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I do 5-6 international (Asia and Europe) from ATL now, along with 5-6 business/personal US flights, doing ~80K miles a year. All of my purchases rotate around maximizing my SkyMiles as I am doing enough to really benefit. I'll throw some tips into the pot. I'm pretty much locked in to Delta because I am in Atlanta and its the only way to viably tie in London (direct Delta) and Kuala Lumpur (ATL-ICN-KUL on Korean) on the same mileage team. Huge downside to this is Delta doesn't do upgrades on cheap seats on international (and you'd probably have to be Diamond to get near the top of the list anyways). Silver/Gold isn't worth poo poo anymore, I was still way behind on upgrade priority lists. I was hitting ~75% just a few years ago but I think I was an outlier then. Haven't done domestic since hitting Platinum. Delta SkyMiles Platinum AMEX gives 10K MQM miles for spending $25K and then again at $50K which can help bump you up a level if you are piddling in between tiers. This incentive keeps me from switching over to a cashback card. Between flying, the card, and other assorted bonuses I am approaching 300K skymiles per year. This essentially lets my wife follow me on every intercontinental trip I take for a few hundred bucks if she wants to. The leftovers are going to let us do two tickets in business anywhere we want. There are lots of complaints about availability but I think the main problem is the Delta international award travel search is terrible. When you hit higher tiers for dedicated non-stupid agents and if you are flexible with your travel it gets a lot better. 50K/60K miles to Europe/Asia is way better return than spending 25K on domestics. 100-120K for international business is just incredible value for a $8000 ticket. I used to tie my hotel rewards in with my Delta miles but I didn't find the hotel benefits to be that great and most of the international places I stay at aren't chains. I've been using hotels.com for booking and the whole stay 10 get 1 free is an amazing return. If you are ever on an EU based flight that gets delayed or cancelled the airline owes you 250-600EUR. Delta immediately rejected my request for my 600EUR when my flight got cancelled last year ("It was out of our control!") but there is at least one EU based company that files appeals claims for you if you give them all the paperwork. I filed 14 months ago and just got approved last week. After they sniped 200 of my award in fees I still got 400EUR for having to wait 16 hours in a hotel room to fly back home. Delta is pretty terrible if you get a bad crew. The worst situation is when the cabin crew is physically wider than the aisles and bumps you every 30 minutes. This is pretty much a US only phenomenon from what I've seen. Korean Air is very nice, the only weird thing is the planes have no AC which does make the air sort of stagnant.
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Dec 3, 2012 21:48
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How does that compare with the flat 10% return on hotels.com? I only do 40-50 nights away a year but they are usually in $250-300/night Central London hotels so I'm usually getting 4-5 nights in a 5 star when I redeem. Not having to commit to a single chain is also key for international travel to places where a major chain isn't always available much less the one I would need. What sort of non-free night perks am I really missing out on?
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Jul 26, 2013 01:41
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What happened? Did you get misbooked into Y/B/M and get to upgrade with miles? I have an award ticket next year in BE from ATL-NRT-SIN after doing that trip many times in coach for work I think I might be looking forward to that more than vacation itself.
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Sep 30, 2013 03:50
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Oh god the Delta regular booking line vs the platinum desk are night and day. Four hours on the phone trying to book ATL-LON-KUL-LON-ATL with stops at each destination to no avail. The rep, supervisor, or global ticketing desk couldn't figure out how to make an itinerary I found online to book. Got home and called the number on the back of my card. 10 minutes giving flight details to the platinum desk and I get a call back an hour later ready to take my credit card details. Now if I can just trick KLM into giving my whole family Economy Comfort instead of trying to charge for the non-PMs.
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Feb 22, 2014 17:35
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The spend based RDMs aren't really that annoying if it actually increases availability. 0-1 seats per flight for any TPAC on Delta metal is terrible. Holding back on redemption charts and partner accrual is the worst part of this. If they drop MQM earning on AF/KLM I'm out. Wait no I'm not I'm ATL based. Anyone familiar with British Airs program? I guess ATL-LHR-KUL hits all my main mile earning destinations but screws my domestic upgrade chance. Most of my redemption is TATL/TPAC.
