re: What’s your airline mile program of choice?

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I’m a Delta Diamond medallion but the AA boys swear it’s the best program.

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Former Delta Diamond, now EXP with AA.

It's all the same.

I'm United Gold since I moved to Houston a few years ago.

I was always Southwest before moving here. Still think Southwest is the best airline & rewards program, but I live too close to Bush & can't justify driving to Hobby.

I like flying Delta the best, but from New Orleans it is tough to use. I don't like flying through Atlanta to go West.

I used to really like my Chase Sapphire Preferred for its flexibility. However, recent changes there have really made it a lot more difficult.

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flight attendants who were the most obnoxious mask nazis, etc.

frick AA. I hated flying to Seattle during the mask mandates.

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I was an Exac Platinum with AA when the COVID thing had just started. I was sitting in First drinking a cocktail when a flight attendant from the back walked up and started screaming at me. I had my mask on my leg, this was when it was no mask if you were eating or drinking, and she just lost her shite. The first class attendant had to pull her away. It was bizarre honestly.

I reported it and was actually called back by their HR Department who related that they had multiple complaints against her. I felt better. Two weeks later it happened on a different flight with a (obviously) different flight attendant.

I quit flying AA that day and have been Delta since. But it is damn hard to progress in the Delta system. Nowhere near the number of upgrades and I am having trouble breaking out of Gold status. They have spend qualifications that are quite a bit higher than AA it seems.

Yeah, as someone said they're mostly the same. It's all about direct flights for me. I hate connections.

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The new AA qualification system is terrible and confusing unless you plan to put a large amount of spend on an AA credit card.

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It’s not confusing at all, but you are correct that CC spend is a pain.

Mileage Program:
1. AAdvantage (Great Partner Redemption Rates)
2. United Mileage Plus
3. Delta SkyMiles (They call them SkyPesos for a reason)
4. Southwest Rapid Rewards (No real international routes or transfer partners)

Travel Experience
1. Delta
2. United
3. Southwest
4. Spirit
50 feet of crap
American

Thanks!

So basically $30k spend to get Gold.

I fly out of the small regional airport via AA if feasible, if not I usually use United or Southwest. I only fly 5 or 6 times a year though so the mileage isn't really a deciding factor for me. I do like to transfer chase points to Flying Blue or United for international flights though. I used Amex for Singapore Air for lie-flat business cubicals for IAH -> MAN most recently though

My preferred mile program is Alaska. My local airport is an Alaska and Delta hub, but Alaska is the better airline with more direct flights. It’s also cheaper to fly despite being better quality and with a newer fleet.