Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told an Atlanta Rotary Club meeting last month that the airline would make “modifications” to the rather unpopular SkyMiles 2025 Medallion program it announced in mid-September. But he didn’t say when the changes would be announced.
Well, Delta just dropped the news a few minutes ago.
MQM: Not Coming Back
Let’s get this out of the way first: Medallion Qualification Miles (MQM) and Medallion Qualification Segment (MQS) will cease to count as Medallion status-earning metrics as of January 1, 2024. That was announced last month and continues to be the case.
Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQD) will be the only metric that qualifies toward earning Delta elite status.
MQD Requirements Dropping
We — and many other Medallion members with whom we spoke — correctly figured the modifications would involve lowering the Medallion Qualification Dollars required to earn Medallion status.
Here are the updated thresholds:
- Silver: $5,000 (down from $6,000 MQD)
- Gold: $10,000 (down from $12,000 MQD)
- Platinum: $15,000 (down from $18,000 MQD)
- Diamond: $28,000 (down from $35,000 MQD)
Plus, Delta SkyMiles Reserve, Reserve Business, Delta Platinum Amex, and Delta Business Platinum Amex will get an MQD headstart of $2,500 MQD for the current Medallion Qualification Year (I guess we call that the MQY? 🙂 ).
Sky Club Airport Lounge Access
Many people (myself included) were upset with Delta rationing the number of Sky Club lounge visits for cardholders of select American Express products.
Unlimited visits will not return to any Amex cards — unless the primary cardholder spends $75,000 during a calendar year. That criterion remains. However, Delta thought a little outside of the box on this one:
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card members can visit Sky Clubs for 15 days per year. All visits made in a 24-hour period will count as one day. (That’s up from the very limited ten visits)
- Amex Platinum and Amex Business Platinum Card members may visit Sky Clubs for up to 10 days per year.
- Card members can also purchase Sky Club access for $50 per day after using all allotted days.
- Medallion members may buy an annual individual Delta Sky Club membership for $695.
Million Miler Benefits Changing
Mr. Bastian said in a statement, “We want our long-term loyalists to know how much you’re truly appreciated. Effective February 1, 2024, we are moving Million Miler Status up in the hierarchy for Complimentary Upgrades and significantly upgrading annual Complimentary Status achievement levels for all Million Milers.”
- 6M+ from Diamond Medallion to Delta 360°
- 5M from Platinum Medallion to Delta 360°
- 4M from Platinum Medallion to Diamond Medallion
- 3M from Gold Medallion to Diamond Medallion
- 2M from Gold Medallion to Platinum Medallion
- 1M from Silver Medallion to Gold Medallion
Extend Your Status with MQM Rollovers
This is kind of an interesting twist.
“Customers who have MQM Rollover balances over 100,000 will be given special offers to extend their earned 2024 Status—one year for each 100K Rollover MQMs,” Delta said.
The airline said it “will also provide an option to convert MQM Rollover balances into MQDs at a more generous ratio of 10:1 (up from 20:1). Members will also be able to convert MQMs Rollover balances to SkyMiles at a ratio of 2:1.”
The 10:1 ratio is more palatable than the absurd 20:1.
A Delta spokesperson told me that we’re not limited to just one option.
Additional Choice Benefits — for 2025
Starting in 2025 (not this coming year), Delta is adding several new Choice Benefits.
- An MQD Accelerator for the next Medallion Qualification Year
- $2,000 for Diamond Medallion Members
- $1,000 for Platinum Medallion Members
- Re-introducing the Delta Sky Club Individual Membership for Diamond Medallion Members, in exchange for two Choice Benefit selections
- Increased amount of bonus miles: 35,000 for Diamond Medallion Members and 30,000 for Platinum Medallion Members
- Increasing Delta travel voucher to $350 for Diamond Medallion Members and $300 for Platinum Medallion Members
- A new Wheels Up statement flight credit
Final Approach
Honestly, I’m surprised Delta made the changes this soon. I figured they wouldn’t alter any plans until next year.
But customer backlash was so severe that they needed to do something.
I’ll offer some commentary in a bit — I just wanted to get the news out to you ASAP!
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Too little, too late. Already dissed loyalty to me and I have reciprocated
If I’m interpreting everything correctly, I’m looking good to drop from Diamond this year to Platinum next, but then hit Diamond quickly in early 2024 with the help of the just announced 100,000 MQM+ policy, locking in Diamond through January 2026. Having said that, I’m flying AA two weeks in a row and just submitted my Alaska status match application after getting the CC. Next year is shaping up to be an interesting one as a free agent…
So Ed took us from GFYS to GFYS w a hug? No thanks. Tweeting the changes is less about changing the changes and more about reinforcing that our loyalty (chronic Plat (frequently fly but on shorter legs) and vanilla Plat and Reserve holder) means very little to DL.
