This post has been updated since last publication with details about Delta’s 15% award discount for cardholders; ways to earn miles with popular merchants like Starbucks, Instacart, and Hertz; updated elite status details; and mini-reviews of Delta credit cards.
Delta SkyMiles Overview
While Delta is often lauded for their flight performance and customer service, their loyalty program has long been the butt of jokes in the frequent flier community. Delta often charges far more miles for saver-level award flights than its direct competitors like AA or United. Delta’s elite program used to trail the pack as well.
Over time, Delta has steadily increased elite perks, especially for top tier elites. Today, I believe that Delta actually has one of the better elite programs among the major full-service airlines.
The story regarding redeemable SkyMiles isn’t as rosy. In 2015, Delta eliminated award charts. Since then, they’ve systematically stamped out most sweet-spot awards that previously made it possible to get fantastic value from your miles. That’s the bad news. The good news is that, today, it’s hard to find awards where miles are worth less than 1 cent each compared to cash prices. The net result is that it’s much harder today to get far outsized value from your miles, but it’s also easier to avoid getting terrible value. In my research I’ve found that most awards tend towards 1.5 cents per mile value after accounting for the 15% discount available as a Delta cardholder.
Delta SkyMiles Pros and Cons
Pros
- Free changes and cancellations for all awards originating in North America
- No fuel surcharges are included on awards originating in North America
- Miles don’t expire until you do (miles do not expire as long as you are alive)
- Elite program offers very good perks, especially for top-tier elites
- Upgrade certificates available to very high level elites can be used on award flights
- Miles can almost always be used instead of cash for any Delta-operated flight, regardless of how full it is.
- Delta cardholders get a 15% discount on award flights. This makes miles a bit more valuable.
Cons
- No award charts: this makes it hard to plan for future award travel.
- Very high award prices: International business class award prices, especially, are usually far, far higher than with competing programs.
- Fuel surcharges are imposed on certain awards originating outside of North America. For example, an award from Europe to the U.S. will cost much more in fees than an award from the U.S. to Europe. This is true for both one-way and round-trip awards.
- Delta’s Global Upgrade Certificates (available as a Choice Benefit for Diamond elites) are no longer nearly as useful as they once were.
Delta Credit Cards
American Express issues seven different Delta credit cards in the United States. Click into any of the following credit card displays for more info about each card:
Blue Card
If you no longer want to pay the annual fee on your consumer Delta Gold, Delta Platinum, or Delta Reserve card, downgrading to the fee-free Delta Blue card can be a good way to preserve your account. If you later find that you need a feature of one of the other cards, you should be able to upgrade as needed.
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
10K miles 10K miles after $1000 spend in the first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)No Annual Fee Note an unusual restriction: Welcome bonus not available if you've had another Delta consumer card in the past 90 days. FM Mini Review: This card offers an OK welcome offer for a no-fee card, but many/most other cards offer better return for spend. Earning rate: 2X restaurants worldwide ⚬ 2X Delta ⚬ 1X on all other eligible purchases Card Type: Amex Credit Card Noteworthy perks: 20% statement credit on in-flight purchases of food, beverages, and headsets Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees) |
Gold Card
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
40K miles 40K miles after $2K spend in first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Recent better offer: 70K after $2K spending in first 3 months [Expired 3/30/23] FM Mini Review: Priority boarding, and free checked bag make this a reasonably good option for Delta flyers who do not have elite status. However, those who can make use of an annual companion certificate would do better with the Delta Platinum card. Earning rate: 2X Delta ⚬ 2x restaurants worldwide ⚬ 2x US supermarkets Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: $100 Delta flight credit after $10K in purchases in a calendar year Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Priority boarding and first checked bag free on Delta flights. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees) |