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Feb 27, 2014 01:20
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Pissingintowind posted:Upper or lower deck of a LH 744 in J? Upper deck is quieter and most people seem to prefer that. But my experience is Delta, I think all the LH ones are F in the upper deck, no?
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Mar 17, 2014 22:49
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74991 Delta MQMs, 9 Segments. Hooray AMEX Platinum bonus tiers. Boo being 9 miles away from Platinum reward with no travel till August. 4 hotels.com rewards nights earned @ $400, $350, $250 and $125 No cars because driving in foreign countries is scary OoOoOoOoo I might hit Diamond if ATL-CDG-KUL-CDG-ATL gets planned on a week that I can get Premium Economy for cheap. That would be 32658 MQMs from 4 segments. The new Global Upgrade Certs are a real tempting bonus...
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Jul 3, 2014 20:53
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I just traveled with one too, the less crazy variant. "Just exercising my rights in protest of unreasonable search and seizure". He also checked a handgun so he could conceal carry for a 3 day vacation. I guess standing in long lines in pursuit of hollow victories is something people are into.
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Aug 18, 2014 13:16
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Ynglaur posted:Of things with which to be annoyed, someone deliberately exercising what liberties they have in peaceful protest of liberties taken is not something about which I'd get upset. Then again I'm an Iraq War vet, so we're all about hollow victories. Nothing annoying about it. I skated through and was enjoying a Egg McMuffin watching the interesting fellow get fondled. If standing in a long line to check his firearm and getting his balls touched make him feel like he is defending our freedoms, go nuts dude.
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Aug 19, 2014 01:32
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I wonder why there are 19 new replies... oh I like this one. gently caress the air in front of your face I'm 6'4" and uncomfortable as gently caress sitting upright. Doesn't bother me when others do it either, its not like you can actually use a laptop in coach these days reclined or not. I don't even think this is that big of a deal. Hundreds of flights in I have never witnessed someone asking permission to recline their seat. The concept seems odd and I'm a pretty nice dude in general. I guess because I'm going to do it anyways I don't see the point. Flying turns me into an animal I guess. At least I can look at FlyerTalk and realize I'm at least somewhat sane. Nice to know that the Knee Defender isn't allowed on US airlines I'll surely use that when asking for a seat change if someone ever tries to use that on me.
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Aug 27, 2014 03:30
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Slamming back would be a dick move. The  bruised knees argument I see everywhere is just exaggeration though, right?
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Aug 27, 2014 16:24
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I decided to open the FlyerTalk thread about Delta removing the awards chart and someone posted a quote from 1984 about oppression. Good stuff.
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Feb 10, 2015 22:47
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I did a few years of 40-50 nights a year booked through hotels.com. Mostly because it was international and the hotels I would be booking at weren't part of a program. I don't know how good the major reward programs are but an effective 10% return was really great.
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Jun 20, 2015 14:54
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Thoguh posted:Anybody fly into IND much? I'm going for a wedding in about a month and don't want to rent a car since I'm at a downtown hotel and parking would cost as much as the rental itself. I've never been there without getting a rental. Any advice for the best way to get from the airport to downtown? Taxis and Uber both look like they'd be around $40 each way. I don't think so since they killed the Green Line bus that went downtown. Sharing a cab or uber is probably your best bet.
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Jul 23, 2015 00:47
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Oh well new minimal travel job... Going to be at 59500 + a few SEA-PDX trips at the end of the year unless I do something. Seriously considering doing SEA-NRT-SIN-NRT-SEA to visit some former work friends and eat curry in Kuala Lumpur so I can hit Platinum again. $900 flight + cheap hotels so I can get upgrades on about a dozen domestics next year...Higgy posted:Speaking of Platinum on Delta, I chose the 4 domestic upgrade certs as my "gift". Does anyone know if these even guarantee anything? I know they put me near the top of the upgrade list but I've had some coworkers get burned by them. I just used them for the first time. Wife and I are going SEA-OGG so I called before picking them and made sure there was space to get upgraded immediately. There was so I selected them, waited a few hours for them to show up in my wallet with cert numbers and called back. Worked great. Wouldn't use them till I knew there was space on the flight I wanted though.