It surprises me that AmEx has gotten off largely blameless in this debacle as well. The medallion changes could not have happened without a very involved AmEx presence at the table. They continued to market products that they knew very well were going to be experiencing dramatic changes and significant devaluation, but they continued just the same…that is bait & switch..period.
DL partners could also have defended customers, not an ideal business decision but in the end, these enormous businesses need customers to continue being enormous businesses.
Lots of revelations over the past few months by DL, AmEx and others.
At least we know better now where we stand.
I didn’t see 1M milers go from lifetime Silver to Gold in DL announcement. Are you sure??
Yes.
So, if you’ve already earned a MM Lifetime Status level, will the level-based MQM’s still be deducted before they offer the MQM conversion?
If MQMs are disappearing at the end of the year, are they still going to deduct (ie: 75k for platinum) or are they going to let the full amount mqms earned rollover?
Yes, as far I know, rollover MQM will be (to quote Talking Heads) same as it ever was, same as it ever was. 🙂
This was my question also. 125,000 MQM = Platinum and 50k left to convert. Decisions, decisions………..TY
Delta needs to expand lounges and premium seating like UNITED.
90% increase in premium cabin seats from 2019 – 2026 on UNITED, and clubs have 50% more capacity than 2019.
No ‘supply’ excuses from UNITED.
It’s very clever of Delta. Everyone is going to purchase $50 day passes or $695 annual memberships, the latter of which will undoubtedly be deducted on taxes or reimbursed by some employers/clients as a business expense. The reality is the Sky Clubs in Los Angeles, Boston, JFK, Detroit and Atlanta should be reduced once the Delta One lounges start opening in 2024.
And you know what would be really innovative…
Let Million Milers requalify using their comp status as the starting point.
Chris do you think you will earn Choice Benefits if you choose to convert your MQM to your current status? I would think the answer is yes but curious on another opinion.
I will add that to my list of questions!
Thanks…..I am thinking that they will in that situation, but not on the “Lifetime” status……I can see a bunch of VERY made people with tons of MQM’s if they don’t let them…..be a big miss out on the Choice Benefits (think GUC’s/RUC’s).
Well, after Delta had their wild fling with Fido, and then tried selling us (future former) Delta loyalists the results of that evening, they’re now sending us shiny new Delta-branded bowls and collars, with a couple of treats and a card. The spin here will be “Hey, we realized we made a mistake and we adjusted.”
How about not making dumb moves in the first place?
Any limit on the SkyClub access for the DL Reserve card is still a deal breaker for me. This Diamond is going free agent, with a likely bias toward UA.
Thanks for keeping us informed, @Chris.
With $50 day passes, $695 memberships and memberships as a choice benefit, the Sky Clubs won’t be reduced until the Delta One lounges open.
Yes, all two of them.
Pretty sure the newish small lounge at DTW converts to a Delta One lounge as soon as they launch.
absolutely incredible that the pushback to Delta was so hard, they immediately overcorrected to “if you just have the Reserve and Platinum cards you get Silver immediately, please come back”
If Delta is going to keep chasing the dollar, it needs to start adding 1-2 rows of first-class on most domestic flights. CRJ-700s and CRJ-900s are going out 100% full in first-class with zero upgrades on 1-hour or 90-minute flights when at most you get two or three glasses of $10 wine and some gummy bears.
But those are vegan gummy bears, handcrafted by endangered gummy beasts in their mountaintop reserve. I hear they’re carbon-neutral, too.
In all seriousness, yes – great idea. Why not increase premium capacity (supply) as opposed to decreasing demand (what they did and continue to do)?
I might have missed it but will we still be able to pay $50 for our guests?
I believe so. Will confirm.
Why would a Delta Platinum Card and Delta Reserve get the exact same Headstart? Make some differentiation considering one card cost 4X the other. And not offering either unlimited or perhaps 40-50 Skyclub visits annually with their most expensive card(with poor spending rewards) was another miss. And the 1 MQD for $10 spend is still has wayyyyy too much lost opportunity to use.
These changes beat offering nothing but they are very weak. And most likely very temporary.
Something tells me Amex lost a lot of premium cardholders and wants to get them back ASAP.
Would imagine the change with holding an Amex CC = MQDs was essentially a directive by Amex to Delta that they needed to incentivize customers from holding a card. Logical move there. Will be curious to hear if holding a personal Amex card and a business card = $5000 MQD’s or if an individual can only get $2,500 regardless of how many Delta Amex they hold
Per card. (At least, for now.)
With these changes, I could stay Diamond for the next 4 years without even flying – although 200,000 miles is tempting too. I like these changes overall.
