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The beginning of the new year has seen the full force implementation of what Delta Air Lines announced back in 2023 for Medallion flyers. While we are now earning Medallion Qualification Dollars for the 2026 elite qualifying year many fliers are still so confused about just what impact the changes are having on them and the rules. In a sad way this really is “funny” because Delta’s new program was supposed to make the rules so simple after the old qualifying system. Let’s dive in.
As mentioned, the simplicity of the new Delta Medallion program should be appreciated and yet many don’t get that the only thing that matters is what you are paying for the ticket and that price does NOT include the total price but only the base price that officially is going to Delta. That price is the MQD you get credit for. That said there are a number of subtle ways around this simple rule that so confuse flyers. Like what?
Partner booked tickets still earn MQDs based on distance flown. What this means is depending on the class of service booked directly, or via a travel agent partner directly, with the partner airline earns a percentage of distance converted to an MQD number. Very few elites understand this and are confused when they book a partner via Delta and do not get the expected bonus points because, well, they booked on Delta.com instead of booking on the partner site or a travel agent that also booked on the partner site instead of on Delta.com. (This is something we’ll revisit in the upcoming days.)
The next one fliers simply can not comprehend is that you only get Delta MQD credit when the flight is flown. I can not begin to tell you how many readers think that when they book a flight, and even more so with a Delta Amex card, that they expect to get a flight’s MQD credit as soon as the charge hits their statement. That is simply NOT the case. Yes, they will get bonus MQD credit for the purchase price but not the flight’s MQD total until they fly the flight.
Then we have rollover — or I should say the lack thereof. Delta was, as far as I know, the only airline that wisely rewarded you by allowing you to retain extra elite points by sending them into the next year as long as you met the requirements in place. But with 2025 in place, any kind of rollover is gone. I am shocked, and I do mean shocked, how many high end elites think that Delta will or did or should have rolled over their “extra” MQDs above their earned status level. The hard truth is Delta does not let you retain extra spend and everyone, no matter how much they spend each year on Delta tickets, starts the year at ZERO MQDs! (Although remember that four credit cards give SkyMiles members $2,500 MQD per card!)
Another one that blows my mind is how so many are confused about when the Medallion year ends vs. qualifying dates. The simple fact is that you hold your status you earned until the last day of January each year. As of February 1st, if you did not reach whatever level, you fall back to a lower level or even just a general Skymiles member. But so many readers seem to think, for whatever reason, that what they earn in January will count on the previous year – this is not true. As of the stroke of midnight on the 1st you are earning points for the year after with the caveat that if you attain whatever level of spend you get the status “free” the current year and then fly the status the year after.
I could deep dive into the minutia of the rest of the program and the things even top elites get wrong again and again but these are the obvious ones Chris and I come across on a regular basis. Bottom line is if status with Delta matters to you – you need to understand at least the basics of the program. Then you can focus on the rest and try to maximize the perks that are made available to you for donating so much of your hard earned cash to Delta Air Lines and hope that your loyalty dollars are just maybe rewarded by the other side! – René
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Air France affords rollover XPs. Oui?
@Lee – Was talking US airlines.
Ah. Sorry for misunderstanding.
@Lee – I could have been more clear so my bad!
My issue among other things is how little mileage you get for flights! Atlanta to Jax used to be 500 miles towards MM status now it is 382 miles!!
Delta changed the 500 mile minimum in 2024. They also got rid of fare class bonus MQMs. With those, I’m easily out 50k MM miles.
“ Partner booked tickets still earn MQDs based on distance flown.” Is this true in 2025 for a reward flight booked with (partner) AF miles, on an AF ticket, but flown on Delta metal and carrying my Delta Skymiles number?
It’s all so simple now in 2025! Happy New Year to my favorite Delta guys.
@Enjoy Fine Food – Yes. “Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) apply to Medallion qualification. Flights marketed by the partner will earn MQDs based on a percentage of distance flown* as determined by the fare class paid.”
https://www.delta.com/us/en/skymiles/how-to-earn-miles/airline-partners
This is for paid tickets.
What about for Reward ticket? That’s the question here. Someone (mysterious) said paid and reward flights were treated the same cause Delta didn’t (couldn’t?) differentiate.
