MQM bonuses earned through credit card spend are a big perk of four Delta American Express cards.
Considering all Delta Platinum and Reserve members are eligible for 25% bonuses during 2021, now is a good time to revisit some MQM FAQ.
1. Which Delta American Express Cards Earn Bonus MQM?
Four Delta Amex cards give members the ability to earn bonus Medallion Qualification Miles (MQM) by reaching certain spending thresholds on a respective card:
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
2. Do I Get MQM Just for Being a New Cardholder?
If you haven’t yet held an American Express card, you’re eligible for that card’s welcome offer.
- The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
- Earn 20,000 bonus MQM and 80,000 bonus SkyMiles after spending $5,000 on purchases within three months of being approved for the card.
- Read more here.
- Terms apply.
- Limited time offer: expires on November 11, 2021
- The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Earn 10,000 bonus MQM and 90,000 bonus SkyMiles after spending a total of $3,000 on eligible purchases within three months of being approved.
- Plus, earn a $100 statement credit after the first Delta purchase you make on your card within the first three months of card membership.
- Read more here.
- Terms apply.
- Limited time offer: expires on November 11, 2021
- The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
- Earn 20,000 bonus MQM and 85,000 bonus SkyMiles after spending $5,000 on purchases within three months of being approved for the card.
- Plus, earn a $200 statement credit after spending $5,000 on purchases within three months of being approved for the card.
- Read more here.
- Terms apply.
- Limited time offer: expires on November 11, 2021
3. Does All Spending Count Toward Reaching an MQM Bonus?
Most purchases do. Keep in mind Amex says
“… cash advances, purchases of traveler’s checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, purchases of gift cards, person-to-person payments, or purchases of any cash equivalents. Delta Gift Cards and purchases made at deltashop.com and/or the Delta Flight Museum do not qualify.”
It’s also important to remember that annual fees, interest, and late fees don’t count as eligible purchases.
4. How Many MQM Can I Earn My Delta Amex Card(s)?
This depends on which card(s) you have. Plus, Delta is offering 25% bonuses on MQM awarded on credit card spend during 2021.
Let’s break this down into individual products (or “flavors,” as we often say).
Delta Platinum Cards
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card (or the “personal/consumer Delta Amex Platinum”; See Rates and Fees)
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card (or the “business Delta Amex Platinum”; See Rates and Fees)
When you spend $25,000 during a calendar year on one personal Delta Amex Platinum or one business Delta Amex Platinum, you receive 10,000 MQM.
If you spend another $25,000 that same calendar year on the same Delta Amex card, you receive another 10,000 MQM.
So spending $50,000 total on one Delta Amex Platinum card during a calendar year would earn you 20,000 total bonus MQM.
Again, the spend requirements are per card — not across cards. Spending just $15,000 on personal Delta Amex Platinum and just $10,000 on a business Delta Amex Platinum will not trigger the MQM bonus. But spending $25,000 on a personal Delta Amex Platinum will make you 10,000 MQM richer.
Make sense?
Delta raised the bonuses by 25% for 2021.
So instead of 10,000 bonus MQM, you’ll get 12,500 MQM. Realistically, you could earn Silver Medallion status without flying any Delta flights this year.
Delta Reserve Cards
Let’s talk about the higher-end cards: the Reserves.
These cards can provide a wealth of bonus MQM to cardholders with deep pockets.
Each time you spend $30,000 in eligible purchases (during a calendar year, of course) on your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card or Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, you earn 15,000 bonus MQM.
A maximum of 60,000 bonus MQM may be earned per Reserve card each calendar year. In other words, the benefit is limited to $120,000 in spending.
Now, let’s remember the 25% bonuses in play for 2021. So each $30,000 tier awards you 18,750 MQM, as opposed to the usual 15,000.
5. Can I Earn Bonus MQM from Each Platinum and Reserve Card?
Yes.
If you hold all four MQM-earning cards, you can technically receive 160,000 bonus MQM from yearly card spend alone.
- $50,000 on the personal Delta Amex Platinum = 20,000 MQM
- $50,000 on the business Delta Amex Platinum = 20,000 MQM
- $120,000 on the personal Delta Reserve = 60,000 MQM
- $120,000 on the Delta Reserve business = 60,000 MQM
(For 2021, you can earn up to 200,000 bonus MQM through credit card spending.)
However, you can only “max out” a card product’s MQM bonus once per year. For example, having two separate business Delta Amex Platinum cards on your account won’t permit you to earn 40,000 MQM after spending $50,000 on each.
6. Does Spend from Additional Cardholders Count Toward MQM Bonus Requirements?
Sure does! So if you have a significant other, children, employees, etc., and make them authorized users, any purchase they make on your card counts as spend toward your MQM goal.
7. Do Authorized Users/Additional Cardholders Receive MQM?
No. The only perk they get is you footing the bill. 😉
8. Can MQM Earned Through Delta Amexes Be Gifted?
The only MQM that can be gifted are the Reserve cards’ 15,000 MQM bonuses.
(René — ultra-generous mensch that he is — gifted 15,000 MQM to someone and wrote about all about the process.)
If you don’t decide with 90 days of the notification email, the 15,000 bonus MQM will automatically be applied to your SkyMiles MQM total.
8a. Can the Welcome Bonus MQM for the Reserve Cards Be Gifted?
No. Only the primary cardholder receives those.
8b. Can Welcome Bonus MQM for the Delta Platinum Amexes Be Gifted?
No.
