (There's a list)

1. No ff miles on cybersaver tickets.
2. Very difficult to get international upgrades, and accompanying fare structure restrictions.
3. Airline schedule doesn't match business travel needs, particularly since 9/11.
4. Inflexibility overall of gate/elite/reservation agents as relates to non-traveller caused disruptions. (Again reference 9/11 disruptions, Atlanta airport shutdown, etc.)
5. Steadily declining quality level of air travel in all classes of service. (meals, elite boarding, etc.)
6. Steady but noticeable increase in first class seat hold-backs.
7. Inconsistent process for gate screening; unavailability of screeners, placement of screening and boarding passengers together, etc.


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Marriott: Best part their old program, Worst part: Getting worse with postings.

Hilton: Best Part all the 50,000 promotions, and Double Dip
Worst Part: Car Rental Bonus doesn't post

Starwood: Best part really giving loads of points away with the promotions
Worst part no offpeaks awards or point strechers

[This message has been edited by milesrus (edited 12-11-2001).]

More to add to the United program:

Positives:
- Lots of airline partners.
- Star Alliance and Star Gold.

Negatives:
- No changes of any kind on many of their airline partners after departure.
- Rules for mileage accrual on code-share flights are very confusing. I wish they would just treat them like a UA flight just like most other airlines do.
- No elite bonus when travelling on alliance partners.

Great story idea. I'm probably deep in the Amen Chorus on a few of these aspects by now, but if it's votes that count, here's mine:

CONTINENTAL (plat):

Best: 1. Domestic upgrade policy
2. frequent lump-sum mileage specials
3. they don't starve you in first class
4. good chance of great mileage sales
5. a 125% platinum bonus

Worst: 1. EasyPass as a "solution" to stingy seat allocations
2. Bonuses apply only to actual miles rather than 500 minimum
3. Regional-jet substitution making upgrades meaningless on more routes
4. Website mileage crediting delayed or confusing.

DELTA (FORMER gold)

BEST:

1. Website mileage credits almost in real time.
2. More of a can-do attitude in booking award travel over the phone.

WORST:

1. LUser fares (made me leave!)
2. Service cutbacks - even the "turkey twinkie" was too expensive. Cheap, cheap, cheap

NORTHWEST (member)

BEST:

1. Patterned after OnePass
2. Good range of partners and exotic destinations

WORST

1. No-mileage Cyberfares indicate NW management not as committed to a good FF program as Continental is.
2. Miles + $$ specials a good idea, but again no mileage credit. If I'm paying $100 or $200 I want MILES! NW management wants customers to bargain those away.