Limited Time Offer: Up to 80k miles 75k after $6k spend in first 6 months, plus an additional 5k miles after an eligible Delta purchase within the first 6 months. Offer ends 10/25/23. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees)$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Recent better offer: 75K after $2K spend in first 3 months [Expired 3/29/23] FM Mini Review: Priority boarding and first checked bag free make this a reasonably good option for Delta flyers who do not have elite status. However, those who can make use of an annual companion certificate would do better with the Delta Platinum card. Earning rate: 2X Delta ⚬ 2X restaurants ⚬ 2X U.S. purchases for advertising in select media and U.S. shipping purchases (capped at $50k per year starting 1/1/24) Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: $100 Delta flight credit after $10K in purchases in a calendar year Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Priority boarding, and first checked bag free on Delta flights. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees) |
Platinum Card
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
50K miles 50K miles after $3K spend in 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$250 Annual Fee Recent better offer: 85K after $4K spending in first 6 months [Expired 8/2/23] FM Mini Review: Good choice for frequent Delta flyers who can make use of annual companion certificate Earning rate: 3X Delta ⚬ 3X purchases made directly with hotels ⚬ 2X restaurants ⚬ 2X US Supermarkets Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: Spend $25,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year and earn 10,000 Medallion(R) Qualification Miles (MQMs); spend a total of $50,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in a calendar year and earn an additional 10,000 MQMs (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Medallion Qualifying Dollar waiver up to Platinum status with $25K spend across one or more Delta cards or $250K spend for Diamond status (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Terms and limitations apply. spend across one or more Delta cards (or $250K spend for Diamond status) ⚬ Terms apply. Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Domestic economy companion certificate (subject to taxes & fees) each year upon card renewal ⚬ Priority boarding ⚬ First checked bag free on Delta flights ⚬ Terms and Limitations Apply. (Rates & Fees) |
Limited Time Offer: Up to 100k miles 90k after $8k spend in first 6 months, plus an additional 10k miles after an eligible Delta purchase within the first 6 months. Offer ends 10/25/23. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees)$250 Annual Fee Recent better offer: 95K after $4K in first 3 months [Expired 3-29-23] FM Mini Review: Good choice for frequent Delta flyers who can make use of annual companion certificate Earning rate: 3X Delta ⚬ 3X purchases made directly with hotels ⚬ 1.5X on purchases of $5K or more (max 50K extra miles per year) Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: Spend $25,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year and earn 10,000 Medallion(R) Qualification Miles (MQMs); spend a total of $50,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in a calendar year and earn an additional 10,000 MQMs (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Medallion Qualifying Dollar waiver up to Platinum status with $25K spend across one or more Delta cards or $250K spend for Diamond status (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Terms and limitations apply. Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Domestic economy companion certificate (subject to taxes & fees) each year upon card renewal ⚬ Priority boarding ⚬ First checked bag free on Delta flights ⚬ Terms and Limitations Apply. (Rates & Fees) |
Reserve Card
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
60K Miles 60K miles after $5K spend in first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$550 Annual Fee Recent better offer: Expired 8/2/23: 85K after spending $6K in first 6 months FM Mini Review: Excellent choice for frequent Delta flyers who can make use of SkyClub access and companion certificate. Also a good choice for big spenders seeking Delta elite status. Earning rate: 3X Delta Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: Earn 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $30,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to four times per year (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Complimentary upgrades ⚬ $100 Global Entry fee credit every 4 years (or 4.5 years for TSA Precheck) ⚬ Medallion Qualifying Dollar waiver (up to Platinum status) with $25K (ends 1/1/24) spend across one or more Delta cards (or $250K spend for Diamond status) ⚬ Terms apply. Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Domestic economy or first class companion certificate (subject to taxes & fees) after card renewal ⚬ SkyClub access (starting 2/1/25, 10 visits per year or unlimited visits after spending $75K/calendar year on the card) ⚬ 2 Delta SkyClub one-time guest passes ⚬ Centurion Lounge access when flying Delta ⚬ Complimentary upgrades ⚬ One statement credit every 4 years for the $100 Global Entry application fee or one statement credit every 4.5 years for the $85 TSA Precheck application fee ⚬ Priority boarding ⚬ First checked bag free on Delta flights. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees) See also: Delta Reserve complete guide |
