For many years, Delta has offered the ability for SkyMiles members to earn Choice benefits when attaining Platinum and Diamond status. According to Delta’s website, those Choice benefits max out once you hit $28,000 Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) for Diamond status.
It turns out that’s not the case after all. You do still earn Choice benefits once earning $15,000 and $28,000 MQDs, but Eye of the Flyer has learned that it’s possible to earn additional Choice benefits beyond the $28,000 MQDs level at the $50,000, $75,000 and $100,000 MQDs levels.
As a reminder, here are the standard Choice benefits options at the Platinum and Diamond levels (they can be found on the bottom half of the table):
| SILVER | GOLD | PLATINUM | DIAMOND | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miles per dollar earned on paid flights | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| Free domestic (US 50) upgrades to Delta One for you plus one companion | Day of departure | Day of departure | Day of departure | Day of departure |
| Free domestic (US 50) upgrades to Delta Premium Select | Begins 24 hours before departure | Begins 72 hours before departure | Begins 120 hours before departure | Begins 120 hours before departure |
| Free upgrades to Delta First for you plus one companion | Begins 24 hours before departure | Begins 72 hours before departure | Begins 120 hours before departure | Begins 120 hours before departure |
| Free upgrades to Delta Comfort for you plus one companion | 24 hours before departure | 72 hours before departure | Shortly after ticketing | Shortly after ticketing |
| Free Class Premier upgrades on select Aeromexico flights | Begins 24 hours before departure | Begins 72 hours before departure | Begins 120 hours before departure | Begins 120 hours before departure |
| CLEAR® Plus membership discount | $40 off | $40 off | $40 off | $80 off |
| Dedicated phone line | Priority | High Priority | Higher Priority | VIP Line |
| Free preferred seat selection | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Waived bag fees | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Waived same-day confirmed or standby change fees | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Priority boarding | Zone 5 | Zone 4 | Zone 4 | Zone 2 |
| Sky Priority expedited checked bags | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| SkyTeam Status | Elite | Elite Plus | Elite Plus | Elite Plus |
| SkyTeam lounge access | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Hertz elite status | Five Star | Five Star | President's Circle | President's Circle |
| Delta Stays VIP Access Property Benefits | 15% discount + limited perks | 15% discount + more perks | 20% discount + more perks | 20% discount + more perks |
| Drink Vouchers | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Choice Benefits | Choose 1: | Choose 3: | ||
| Upgrade certificates | 4 Regional | 4 Global (or 8 Regional or 2 Global & 4 Regional) | ||
| Statement Credits (for Delta Platinum and Reserve Cardholders) | $250 | $500 | ||
| Starbucks® Rewards Stars | 6,000 Stars | 6,000 Stars | ||
| Delta Sky Club® Individual Membership | N/A | Requires 2 Choices | ||
| Delta Sky Club Executive Membership | N/A | Requires 3 Choices | ||
| MQD Accelerator | $1,000 MQDs | $2,000 MQDs | ||
| Gift medallion status | 4 Silver | 4 Gold | ||
| Bonus miles | 35K | 40K | ||
| Delta Vacations Savings | $400 | $500 | ||
| Sustainable Aviation Fuel Contribution | $250 | $250 | ||
| Delta Travel Voucher | $350 | $550 | ||
| Wheels up flight credit | $1,500 | $2,000 |
- 4 Regional Upgrade Certificates (RUCs)
- 2 Global Upgrade Certificates (GUCs)
- $5,000 MQD Accelerator at the start of the next qualification year (i.e. at the time of publishing, this would be awarded at the start of 2026 for the 2027 Medallion year)
- 50,000 bonus SkyMiles (these can be credited to your own account or gifted/donated)
- Platinum status to gift to 2 other SkyMiles members
- Diamond status to gift to 1 other SkyMiles member (this can only be selected if you reach $100,000 MQDs)
Those are the Choice benefits as part of Delta’s published list, However, here’s a list of the “secret” Choice benefits available at the $50,000, $75,000 and $100,000 MQDs levels; you can select one benefit at each level:
- 4 Regional Upgrade Certificates (RUCs)
- 2 Global Upgrade Certificates (GUCs)
- $5,000 MQD Accelerator at the start of the next qualification year (i.e. at the time of publishing, this would be awarded at the start of 2026 for the 2027 Medallion year)
- 50,000 bonus SkyMiles (these can be credited to your own account or gifted/donated)
- Platinum status to gift to 2 other SkyMiles members
- Diamond status to gift to 1 other SkyMiles member (this can only be selected if you reach $100,000 MQDs)
Having the ability to gift Platinum status to two other people is awesome, as is the ability to gift Diamond status to another SkyMiles member if you hit $100,000 MQDs. However, there’s a pretty significant caveat to all this.
That’s because reaching those thresholds will require a lot of spend. Needless to say, earning $50,000, $75,000 or $100,000 MQDs organically would require both a significant amount of monetary outlay and time spent in the air on Delta flights, so only the most hardened road warriors could expect to achieve it through those means.
The alternative is to spend your way to those Choice benefits via credit card spend. As a reminder, you earn 1 MQD for every $20 spent on Delta Platinum credit cards and 1 MQD for every $10 spent on Delta Reserve credit cards. To get from $28,000 to $50,000 MQDs, you’d therefore have to spend $440,000 on a Delta Platinum card or $220,000 on a Delta Reserve card. For the additional $25,000 MQD increments to attain $75,000 and $100,000 MQDs, you’d have to spend $500,000 to reach each next threshold on a Delta Platinum card or $250,000 on a Delta Reserve card.
All that means that the cumulative spend to get from $28,000 MQDs to $100,000 MQDs is $1,440,000 on a Delta Platinum or $720,000 on a Delta Reserve. Those are eye-wateringly high spending requirements, especially considering the opportunity cost of much of that spend only earning 1 SkyMile per dollar.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Regarding comments: Comments posted at the bottom of Frequent Miler pages and posts are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
In a comment to a recent article, a reader mentioned that he has been Delta 360 for about five years. I think he said he logs how many ever miles and puts over $1 million on his Delta card. Is there a $200k EQD level?