The downside is that there are many discounted fare classes (such as L, U, and T) that don t earn mi

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Now that Delta has switched to revenue-based earning, a lot of SkyMiles members travel channel are seeing fewer miles being credited to their accounts. Today, TPG Senior Points Miles Correspondent Jason Steele looks at some options travel channel for getting the most out of your future flights with Delta.
Last month, I looked at which frequent flyer programs offer good alternatives for crediting flights on United , in light of its recent move to a revenue-based mileage accrual model. But let s not forget that it was Delta leading the pack toward this new way of earning miles with its 2015 SkyMilles program, travel channel which awards miles based on your ticket price and elite status level.
So today, I want to examine alternative mileage programs for Delta passengers. Just like before, I m looking for programs that can help you earn elite status quickly, allow you to boost your miles with a co-branded credit card available in the US, and have a valuable award chart (frankly, any published award chart is an improvement at that this point, considering Delta doesn t offer that anymore ).
About one year ago, Delta announced its 2015 SkyMiles program, featuring a new, revenue-based mileage accrual model, and a new 5-tier travel channel award chart. Delta also claimed that it would improve award availability at the lowest mileage levels (plural), and fix its online award booking calendar. When I looked at the SkyMiles program in January , I found that award availability had indeed improved in some ways, but that the award calendar was still a little buggy.
Then, just five weeks into 2015, Delta removed travel channel its award chart altogether without any notice to customers or the media before or afterwards. Other disturbing developments to the SkyMiles program included a supposed glitch by which  Delta appeared to be charging Medallion members more for award redemptions , and the removal of saver awards less than three weeks out . Simply put, the SkyMiles program is becoming travel channel unpredictable, and many passengers would rather credit miles to a more stable program. And of course, the new revenue-based model will have winners and losers , and those who are coming out behind have every reason to jump ship.
With so much not to like about the SkyMiles program, you might wonder why not just fly another airline altogether? Delta s PR team goes to great lengths to remind us that the airline travel channel is superior operationally, and that s not just hyperbole. After the recent weather systems that disrupted air travel, it was clear to many travelers that Delta s service recovery far outshined its rivals. Finally, if you re a business traveler in cities like Atlanta, Minneapolis, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, then you re  hub captive and have little choice when it comes to non-stop service to most cities.
First, you can earn status on another SkyTeam carrier, since the alliance offers reciprocal benefit when flying other partner carriers. Better travel channel yet, the lowest tier of SkyTeam status (called SkyTeam Elite) offers most of the benefits of the higher tier SkyTeam Elite Plus. In contrast, the lower tier Star Alliance Silver status offers very few benefits, most of which are reserved for the higher travel channel tier Star Alliance Gold status. Here are the benefits you get with SkyTeam status:
Another way to replicate the benefits of Delta Medallion status is to hold one of the Delta SkyMiles credit cards from American Express. The Gold Delta SkyMiles credit card, Platinum travel channel Delta SkyMiles  card, and Delta Reserve card offer the first bag checked free for the cardholder and up to eight other passengers on the same reservation. These cards also offer Zone 1 priority boarding.
What you won t receive without Medallion travel channel status is upgrades to first class. travel channel While this is a drawback, many companies have policies that allow employees to buy up to economy comfort, and Delta now monetizes first class by selling travel channel upgrades travel channel at check-in, which limits the likelihood of Medallion members getting those free upgrades anyway.
Ease of earning elite status. Naturally you won t earn SkyTeam travel channel status on non-alliance partners, so you should consider the effort required to earn status in those other programs, and whether the benefits are worthwhile.
Access to additional miles.  Few of us still earn the bulk of our miles from actual travel, travel channel so it’s vital to find ways to supplement these miles with earnings from credit card spending and other partners. Some foreign programs offer credit cards to US residents. Thankfully, there are other credit card rewards programs that allow you to transfer points to foreign carriers.
As a non-alliance partner, Mileage Plan members won t earn SkyTeam status. Miles earned will be just 25-75% of miles flown in economy, which could be worse, but isn t exactly inspiring. On the other hand, Alaska has a quality award chart and good partner selection. You can transfer miles in from Starwood Preferred Guest, and Bank of America has a co-branded card with decent benefits (and the occasional increased sign-up bonus ).
