Sabai

DL is adequate for domestic redemptions; internationally there is no comparison.

s0479

For my last two international award trips I compared many airlines because I was redeeming using points to get the miles and I wasn't as concerned what airline I flew. Delta on both ended up having the most convenient schedule and lowest air miles needed. Of course that is just a comparison of two trips over three years.

5khours

Ditto to pretty much everything said, I would only add.

I don't find that much difference in service. Pretty mediocre in both cases.

I would emphasize again that there is a huge, incomparable difference in award availability. I've booked over 100 award tickets on UA, and have always been able to go where I wanted to go, when I wanted to go. On DL, I have simply given up even looking because the award availability is so bad and it is so hard to use the DL website to find seats.

DiverDave

Welcome to FT!

Delta has been good to us in HSV in the past year or so, as we usually have 3-4 mainline (DC-9 and MD-88) flights per day. That's a big improvement.

David

RFDMinnesota

I made the switch to UA after the DL SDC changes. Couldn't be happier. And I'm a "hub captive!"

CoMooter

As both a Diamond on DL and a 1K on UA (In a UA hub) I can pass along that UA I prefer for the long haul stuff just for convenience - but DL is immensely better from a service standpoint on the domestic routes - and that is even with connections IMHO. Miles are a little harder to come by on UA - but again they are easier to book with much like with AA.

DL for whatever reason cannot seem to handle the mileage redemption issue - especially internationally - as well as UA and AA.

Panam Clipper

So there you have it. It's up to you to decide what is more important: the quality of service or the ease of reward redemption. Delta does not seem pressured to make rewards easier to redeem because many customers choose to fly them for that service.

UA-NYC

Minor correction - at 75K, UA Plats only get a 75% bonus (I'm ignoring the first 100% as everyone gets that, status or not ), whereas DL Plats get a 100% bonus.

Miesque

My experience has been the United is really good for the more last minute sorts of redemptions where the purchase rates are just obscene even though there is obviously a decent amount of seats left. For example, a few months ago I used something like 10K each way for a roundtrip flight Richmond to Newark and the price for the ticket was about $900. Delta last minute, never seen it remotely close to being a good option.

guyinmotion

While I prefer Delta because I find them to have more flight options out of the US hubs I fly into, I do find that UA offers greater value/mile and award redemption options with their partners.

UA miles redeemed on Thai for a ICN/BKK award ticket was 45,000 on business
Delta miles redeemed on KE for the same ticket/ season was 70,000

UA miles redeemed on LH for a ICN/JFK award ticket: 120,000 on first (business was also available for lower)
Delta would have cost me 115,000 on economy

So make the switch based on the routes you travel vs. availability of award redemptions. But your 30-40k/ year will go further with UA in my opinion.

IflyfromABE

Since you are flying 30-40K a year, the benefits you will be getting on either airline might not be that great (like first class upgrades, so you can ignore those comments as differentiators), but there are a few things to consider:

- E+ on United does make a difference and as a silver you can get it at check in
- United, unlike Delta, does not fly 35 year old planes (they do have some older pmUA planes in the 20-25 y.o. range, but these are being retired.)
- UA has more regional flights in places where DL has mainline (if that matters to you,) but UA has much fewer CRJ200s (the most torturous flight experience) than DL, and they are going away.
- If I were you, I would look at timetables and destinations before I made my mind.

The soft product is very subjective and has to do with individual experiences. Given, I have not flown Delta much. Last time I did, was when CO was allied with them...

pbarnette

DL Silvers receive the same benefit for Economy Comfort. This is not the point of differentiation it once was.

All of the DC9s are slated to exit from service this year. There is not a terrible difference in overall average age between the two fleets and both carriers have likely renovated the older planes at some point.

True enough. However, from HSV:
1) DL has mainline service out of HSV. UA does not and is all small RJ, with a minimum flight of over 500 miles.
2) There are some CRJs to ATL (and 2 per day to DTW), but ATL is a 150 mile flight, mitigating that.
3) Unfortunately for the OP, some of those UA CRJs are on the HSV-IAD route.

Agreed. DL certainly has more frequency, more capacity, and bigger planes. On the plus side for UA, though, is the fact that you can go in 3 directions (IAH, ORD, IAD - though ORD and IAD only have one or two flights per day), which might help cut travel times depending upon your normal routes. With DL, you will be primarily going through ATL, save a couple flights per day to DTW.

LaserSailor

I'm heavy on both , plat on DL.

Domestic I find them very comparable hard product and soft. UA much better on redemption and miles rewards. I fly UA more due to routes required, not "preference for airline "

vickersja

Thanks everyone. I was thinking of trying to focus only one one, but it seems like as my yearly mileage will be on the lower end, I may split. My goal was to get at least Silver on one airline, but the benefits are not spectacular, and i doubt i will be upgraded with all the heavy flyers out there. Ill get bumped back.

vickersja

Thanks. Yes, Delta has more flight options out of Huntsville, and they are rarely full. So i like to book at the back of the plane and odds are ill be sitting myself, which is a bonus.

Delta used to be cheaper, but in the past several months, United has been about $40 cheaper for a round trip. Not alot, I know, but im hoping its not a trend.