For the first time in a few months, I posted yesterday what I think is a decent deal from Boston (BOS) to Maui’s Kahului. It’s a long weekend trip in December. There’s added appeal for some folks chasing Delta Air Lines Million Miler status.
Since Delta put Medallion Qualification Miles (MQM) out to pasture, flying is the only way to earn Million Miler miles. And the actual miles between a flight’s point A and point B are the only metric you’ll earn. There are no cabin or fare bonuses. Flying First Class earns the same Million Miler miles as Main Cabin.
The cost-per-mile earnings for the BOS-OGG trip was 5.6 CPM. That’s not bad, but it’s not “holy moly!” exciting (especially for a Main Cabin trip). My reasoning for posting it was:
Million Miler tiers are now more rewarding because of their lifetime status benefits
- People enjoy going to Hawaii
- People who don’t live in warm climates especially enjoy going to Hawaii 🙂
- Folks with Upgrade Certificates expiring at the end of the Medallion year might be able to use them on this trip.
- SkyMiles members who need a few Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQD) for a tier bump could take a fun trip.
- I genuinely enjoy finding trips that may appeal to people!
Where Are the Partner MQD Runs?
One of the best ways to earn Delta MQD is to take trips on Delta’s partner airlines and credit them to your SkyMiles account.
Delta apparently can’t see how much you paid for trips on partner airlines (even ones they own hefty percentages of). That might sound odd, but remember that Delta recently showed the world its IT limitations.
So, MQD are awarded based on a percentage of distance flown. That percentage is determined by which airfare class you purchase. The higher the class (i.e., business class), the more you earn — regardless of how much you pay for your ticket.
For example, this 2021 business class mileage run on AeroMexico earned about $6,000 MQD. But the airfare was only $1,725.35.
Even premium economy trips — like this LAX to Dubai run — hauled in a bunch of MQD and kept you out of traditional coach.
But 3X-4X MQD returns are harder to find than before.
Why?
First, Delta drastically reduced its partner airline MQD earnings. Business class trips on most partner airlines used to earn 40% of the distance flown. That number is now 30% pretty much across the board.
Premium economy used to earn 30% of the distance flown but that’s down to 20%.
Next, airfare prices are more expensive than in years past. As CNBC notes, they’re outpacing inflation.
So, the one-two punch of reduced earnings and higher airfares really doesn’t produce the “Wow!” factor we enjoyed for several years.
We now see MQD returns of 1.5X-2X. Other forums and blogs we used for inspiration finding MQD deals in that same range.
MDQ in a Hurry
Keep in mind that four Delta SkyMiles® American Express Cards each give cardholders $2,500 MQD annually just for being cardmembers. Terms apply:
- 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
That’s an easy way to earn up to $10,000 each year without stepping foot on a plane.
Remember You Don’t Have to Pay Cash
One of the reasons we constantly harp about flexible points cards (e.g., American Express® Membership Rewards®®, Chase Ultimate Rewards®®, Capital One Miles, etc.) is that you can redeem miles/points towards airfare purchases through those companies’ travel booking sites.
It’s usually a rate of one cent per point redeemed. Some people wouldn’t dream of doing that. Others want their miles or MQD no matter what.
I know a lot of Delta flyers get heart palpitations at the thought of getting a card that’s not an Amex. But three Chase cards give you boosts when redeeming points through Chase Travel℠:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®: 50%
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: 25%
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: 25%
Delta SkyMiles award trips, Pay With Miles, and Pay with Points + Cash all earn MQD, as well.
So, keep all that in mind.
Will We Keep Posting Mileage Runs?
Yep! And I want to do so again more consistently. Here’s the plan I have mind.
We’ll still post Delta partner MQD trips. Like in the past, expect a mishmash of business class trips and premium economy trips. Some might be long weekends, others bonafide vacations of a week or longer, or others just a classic turn-and-burn when you don’t leave the airport. It pains me to say this but our new minimum MQD threshold will be about 1.75X but we’ll shoot for higher. (In the past, we rarely did anything below 3X.) We might dip below 1.75X here and there — especially because we’re in the back half of 2024 and people need to meet their Medallion goals sooner than later.
I’m also thinking about Delta Air Lines trips that earn in the 5-ish CPM and lower range, targeted mainly for people racking up miles for Million Miler tiers. Plan on these being Main Cabin. (I know it’s not optimal but Delta isn’t cheap, though a few gems can still be found every so often.) Most people pursuing Million Miler tiers are already Medallions and can get exit row seats. Platinums and Diamonds can get those Comfort+ seats shortly after booking — which come in very handy during long hauls.
But I think some of these trips might be helpful in general, too. If you want to get away for a couple of nights while earning some MQD or miles, maybe we’ll find something you like!
Remember point.me Can Help!
We highly recommend point.me for both their award booking service and custom mileage runs. They boast an entire department dedicated to one-on-one mileage run consulting. Tell them what you need in terms of miles and/or MQD and they’ll get to work finding something tailored to you. They can even help with hotels and stuff like that.
Get in touch with point.me whenever you want mileage run help!
How Can You Find Out About Our Mileage Runs?
There are several ways to learn about our mileage runs.
- Subscribe to our Elite Mileage Runs newsletter and daily Eye of the Flyer newsletter. It’s free to sign up for them!
- Follow @EyeOfTheFlyer and @EliteMileageRun on Xitter. Turn on alerts so you know whenever we post anything.
- Follow Eye of the Flyer on Facebook
- Follow Eye of the Flyer on Threads
- Follow Eye of the Flyer on Pinterest
Final Approach
It’s more difficult to find truly awesome mileage runs but we’ll still keep hunting! I think the model has evolved even more since airlines implemented spending levels into how people earn elite status.
We’ll let you know when we come across something that earns somewhere in the 1.75-2X (but hopefully more!) MQD area. We’ll also send out runs for decently priced Delta trips that return a decent amount of Million Miler miles for an acceptable return. Who knows?
As always, thanks for reading Eye of the Flyer!
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.
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.
If Delta has moved its tier status metric to MQDs, it needs to move lifetime tier status to the same metric. Or, at least have lifetime status based on X MQMs OR Y MQDs. They really did not think things through when they changed the system last year.