Delta announced revisions to the drastic SkyMiles changes that led to many, many fliers (including yours truly) declaring that they’re done with Delta. And while we knew that walkbacks to this plan were coming, Delta has made far bigger updates than I expected and some of them are pretty exciting.
Overview
Delta has announced revised changes to Delta’s SkyMiles program. Here’s a summary:
- Credit card SkyClub access limits increased
- Reduced Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) requirements.
- MQD Headstarts for Delta SkyMiles Platinum & Reserve cardholders
- Enhanced Choice Benefits for Platinum and Diamond Medallion members
- Better 1-time MQM Rollover options
- Upgraded Million Miler status
- No more earning MQDs from car rentals or hotels
Credit card Sky Club access limits increased
As previously announced, Sky Club access through credit cards will be limited beginning Feb 1, 2025. Also as previously announced, $75K calendar year spend will earn unlimited access for the rest of that year and all of the next.
- Delta Reserve cardholders will be limited to 15 SkyClub visit days (up from the previously announced 10)
- Amex Platinum cardholders will be limited to 10 SkyClub visit days (up from the previously announced 6)
- Multiple visits within a 24 hour period will count only once towards the limits listed above
Reduced Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) requirements
Starting January 1st, 2024, MQMs, MQSs, and MQD Waivers will be gone. Instead, to earn elite status for the 2025 elite year and beyond, you’ll need to earn MQDs. The following table shows the updated new requirements compared to the old:
| Elite Level | 2023 MQD Thresholds | 2024 MQD Thresholds |
|---|---|---|
| Silver Medallion | $3,000 | |
| Gold Medallion | $8,000 | |
| Platinum Medallion | $12,000 | |
| Diamond Medallion | $20,000 |
As you can see above, even though Delta has reduced the originally announced requirements, the MQD requirements are still going way up. Silver MQD requirements increase by 67%; Gold and Platinum MQD requirements increase by 25%; and Diamond MQD requirements increase by 40%.
MQD Headstarts for Delta SkyMiles Platinum & Reserve cardholders
Delta SkyMiles Platinum & Reserve cardholders will get a “Headstart” of $2,500 MQDs each year towards elite status. That will significantly ease the burden for those seeking status. As reported first by Dan’s Deals (and confirmed by Eye of the Flyer), you’ll get $2,500 MQD Headstarts for each qualifying card you have. That means it is possible to earn up to $10,000 in MQDs by having both consumer and business Delta Platinum cards and both consumer and business Delta Reserve cards! Wow! That is enough MQDs for Gold status just for having the four cards and $50,000 in spend on one of your Delta Reserve cards would get you Delta Platinum status. Diamond status would require $180,000 in spend on one of your Reserve cards (again assuming that you had all four cards). These represent far easier paths to elite status than previously announced.
MQDs through Delta SkyMiles Platinum & Reserve spend
As previously announced, you can also earn MQDs with spend as follows:
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Earn $1 MQD per $10
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: Earn $1 MQD per $10
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: Earn $1 MQD per $20
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card: Earn $1 MQD per $20
Enhanced Choice Benefits for Platinum and Diamond Medallion members
Starting in 2024 for members who earn 2025 Platinum Medallion status or above, the following new Choice Benefits will be available:
- MQD Accelerator: Accelerate your earning for the next Medallion Year with increased amounts of MQDs: $2,000 MQDs for Diamond Members and $1,000 MQDs for Platinum Members.
- Delta SkyClub Individual Membership (Diamond Choice Benefit): Requires 2 Choice Benefit selections
- More bonus miles:
- Platinum Choice Benefit: 30,000 miles (up from 20,000)
- Diamond Choice Benefit: 35,000 miles (up from 25,000)
- Bigger travel voucher:
- Platinum Choice Benefit: $300 voucher (up from $250)
- Diamond Choice Benefit: $350 voucher (up from $250)
- Wheels up flight credit
Better 1-time MQM Rollover options
Delta isn’t bringing back rollovers, but they are improving the options for those who roll over MQMs into 2024:
- Convert to miles at a 2 to 1 ratio (unchanged)
- Convert to MQDs at a 10 to 1 ratio (improved from the previously announced 20 to 1)
- Members with MQM Rollover balances over 100,000 can also choose to extend their 2024 Medallion Status for 1 year per every 100,000 Rollover MQMs.
