Delta Choice benefits are changing from 2026 onwards, mostly getting better but with a big caveat

Delta loyalists who earn Platinum or Diamond status receive, among all kinds of other benefits, a selection of Choice benefits to pick from.

For the 2026 elite qualification year onwards, your Choice benefits will be changing. This is, in theory, a positive development because three of the four benefits will become even more valuable. If you currently choose a credit card statement credit though, this update will be disappointing.

The full announcement can be found here. Note that these changes are applicable for Choice benefits earned from 2026 onwards. If you earned Platinum or Diamond status with Delta during 2025, your Choice benefit options remain the same for now.

Here’s a list of the four Choice benefits, along with both their 2025 and 2026 values:

Platinum status (pick one)

• Gift Silver Medallion status
  • 2025 – Gift to up to two people
  • 2026 – Gift to up to four people
• Bonus miles
  • 2025 – 30,000 bonus miles
  • 2026 – 35,000 bonus miles
• Delta travel voucher
  • 2025 – $300
  • 2026 – $350
• American Express statement credit
  • 2025 – $400
  • 2026 – $250

Diamond status (pick three)

• Gift Gold Medallion status
  • 2025 – Gift to up to two people
  • 2026 – Gift to up to four people
• Bonus miles
  • 2025 – 35,000 bonus miles
  • 2026 – 40,000 bonus miles
• Delta travel voucher
  • 2025 – $350
  • 2026 – $550
• American Express statement credit
  • 2025 – $700
  • 2026 – $500

On the face of it, this might seem like an enhancement. If you choose the ability to gift status, you’ll be able to double the number of people you share that benefit with. For those who normally opt for bonus SkyMiles, you’ll get an extra 5,000 of those going forward. For the Delta travel voucher, those with Platinum status will earn an extra $50, while Diamond members will earn an extra $200.

It’s that final benefit which could be a painful change. Platinum members who opt for a Delta Amex statement credit will see that reduced from $400 to $250, while Diamond members see a slightly lower percentage drop – but a large dollar figure drop – with their former $700 credit decreasing to $500.

For any Delta Platinum and Diamond members who don’t have a Delta Amex card, this is unalloyed good news because all their options are getting more valuable. However, I imagine that a significant chunk of Delta’s rank of Platinum and Diamond members will have at least one Delta credit card. The statement credit was formerly the best choice, particularly for Diamond members. With these upcoming changes, that’s no longer the case.

If you earn Platinum status, getting a $350 Delta travel credit or 35,000 bonus miles will be more preferable to a $250 statement credit for most people in the future. The ability to gift Silver status to four other people could also appeal to the more kind-hearted SkyMiles members too.

As for Diamond members, this’ll be far more painful. The ability to get a $700 statement credit up until now was easily the most valuable Choice benefit option. With that statement credit being slashed to $500, it’s no longer a no-brainer. If you book a lot of paid travel, a $550 Delta travel voucher could be preferable as that gives you a 10% uplift in value versus the statement credit. For people who can redeem their SkyMiles for good value – especially cardholders who also get a 15% discount on award flights – the 40,000 bonus SkyMiles might be their best choice.

The fact that Diamond members could also choose to gift Gold status to four other people (instead of two) going forward might be an intriguing option too. Gold status with Delta includes a whole host of benefits such as upgrades, preferred seating, waived same-day confirmed fees, Zone 4 boarding, priority security line access, and four drink vouchers, not to mention Elite Plus SkyTeam access. That could be very valuable for four people who otherwise wouldn’t qualify for that status, especially if you’re able to negotiate some kind of reciprocal benefit in return.

It’s unlikely that Delta has chosen to make these Choice benefit changes out of the goodness of their hearts, so I suspect the most popular benefit in years gone by was the statement credit, hence the $400 and $700 options being reduced.

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