Skyteam Advice: CO, DL or Flying Blue?

[HUGE AL]

I'd actually credit to AF. The reason being that you cannot use DL or CO for F awards since they don't offer an F product. Since I will be flying CO more for business travel (don't ask why), AF is where my credits are going. But I do fly to CDG quite a few times a year for fun.

[MegatopLover]

Just saw this thread, so regrets for the late arrival...

FWIW, you can earn DL MQM's and redeemable SkyMiles by flying on VS, although you cannot redeem DL SkyMiles for travel on VS.

The arguably likely advent of USA-UK routes on SQ might make redeeming DL awards for transatlantic travel on SQ possible for a UK resident, just as you can redeem for SQ 25/26 on just the JFK-FRA route without going on to SIN.

I've been perfectly happy with DL as a mileage-earning program, so the reasons Savage gave above. As a Platinum, I get 100% bonus miles for every flown SkyTeam flight even on dirt-cheap sale fares booked in T-class on DL. That means a $300 ticket ATL-SFO earns 4400 MQM's and 8800 SkyMiles. I haven't done the math, but that seems like a nice earning. A $1200 DL codeshare ticket on KE for, say, ATL-ICN-BKK earns about 20,000 MQM's and 40,000 redeemable miles-- that's 40% of the way to gold status (which, like Platinum, also earns 100% bonus redeemable miles) and 33% of the way to a USA-SEAsia award ticket in business class. Buy three Y, get one C for free.

Once you tie up with Amex for the credit card, the miles really pile up. I'll probably get upwards of 100,000 miles from Amex this year when all's said and done. I put a lot of money on the card (every conceivable expense), but not nearly $100k, mmmkay?

Customer service is often very diligent about finding award tix for me. That said, I DO NOT use my SkyMiles for transatlantic awards, which I think can be very difficult to get, especially in premium classes. The key is to burn as fast as you earn, but book tickets for 9+ months out. I have gotten exactly the flights and dates and classes I've wanted on SQ quite a number of times. The reason I'm a MegatopLover at all is because of SkyMiles. For the good side of SQ's ledger, now I'm starting to buy revenue tickets in premium classes on SQ, having fallen in love with the Singapore boys--I mean, in-flight product--while redeeming SkyMiles. Good deal for me, good deal for DL, good deal for SQ.