Upgraded Million Miler status
Delta is making major changes to their Million Miler status. As previously announced, starting in 2024, Million Miler status will be earned entirely from distance flown. What’s new here is that the level of status earned will be higher than before:
- 6M+ from Diamond Medallion to Delta 360°™
- 5M from Platinum Medallion to Delta 360°™
- 4M from Platinum Medallion to Diamond Medallion
- 3M from Gold Medallion to Diamond Medallion
- 2M from Gold Medallion to Platinum Medallion
- 1M from Silver Medallion to Gold Medallion
No more earning MQDs from car rentals or hotels
Delta had previously announced that members would earn MQDs from Delta car rental and Delta hotel bookings, but that plan has been discontinued. Those who have already made plans, can still earn MQDs through October 31, 2023.
Sky Club Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
When do I lose unlimited Sky Club visits due to simply being a cardmember?
February 1, 2025
Can Delta SkyMiles Platinum cardholders get into Sky Clubs?
No. Delta SkyMiles Platinum Cardmembers can no longer pay for Sky Club access as of January 1, 2024.
Please note that the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card is not at all comparable to the Platinum Card from American Express (the latter of which does offer Sky Club access).
If I have multiple Delta Reserve and/or Amex Platinum cards, will I get more complementary Sky Club visits?
Yes. Visits are additive across your cards. So, for example, if you have both the Delta Reserve card and an Amex Platinum card, you would be eligible for 25 visit-days per year. Similarly, if you have two Delta Reserve cards (one personal and one business, for example), you would be eligible for 30 visit-days per year. Delta says that the card member “must present the applicable Card at the time of entry into the Sky Club.”
Can I use some of my allocated visits to guest people into the Sky Club?
No.
Can I pay to bring in guests?
Yes. Eligible cardmembers (Delta Reserve and Amex Platinum) can pay $50 per guest per visit (up to two guests, or spouse/domestic partner and children under 21).
What happens with authorized user cards? Do they get their own 10 Sky Club visits per year (Amex Platinum cards) or 15 visits per year (Delta Reserve)?
Yes, authorized user cards and employee cards that offer Sky Club access will have their own allotment of visits each year: 10 visit-days per year with additional Amex Platinum cards, and 15 visit-days per year with additional Delta Reserve cards.
Can I pay to get into the club after using up my visits?
Yes. Eligible Card Members may purchase additional Delta Sky Club Visits (including Grab and Go) at a per person rate of $50 per day.
What happens with authorized user cards once the primary cardholder has spent $75,000? Do authorized users also get unlimited Sky Club access?
Yes. Once the primary account has earned unlimited access with $75,000 spend, additional cardholders will also get unlimited access. This does not apply to fee-free additional cardholders such as Companion Platinum Cards on Consumer Platinum Accounts and Additional Gold and Additional Business Expense Cards on Business Platinum Accounts.
To get unlimited Sky Club visits, does $75K have to be spent on a single card or can it be distributed across multiple cards?
All $75,000 must be spent on a single card account (inclusive of spend on authorized user cards of that account). H/T Eye of the Flyer.
Medallion Elite Status Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Are the new MQD thresholds for elite status permanent?
No. It is very likely that Delta will increase the MQD requirements in future years.
Is the MQD Headstart a one-time feature or ongoing?
This is a permanent new feature of Delta Reserve and Delta Platinum cards. H/T Eye of the Flyer.
If I have two qualifying cards, will I really get Silver status automatically?
Yes. Two qualifying cards such as a consumer Delta Platinum and a business Delta Platinum card will result in getting $5,000 MQDs automatically each year. With the 2024 MQD thresholds, that will be enough for Silver status.
If I have four qualifying cards, will I really get Gold status automatically?
Yes. Four qualifying cards (consumer Delta Platinum, business Delta Platinum, consumer Delta Reserve, business Delta Reserve) will result in getting $10,000 MQDs automatically each year. With the 2024 MQD thresholds, that will be enough for Gold status.
Are MQDs earned from credit card spend giftable?
No. Prior to 2024, MQMs earned from Delta Reserve card status boosts are giftable to others. With the move away from MQMs to MQDs, we have lost the ability to gift status earnings to others through credit card spend.
When is the deadline to choose how to use my MQM rollovers?
12/31/24
Will I get Choice Benefits from extended status through 100K MQM Rollovers?
Yes. Delta considers these “earned status” and so Platinum and Diamond elites will “earn” Choice Benefits. H/T Eye of the Flyer.
I don’t have very high level status now. Can I instead extend status that I earn in 2024?
No, status extensions are based on your 2024 elite status. That means that it is based on status earned in 2023 for the 2024 elite year.
If I get to 2 Million Miler status or higher, will I get Choice Benefits that match my lifetime Platinum or Diamond status?
Yes. H/T Eye of the Flyer.
I already have Million Miler status. Will my lifetime elite status level be boosted according to the new rules?