Limited Time Offer: Up to 110k miles 100k after $12k spend in first 6 months, plus an additional 10k miles after an eligible Delta purchase within the first 6 months. Offer ends 10/25/23. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$550 Annual Fee Recent better offer: Expired 8/2/23: 100K after spending $6K in first 3 months FM Mini Review: Excellent choice for frequent Delta flyers who can make use of SkyClub access and companion certificate. Also a good choice for big spenders seeking Delta elite status. Earning rate: 3X Delta ⚬ 1.5X on all eligible purchases per calendar year after spending $150K Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: Earn 15K MQMs (towards elite status) after $30K spend up to four times per year (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Medallion Qualifying Dollar waiver up to Platinum status with $25K spend across one or more Delta cards or $250K spend for Diamond status (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ After you spend $150K in a calendar year, earn 1.5X miles per dollar on eligible purchases for the rest of the year (excludes Delta purchases after you meet the $150K requirement) ⚬ Terms and limitations apply. Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Domestic economy or first class companion certificate (subject to taxes & fees) after card renewal ⚬ SkyClub access (starting 2/1/25, 10 visits per year or unlimited visits after spending $75K/calendar year on the card) ⚬ 2 Delta SkyClub one-time guest passes ⚬ Centurion Lounge access when you book your Delta flight with your Reserve card ⚬ Complimentary upgrades ⚬ $100 Global Entry fee credit every 4 years (or 4.5 years for TSA Precheck) ⚬ Priority boarding ⚬ First checked bag free on Delta flights. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees) See also: Delta Reserve complete guide |
Earn miles
There are a number of ways to earn Delta SkyMiles…
Flights
Base members earn 5 miles per dollar on Delta marketed flights. Elite members earn more, depending upon their status level, as follows:
- Silver: 7 miles per dollar
- Gold: 8 miles per dollar
- Platinum: 9 miles per dollar
- Diamond: 11 miles per dollar
Exceptions:
- Flights booked as part of vacation packages, cruise packages, consolidator fares, etc. are considered “exception fares”. With these flights, you’ll earn miles based on the distance flown. Details can be found here.
- Partner flights that are not marketed by Delta earn miles based on the distance flown. Details vary by partner. Details can be found here.
Delta credit cards
Miles can be earned from credit card welcome bonuses and from credit card spend. In general, earning lots of miles through new-card welcome bonuses is a great idea, but earning from Delta credit card spend is not. There are many other cards on the market that offer much better rewards for everyday spend. One exception is if you use the Delta Platinum or Delta Reserve card to spend your way to elite status. More about these topics can be found in the elite status and credit card sections later in this post.
Transfer from other points programs
Amex Membership Rewards
American Express offers a number of cards that earn more Membership Rewards points per dollar than their Delta cards earn in SkyMiles. This is particularly interesting here because American Express Membership Rewards points transfer 1 to 1 to Delta. Even if your main goal is to earn Delta miles through spend, you would most likely be better off earning Amex Membership Rewards points first. Then, you’d also have the great benefit of being able to use points for other purposes besides Delta.
Unfortunately, Amex charges a small “excise tax offset fee” of $0.0006 per point (with a maximum fee of $99) when transferring to a U.S. based program like Delta. Here are some sample fees:
- 10,000 miles: $6
- 50,000 miles: $30
- 100,000 miles: $60
- 150,000 miles: $90
- 165,000 miles (or more): $99
For more details, see: Amex Membership Rewards Points Complete Guide
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott points can be transferred to Delta at a rate of 3 Marriott points to 1 Delta mile.
For more, see: Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide.
Non-flight options for earning points
Airbnb
Earn 1 mile per dollar for each Airbnb stay. To enable this, book your Airbnb stay through the link found here.
Instacart
Earn 1 mile per $1 spent on Instacart orders (or 1.5 miles per $1 if you are an Instacart Express Member). To enable this, link your Delta and Instacart accounts here.
