Mid Year Airline Elite Status Check-in: How Have You Fared So Far?

I’ll start:
Current Status: Delta Diamond
Thoughts: Pretty happy overall. Have gotten about 85% upgrades- only missed them on LAX-JFK runs, which are always dicey though all JFK-LAX legs have cleared.
Using miles: Skymiles are hard to use, but I’m currently writing this post from the CDG lounge on my way to Mauritius in business class for 120,000 miles, so I can’t complain too much. I got 45,000 miles through Choice Benefits (20,000 when I hit Platinum and 25,000 when Diamond), so considering I got more than 1/3 of a business class trip to Europe/Africa for my loyalty, I can’t really complain. Would like to see valuable systemwide upgrade certificates, but I guess every program isn’t perfect.
Toying with a Star Alliance match because I’ll be doing the StarMegaDo3 and will get a bunch of miles in a short amount of time. Would be interested to hear what United/Continental elites are thinking so far with the merger.

This seems like a good thread to get some advice. Using

Current status: Delta Platinum.
Thoughts

Current status: Delta Silver

I’ve been lucky with Silver so far, I’ve been upgraded 50% of the time I have flown in the US. I got the offer to upgrade to Gold after 2 US round trips which I should have finished in the next 2 weeks so we’ll see what travel is like as Gold. I’m hoping Gold will get me upgraded on an international flight I have coming up in August that so far looks to be pretty empty. *fingers crossed*

May see if I can use this to match with another airline. I’m still new to the game so we’ll see how it all works out.

Current Status: I’m a mere Silver Medallion on Delta.

I’m relatively new to this game, and never thought much about status prior to a flight to Australia a year and a half ago that I paid for with credit card points and got me to the doorstep of silver medallion. I don’t travel at all for work, so all of the MQM I earn are for leisure trips.

I’m in an interesting position at the moment. Have maintained silver this year, but could easily bump up to Gold. I am hesitating to do so, which may sound odd. Delta’s carryover miles will make it much easier to maintain my silver status. Going gold would mean that instead of being silver and carrying over 24,000 miles (and virtually locking up silver next year) I’d be gold with probably 5,000 miles carried over to next year, putting my ability to re-up as a silver a bit more difficult.

I’ve enjoyed some of the perks of even silver status. I get more upgrades than one would think, but I don’t care a ton for those things. I’m just as happy in economy as I am in 1st/Business. My favorite perks are being able to choose preferred economy seats at the time of booking and the elite miles bonus.

For someone like me who presently never travels for work I don’t really see the value in switching my allegiances to another carrier. I don’t know if there’s anything to this or not, but as someone in a smaller city I find it a lot more pleasant to be on Delta and typically connect through MSP and DTW and avoid ORD if at all possible. So, switching would bring about the ORD connections no matter if I switched to UA or AA.

I’m currently DL Gold. I have been upgraded 30% of the time, but I almost always fly with my non-medallion wife. I rack up most of my miles and MQM’s via Am Ex (I have heavy business spending). I use Delta Reserve for the MQM boosts, and free Sky Club access. Wife and I are both picking up 150K AA miles each, thanks to the credit card offers, but will continue to fly DL, except for using the AA miles. I couldn’t do the AA challenge and complete it since I only fly about 5 times a year, and most of the time it’s for free.

Brian, You mentioned you would like System Upgrade Vouchers. Correct me if wrong, but I thought you could choose two benefits as Diamond ?

Delta Diamond, 10 for 10 on upgrades, even day of departure upgrades from LAX-AMS. I had Delta gate agents actually call me and ask me to board last because a Business seat may open (TPG Secret, I already was doing), it was nice that on that leg (twice same thing happened). Delta itself, alone, is great, BUT try and work with their so-called “Partners” and you will get very little back. Last two trips with Skyteam partner (KLM) had issues with Gate staff and seating. Air France was no fun either. Seriously thinking of US Airways for Trans-Atlantic Trips. oooh but those MQM is what kills me!

