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Review: Delta First Class IND-LAX “tempted by the fruit of another”
Currently I hold American Executive Platinum and Alaska Air MVP Gold 75k status so I’m obviously not a regular Delta flier. In fact, the last time I flew Delta was about 2 years ago when I had a back surgery and I was heavily medicated…and it still felt quite antiquated. Boy, oh boy, have things changed. The first leg on my trip to Trace Miles’ Roots in Southeast Asia was aboard Delta First Class IND-LAX. Let’s just say…I’ve been tempted by the fruit of another.
The total itinerary was IND-LAX-TPE with the first leg aboard Delta’s domestic first class, and the 2nd leg in business class on China Airlines 777-300ER. I was really excited to fly both legs, and the Delta leg was quite a nice surprise.
The Deets
- When: December 28, 2016
- Airline: Delta
- Route: IND-LAX
- Flight: DL 885
- Plane: 737-900
- Duration: 5 hours
- Class: First Class
- Seat: 2C
- Program: Delta
- Status: None
- Miles Redeemed: 80k + $5.60 ( continuing on to Taipei on China Airlines Business Class)
Miles was kitted out in his BoardingArea ScottEvest and ready to get to the gate!
Not gonna lie…seat looked new and quite nice. Especially the 3 pillows they gave me that I didn’t sneakily pull down from the overhead bin space. Nope, I didn’t do that at all.
IFE and Power…
Wifi…yep, I wrote the SkyClub IND review whilst in-air. I loved that the light came on when it was available.
The food was WAY better than I expected. Multi-grain oatmeal was restaurant quality.
It’s too bad that I won’t be able to earn Alaska Air miles on Delta, often times this flight is cheaper than the AA flight, and this plane is much nicer than the A319 that services the LAX-IND route. The IFE was fantastic and the times are often more appealing. I’m certainly tempted by the fruit of another…but, earning status on AA and AS this year are my top priority.
This review is a part of the Trip Report: Miles Traces his roots in Southeast Asia
- Delta SkyClub Indianapolis IND
- Delta First Class IND-LAX
- Amex Centurion Pop-UP TBIT
- China Air Business Class 777-300ER LAX-TPE
- Grand Hyatt Taipei
- Grand Hyatt Taipei Club Lounge Review
- Taiepei 101 Tour
- The Club EVA Air lounge TPE
- Plaza Premium Lounge TPE Zone A1
- Plaza Premium Lounge TPE Zone A
- EVA Royal Laurel Business Class TPE – SGN
- Vietnamese Visa on Arrival Experience
- Park Hyatt Saigon
- Park Hyatt Saigon Breakfast
- Cu Chi Tunnels Tour Ho Chi Minh City
- Orchid Lounge SGN
- Cambodian Visa on Arrival Experience
- Park Hyatt Siem Reap
- Viator Ankor Wat Private Tour
- Afternoon Tea Park Hyatt Siem Reap
- Plaza Premium Lounge Siem Reap
- Intercontinental Hanoi
- Dragon Legend Ha Long Bay Cruise
- Hanoi Hilton
- ACV Business Lounge Hanoi
- Qatar Airways Business Class 777-300ER HAN-BKK
- Louis Tavern CIP Lounge First Class Bangkok BKK
- Louis Tavern CIP Lounge Business Class Bangkok BKK
- Japan Airlines Business Class 787-8 BKK-NRT
- American Airlines Admiral’s Club Tokyo NRT
- Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo NRT
- Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge Tokyo NRT
- Japan Airlines First Class 777-300ER NRT-ORD
- Tip on how to fly standby the day before your flight
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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