Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Want to gift someone Delta Diamond Medallion® status? That’s now a possibility.
It’s not the Medallion® Qualification Dollar (MQD) rollover many of us want. But Delta Air Lines is rewarding SkyMiles Medallion® members who spend (way) above and beyond its $28,000 MQD threshold for Diamond status: they can select additional (and some different!) Choice Benefits as part of the carrier’s “Beyond Diamond” program.
Beyond Diamond: Additional Choice Benefits
We heard rumors the past few days that people who earned over $28,000 MQD in a calendar year could pick extra Choice Benefits.
A Delta spokesperson confirmed to me today that “Diamond Medallion®s are eligible to earn up to three additional Choice Benefits upon earning $50K, $75K, and $100K MQDs.”
The spokesperson told us, “eligible Diamonds should have received a notification email on May 8, or they can see their Choice Benefit options in the app.”
Unlock Different Choice Benefits
Here’s where things get more interesting — like gifting Diamond and Platinum Medallion® status!
Reaching those tiers gives members access to some standard selections — and unlocks a few new Choice Benefits.
- Four (4) Regional Upgrade Certificates
- Two (2) Global Upgrade Certificates
- 50,000 Bonus Miles (to keep, gift, donate)
- $5,000 MQD Accelerator for 2027 Medallion® Year
- Gift Platinum Medallion® Status to up to 2 Recipients
- Gift Diamond Medallion® Status to 1 Recipient* (*only an option upon earning $100K MQDs)
Quick update: We’re hearing that you can select one (1) additional Benefit at each additional $25,000 tier up to $100,000.
Does That Make Delta SkyMiles® American Express Cards More Important?
For some folks, that news might make certain cobranded Delta Amex cards more valuable. (Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.)
Four cards give members $2,500 MQD each year. No flying necessary.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
- $650 annual fee. (Rates & Fees)
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
- $650 annual fee. (Rates & Fees)
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
- $350 annual fee. (Rates & Fees)
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- $350 annual fee. (Rates & Fees)
For up to $2,000 in annual fees, you can earn up to $10,000 MQD. (That’s Gold Medallion® status without leaving your sofa.)
Delta Reserve Amex and Delta Business Reserve Amex cardholders earn $1 MQD for each $10 spent on eligible purchases on their respective cards. (Not across cards — on one card.). Meanwhile.
Delta PlatinumDelta Platinum and Delta Business Platinum Amex members earn $1 MQD for every $20 spent on eligible purchases on their respective cards.
This news might inspire some folks to spend more on their Delta Amexes.
Remember, too, that trips on Delta partners earn MQD. (The Mileage Run Department at point.me actually specializes in these kinds of trips — and they don’t even need to be mileage runs. They’ll find whatever you want.)
Final Approach
Delta’s big MQD earners are now eligible to select additional (and some new) Choice Benefits. Will this change your Delta MQD earning strategy going forward?
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.
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and and may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
We are thrilled to see EyeoftheFlyer’s reveal of Delta’s new Beyond Diamond program! At point.me, we’re buzzing with excitement over these game-changing Choice Benefits at $50K, $75K, and $100K MQD—4 Regional and 2 Global Upgrade Certificates, 50,000 bonus miles, a $5,000 MQD Accelerator, and the ability to gift Platinum or Diamond status. This elite tier takes Delta Medallion® status to new heights! My Mileage Run team and point.me are ready to roll, offering expert strategies to help clients efficiently achieve this prestigious level. Let’s soar to Beyond Diamond together! #DeltaBeyondDiamond #pointme #MileageRun
The rich get richer. There is a beyond Diamond program already – Delta 360, which many of these super big spenders likely qualify for. This increases the incentive for people who don’t buy their own tickets to spend more of someone elses money. The conflict of interest in thiose situations expands. A good deal if you can get it.
You can max out Beyond Diamond at only $1,000,000 in spending on a single Delta Amex Reserve card. Plus, all of those redeemable SkyMiles might earn you a first class roundtrip between Dallas and St. Louis.
I would add in those second-hand Covid-Clearance 737-900s with no power points and no IFE.
This is a very smart way of encouraging really big spenders to continue using their American Express cards. For people that could earn between 28K and 50K MQD, there is still no real incentive to continue spending beyond 28K. So I like what Delta’s done and hope they will consider a way to incent people in that in between land.
I think the incentive for the in-between is to keep spending until you reach one of those thresholds.
I just selected the Beyond Diamond Benefits for the 25K, 50K, and 100K. The question is, are there additional tiers beyond those amounts. I have been using my Ink cards much more than the Delta cards this year. However, if I can get more Beyond Diamond benefits I can switch the spend for December back to Delta if it makes sense.
This is all business spend, so please no derogatory comments about being a big spender. My income is intertwined with credit card miles as a business owner, and all of my travel and vacations are done through miles because I pay millions of dollars a year to suppliers on my cards instead of taking a smaller discount to ACH them. There is not a tax benefit to taking a discount.
Hi, Brian. Good call with the Chase cards, in my opinion. As far as anything above $100k, I don’t believe so. Maybe a pat on the back from Delta or something. I guess there’s a shot at Delta 360, for all we know about that — but that’s just a guess.
I don’t live on planes though like a lot of folks do. So, probably no 360 for little ol’ me.
If you gift platinum, does the recipient get to choose 1 choice benefit as if they earned it on their own? Has anyone chosen this yet to know?
I don’t believe they do.