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Oct 18, 2015 06:46
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A few years ago I was going to do a run from Atlanta to Singapore to hit Diamond but decided to do rollover instead. Now that GUCs are a thing I would be doing that in a heartbeat (assuming they are as easy to use as they appear, I haven't looked)
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Oct 19, 2015 21:55
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:I've had very good luck with GUCs. I wouldn't have ever taken RUCs but it means my wife will get to sit in first with me on the way to Hawaii (on a 20 year old 757) instead of me splitting the PNR to ditch her in coach so it's probably worth it for vacation happiness. I'm 6'4" she is 5'2" no bad husband judgment please
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Oct 20, 2015 01:32
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DJCobol posted:Slight route change You're a monster. I'm already getting sickened by my sea-nrt-sin-nrt-sea mileage run.
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Oct 26, 2015 22:50
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Uncle Jam posted:Why don't you guys make an actual vacation out of your mileage run? Oh I am, catching an AirAsia to KUL to hang out with old coworkers and mash curry into my face for a week.
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Oct 27, 2015 04:29
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kitten smoothie posted:So is it a thing that PreCheck carries over to people on the same PNR, even if they don't have a trusted traveler number? I just got it from status on SEA-OGG and it was on my wife's as well.
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Nov 6, 2015 21:26
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So, what everyone said?
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Nov 7, 2015 23:17
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Thoguh posted:Well, Delta officially is turning Comfort Plus into something you have to upgrade up to. PMs and DMs get unlimited upgrades but they have to request it without knowing what seat they'll get and upgrade inventory is controlled, you can't just select seats that are open like you can currently. It doesn't look that bad, unless they prevent you from switching back to your regular economy seat after the upgrade processes and sucks.
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Nov 17, 2015 03:04
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I've asked at the bad travel forums but figure I should ask here. I have a 6 hour stay at the SIN transit hotel that is airside in T1. I fly into T1 from Delta at midnight and leave T1 on AirAsia at 7AM. I know if I leave customs I'm hosed because I can't check my bag in till a few hours before takeoff. Can I leave my bag for 4-5 hours before picking it up and re-checking it or am I asking for it to be lost and/or getting anal probed by the chewing gum police?
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Dec 4, 2015 02:28
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ufsteph posted:Check your bag through to your final destination? Was going to ask Delta if they can, but didn't get the impression that was a thing.
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Dec 4, 2015 03:01
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Mackieman posted:Are you on separate tickets or all on the same itinerary? I don't believe Delta interlines to other carriers when you're on separate tickets, though reports of it working do exist. It's really up to the agent that you deal with upon check in. If you're on a single ticket, they should check it to your final destination. Different airline. Going SEA-NRT-SIN on Delta but SIN-KUL is AirAsia. I do see they supposedly put a policy in place for not doing it but that it might be not enforced. Here's hoping.
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Dec 4, 2015 23:16
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I wimped out and did a carry on instead of trying to get Delta to pass luggage through AirAsia. Glad I did, 6 hours of sleep in SIN was worth it. I think AirAsia smuggled me out of Singapore though. I strolled up to the gate security 10 minutes before boarding and got confused looks that I didn't have a paper boarding card yet. Apparently even without luggage you are supposed to through customs and back in which wasn't clear given they let everyone back into the transit area immediately after landing. A phone call to a supervisor later and the agent wrote me a hand written boarding card and we took off. A+ Customer Service (I'm going to prison when I go back in 4 days aren't I)
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Dec 7, 2015 03:10
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DJCobol posted:You don't have to go through customs, but at the terminal junction there is a transit desk you have to check in at and get your new boarding passes. Ah, the gate agent said everyone coming in was required to enter Singapore and pass through customs (made to me at the time sense given draconian drug laws). I assumed the scannable boarding pass they gave me was good to go but they said that was just for scanning at the transit deck. Efficiency!
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Dec 8, 2015 03:50
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Blinkman987 posted:What are the reasonable routes to book business class awards with Delta? I've tried booking twice with Skypesos-- once to SE Asia and once to Buenos Aires-- and both times its been a stupid amount so I booked United and AA awards respectively. Just one ticket? I didn't have any trouble finding low tier back when there were published tiers. Finding two was impossible.
