How much do you fly? No, not miles, segments or MQS / Medallion Qualifying Segments. You talk to those people who fly 100+ up’s and down’s and they are the “real” flyers. Delta does reward them with Medallion status at 30, 60,100 & 140 segments moving up the ladder + MQDs also this year. If you are a DM from 140 segment you have both my respect and condolences. I cry for how much CRJ time you have had in your life.
Here is the deal (and this in no way new news to many), these hard core loyal Delta flyers get NO perks of rollover unlike the rest of us. If they have 130 MQSs at the end of the year, the extra 30 are just gone! Yep, if they end up just one short, they sure should have taken that one more last leg. Oh, and even those of you who were “forced” to overpay for MQMs this year from Delta, MQS flyers could not buy even 1 single MQS at ANY price to get over the top. How is this fair at all? Seriously Delta?!?
First, the possible Delta logic (don’t hate on me, I am just trying to come up with any kind of idea that can hold water at all). Is it because segment flyers just don’t pay as much as MQM flyers? Doubt it, as many pay a TON for short hops. And if this were the case why not allow rollover MQSs if they are worth so much less? Is it because there are so many less segment flyers? Then why have all the tech in place and charts to reward these flyers. I just don’t get it I guess. Do you?
Personally I would love to see MQSs added to the rollover equation. With MQDs in place, there is no reason this could not be done. I hope if you are an MQS qualifier, you will e-mail again and again to Delta that you would like to see this “enhancement” in 2014!
OK talking about MQDs, would an MQD rollover be a good idea? I know a bunch are asking for that but I am not so sure on this one. Delta has created MQDs to do two things. One, reduce the number of medallions and reward those who spend with Delta and AMEX. I can see the airline logic of requiring spend year after year. If both MQMs and MQSs were rolled over, then sure I really am OK with NO MQD or extra over spend on AMEX rolling over. Now understand, I spend $120,000+ on my two Delta AMEX Reserve cards and would love a multi-year exempt spend rollover but just don’t see it happening. It would again cause an inflation of too many medallions.
I think 2014 is going to be a learning year for Delta and I think what we say, and do, will mold what is to come – René
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Speaking of ‘Rollover” where might the MQM’s be:)
@Geoff – http://deltapoints.boardingarea.com/2014/01/02/just-when-will-rollover-mqms-happen-this-year-an-answer-from-delta/
I am a segment flyer and this post really hit home. I made Silver by flying segments in 2013 and came a hand full of segments short of gold–I would LOVE to see segment roll overs!!
@Chris – Make sure you let Delta know how you feel. Thanks for the support! – Rene
As someone who had 141qms last year with about half on crj 200’s I would love rollover segments. Not sure why they don’t I pay a lot for these short segments – no real deals.
Plus logic was for rollover was to give incentive to keep flying. I pushed some of my trips to 2014 as I did not want mqs to go to waste.
I’ve been PM or DM on segments for nearly 20 years. I would LOVE to see rollover MQS. The MQD thresholds are sufficiently low (at least for now) that it anyone who is qualifying for a medallion level (at least by flying) should have no problem hitting them. Of course, in the next year or two, they will probably raise the MQD requirements and make it more difficult.
That said, as far as the $/passenger mile, it is probably more expensive to fly someone on a short leg than a long one. (Figure $/mile fuel is more expensive at take-off/landing than it is at “cruise”… so extra “cruise” time, probably not so bad). So, I could see where a “segment flier” might not be as “profitable”.
Still, you’re right, the “segment fliers” don’t get much love.