Hertz
Earn SkyMiles for Hertz rentals. Elite members earn more:
- Base members: 4 miles per dollar
- Silver Medallion members: 5 miles per dollar
- Gold Medallion members: 6 miles per dollar
- Platinum Medallion members: 7 miles per dollar
- Diamond Medallion members: 8 miles per dollar
Details about linking your Delta and Hertz accounts can be found here.
Lyft
Earn 1 mile per dollar for each Lyft ride. To enable this, link your Delta and Lyft accounts here.
Online Shopping
When shopping online, you can often earn additional miles, beyond those earned with your credit card, by starting your shopping with an online shopping portal. Skymiles Shopping is a portal that allows you to earn Delta miles.
Starbucks
Earn 1 mile per dollar spent at Starbucks. To enable this, link your Delta and Starbucks Rewards accounts here.
Other Earning Options
Delta lists other options for earning SkyMiles through partners here.
Spend miles
Booking flights with Delta miles is easy. On Delta.com, simply check the box to “Shop with miles” when searching for flights. Delta defaults to showing results for a week at a time, but you can then click “Price Calendar” to see results for 5 weeks at a time.
Award Booking Tips
Here are a few miscellaneous tips:
- Book round-trip. Sometimes Delta charges fewer miles for round-trip awards.
- Scroll down or sort. Delta won’t always show the best priced award at the top, especially when partner flights are involved.
- Beware of basic economy. Free award changes and cancellations do not apply to basic economy tickets. You can still save a lot by booking basic economy, but it’s not worth it if you’re likely to want to change or cancel the flight.
- Keep a Delta credit card. Cardholders of any Delta Gold, Delta Platinum, or Delta Reserve credit card automatically get a 15% discount on award flights (but only for bookings that are entirely flown by Delta).
15% Cardholder Discount (TakeOff 15)
Delta offers a 15% award discount to members who have a Delta Gold, Delta Platinum, or Delta Reserve card. This discount is called “TakeOff 15.” Discounts do not apply to itineraries that include partner flights, but otherwise they are applied across the board.
We did some research to see whether Delta simply increased award prices for those without credit cards, but found instead that this is a true discount. Award prices relative to cash prices were pretty consistent before and after this feature was introduced and so we concluded that the 15% discount is real. See: No catch -- Delta’s 15% discount is real.
Best Uses of Miles
In my experience, most award flights average around 1.3 cents per mile in value, or 1.5 cents per mile after the 15% discount for cardholders. It is possible to do significantly better, though. For details, click one of the links below:
Great Value Options
- Delta Skymiles Flash Sales
- US to Canada via WestJet for 12.5K one-way, economy
- Flights that originate and end outside of the U.S. and Canada
Good Value Options
- 15% Off for Delta cardholders
- Fly within Europe for 10K economy or 20K/25K business
- US to northern South America via LATAM for 25K one-way economy
- Sky Club Premium Drinks
Award Partners
Flights on partner airlines can be booked with Delta SkyMiles as long as the partner has saver-level award space available for the given flight. The following partners are available to book online with Delta SkyMiles:
- Aeroflot
- Aeromexico
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Alitalia
- Air France
- China Eastern
- China Airlines
- China Southern
- Hawaiian Airlines
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
- Korean Air
- LATAM
- Mandarin Airlines
- Middle East Airlines
- Saudia Airlines
- Shanghai Airlines
- Tarom Airlines
- Vietnam Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin Australia
- WestJet
- Xiamen Airlines
Miles + Cash Awards
If you don’t have enough miles for a given award flight, Delta will sometimes let you choose Miles + Cash awards. Shown above is a standard award on top, with a miles + cash award below. Basically, this feature lets you indirectly buy needed miles for about 1.8 cents each. That’s not a great price considering that the per mile value for most awards is around 1.5 cents for Delta cardholders. On the other hand, it’s much cheaper than outright buying miles from Delta.
I recommend this only when you don’t have enough miles to book your flight (but you have almost enough).
Award Change & Cancellation Fees
For awards with travel originating in North America (including the Caribbean), award changes and cancellations are free. With changes, your award will be re-priced and so you may have to pay extra miles and/or taxes, but there is no fee for the change itself. With cancellations, your miles will be redeposited to your account and your form of payment will be reimbursed for any taxes and fees.
