My Family’s Delta Elite Status Plan for 2026

Back in the good old days, this was the time of year my wife and I combined date nights with Delta mileage runs. We hopscotched around the United States to collect Delta Air Lines SkyMiles Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQM) to meet our elite status goals for the following year.

Now that Delta loyalty is purely spending-based, those days are gone. As we’ve noted, travelers can be considered “loyal” with one high-priced trip. Meanwhile, people who regularly travel on lower-priced roundtrips, spend more time on Delta planes, but don’t rack up the MQD aren’t nearly as valued

We took the hint. We fly Delta when it’s the best option for our budget, schedules, plans, and destinations. We really like the rank-and-file Delta employees. Many of the lounges we visit are great. Delta’s done a bang-up job remodeling some of its airport spaces. The planes are nice. Free WiFi is great.

But it’s getting darn expensive to fly Delta.

So, what are we going to do with our elite status for 2026?

Platinum and Gold

My wife will be a Platinum Medallion® for 2026 — basically because of an American Express error. We pointed out their mistake and politely asked if Delta would extend her status through 2026, since she didn’t have it through the first seven months this year.

For the first time in probably 10 or 11 years, I’ll start the year below Diamond or Platinum.

Barring some miracle (or emergency that requires me to fork out $5,000 on Delta tickets or $3,000 or so on a Delta partner’s business classor $3,000 or so on a Delta partner’s business class), I’ll be Gold.

However, I plan to pursue Delta’s Reclaim My Status sometime early in 2026. I was injured in an accident this year. That made traveling difficult and I still experience some pain months later. I’m healing but remained at home for several months. We missed several trips we planned to take — at least two of which would’ve been on Delta.

So, I hope to have Platinum status for 2026.

We’ll see.

I have the Southwest Companion Pass through 2026. We plan to use that as much as possible. While Southwest won’t be the airline they once were, flying a family member for free on every flight is certainly worth it.

Some positive professional developments are making my travel different. I must now bring voiceover recording equipment with me everywhere I go and/or have access to a recording studio. So, we’ll see how 2026 goes!

As for 2027, we could easily both hit Gold status without stepping on a Delta plane. The question is, do we want to spend $5,000 (total) doing that? Or use the money elsewhere? If we’re not going to fly Delta as much — especially if my wife or I can qualify for a Southwest Companion Certificate through 2027, that might be our answer.

And why do we need Medallion® status if our jobs no longer require us to travel as much?

(To answer a question some of you will have: yes, this blog will continue to cover Delta as long as I’m in charge 🙂 .)

What are your Delta status plans for 2026?