Time is Running Out to Select Your Delta Choice Benefits! (What Are You Picking?)

If you earned Diamond or Platinum Medallion status for the 2024 SkyMiles year and haven’t yet selected your Choice Benefits, you have about ten days left to pull the trigger. (January 31, 2025, is the deadline.)

What’s available and what should you choose?

How Many Delta Choice Benefits Do You Get?

People who earned Diamond Medallion status for the 2024 year can pick up to three (3) Choice Benefits. Platinum may choose one (1).

But in reality, Diamonds who earn their status by accruing enough Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQD) also may select a Platinum Choice Benefit. Diamonds who receive complimentary status (i.e., via Million Miler) don’t get to choose Platinum benefits — unless they actually earn at least Platinum status.

Where Do I Select My Choice Benefit?

This link will take you to the page on Delta’s website. You’ll need to log in (if you’re not already) and then you can pick your Choice Benefit(s).

What Are the 2024 Choice Benefits?

Here are your options for 2024.

• Upgrade Certificates
  • Diamonds: Four (4) Global Upgrade Certificates or Eight (8) Regional Upgrade Certificates or Two (2) Globals and Four (4) Regionals
  • Platinums: Four (4) Regional Upgrade Certificates
  • Please note: the Certificates must be used for flights departing no later than January 31, 2025.
• Delta SkyMiles® American Express Statement Credit (only for 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 products)
  • Diamonds: $500 statement credit
  • Platinums: $400 statement credit
• Delta Sky Club Memberships
  • Diamonds: One (1) Executive Membership (This requires all three of your 2024 Choice Benefits)
  • Platinums: Not Available. Stick to your eligible Amex Card.
  • Please note: Membership expires on January 31, 2025.
• MQD Accelerator Toward the 2025 Medallion Year
  • Diamonds: $1,000 MQD
  • Platinums: $500 MQD
  • Per Delta: “For 2024 Medallion Choice Benefit selections made after 12/31/2023, MQDs will be deposited into the account within 24 hours of selection for qualification toward the 2025 Medallion Year.” We’ll talk about this in a minute.
• Medallion Status Gifting for the 2024 Year
  • Diamonds: Gift Gold Medallion status to two (2) people
  • Platinums: Gift Silver Medallion status to two (2) people
  • Please note: 2024 Medallion status expires on January 31, 2025.
• Bonus SkyMiles
  • Diamonds: 25,000 SkyMiles
  • Platinums: 20,000 SkyMiles
• Delta Vacations Promo Code (Flight + Hotel)
  • Diamonds: $500
  • Platinums: $400
  • Expires one year after being issued.
• Delta Travel Voucher
  • Diamonds: $250
  • Platinums: $250
  • Expires one year after being issued.
• Starbucks Rewards Stars
  • Diamonds: 4,000 Stars
  • Platinums: 4,000 Stars
  • Unused stars expire six months after they are deposited into the member’s account.
• Sustainable Aviation Fuel Contribution
  • Diamonds: $250 SAF
  • Platinums: $250 SAF

What Are the Best 2024 Choice Benefits?

Let’s start with three items you shouldn’t choose. Why? All of them expire January 31, 2025.

• The Upgrade Certificates, Sky Club Membership, and Medallion Status Gift options all include benefits that expire in about 11 days. (And that’s if you read this post on the days it was published.)
  • But if you have flights booked between now and January 31 and find flights with Regional or Global Upgrade inventory, that could be a viable option. Keep in mind Upgrade Certificates take up to 24 hours to hit your account after you select them.
• If you don’t have Sky Club access and really, really, really want to visit, then knock yourself out and get that.
• Or if someone you know craves Medallion status for just a few days, you can gift them that.

But that trio of options is likely a wash this late in the Medallion year.

That leaves us with seven options:

• Delta SkyMiles® American Express Statement Credit
• MQD Accelerator Toward the 2025 Medallion Year
• Bonus SkyMiles
• Delta Vacations Promo Code (Flight + Hotel)
• Delta Travel Voucher
• Starbucks Rewards Stars
• Sustainable Aviation Fuel Contribution

If you like Starbucks Stars, that option gets you about 20 Trenta Cold Brews (at least, at my local Starbucks). If you really want to pick the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Contribution, consider seeking help for your crushing guilt. 🙂 (I was raised Catholic and married into a Jewish family. I know about guilt. And even I wouldn’t pick that Choice Benefit.)

The MQD Accelerator ($1,000 for Diamonds, $500 for Platinums) will cause confusion for many people, as MQD have during the past several months. (But earning status was supposed to be simple, right?) Let’s tackle that first.

In the official terms and conditions, Delta says:

For 2024 Medallion Choice Benefit selections made after 12/31/2023, MQDs will be deposited into the account within 24 hours of selection for qualification toward the 2025 Medallion Year. For 2025 Medallion Choice Benefit selections made after 12/31/2024, MQDs will be deposited into the account within 24 hours of selection for qualification toward the 2026 Medallion Year. MQDs are non-transferable and cannot be gifted.

(Bold mine)

January 1, 2025, started the period for earning toward 2026 Medallion Status. Read that again. January 1, 2025, started the period for earning toward 2026 Medallion Status. 

So, why would you choose the MQD Accelerator toward the 2025 year?

If you were Diamond last year and were $1,000 MQD (or less) short of a status tier for the 2025 Medallion Year, the MQD Accelerator might be a good idea. Likewise, Platinums falling short of a $500 (or under) of status tier might want to pick the MQD Accelerator. These should get you over that hump. But that is the only way to still earn MQD toward 2025. 

Again, the MQD would count (according to Delta’s verbiage) toward 2025 status, which expires on January 31, 2026. If you hit your status goal for this year, forget all about the MQD Accelerator for this year.

Travelwise, the Delta Travel Voucher ($250 for both Diamonds and Platinums) and SkyMiles (25,000 for Diamonds and 20,000 for Platinums) are OK. Remember that the travel voucher expires within a year, whereas SkyMiles don’t expire until you do. But the Delta Vacations Promo Code or even Delta Amex Statement Credit offer more value. To clear: the Delta Amex credit is a flat credit that applies to your card’s account. You can use that as an excuse to travel or just knock down your account balance.

25,000 SkyMiles are worth about $250 (maybe less). $500 is worth, well, $500. (Even more if you use it to purchase travel and earn points on that.)

Honestly, the Delta Amex statement is the most flexible option and offers the best return (for those of us who have Delta Reserve or Delta Platinum Cards).

Final Approach

January 31, 2025, is the final day to select your 2024 Medallion Year choice benefits. Make sure to pick something if you haven’t yet already!

What benefit(s) are you picking — and why? Please tell us in the below Comments section!

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® Platinum Business American Express Card, please visit this link.