Current: Delta Gold, 53k MQM, including 25k amex transfer bonus
Thoughts: Based out of MSP, frequently need to minimize travel time. Pretty happy overall, but also don’t have any alternatives. Expect to make Platinum via the 3 round trip promo about 1 or 2 trips before I’d make it on Amex MQMs anyway. On board with Amex via necessity, fairly new to regular flying (primarily picked up late last year) and would otherwise be stuck at silver in a hub.
Using miles: No time to redeem and scheduling conflicts have pushed this back to next year, plus had been waiting for Plat to get free redeposits. I do shop for availability on occasion, though, to verify I can find redemptions when i need to. There’s currently 2x availability in biz to Tahiti around my anniversary next year with DL miles, for example. Similarly have BA and US miles available – haven’t booked, but went through dummy bookings on itineraries I’d like to fly in the next year or 2. Also, still qualifying for hotel status and building up that store, so more planning than redeeming at this point.

Actually, if Cory hits Gold this year, it will be good through the end of February 2013. At that point, status will be based on 2011 rollover MQM’s + 2012 MQM’s. If she has 5,000 rollover MQM’s, she would need to fly at least 20,000 miles in 2012 to keep that status beyond February 2013. Make sense?

Cory, if you like the elite bonus miles, gold is the way to go. 100% compared to 25% will get you award tickets MUCH faster. I, like you, DESPISE connecting through ORD.

New to Delta (Silver)
Flew NYC to JFK on a Tuesday afternoon flight. Total dissapointment.
1. She laughed when I chedked the status of my upgrade.
2. I had changed my ticket online to go to an emergency row seat. When I got there I was in a window between a family to the right and the kicking kind behind. They did nothing.
3. Stupidly thought my Silver would get me into sky club.

Jeff, you should learn what you are entitled to with Silver, and not be shocked when you don’t get what you aren’t entitled to.
1. GA shouldn’t have laughed at your upgrade, but that’s probably a heavy elite flight, and don’t expect an upgrade as a silver. I only got 1 upgrade as a silver out of 8 or so flights.
2. They can’t help that you chose a window seat, nor who is seated around you. It’s a fact of life kids fly.
3. Silver I don’t think has ever gotten you into the Club. Heck, Golds and Platinums don’t get in either for free.

You seem really upset at Delta for nothing their fault (except the GA shouldn’t have laughed, but politely said no chance).

No, I don’t work for DL, or owe DL stock, or anything. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but I see many people that get bent out of shape over not getting something that they weren’t entitled to anyways. Shoot off an email to DL, or twitter them @DeltaAssist and let them know about the GA being rude, maybe they will throw you 1K miles or so. Worth a shot.

How’d you get the Delta Gold offer? I tried to sign up, and emailed, but they say it was selective

So many Delta people here!

Current Status: United Premier Executive (50k level)

Thoughts: I’ve been United Prem Exec for about 4 years straight now. Overall I am very happy with how United treats me. I’ve had 3 op-up upgrades on LAX-LHR-LAX flights to Business Class over the years, on base coach tickets. My partner and I even scored operational upgrades on a recent Rio-DC flight that was booked with Saver Miles! So 27,500 United Miles got me into United new Biz Class on a lie flat bed for a 10 hour Brazil-USA flight.

I also (generally speaking) find United’s phone agents very polite and helpful. I’ve cleared unlimited domestic upgrades about 60% of the time as a Prem Exec. Even on Continental flights. And I have had no problem using 15,000 miles to upgrade from Coach to Business on the 6 hour p.s. branded LAX-JFK-LAX flights.

I do think United’s product is lacking somewhat. I find the United Club’s incredibly dated and ugly and food choices terrible. They need a massive overhaul. The p.s. 757s are very dated, likewise toe 747s on Sydney/Melbourne flights.