Use miles like money to book flights
There are two ways to use Delta Skymiles at a value of 1 cent each to book flights:
Pay with Miles
Delta's "Pay with Miles" feature is limited to primary cardholders of any Delta card (Blue, Gold, Platinum, or Reserve). This feature lets you pay for cash tickets in part or in full with Delta SkyMiles at a value of 1 cent per mile. You must pay in increments of 5,000 miles. Every 5,000 miles you apply decreases the ticket cost by $50. In other words, each mile is worth exactly 1 penny with this feature.
No miles earned: Flights that are paid for in this way earn full MQMs (Medallion Qualifying Dollars) and MQSs (Medallion Qualifying Segments). However, only the portion paid in cash earns redeemable SkyMiles and MQDs (Medallion Qualifying Dollars). The latter two issues reduce the value of the Pay with Miles feature.
Tip: Unless the full ticket amount is an exact multiple of $50, I recommend stopping short of paying the whole fare with miles since you'll get lower value from the last 5,000 miles. For example, if you want to use this feature and your ticket costs $228, I recommend paying 20,000 miles to decrease the cash cost to $28. Otherwise you would have to pay another 5,000 miles for that last $28 (which is a poor value).
Delta Vacations
Delta Vacations lets you pay for vacation packages (air+hotel or air+car) with Delta SkyMiles. Miles are worth exactly 1 cent each when used that way.
Non-flight options for spending miles
- Flight upgrades: This usually offers poor value
- Premium Delta SkyClub drinks: Miles can be used to pay for top-shelf liquor at a value of 1.5 cents per mile.
- Delta gift cards: Don’t do this. You’ll get less than 1 cent per mile value.
- Magazines: If you want to subscribe to one of the available magazines, this can be a great deal. More here: Mags for Miles.
Delta Elite Status
Most airlines offer extra benefits to their most valuable customers. This is usually handled through elite status. If you fly enough with an airline, you can become “elite”. Of course, not all elites are equal. Most airlines have multiple elite tiers to differentiate their valuable customers from their really valuable customers. And, of course, airlines offer the best perks to their highest tier elites.
Delta does the same. They offer elite tiers ranging from Silver status to Diamond status. Silver status perks are only slightly better than those you get from holding a Delta branded credit card. Diamond perks, though, can be extremely valuable.
Delta elite status requirements
Definitions:
- MQMs: Medallion Qualifying Miles can be roughly thought of as the actual miles flown. It’s important to understand that these are different from redeemable miles which can be used to book award flights. MQMs are only used for earning elite status.
- MQMs are earned on both paid flights with Delta or Delta partners where the flight is credited to your Delta account, and award flights booked through (and flying) Delta.
- MQSs: Medallion Qualifying Segments are the number of segments flown. Unless you fly a very large number of short flights, you are unlikely to earn elite status through MQSs.
- MQDs: Medallion Qualifying Dollars are the sum total of your base-fare spend (e.g. doesn't include taxes) on Delta-marketed flights.
Explanation:
In general, to reach each elite tier, Delta SkyMiles members must earn the stated number of MQMs or MQSs and spend the targeted amount of MQDs. In other words, its not enough to just fly far or often, you also need to spend a lot of money with Delta.Additional Details:
- Award Tickets: Flights booked with Delta SkyMiles for Delta's own flights earn MQMs, MQSs, and MQDs. Award tickets earn MQDs at a rate of 1 MQD per 100 SkyMiles redeemed (e.g. 1 cent per SkyMile).
- Partner Flights: Paid flights booked on Delta partners earn MQMs, MQSs, and MQDs as long as the member's Delta SkyMiles number is attached to the ticket. MQDs are calculated as a percentage of miles flown rather than the amount paid. Details, by partner, can be found here.
