So many years ago I learned the amazing value of elite status with Delta and the reciprocal rewards with Skyteam partners. I still remember the first time I earned Silver status on segments and then the following year my first ever mileage run to have enough, now gone, MQMs or Medallion Qualifying Miles. I also was beyond giddy when Delta, unlike any other airline, allowed you to keep your MQMs above whatever threshold you reached – it was industry leading.
Sadly MQMs are now gone forever. Also, during all the years Delta offered rollover, no other airline did “monkey see – monkey do” and copied Delta’s unique approach to keep loyal elites flying Delta for the full year because there was always that reward at the end of the year to help you with the following year’s status chase. This really made a difference and while other airlines all started with a bank of 0s across the board Delta elites counted the days until the rollover points hit with glee.
With the brutal shift to only dollars you gift to Delta* has hammered home the fact that how much you fly matters squat diddly to the mothership. I added a “star” to the description because there is still 2-4x (or even more) value flying cheap business class partner flights a long way to yield a percentage of distance turned into MQDs in the quest for status. With these MQD runs and holding both the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card as well as both the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card you can, for under $10,000 plus the substantial annual fees for four Delta Amex cards, earn Delta Diamond status. Each card gives members $2,500 MQD each year. (Terms apply.)
- For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link.
- For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this link.
- For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link.
- For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles® Business Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link.
The point is that there are still very discounted ways to earn the $28,000 MQDs for a fraction of this sum.
Under the old Medallion system MQDs never rolled over and we always started every year at zero. This really was not an issue as the spend for even Diamond status was not unattainable and MQMs were also attainable and rollover helped. Under the new system Delta does not have the advantage over other airlines elite programs and that is a mistake.
We are already seeing high value Delta flyers at this near midpoint of the year have already reached enough spend to qualify for 2025 Diamond Medallion status. Heck, I know one ultra Delta Diamond Medallion fan that likely hit the needed Delta spend in the first few months of this year. With this spending more with Delta is almost all but pointless (no pun intended). Sure there are some who will spend enough the rest of the year to earn the step above Diamond, that is, Delta 360 status but for most even twice Diamond spend MQDs is not nearly enough to reach 360.
And this is why Delta needs to bring back rollover and apply it to MQDs. Delta wants more of us to hold Delta Amex cards and has promised in reports that they will grow the numbers and the $2500 bonus MQD number would have much higher value if there was the chance to retain those points over each level but under the next. The same applies for flying dollars – there is more motivation to just keep spending if you have a chance to see some reward and a jump start on the next year’s race for status.
Delta has done some serious damage over the past year to the Medallion program and again needs to take a bold stand to separate themselves from other programs and rollover MQDs would again be a game changer. – René
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles® Business Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link.
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I haven’t used my Delta Reserve American Express since the changes were announced last year. I only kept it for the companion tickets and (for now) Sky Club access. And with segments or distance no longer a factor, I’ve booked more nonstop or 1-stop flights since there’s been zero point adding a connection if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. I routinely had 150,000-175,000 MQMs and 140-160 MQSs under the old system. I suspect I’ll have just 70 segments this year and maybe not even 125,000 MQMs — all while hitting the spend qualification, thanks to paid first-class and paid business-class tickets. I also have enough MQM to automatically be a diamond through 2031.
Sorry. Typo. Through 2030.
Rene, to piggyback on your argument, if Delta is saying that MQD is the proper metric for tier status, it should be the metric for lifetime tier status as well. For me, the scheme is a non-starter.
Also, in the initial rework of SkyMiles, Delta created incentives for customers to spend in ALL of its revenue channels. In Delta’s backtrack, it returned to airfare only. My wife and I have significant hotel spending each year, which we would gladly shift to Delta’s hotel portal. But, as it stands, I’ll put it over at AA and earn 10X . . . and receive Loyalty Points.
Delta needs to put on its thinking cap.
I agree there too. The new rules for MM status make it almost impossible to reach the next tier for those that are making Diamond through the route that Delta seems to encourage (spending on the credit card) and even for those that are flying enough to earn Diamond that way without spending. It’s almost as if they don’t want people to achieve the next level any more. I realize that if it were based on spending then it wouldn’t be MM any more since the second M stands for miler – but then I bet most of the people with higher MM status earned a significant amount of those miles through means other than actually flying those miles.
Rene,
Until Delta gets the number of Diamonds reduced, I disagree with your idea. -Way too many folks are Diamonds, resulting in now with so many Diamonds, then nobody is Diamond. Since I also will re-qualify yearly for Diamond or 360, I can only hope DL will soon thin the heard and hope current policy does that.
