Tips to get Delta MQMs before year end. How many do you want or need by 31DEC15?

Delta is not likely to give away any MQMs to anyone this year as they have done in the past. What they will do, any day now, is once again announce that for insane, crazy, over inflated, nauseatingly high prices offer graciously to sell you MQMs and even get MQD spend credit for handing over your hard earned dollars to them for the points to reach whatever elite level you want. Please don’t EVER do this as there are so many better ways. Like what?

For a very long time it was just amazing to be able to buy AMEX gift cards via shopping portals like TopCashBack and then use those cards for other purchase to unload them (like Visa Debit Gift cards). However, all the portals dropped payouts down to exclude all but $200 (and lower) denomination gift cards and if you used coupons, like the one above NOV2CVHP, you got no cash back.

However, there could still be a tiny way to utilize this to help you right now to meet your Delta AMEX spend before the end of the year. For a charge to count for this year it needs to POST to AMEX before 1JAN16. Now the T&C say gift cards do not count, but all tests for years have shown they do. So, you may be say $5,000 or $10,000 short of your say $30,000 or $60,000 spend goal on the Delta AMEX Reserve card and do not just want to spend on things you do not need.

With the fee free code, and the free trial shipping (remember to cancel if you do not want to keep it), then you could say buy a few $2k or $3k cards.

Now why in the world would you even bother with this compared to simply going and buying VDGCs directly with your AMEX card? Well those gift cards are maxed out at $500 each. Since you can get larger denomination cards, that is, 2 & 3k ones from AMEX, they may help you more right now, this month, to bulk up your spend and then you have a card to buy whatever you want in January or to pay your taxes etc. etc.. Again, this is just for those who want quick larger spend from home and can then unload them in January some way. If you do not fall into this narrow setting, avoid this one.

The next most simple one is just getting either of these four cards and, in the case of the Platinum cards, meeting the minimum spend. Or, in the case of the Reserve cards, your first purchase of any kind!

• Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card (personal card) <-LINK

• Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card <-LINK

• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (personal card) <-LINK

• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card<-LINK

If you are in need of 5,000 or 10,000 MQMs these cards are one of the simplest ways to get the MQMs you are short for the year. It is VERY important you see THIS POST <-LINK to check if you have ever had the personal card bonus EVER before as that will prevent you from getting it again. As to the business cards, you must not have had the card for 365+ days to get the new card bonus again. Do note the annual fee is NOT waived for the above cards but the value of the MQMs to me far outweighs the cost of holding the card for a year or more.

The next big one is mileage runs. We are getting to that point in the year where even finding a good price on a mileage run will get harder and harder and especially if you want a run from your home town airport. But there is help. My good friend Adam who runs Juicy Miles is an outstanding source for custom build mileage runs from where you live. For the small fee he charges you can save the time and effort (and aggravation) of finding the perfect run for the MQMs you need and / or on the days you want to fly.

Bottom line is NOW is the time to look at all your numbers. Look at if it is worth it to you to go for some status level or stay put where you are. Decide if you are even going to stick with Delta for that matter.

Lastly be ever aware of your MQD spend number. If you do not have at LEAST $3000 in MQD spend with Delta you can forget about any rollover MQMs (unless you are MQD exempt that is). I am sure I will get painful emails sometime in January, when rollover happens, and some will only have say $1500 in MQD spend and lost thousands of MQMs because they did not know they need BOTH MQMs and MQD spend thresholds to rollover anything at all. – René

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by American Express. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express.