- Rollovers: Most airlines require that you fully re-earn status every calendar year. Delta is mostly that way too, but with one exception: as long as you earn Silver status or higher, any MQMs not used to reach status are rolled over to the next year. For example, if you earn 70,000 MQMs and meet Gold MQD requirements, you’ll earn Gold status (at 50,000 MQMs), and 20,000 MQMs will be rolled over to the next year to give you a jump start towards re-qualifying.
- MQD Waiver: There’s an easy exception to the MQD requirement for Silver, Gold, or Platinum status: Simply spend $25,000 or more with Delta branded credit cards and the MQD requirement goes away. This feature requires having a Delta Platinum or Delta Reserve card, but the spend can be on other cards (such as Delta Blue or Delta Gold) or mixed across Delta cards. Delta Platinum and Delta Reserve credit cards offer bonus MQMs for high spend, so it is possible to tackle both requirements (MQMs and MQDs) through spend without setting foot on a plane. Unfortunately, Delta requires $250,000 in credit card spend (across all Delta cards you have) to get a MQD waiver for top tier Diamond status.
Rollovers
Most airlines require that you fully re-earn status every calendar year. Delta is mostly that way too, but with one exception: if you earn elite status in a calendar year, any MQMs not used to reach status are rolled over to the next year. For example, if you earn 70,000 MQMs and meet Gold MQD requirements, you’ll earn Gold status (at 50,000 MQMs), and 20,000 MQMs will be rolled over to the next year to give you a jumpstart towards re-qualifying.
Rollover Examples:
- Earn 145,000 MQMs and a MQD waiver up to Platinum elite status: Earn Platinum status (75K MQMs required) and 70,000 MQMs rollover to the next year.
- Earn 80,000 MQMs, but only enough MQDs to qualify for Silver status (25K MQMs required), and you haven’t earned a MQD waiver: Earn Silver status and 55,000 MQMs rollover.
- Earn 40,000 MQMs (or 40,000 MQMs rolled over from last year), but you haven’t earned enough MQDs to qualify for Silver status, nor have you earned a MQD waiver through credit card spend: No elite status. MQMs do not rollover.
Elite Benefits
| SILVER | GOLD | PLATINUM | DIAMOND | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miles per dollar earned on paid flights | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| Free domestic upgrades to 1st Class | Begins 24 hours before departure | Begins 72 hours before departure | Begins 120 hours before departure | Begins 120 hours before departure |
| Free domestic upgrades to Comfort+ | 24 hours before departure | 72 hours before departure | Shortly after ticketing | Shortly after ticketing |
| CLEAR membership discount price | $149 | $149 | $149 | Free |
| Dedicated phone line | Priority | High Priority | Higher Priority | VIP Line |
| Free companion upgrades | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Free preferred seat selection | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Waived bag fees | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Waived same day confirmed or standby change fees | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Sky Priority boarding | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Sky Priority expedited checked bags | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Sky Team lounge access on international flights | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Hertz elite status | Five Star | Five Star | President's Circle | President's Circle |
| Waived change & cancellation fees regardless of route | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| 2023 Choice Benefits: | Choose 1: | Choose 3: | ||
| Bonus miles | 20K | 25K | ||
| Gift medallion status | Silver | Gold | ||
| Gift card | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Sky Club access | ✔ | |||
| Upgrade certificates | 4 Regional | 4 Global (or 8 Regional or 2 Global & 4 Regional) | ||
| 2024 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) | $200 | $500 | ||
| Starbucks® Rewards Stars | 4,000 Stars | 4,000 Stars | ||
| Delta Sky Club Executive Membership | N/A | Requires all 3 Choices | ||
| MQD Boost | 500 MQDs | 1,000 MQDs | ||
| Gift medallion status | 2 Silver | 2 Gold | ||
| Bonus miles | 20K | 25K | ||
| Delta Vacations Flight + Hotel Cert | $400 | $500 | ||
| Sustainable Aviation Fuel Contribution | $250 | $250 | ||
| Delta Travel Voucher | $250 | $250 |
- Unlimited complimentary upgrades (when available, upgrade from coach to first class on domestic flights). Higher status leads to better chance of upgrades.