Yes. For example, if you are currently a 1 Million Miler with lifetime Silver status, your lifetime status will be boosted to Gold Medallion status.
My Take
Wow, I’m shocked at how far Delta went in rolling back changes. First, for those who use credit cards to access SkyClubs, the increased limits and the change to “days” from “visits” will make a huge difference. Not everyone will be happy, but it certainly changes the equation in how valuable the Delta Reserve and Amex Platinum cards will be for getting into Sky Clubs.
I expect that long-term high level elites (like me) will especially find a lot to like in the latest announcement. I especially love two things: upgraded million miler status (I’m currently a 1 million miler) and the ability to convert each 100K rollover MQMs to a year of status. With around 400,000 MQMs rolling over, This means that I can keep Platinum status for four more years with no effort and then my Million Miler status means keeping Gold status from then on. Not bad!
For those who don’t have million miler status or lots of rollover MQMs, the $2,500 MQD credit card “Headstart” will go a long way towards easing the sting of increased MQD requirements for elite status. Additionally, the new MQD Accelerator Choice Benefit can make another big dent in the requirements for re-upping status.
I’ll be writing more about the changes in the coming days as I absorb the news. For now, though, it’s looking like Delta may just have done enough to get me back into fanboy mode. Convince me I’m wrong. Please.
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Hello, do I accumulate million miler points with Delta? I understand that miles from flights help accumulate but what about credit card spend? For example, I have a Delta Reserve card and I spend around $100k a year. Do I get 100k points towards million miler status?
Sadly, no. MM status is now strictly “Butt in seat” miles.
I think Delta IT will have lots of problems with all of these new rules..esp the ones with many cards and additional club visits!! and then…….
[…] Delta’s revised SkyMiles plans for 2024 and beyond present an incredible opportunity. With considerable cost and effort through the remainder of this year, my wife has the opportunity to earn 7 years of Delta Diamond status, and lifetime Platinum. This is an opportunity we can’t pass up… […]
I trust you and your site so I want to believe this choice benefits info, but that seems to be based on a blog I’ve never heard of.
Are you pretty sure that’s legit info? Seems weird to me that a Fortune 500 company would break news anonymously to a site I’ve never heard of – and not to a site like yours!
Eye of the Flyer is pretty well established. I’m sure they’re not making it up. I think the real question is whether the Delta spokesperson had the right info. There’s always a chance that they were wrong. That would be very unfortunate.
Greg, in holding Delta tier status, which elite benefits (other than choice benefits) are you after?
Choice Benefits are the big things, but I also really like how good they are to Diamond members in general. Other than when they had big issues during the pandemic, they usually answer calls from Diamond members right away and I’ve found that they’re frequently willing to break the rules when we make requests that aren’t exactly within the rules or terms.
Delta desperately need a new leadership, they need someone to come in who’s customer oriented and focus on building and improving their current brand.
These changes will continue to have everyone as Elite – so what are they going to do about it? Sell more credit cards instead of improving D1, building new lounges and dare I say improve their joint ventures / routes. There’s ZERO emphasis in the new program (either announcements sept or Oct) on actual travel. They don’t care about MQMs. Hence, we shouldn’t care about which airline we fly.
I’m willing to bet that we will see a pricing restructure toward the beginning of 2025 unless (new) leadership changes course.
Question #2. It seems to be settled at this point, that if one extends one’s status by virtue of the extra 100k MQMs, choice benefits will be granted. My question is if DM status is extended, would the member receive both platinum and DM choice benefits?
Don’t be surprised if there’s an “earned” vs. “granted” caveat. Kind of like Marriott’s 50-night benefit — sure you have Platinum status via a card (or Lifetime Platinum) but if you didn’t earn 50 nights, no 50-night benefit.
Yes. Delta says it will be treated as earned status so you’ll get both.
Someone on FlyerTalk now claims we’d only get DM benefits.
When you say “Delta says” – can you post exactly what they said? Or do you have a link?
Question #1. Assuming one has DM status and enough MQMs for an additional three or four years, what incentive other than shooting for additional million mileage status would anyone have for acquiring additional MQDs in calendar year 2024.
MQDs don’t count towards MM status. Only actual butt-in-the-seat physical miles. Same thing with AA’s system. Both airlines need to create revenue-based incentives across all revenue channels for members. Not just annual tier status qualification but lifetime status as well. Because, as you note, there’s no incentive to go beyond $X. With the original change that included hotels, I was seriously considering moving a certain amount of hotel dollars to Delta. Now, forget it.
You are certainly correct regarding MM status. Looks like we are in agreement that there is no reason for accumulating more MQDs.