Using miles: Generally, I would say pretty good. No problem using Star Alliance carriers either. I generally use my miles for international flights. I never am flexible with dates – yet I always manage to get flights to Brasil, Sydney, Barcelona etc on miles at the saver level.

I recently got to Mykonos, Greece for just 55,000 miles!

Overall I feel I am well treated by United and have not seriously considered switching. Their clubs and planes need an upgrade though.

Delta PLat, on track to maybe make Delta gold this year. Been with NWA/DELTA now for 6 yers as Silver for NWA 2 years, gold for 2 years, Plat for 2 years and now only going to make gold this year if I streatch myself. I recently moved to LAX and really am not sure if I should stay with Delta. I get upgraded about 80% of the time as Platnium but am often times fighting for the last seat available. Been debating go to UA. I do a mixture of internation and domestic travel. Not sure really who has the best program for the LA traveler. When living in Seattle I was upgraded 100% of time time as NWA Gold, but once they merged with Delta even being Seattle based I was only upgraded about 85% of the time as a platnum. THis year my biggest hang ups have been when flying to their bigger hubs, msp, dtw, and atl. When flying regional jets i’m 10/10, always upgraded on flights such as msp-mci, mci-atl, lax-sfo, lax-slc, mci-slc. I’ve found if I fly the CRJ I get up graded. But also the ratio fo firstclass seats to economy is higher than on plans like the domestic 767s

Status : Delta Silver

Thoughts: First time I ever achieved any type of status with any airline. Very happy with Delta so far, about 95% upgrades out of TUL. I actually pick non peak times when I travel, or try to, since all of my mqm accrual is leisure only. I will renew Silver again end of this year with a trip to ATH, so thats about 12.5k mqm r/t not bad actually. I also purchased Skyclub membership *just paying monthly* since I travel at least once a month out of state. I really appreciate the courtesy at the gates, and check in counters etc. They thank me for my loyalty when even though I’m a lowly silver, it’s nice still. Once I get Silver again, I might try and hit Gold or higher if any sweet deals come up next year Keep flying!

oops all for AA Exec Platinum..but only platinum right now.

Current Status: Continental Platinum Elite/UA Premier Executive. 80,000 EQM so far this year

Thoughts: I definitely feel in the minority when I read this site, but I love Continental. I live in Brooklyn and fly out of EWR, and I basically always fly internationally. I can’t remember the last time I missed a domestic upgrade, but then I only fly in the U.S. maybe twice a year. I fly coach to Europe because I’m a heavy sleeper and I’m rarely even awake when the plane takes off, and then I always use systemwide upgrades for trips to Asia so that I can function on landing. I don’t need to buy a Presidents Club membership because it’s free for Platinum Elites when flying internationally, and that’s all I do. Continental flies direct almost everywhere I need to go, which is about 16 countries per year (all for business). I often wind up using Lufthansa for my intra-Europe flights, as I find them reliable and consistent. I also think that Lufthansa treats Star Gold better than any other alliance member. Checking in at the Lufthansa First Class desk in Frankfurt is an amazing privilege when you consider that they’re not my primary airline. Booking Star Alliance rewards tickets have always been a cakewalk for me (always domestic, nothing fancy), even though I always need three tickets on the same flights. Again, that’s a huge plus for me.

Continental’s flat beds in Business First are awesome, and when I fly coach, I get the bulkhead for every single flight without fail. I’m one of the first off the plane, I never check a bag, and I’ve had Global Entry since it was introduced, which gets me through passport control in about 20 seconds. The whole thing is like an easy sleepwalk that I do every 2 weeks.

I like the Continental EWR terminal, but maybe that’s because it’s my second home. I eat a big meal at Gallagher’s Steak House so that I can skip dinner on the plane when flying economy. I think having a real NYC restaurant at the terminal is a giant plus. Both of the Presidents Clubs at EWR are fine for my needs. They can start to look like refugee camps at times, but I find that there is so much easy seating at most gates that I just leave the club if it’s overcrowded. Sometimes I fly out of the UA terminal at JFK, but it always strikes me as crowded and worn out, so I prefer EWR.