- Waived same-day confirmed fees and waived same-day standby fees (switch to different flight on same day as ticketed flight). Requires Gold or higher. Info about getting value from same day changes can be found here: Leveraging Delta’s Same Day Flight Changes.
- Complementary Preferred seat selection (choose exit row seats with lots of legroom)
- Complementary Comfort+ Seats (more leg room, free drinks, better snacks).
- Regional upgrade certificates. Puts you to the front of the line for regional upgrades. This is great to use for flights where upgrades are most important to you. For example, I use these for flights of about 3 hours or longer. This is a choice benefit for Platinum and Diamond status. Upgrade certificates can be applied to both paid and award tickets.
- Global upgrade certificates. Use these to upgrade from coach to premium select, or to business class on any flight when upgrade space is available. Delta will no longer confirm an upgrade in advance from cheap economy to Delta One business class. Instead, Delta will immediately upgrade you to Premium Select and then put you on the upgrade list to business class 24 hours before your flight. This is a choice benefit for Diamond status only. Upgrade certificates can be applied to both paid and award tickets.
- Free award changes and cancellations. This used to be huge, but now all awards originating in North America are free to change or cancel for all members. With Platinum and Diamond status, that benefit extends to flights originating elsewhere. Requires Platinum or higher for free changes on awards originating outside of North America.
Elite earning on flights
On Delta marketed flights, elite earnings are straightforward:
- MQMs: Earn 1 Medallion Qualifying Mile for each mile flown, with bonuses based on class of service, as follows:
- Full-fare First & Business: 200% of distance flown
Fare Codes: F, J - Discounted First, Discounted Business, Premium Select, and full-fare economy: 150%
Fare Codes: P, A, G, C, D, I, Z, Y, B - Comfort+, Economy, Basic Economy: 100%
Fare Codes: M, S, H, Q, K, L, U, T, X, V, E
- Full-fare First & Business: 200% of distance flown
- MQDs: Earn 1 Medallion Qualifying Dollar for each dollar spent towards the base fare (e.g. doesn’t include taxes).
- MQSs: Earn 1 MQS for each segment flown
There are exceptions where elite earnings are different from above:
- Flights booked as part of vacation packages, cruise packages, consolidator fares, etc. are considered “exception fares”. With these flights, you’ll earn MQDs based one-fifth of the miles earned (and miles earned on these fares are a function of distance flown). For example, if you earn 10,000 miles on an exception fare, you’ll earn 2,000 MQDs. Details can be found here.
- Partner flights that are not marketed by Delta earn MQDs based on the fare class and distance flown. Details vary by partner. For example, with Virgin Atlantic premium economy fares, you’ll earn 30% of the miles flown as MQDs. For example, if you fly 6,000 miles, you’ll earn 2,000 MQDs. Details can be found here by partner airline.
Elite earning from credit cards
For more details, see: How to earn Delta elite status through credit card spend.
Choice benefits
2024 Choice Benefits
Platinum (Choose 1)
Diamond (Choose 3)
Upgrade Certificates
4 Regional
4 Global, or 8 Regional, or 2 Global + 4 Regional
Statement Credits for Delta Platinum & Reserve cardholders
$200
$500
Starbucks® Rewards Stars
4,000 Stars
4,000 Stars
Delta Sky Club Executive Membership
N/A
Requires 3 Choice Benefits
Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQD) Earn Boost
500 MQDs
1,000 MQDs
Gift Medallion Status
2 Silver Medallion
2 Gold Medallion
Bonus Miles
20,000
25,000
Delta Vacations® Experience (Flight + Hotel)
$400
$500
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Contribution
$250
$250
Delta Travel Voucher
$250
$250
2023 Choice Benefits
Platinum (Choose 1)
Diamond (Choose 3)
Upgrade Certificates
4 Regional
4 Global, or 8 Regional, or 2 Global + 4 Regional
Delta Sky Club Individual Membership
N/A
1 Individual Membership
Delta Sky Club Executive Membership
N/A
1 Executive Membership (Requires 2 Choice Benefits)
Delta Sky Club Guest Pass (Credit Card Access)
N/A
1 Delta Sky Club Guest Pass
Gift Medallion Status
1 Silver Medallion
1 Gold Medallion
Bonus Miles
20,000
25,000
Delta Travel Voucher
$250
$250
For more details, see our Guide to Delta Choice Benefits.