That being said, I can say I have no incentive to fly DL any more this year or use my Reserve card, since no benefits over direct service or better CC spend bonuses.
I’ve met my MQD requirement for 2025 Diamond status and since then, have hardly used my Delta Reserve Card as the value is no longer there (except for SkyClub entry and companion ticket). If MQD’s rolled over, I’d be working like crazy to build up a cushion for 2026. Rewards from Chase and other cards are much more valuable to me at this point.
Agree…agree…agree. Same situation…my Reserve is in the wallet and not coming out again this year. Why would I? No incentive.
I agree with you. There is no incentive to earn MQD (meaning fly or spend money on a Delta card) once you have reached Diamond status. I like that you can now pool spending and flying dollars to make Diamond, but I agree that not rolling over was a mistake.
The only reason I continue to spend after achieving the $28k this year is because…it’s much better to fly as a Diamond than a nobody on another airline. As I don’t often pay for FC, I’d much rather take DL for the upgrades, sky club, phone support, mileage accrual, etc.
Rene,
Respectfully, you’re wrong on this one. Delta should actually raise the “MQD” limit as there are many Reserve Card holders that hit the “MQD” requirement in 3 months.
No “Rollover” MQD’s and frankly speaking Delta should have allowed just one year to rollover/convert their MQD’s and MQM’s instead of having Diamonds having status until 2035 or later, foolish.
Lastly, thin the herd and require actual miles flown for MM status. The band aid was ripped off and don’t go back.
I agree. But, when Delta raised the MQD requirement, everyone had a cow. In Ed’s Rotary Club interview after the blow up, he did say that it is where they ultimately want to be. It’s just that it will now be progressive as opposed to ripping the bandaid off. So, I think you’ll get what you want over time.
the key thing a company has to do is make money. if i make, say, a plat. requirement of 15k, but my usual spend with delta is 5k, then those 5k are up for grabs (and many other companies offer premium service for less money than DL). MQD rollover fixes this bc then next year or the one after i can be diamond again.
I think excess rollover was one of the issues with the program previously – there are too many elites. Making people start over annually is one way to address the issue, especially at the Platinum level (which is where I am). I think this is just an adjustment people need to make in year 1.
Rene! Isn’t the point of earning the status to use the benefits granted once you earn it?
That should be incentive enough to stick with Delta once you earn the top status.
Otherwise the benefits aren’t being property delivered, which gets into the circular of ‘too many elites water down benefits’
@Greg – Let’s say Delta has a flight that is 2x another airline in 1st class and you have already reached Diamond – why pay 2x the price when nothing really gained i.e. elite wise.
You should book the other airline – it would allow others who are relying on upgrades a higher chance, with no impact on your flight. You should see it as an opportunity for yourself, not an issue for Delta. Get out there and earn status on a second airline.
You are correct. I have done the math. I will stop using my AmEx once I reach my attainable status and switch to another rewards card. No point in falling short of the next level.
I find it a bit paradoxical that the major benefit of acheiving diamond status is to get guaranteed upgrades (regional and global) by paying coach prices, yet the coach prices reduce your chance of getting to Diamond. I will have Diamond status next year due to rollover MQMs, so this year I have spent little with the Reserve card. Looking to spend enough to earn Platinum this year to get additional regional upgrades, but no further incentives to spend. Rollover would be nice. I never counton complimentary upgrades, so too many Diamonds not an issue for me.
Being a DM does not count anymore… I was told by the GA “Diamonds do not count anymore” that is why they are now #8 to board and in Zone 2!!!!
They need to make “butt in seat” miles a metric towards status again. It’s way too easy to spend $280k on Delta Reserve cards, which then translates to instant Diamond status, all without stepping foot on a plane.
Or if people want to step foot on Delta planes, they don’t need to fly more than a few roundtrips.
I will reach Diamond in June for 2025. At that point there is no incentive to fly Delta whenever possible as nothing to gain. Further, I thought it odd that while I will earn Diamond for calendar 2025, Delta will not allow me to extend my status for 3 more years with my rollover mgm’s from last year. They say you get 3 years and attaining status for next year doesn’t extend that to 4 years.
Does Delta really want to have ff’s stop flying less than half way through the year?
Also, this last year was the first that they didn’t roll over MQMs. I lost a whole year of Diamond status if I covert them for that. No one at Delta can tell me, if I went ahead and converted my miles now to diamond status, and then I made diamond status for 2025 on my MQDs, would that status I converted my miles for push out a year? Every time I ask I just get the runaround. Luckily you don’t have to convert them until the end of December, so I’ll know by then if I’ve made it.
Hi, Lisa! Check out this post. It might help.