Greg: don’t you need to FLY 50,000 miles AND get the 4 AmEx Delta cards to qualify for gold Sorry if this is an uninformed question.
Nope. You just need $5000 MQDs altogether. The 4 cards will give you that.
You mean $10,000 MQD for Gold. 🙂
Oops yes. $10k MQDs for Gold. So either 4 cards (with total $10k MQDs) or $10k Delta spend.
So can I make myself an authorized user and primary user on my morgan stanley card to try to bypass the number of visits allow at the lounges? Also can one make oneself an authorized user x 3 if using one of the cards were you pay a few hundred dollars for authorized users to bypass the limits? Just wondering if there are ways around the limits other then spend the $75k on the card…
I bet that would work
Which of the following counts for the MM counter effective 1/1/2024? Some of the answers are obvious, but I listed them for completeness. I haven’t included tickets purchased with cash + SkyMiles.
1) DL-marketed (006 ticket), DL-operated flights purchased with cash?
2) DL-marketed (006 ticket), partner-operated flights purchased with cash?
3) Partner-marketed (NOT 006 ticket), DL-operated flights purchased with cash?
4) Partner-marketed (NOT 006 ticket), partner-operated flights purchased with cash?
5) DL-marketed (006 ticket), DL-operated flights purchased with SkyMiles?
6) DL-marketed (006 ticket), partner-operated flights purchased with SkyMiles?
7) Partner-marketed (NOT 006 ticket), DL-operated flights purchased with SkyMiles?
8) Partner-marketed (NOT 006 ticket), partner-operated flights purchased with SkyMiles?
9) DL-marketed (006 ticket), DL-operated flights purchased with partner miles?
10) DL-marketed (006 ticket) , partner-operated flights purchased with partner miles?
11) Partner-marketed (NOT 006 ticket), DL-operated flights purchased with partner miles?
12) Partner-marketed (NOT 006 ticket), partner-operated flights purchased with partner miles?
I believe that 1 through 5 would all count. I don’t think any of the others would.
Wow, assuming that is correct, our travel time to LT DM is half of my original estimate (maybe 7-8 years instead of 14-15). Furthermore, being able to include #5 is great since it cuts some on cash outlay. If AA wants to remain competitive they really need to improve their MM program and allow tickets purchased with miles count towards LP.
Is #6 new or always been that way? Seems like in the new Delta universe of using SkyMiles just like cash, #2 and #6 should be equivalent?
Quick question, I have the Morgan Stanley Platinum card and wife as an authorized user. She doesn’t fly much, but I take about 24 delta flights a year. Can I just change myself to the primary and an authorized user to take advantage of the club access. In SLC, they don’t have many lounge options. Wondering if this can be done, but I doubt people had a reason to really do this before. It could be a bit of a loophole since you don’t pay for authorized users. Also could be a bit of a loophole if you had lots of delta flights, but not spend with another platinum card and wanted to add yourself as authorized user to 3 cards. Any thoughts?
The more I read about these changes the more I think Delta went way too far in the opposite direction. There will be a FLOOD of new Medallion holders as a result of these changes, which means that even Gold status may have a lot less value than it does even today. It just seems so bizarre that they would move the needle so far that it actually makes the original problem (too many elites) much WORSE.
They could have done something more reasonable like require $25K spend to get 1000 MQDs on the Delta Platinum, and $30K spend to get 2000 MQDs on the Reserve, or something. That would have been more akin to the spend structure they had before. But getting Delta Gold just by holding four cards (albeit that is a pretty large amount of annual fees), or Delta Silver just by holding two – seems like there is going to be a FLOOD of Silver Medallion casual flyers.
I really don’t know what to make of this. I have been trying out AA status and this announcement made me reconsider this plan … but I’m now thinking that bailing on Delta might make sense because it’s now way too generous a FF program! What are they thinking, really?
Totally agree
I think Delta realized that being able to brag that you have status is more valuable to most people than the benefits actually received from said status. That is good for us folks who read FM/BA and keep ourselves well-educated on maximizing our benefits!
Well people who get status from having expensive Amex cards and high spend who don’t fly much isn’t going to hurt elite upgrades. Delta is being very shrewd here by appearing to appease customers but at the same time vastly increasing the volume of premium Amex cards.
I agree that people who don’t fly much at all won’t hurt upgrades much, but moderately frequent flyers will also use these cards to grab status.
Sorry if I missed it in the article but the Reserve Card receives two one-time guest passes each year. When you enter the SkyClub, tell them you want to apply one of your one-time passes for a guest.
I am confused. Does Delta Plat Amex still get access to club ( paid at $50 visit) with these changes or is it just Amex platinum?
Just Amex Platinum