I am confused about “the ability to choose complimentary Medallion Status at your current tier for one year per every 100,000 MQMs”. So an existing silver, gold, platinum, or diamond can all extend their status for the same 100K MQMs? How does that make sense? I get being a diamond or possibly even a platinum but it seems like a real waste for silver or gold. What am I missing?
If you roll over 100,000 MQM, you will have the option to extend your 2024 status for an additional year. If you have 200,000, then two years, and so on.
Think I know the answer but assuming this does not apply to 360 status.
What’s that, Choice Benefits?
Presumably, i.e., if you end 2023 with 175,000 MQM, and you meet the current Platinum MQD threshold or card spend waiver, but not the Diamond MQD threshold or card spend waiver, 75,000 will be deducted from your balance, and you will be Platinum for 2024, and you’ll have 100,000 Rollover MQM, which they are now saying you can use to lock in 2025 Platinum status.
The question then is, can you bank any of your 2024 spending for the new MQD scheme to apply it to 2025 spend (for 2026 status), or is it effectively wasted, because you’ll have status anyway in 2025. I am sure we will see in the coming days when it is all explained.
I think they may have exacerbated the problem they were originally trying to resolve, of too many people having high status, with the generous MQM exchange to keep current status for years without an Amex card or spending MQD. I will still prefer to fly Delta, but if getting upgrades and using GUC/RUC remain as challenging as now, then I might try to earn EP with American and see if their upgrades are easier to get.
I would also like to see a way to earn Delta 360 using some of those rollover MQMs or with a certain level of spending, just like you can now earn it my being a 5m miler.
What’s happening with upgrade certificates?
Also, will Delta Amex Platinum cardholders now be able to purchase SkyClub passes?
Medallion members can purchase Sky Club memberships. Day passes were discontinued a couple of years ago.
You mention both platinum and reserve cards will be given this head start of $2500 MQDs.
1. Is this for the first year or every year moving forward?
2. Are the $10/1MQD conversion for reserve and $20/1MQD for platinum cards still in effect?
3. I have yet to fully grasp the million miler benefits. Hypothetically if I reach 1mil miles flown in June 2024, will I be given this gold medallion for the rest of the current year only, for the following year only, both the rest of this year and the full next year, or for my entire life? Delta’s website states “Annual complimentary Medallion Status is valid from beginning to end of the Medallion Status year (currently February 1 to January 31), and benefits associated with complimentary Status are awarded annually.” This makes it seem like its not forever. However previous comments make note that its lifetime.
4. If it is in fact lifetime, why do multiple tiers offer the same reward? Like 3mil and 4mil earn diamond medallion. If i hit diamond at 3mil and its lifetime, why are you awarding me diamond again at 4 mil?
Thank you.
@demetri –
1) Next year (for 2025)
2) You are mixing conversion and earnings.
3) Lifetime (they call it annual)
4) Cuz Delta has always done this.
Some OK changes here, but nothing to incentivize me to keep my DL Platinum Amex card. I will trade it in in March (just before the annual fee is due) and get a Visa from either Capital One or Chase.
Under the new scheme in 2024, once you hit the MQD threshold (assuming $28,000) will excess MQD’s (say I earned $32,000 – = $4,000 excess MQD) roll over or just go to Delta heaven at the end of the year?
@RTW – Delta has been consistent that there will be no MQD rollover like MQMs of the past.
Hi Chris:
By year’s end, I will be at 4.8 million lifetime. What do I have to do to get to 5 million and the lifetime 360? Will mileage I earn in 2024 count towards that or does it have to be 5 million by Jan 31, 2024?
Thanks
@Chuck – Mileage counts in 2024 and beyond you just don’t get bonus miles based on fare class (like now).
Hi René
Thanks. Even without the bonus mile, I should be there by the end of 2024 or beginning of 2025 the latest. That is assuming that the flights to and from TLV resume shortly.
Chris- i am qualified for Platinum status for 2024 already. I will qualify for $10k mqd head start, and still have 185k mqm rollover that I could convert to an additional 18,500 MQD’s, which with the head start would give me Diamond status for 2025. My question is , if I choose in February of 2024 to convert the mqm to mqd will that immediately go to MQD’s and with headstart qualify me for Diamond the remainder of 2024 and then 2025, since I will be over 28,000MQD for the 2025 qualification year. Normally once you qualify for status for the next year, you also have it for the remainder of the current year, correct?
“Normally once you qualify for status for the next year, you also have it for the remainder of the current year, correct?”
Correct!
Hello Chris,
Thank you for the updates. I’m trying to figure out my situation going forward.
I have 212k MQMs going into 2024.
I’m platinum for 2024 based on Delta Reserve spending and MQMs.
I’m short by 4k of becoming a million miler.
Once they take the 75k for Platinum status; what happens with my 137k of MQMs?
Check out this post.