FINAL DAYS: A Delta MQD Run from Your Couch (or Other Favorite Furniture) for $2,500

OK, procrastinators. Here’s your last chance.

If you still need Delta SkyMiles® Medallion® Qualification Dollars (MQD) toward 2026 status, you might be in luck — even if you don’t have any flights planned for the rest of this year.

$2,500 MQD for Holding a Credit Card

Four Delta SkyMiles® American Express Cards give cardholders $2,500 MQD each year just for being a card member:

• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
  • Annual fee: $650. (Rates and Fees)
  • Plus, earn $1 MQD for each $10 in eligible purchases
  • Learn here how to apply.
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
  • Annual fee: $650. (Rates and Fees)
  • Plus, earn $1 MQD for each $10 in eligible purchases
  • Learn here how to apply.
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
  • Annual fee: $350. (Rates and Fees)
  • Plus, earn $1 MQD for each $20 in eligible purchases
  • Learn here how to apply.
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
  • Annual fee: $350. (Rates and Fees)
  • Plus, earn $1 MQD for each $20 in eligible purchases
  • Learn here how to apply.

If you hold all four cards, that’s $10,000 MQD for $2,000. Without even looking at an airplane in person.

But…

Regular readers of this blog know we diligently remind people about the $2,500 MQD HeadStarts throughout the year, so people aren’t caught in a late-December panic.

If you’re a proscratinator (hello, fellow creatives!), then keep this in mind:

Here’s where this might become a possible crapshoot. According to the Terms and Conditions of each eligible card, the MQD HeadStart contains the verbiage:

…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.

The phrase “is opened” basically means “when you’re approved, not when you apply.”

So, if you apply today and are approved before December 31, you should get the $2,500 MQD deposit and have it count toward your 2026 status. (The earning period ends on December 31, 2025.) But I dilly-dallied last year and waited until, like, December 30 to upgrade an existing Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card account to a Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card. And that became a whole thing.

However, an Amex PR representative told us Tuesday that if you apply by December 31, 2025, and are subsequently approved, you should receive MQD toward 2026 Medallion® Status.

Those of us who enjoy fishing might be familiar with the term “catching your limit.” Well, I’ve caught my limit on American Express cards. When I apply for a card, I’m usually told that I’ll get a response in 7-10 business days. Then I get a letter basically saying, “Too bad, so sad, you have too many of our products and we don’t want more of your business.”

So, be ready to maybe sweat out a 7-10 stretch for whatever reason.

Get an Electronic Paper Trail

This is good practice for whenever you apply for a credit card — but especially in this case.

Make sure to have your SkyMiles number handy. You’ll need it to apply. 

If you’re instantly approved, take screenshots of your approval notice. Print a PDF of the screen. Save those as backup if an issue arises later. Add your new card to your existing Amex account. Or if this is your first Amex rodeo, set up a new username and password.

Print a PDF of the Rates & Fees pages (we have links to those a few paragraphs up).

If your MQD don’t hit, you could argue, Hey, look. My card was opened on December XX, 2025. Here’s the metadata to prove it. My MQD should be deposited toward 2026 status.

Again, this isn’t bulletproof (even though it should be, given technological advancements and the bajillion dollar economic ecosystem that is the Delta-Amex relationbship).

Final Approach

It might not be too late to take a Delta MQD run from your home and get an eligible Delta Amex card. Keep in mind that you might be tempting fate this late in the year. But if you know the potential “risks” (as it were), then take your run — in your pajamas or other favorite comfy clothing!

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 the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, please visit this link.