@Enjoy Fine Food – On Delta stock tickets yes but you don’t earn percentage of distance if booking direct with Delta.
Sadly Delta status and treatment has declined over the years. When they acquired Northwest airlines I challenged Delta to raise its customer service to Northwest Airlines level and not to pull their customer satisfaction down to Delta’s. Sadly I sit on Delta today just having achieved 2 million mile status and I’m in Comfort Plus. Delta would rather sell First Class seats 80 % of the time than upgrade Diamond million milers. I find First Class experience is better now
on competitors and keep status on others as well now.
Delta fell to NW standards not the opposite as you say. They kept NW management and destroyed the benefits slowly every year since. For a decade I could almost 95% of the time guess correctly if it was a Delta flight crew or NW one. NW tried to unionize etc.. thank godness they didn’t or it would be even worse. As a 2KK flyer as well the fact that no upgrades and now no extra flight credit for paid first class ticket, while pushing discounts to one off fliers to upgrade from coach is past frustrating after years of loyalty.
Curious why it is an issue that one is upset that an airline would rather earn revenue on a first class seat than free upgrade
Correction to FSikes: many of Delta’s employee groups have always been union. Northwest’s frequent flyer program was far more highly rated by flyers than Delta’s but the merger gave them the opportunity to decrease the benefits and perks down to Delta’s standards. The latest iteration of downgrading the program is really disappointing. My Diamond status and Million Miler tags mean nothing anymore.
I actually understand all the ramifications of the new MQD program however what I don’t understand is why no one is complaining about the fact that they give you MQDs for your Delta AEX card in $1, $5, $10 etc increments. It means you can’t possibly track whether you received the right MQDs for your spend on the card; just @trust us”? Without looking at every single day and adding up every single dollar it’s impossible to follow. Delta just needs to do it monthly so you could see what you spent for the month and what your MQDs were as a result of that. Very tricky on the part of Delta to keep you from really seeing what credit you get for your AEX card spend.
“That said”. Unnecessary filler. What does,that add to an article,?
“What does,that add to an article,?”
It’s a good idea to use correct punctuation if you’re going to troll.
I earned enough MQS & MQM in 2023 to stay a Diamond for 2024 but in early 2024 they took both my segments and miles leaving me only 46000 miles to convert. I knew the MQS and MQMs were going away but it sucked when they used both to retain my Diamond status for 2024, I thought I would have enough (171,000) MQM to roll my status for 2025.
They took 125k MQMs for DM (like they always did), the 46k was what was left. I had 373k coming into 2024. 373k-125k left me with 247k to choose. You needed over 100k AFTER the 125k subtraction for DM for 2024 for rollover to extend.
I didn’t start my quest for status until mid 2023, so the changes that were implemented for 2024 didn’t affect me as badly, because I simply wasn’t accustomed to the program before then. From that, it doesn’t seem as confusing, because that’s pretty much where I started. However, I cam understand the confusion. I can also understand the ire. What I understand is that status was a bit easier to get when you had multiple avenues. Now, there’s only one. I can see how some people might feel cheated.
The changes have not affected my status as with 4 m miles I am lifetime diamond and working toward 5 m and lifetime 360. As I have been diamond or higher every year since diamond became a thing and I routinely spend enough to get the threshold perks, the only thing that really bothers me is the reduction in million miler qualification credit. What would have been about a year to get to 5m is now looking like 3 years. Bummer, looking forward to lifetime 360.
I just wrote a long comment that disappeared before I could hit send. Ughhh! I’ll keep this short now.
Thank you for explaining the new Medallion changes as I am still confused about it. As a frequent flier who has been with Delta for decades, the new changes make me mad and sad.
However, who would you recommend for a new frequent flier relationship as I’m reluctant to start over?
I still love Delta and I’m not a fan of AA or SW Airlines so, they are out. I’m USA based and travel both locally and internationally. I still have over 100k left in my account and the new rules have me cross-eyed.
Thank you for a great blog. I’ve followed you for years and I’m commenting for the first time because the new Medallion stuff is incredibly annoying.
@ElizOF – Thank you for your first comment and following the blog. My advice is play the field i.e. be a free agent like me. Fly Delta when it works for you and others when they are better for you. Delta no longer is an airline worthy of loyalty IMO.