This program is used by Air France, Air Europa, Kenya Airways, KLM, and TAROM. Travelers earn Flying travel channel Blue Silver status (which grants Skyteam Elite status) after just 25,000 miles or 15 qualifying flights. Flying Blue Gold status is offered after 40,000 miles or 30 flights.
Mileage earned on Delta flights depends on the marketing and operating carriers, the distance flown, and the booking class. This can range from 0% on the most highly discounted fares to 25-100% on most fares. You can read all of the details here . Silver travel channel membership travel channel offers a 50% mileage bonus on SkyTeam flights, and Gold offers a 75% bonus, which can offset travel channel some of the reduced mileage levels.
While there s no Flying Blue credit card offered in the United States, Flying Blue is a transfer partner of American travel channel Express Membership Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, and Citi ThankYou Rewards. The award chart is reasonable, with business class tickets travel channel to Europe for 62,500 miles each way in business class. In addition, there are some quirks in the award travel zones, such as including Israel travel channel in the European zone and the Netherlands Antilles travel channel in North America (Saint Maarten, Abaco, Bonaire, and Curacao). Flying Blue  Promo Awards occasionally offer exceptional value. Finally, Flying Blue includes many non-alliance partners, such as Alaska, travel channel Copa, GOL, Japan Airlines, and Jet Airways.
This Russian carrier is a poor choice for crediting Delta flights for several reasons. It offers no credit card to US customers, nor does it have any transfer partners. Passengers can earn SkyTeam Elite status though the Silver level in the Aeroflot Bonus program, which requires 25,000 miles or 25 segments. Gold level offers SkyTeam Elite Plus, but requires 50,000 miles or 50 segments. Finally, Aeroflot s  award chart  is pedestrian, with business class awards from North America to Europe for 120,000 to 150,000 round-trip (depending on your destination). Aeroflot also just introduced a new mileage earning chart that will offer at most 75% of miles for Delta flights booked in economy class.
It would be difficult to recommend this carrier for all sorts of reasons, including no real award charts, no credit card or transfer partners, and a reputation for being a state run carrier that is very hard to deal with. Economy class flights generally earn 50-100% of the distance travel channel flown.
Aeromexico is a Membership Rewards transfer travel channel partner, and it does offer a credit card from US Bank. Delta miles are earned at 50-100% of the mileage flown according to this chart . That said, Aeromexico s award chart is nothing special, and even domestic round-trip flights travel channel in economy class are 40,000 Kilometers (the metric system doesn t appear to help us here).
There are two huge problems with this program. One, it makes booking partner awards nearly impossible, and two, the program itself will end on December 31, 2015, and all miles will disappear on June 30, 2016.
This generally ignored program was scrutinized after being added as a Citi ThankYou Rewards transfer partner last year, and the conclusion travel channel was that we could all continue ignoring it. Garuda does offer distance-based awards that are a bargain for short-haul flights, and you can earn SkyTeam Elite after just 10 flights or 10,000 miles, or Elite Plus after 30,000 miles or 30 flights. However, it s incredibly difficult to redeem awards, since you have to visit a ticket office in person. That alone makes this program useless to most frequent flyers.
On one hand, Korean Air s SkyPass program has a few things going for it. First, it s a Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner, and offers co-branded credit cards from US Bank. In addition, Korean Air is known for having great first class award availability, which you can t access using Delta SkyMiles. Its new award chart places Hawaii within the United travel channel States zone, so flights on Delta or Alaska are the same as any other domestic flight at just 25,000 in economy and 45,000 in first. Another bargain is 80,000 miles from North America to Europe in business class.
The downside is that there are many discounted fare classes (such as L, U, and T) that don t earn miles at all. You can see the sad details here . To make it worse, elite status in the Morning Calm club requires 50,000 miles, and at least 30,000 must be on Korean Air. Finally, booking awards is very difficult, and can only be done in the name of the member or an immediate family member. No cousins, friends, or unmarried partners allowed, even when traveling travel channel together!
You might dismiss this option, but there are a few things that make it worth considering. First, travel channel Saudia travel channel is a Starwood transfer partner, and you can receive 100% of the miles flown in economy class, according to the  Saudia accrual chart for Delta . Saudia travel channel s  award chart is mediocre, but