8c. Can Any Bonus MQM for the Delta Platinum Amexes Be Gifted?
No.
8d. Seriously?!
Seriously.
8e. So the Only MQM That Can Be Gifted to Someone Are the Ones Earned from Spending a Lot of Money Each Year on a Delta Reserve Amex?
Bingo!
9. Do MQM Earned Through Delta Amexes “Rollover” to the Next Medallion Qualification Year?
If you’re a Medallion, yes. They’re treated the same as MQM you earn flying.
10. Do MQM Earned Through Delta Amexes count towards my Delta Million Miler status?
Yes. Both the new card bonus MQMs as well as all spending bonus MQM all count towards your Delta Million Miler status.
Questions?
Any questions about the MQM earned from Delta Amex cards? Please ask them in the below Comments section!
–Chris
To see the rates and fees for the American Express cards featured above, please visit the following links:
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (See Rates and Fees)
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card (See Rates and Fees)
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card (See Rates and Fees)
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card (See Rates and Fees)
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Q: Combining rollover MQMs from 2020 and MQM Reserve card bonuses this year, I will have over 150,000 MQMs by year’s end. But I won’t come close to the Delta MQD or AmEx $250K spend requirements for Diamond status. Do you know if Delta will renew my Platinum status for 2022 and roll over all my MQMs that exceed the 75,000 required for Platinum status? I called the Medallion Desk and received an encouraging but ambiguous answer to that question. — Glen
If I understand your question, you’re able to meet at least the Platinum MQD and/or Delta Amex MQD waiver, right? In that case, you should be Platinum for 2022 and Delta should roll over the ~75,000 MQM to next year.
Chris: Yes, that was my question. My 2021 AmEx spending will easily meet the Platinum waiver requirement. I expect to finish 2021 with >150,000 MQMs. So I’ll have Platinum for 2023 locked up before 2022 starts — assuming that I do enough AmEx spending during 2022. Thanks.
I was so excited to receive my 3rd MQM bonus this year via the Reserve card Plus rollover MQMs from last year, have enough for Diamond. HOWEVER won’t be close to the $250K spend. For some reason thought I could be Diamond for rest of this year and not next without the $250K.
So this does mean I will be Platnium for 2022?
Maybe I should not spend any more on Reserve and just used AMEX Hilton Aspire?
As I understand your question, you will be Platinum for 2022. Keep in mind Delta is giving MQD bonuses on its flights this year. And you can take MQD runs to get you to Diamond this year. That’d give you DM status through January 2023.
If you collect Hilton points, then the Aspire is certainly an option. (Spending that doesn’t go on my Reserve card is spread across Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, and cashback cards.)
I used to get regular miles the same as my spend bonus mqm’s, have they dropped the bonus miles?
Yes, unfortunately. No more bonus redeemable miles.
I thought that even if I have a enough MQM to be diamond I cannot without spending to 250K?
If you earn $15,000 MQD you can reach Diamond. Spending $250,000 on Delta Amexes is simply just another option.
I thought the MQD waiver is pooled between any Delta Amex card you have. This isn’t the case? So I have to spend 25,000 on the Amex Platinum I have and getting the reserve and that spend wouldn’t count?
Ah this was for MDM right that would be separate. Thanks!
One thing I learned the hard way: if you upgrade, say from the Platinum to the Reserve, your MQM total does not carry over to the new card. So if you got the $25k spend bonus on the Platinum, you essentially start over at $0 spend – you do not have $5k to go to receive 5k additional MQM with the upgrade to the Reserve. Similarly, if you have $20k spend on the platinum and upgrade to the Reserve, you start at $0 spend.
Hi , If I book an award ticket through Virgin Atlantic and fly Delta will I receive Delta MQM’S with Delta’s temporary MQM boost specials? I read the Q&A on the Delta site and it was unclear. I think it said if the flight was marketed and operated by Delta the boost would apply.
If you book the award ticket through Virgin Atlantic, then it’s Virgin Atlantic-marketed. Therefore, you wouldn’t be entitled to the bonuses.
Thanks for the reply. It would have a DL flight number which is why I was confused as I thought since it was a DL flight number it was marketed and operated by Delta.
If I reach a $30,000 spend on my AMEX Reserve card and receive the bonus MQM but then one of my Delta flights is cancelled and I receive a credit on my Reserve card, do they take away my bonus MQM’s?
If the credit drops you below $30,000, then yes. So it’s wise to spend above and beyond anything think might get canceled.
Or if you have to cancel a flight, ask for a travel voucher instead.
Once I hit $30k spend on my card, typically how long before they award the bonus MQM?
@DR – One of two things happen. Either 1) almost right away i.e. inside a week or so or 2) a few days after your statement close date. Do keep in mind the annual fee does NOT count but it “seems” to count with Amex math (but it does not).
Thanks Rene. I am over $35k now, so it is unlikely that I didn’t have qualifying purchases. I did have the thought that it would occur after my statement date(19th), but was a little confused when I received my regular miles, but no MQM bump. I guess I’ll wait a few more days and call them if they don’t show up. Flying soon and this bumps me to gold medallion.
@DR – You do know with the Reserve card you need to “harvest” i.e. request the MQMs right? https://renespoints.boardingarea.com/2015/03/04/15000-delta-medallion-qualifying-miles-mqms-added-to-my-skymiles-account-today-thank-you-amex-how-to-claim-them-rookie-wednesday-post/
Thank you so much for the help. I’m pretty sure i’ve read that page before, but never figured it out. Got it done now!