Status Match Challenge
If you have elite status with another airline, you may be able to qualify for Delta’s Status Match Challenge. This will give you three months of Delta Medallion status plus the ability to earn a full year of status with fewer MQMs and MQDs than normally required.
To extend your matched status past three months, you must earn the following numbers of MQMs or MQSs, & MQDs during the three month trial period:
If you plan to meet the challenge requirements, the ideal time to enroll is on July 1st. If you enroll on or shortly after July 1 and meet the challenge requirements, your status will be good for about a year and half. For example, if you enroll on July 1 2023 and meet the challenge requirements, your status will be good through January 31, 2025.
Full details of Delta’s Status Match Challenge can be found here.
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Delta needs to streamline/simplify its tier status qualification system. It needs to motivate customers to spend money in all of its revenue channels. If a customer is generating $X of revenue or net income to the company, do shareholders give a (poop) that it was generated from flights or hotel bookings or rental car bookings or the shopping portal? Moreover, if employees receive profit-sharing retirement plan contributions, how might they feel about it? Management is late to the party on this concept.
As of Oct 31, 2022 the 5,000 Marriott Bonvoy pts to Delta SkyMiles initiative ended. It’s now just the 3:1 points basis.
Fixed. Thank you
I was just in contact with Delta Skymiles, and they told me that the 2 gifted Gold memberships (as a Diamondmember choice benefit), counts as 2(two) Choice benefits.
One Gold membership = One Choice benefit.
Are they wrong about that?
They are right for the 2023 elite year. E.g. if you earned your status in 2022 for the 2023 elite year, then it goes by the old Choice Benefit options where 1 choice = 1 gifted gold. If you earn Diamond status this year (2023) for the 2024 elite year, then you’ll be able to gift it to two people with one selection.
Awesome, thanks for clarifying Greg!
I am currently Gold Medallion and can get Platinum if I spend another 25k on my Delta card by the end of the year. But is it better to wait until January? I am very confused with all of the accelerators and extensions being offered right now.
If you do the spend before Dec 31st, then you’ll earn 12,500 MQMs instead of the usual 10K MQMs for that spend (because of a deal going on through the end of this year). And then, even though your MQMs will rollover into next year, you’ll have to earn an MQD Waiver with another $25K spend in 2022 in order for your status to be good throughout 2023 and Jan 2024. If you wait to do the spend in January, you’ll earn fewer MQMs, but then you won’t have to do anything to keep your status to Jan 2024.
Spend now advantages/disadvantages:
[…] if you are into flying Delta I guess: Delta Sky Miles Complete Guide. Hope they updated it […]
If you earn 135k MQMs but only spend enough on cards to MQD waive to platinum (not diamond) will 60k MQMs rollover or only 10k?
Great question. Yes, 60K MQMs will rollover.
Many years I have earned status the hard way flying over 150 segments a year. At the end of the day they are the most reliable airline I can fly thus I stick with them over American.
One major negative of SkyMiles that I didn’t see mentioned is the ongoing substantial to massive devaluations. This is almost a point of pride with Delta to destroy value for customers and frankly it rankles. I’m an ex-Delta fanatic but the ongoing negative changes have made it unlikely that I’ll fly them again by choice. Still, as you point out, some people will benefit from the current system.
I wont fly delta airlines for the same reason I wont eat out of the toilet! I must say Greg you did make delta & AmEx look very temping! in light of recent voter suppression laws in Georgia that Delta airline takes credit for stating they were actively involved in….WHAT!!! why are they involved in politics? shitty politics? the voters all of us have put in covid-19 funds that delta has taken. delta is totally off my plans & I not to happy with united also dragging that doctor down the aisle. why cant these company’s do good things?