jwales

Hi, I'm 1K on United and Platinum on Continental. With Continental moving over to Star Alliance, I'll have to figure out what to do on that end - not asking about that right now.

I will end up - out of necessity - sometimes flying on some other SkyTeam partners. I more or less love Continental and hate the rest of them equally, haha, so that doesn't really help me. I think I fly AirFrance/KLM and Delta about the same amount total, although a lot more international legs on AF, and a lot more domestic legs on Delta. I also fly a smattering on Korean, Alitalia, etc.

I expect that I'll have 25k miles per year on whichever program I choose, enough to get me into the short line, but depending on how the year goes, I sometimes fly on them a lot more.

One of the things I'm wondering: given that I'm a mega frequent flyer, would it be worth my effort to call up one of these carriers and ask them to entice me to their program by comping me a year at their highest level? Or am I dreaming?

sbm12

Welcome to FlyerTalk!!

DL will definitely match you for a year to their Platinum level from CO Platinum.

If you fly on full fare tickets then the FlyingBlue program may have some advantages. Sadly, however, SkyMiles is still probably the best bet. And I say "sadly" because it really isn't all that great, especially if you're not at the top level. You might also look at AeroMexico. They have an OK program as I understand it but I haven't dug deeply into it.

chewy3

You may want to give Alitalia's program a try. They have a status matching promo right now and it only takes half the amount of miles to requalify. They also have good redemption rates like 80k business class to Europe and most of the Middle East.

link

sbm12

I would avoid them like the plague. They have a habit of doing things like "resetting" their program every couple years and requiring you to fly on their metal to keep your miles. The past few years have been a nightmare for them. I wouldn't go near it.

graraps

25k miles on how many segments?
You can qualify for Elite Plus (=lounge access unless on a US domestic) with 30 segments on either FB or OK+.

graraps

Well, you can always do the status match and use it as a means of taking advantage of the benefits of status while you're earning it with another ST airline.

cfischer

but earnings on FB are poor ... stay away from FB. Sounds like DL will be o.k. for you ... if you can get 125k you'll get domestic lounge access as well.

bmw303

If you have flown more than 125,000 miles this year on United (and I say that because you are 1K) or if you will fly more than 125K miles this year on United (or Continental), I would suggest that you consider waiting before getting a status match to DL.

Delta will be introducing next year a Diamond Medallion Tier, which will be higher than platinum. So you can get a match to DL now and enjoy Platinum for a longer time, or get a match later and enjoy Diamond status --- if DL will match to it -- (which includes CRC access).

sbm12

I'd bet that DL doesn't match into Diamond, even if you show 125K+ miles flown.

cfischer

chances of less then zero for this to happen ... but waiting until January 1 is a good idea to get an extra year of PE.

Traveloguy

I believe this is something to do with Italian tax law although I am sure another FT'er with more insight can provide you with further detail.

slippahs

Perhaps a NW match now will save you a once-in-a-lifetime on DL later.

sbm12

No need to wait that long. Matches done now should be good through to Feb 2011.

I don't really care what the reason is (though it would be interesting to learn that there was a law that caused it). The net effect is that they expire the miles unless you fly on AZ metal. For someone not based in Italy that is a pretty rough requirement.

Zazza

what usually happens is that the Millemiglia program is reseted and you need to fly to times in a 6 months period (one A/R is enough) to get your miles back again.

ciao

cfischer

I have heard plenty of 2/10 for recent matches ...