Lessons Learned: Mistakes Cost My Wife Over a Half-Year of Delta Medallion® Status

I know this is a super busy time of year. But if you’re short of Delta Air Lines SkyMiles Medallion® Qualification Dollars (MQD) and want to use the MQD HeadStart feature that’s part several co-branded credit cards, pay attention.

Upgrading My Wife’s Card

Late last year, my wife and I determined she’d be about $2,400 short of requalifying for Platinum status. (I already would be Platinum for the 2025 SkyMiles year.)

We usually travel as a group of three (her, our daughter, and me). She and I like to have the same Medallion® status for benefits (upgrades, etc).

So, during the last week of December 2024, we upgraded one of her Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Cards back to a Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card. Why?

The Delta Amex Platinum is one of four credit cards awarding members $2,500 MQD just for holding it:

• 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

We downgraded that Delta Platinum card during COVID because we didn’t need it. After the SkyMiles 2025 changes, that tune changed.)

Mrs. Carley called American Express. They were happy to upgrade her card and charge her the $350 annual fee. (Rates & Fees) The change took effect immediately and was reflected as such on her Amex account.

Perfect! The $2,500 MQD would hit her SkyMiles account in time for the 2025 SkyMiles year and she’d be Platinum. Even though it was late December, she was still eligible for the MQD HeadStart, per the card’s terms and conditions:

…if a New Eligible Card Account is opened during November or December of a Qualification Year, MQDs will be applied to the Qualification Year in which the Card is opened. MQDs earned during a Qualification Year are used to determine qualification for Medallion® Status for the subsequent Medallion® Year for the Basic Card Member.

We figured that the MQD would land in her account in early January or so and apply retroactively. Just like MQM did.

We had several trips scheduled for spring and early summer. Two were to the East Coast and one to Grand Cayman. Those are pretty long domestic(ish) hikes from Los Angeles. So, we appreciated the opportunity to snag Comfort+ bulkheads and shots at First Class upgrades.

Whomp, Whomp!

Except the MQD didn’t show up in her SkyMiles account. So, I called Delta. They told me to call Amex. I was told that because her credit card account wasn’t active in time during 2025, and, therefore, the MQD weren’t deposited. Huh?

I explained that we upgraded the account in 2025. I pretty much got Too bad, so sad.

I kept checking her account to see if maybe the MQD would be deposited retroactively. Nope.

During our Grand Cayman trip, I was upgraded once to First Class (Atlanta to Grand Cayman) and, of course, offered it to her. Then from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. (DCA). Same thing on the way back from DCA to LAX. And then Delta One from Boston (BOS) to LAX.

She and my daughter should’ve been upgraded, too, because there were seats available and people below me on the list were upgraded. But she was only Gold — not Platinum. Had she not been screwed out of her $2,500 MQD, they’d be up front on her own.

Oops!

Out of nowhere this summer — after our trips — she was suddenly upgraded to Platinum Medallion®! Then we received this letter from American Express:

We appreciate the situation being rectified. But it was about seven months too late. By that time, we traveled several times on Delta.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said during an earnings call that people could email him if they had a problem. So, my wife did. And she included all the people on this page. For good measure, she cc’d these Amex folks.

She asked if she could please have her Platinum Medallion® status extended through 2026. She explained that she’s a longtime Delta and Amex customer. She played by their rules, Amex screwed up and admitted it. She wasn’t trying to cheat them out of anything. Very simply, a technical error on Amex’s part meant she was denied the correct Medallion® status. She didn’t get to enjoy any of the benefits she should have. She merely wanted some extra time to do so.

Amex wrote her back. They said they huddled with Delta, who agreed to make a one-time exception to extend her status.

We wish Amex and Delta would’ve been more proactive about offering something instead of an apology — especially when we called them out on it earlier in the year. They know how important elite status is to a lot of travelers.

All’s well that ends well.

Here’s What You Can Learn From Us

I’ll be the first to admit that we probably waited a little long to upgrade Mrs. Carley card. That’s 100% on me (I’m the points and miles guy in our house). We tempted fate and look what happened.

So, if you want to get one of the Delta Amex cards that gives you $2,500 MQD and need it for your 2026 status, do it now.

Keep records of when you apply and when you’re approved. Save a PDF of the card’s terms and conditions when you apply.

Learn all of that from us. While we technically were in the right, I could’ve figured out a plan a little sooner.

As for Delta and Amex, we’re grateful they honored our request. We hope this kink got worked out for 2026.

Were you affected by a similar glitch?

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.