I think about other options. More systemwide upgrades with AA, the ability to to fly into Haneda for my Tokyo trips etc. But since the purpose of my trips is 100% business, and I always need to think about what I need to accomplish at whatever “Point B” I’m headed to, I like the consistency and reliability of Continental.

The merger has been basically invisible to me. Sometimes I gotta convince the check-in machine that I truly have a reservation in the system, and that never happened before the merger, but if that’s the worst of it then I’m fine. I’ve talked to some flight attendants who aren’t crazy about various internal changes, and I worry that this might affect how much they like their job, and how they approach future flights, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Wow, is this the most boring synopsis yet? I think I sound like a guy who eats the same soup for lunch every day for 73 years and then drops dead at the diner.

Current United 1K — at 75k EQMs this year. Also current Delta Plat Rollover + some travel = at 70k right now.

Agreed! Since I am also Brookyln based and considering a CO/UA challenge. Great point about getting a good meal before flying. The choices at Delta’s JFK T2/3 terminals are awful (sorry Todd English!)

Currently DL Platinum (earned this year).

Started year as DL Gold and only 969 rollover MQM. YTD have approximately 110,000 MQM and will be Diamond in the next month or so. Got 25K MQM from AMEX Platinum deal plus 10K MQM from my DL platinum AMEX spend threshold. Also had trips in either Business Elite or Y,B,M fares to Japan and to Europe 3 times already. I go to Europe about every other month and I can always find Z availability on Delta so the SWUs are valuable for me. Will definitely get more of them when I hit Diamond.

Based on many of TPG’s tips, I just completed a roundtrip business class trip to Europe at the low mileage level. I must have changed my ticket 5 times as better flight options opened up. That is one of my favorite benefits of being platinum.

No reason for me to switch since I am pretty happy and based out of DTW.

Delta DOES upgrade people on some international flights, mainly unsexy destinations in the Caribbean and South America

Any else on here based out of LAX? If so Who are you most loyal to/have status with? What is your luck so far this year? So far from LAX I’ve only traveled to Seattle on Alaska (didn’t get upgraded as a DL PLT) and to SFO and I did get upgraded but this was on the CRJ which is easy to get upgraded on.

UAL Premiere Exec here. Been 50K status for the past 10 years, with my sights set on getting 100K status this year. I have 60K of EQM at the moment (59.5 segments). All my EQM has come from domestic travel with no international trips on the horizon.

I definitely need to look into non-flight methods of earning some extra EQM (credit card, or whatever) but at the end of the day, I’ll consider a mileage run if I need to.

You answered him politely with good info so he asked if you worked for DL?

You aren’t going to make him happy.

Liz- the Elite maximizer will not be cheap, but it’ll be easy and will close that gap. Though you should sit and assess your flying next year- will spending all of that money to get to gold be worth it?

United 1k at 125k for the year already 91k BIS so far

I’m a Delta Silver who will likely hit Gold this year but I’ve learned something from experience that is causing me to think I need to switch. As much as I like Delta’s service, there are no Delta flights to hubs between 8AM and 11AM from SMF.

That really impacts my ability to get to the east coast on a decent schedule, unless I want to get up at 3 in the morning to make a 6AM flight (I’m an hour from the airport), which I will do tomorrow.

Looking at FlightStats.com, the only airline with a good morning flight to a hub is American. Which is a bummer because I have some international travel coming up on United/LH (it was $1K cheaper than Delta/SkyTeam) but the United schedule is just as bad from SMF.

So looking forward to your update and seeing if there is any way to match my status to AA.

Hi! I’m now fly out of LAX. Was in ATL for the last few years. I’m DL PLT and have a reserve card and have been upgraded on all domestic flights (primarily to Atlanta and Orlando). Upgrades confirmed to upcoming trip to Jamaica as well. I am finding it a lot more difficult to get the same value out of the program here in LA compared to ATL…