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Dec 8, 2015 11:40
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sellouts posted:I gotta say to reach exp this year you're not really low value. It's not like 2012 where there were 2x eqms promos on 300 round trip transcons. Any trip to Southeast Asia is practically gaming the system. 20K+ miles for under $1K a few times a year for work was the only reason I kept Delta status.
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Dec 10, 2015 03:29
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Anyone notice Delta breaking out Sky Priority boarding into separate Platinum/Gold boarding zones because of "a lot of medallions". Happened on 3 of my 4 this week. Guess that spend requirement didn't thin the herd as much.
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Dec 12, 2015 09:11
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I could have sworn you could link Delta ticketed Alaska flights into your Alaska My Trips for seat selection, but for some reason I can't now. It won't take my 006 prefixed ticket or my confirmation number. Am I crazy?
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Jan 30, 2016 05:14
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Cacafuego posted:E: argh, my flight was delayed today, first for an hour, then for an additional 30 minutes and then another 45 on top of that. They claim it's due to maintenance as the weather is fine. It's seriously screwing my schedule. Is there any compensation they offer for >2 hr delays for maintenance? I know there's no compensation for weather related stuff aside from "we'll get you on the next available flight." In the US? Maybe they'll throw some miles at you if you complain to customer service. Flight originating from the EU? File a Regulation EC 261/2004 claim and get 600 cash money euros.
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Feb 17, 2016 01:57
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anne frank fanfic posted:Youll actually have thousands of italians and syrian refugees grabbing your rear end and raping your wife unless you know the good tents to go and how to get in. Good luck! The guys grabbing my wife's rear end were Irish but they were also buying us drinks so that made it ok right?
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Feb 25, 2016 16:16
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Zaepho posted:Depends, was the beer good and did your wife enjoy the extra attention? My reasoning is they were 14 euro Oktoberfest beers in a world where the exchange rate was 1.5-1 and we were poor newlyweds honeymooning in Europe by sleeping out of our cheap rental car. She acts like it was taking one for the team but I know the truth.
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Feb 25, 2016 17:09
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KillHour posted:The platinum Amex also gets you into the Delta lounges, which costs quite a bit by itself. I would be responsible for paying the annual fee, though (I think). Get the Platinum Delta Amex if you are going to be getting status from miles instead of segments. You will get 10K MQMs for spending $25K a year and another 10K for $50K. It doesn't get you into lounges but the annual fee is only $150 (the Amex Delta Reserve is the $450 lounge access version). You also get a companion pass which is essentially a continental US buy one get one free and using it to fly my folks cross country to see us every year has it paying for itself.
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Apr 10, 2016 21:46
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It took a year but euclaim.co.uk got me 600 euro after Delta denied my direct request. I had actually forgotten about it by the time I got the letter. It's worth a shot, they only take their cut if they successfully get your claim paid.
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May 23, 2016 20:38
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DJCobol posted:Going to Korea next year. Managed to book a rewards flight with Delta for only 120k miles that gets me seat 1A on a 747 DTW-ICN and then business class on a Korean Airlines Airbus A380 ICN-JFK. 1A 747 TPAC is great and my preferred way to burn 120k skymiles.
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Nov 10, 2016 08:40
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Mandalay posted:Lots of crazy $400-500 r/t USA Europe fares today. Love that AA let me place holds on a few trips to Madrid, Geneva, and Amsterdam. Even west coast prices are way lower than usual. Trying to do SEA-MAD next August and its down to $900 from $2K yesterday. Guess I'm booking this today.
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Nov 23, 2016 22:59
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Pryor on Fire posted:Wait people get on flights just to turn around immediately and accrue miles? Hahhaha. Like even if that got you 100k miles holy poo poo that's loving stupid, don't get too far up your own rear end with this nonsense. Welp guess I'll see if I can get a refund on this SEA-HKG-SEA. I'm not turning around immediately but the catalyst of the trip is 10000 miles for $450 and making my 2017 work travel not terrible.
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Dec 12, 2016 15:08
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Anyone done international upgrades with miles on Delta? I'm booking an itinerary with a GRU-ATL-NRT-SIN leg, B fare, so it looks like I qualify. Even just the ATL-NRT leg in J would likely save my sanity, but I don't know if you have to upgrade the whole segment or not.
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Feb 22, 2017 21:25
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