Delta is once again offering one bonus Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) per dollar spent on car rentals, hotel stays and vacation rentals booked through Delta. In many cases this won’t provide good value, but it could be a particularly useful promo for those with Amex Delta cards as most of those now come with statement credits for hotels and vacation rentals booked through Delta Stays.
The Deal
- Earn $1 Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) per $1 spent (excluding taxes and fees) plus miles upon completion of a hotel or vacation rental stay or car rental booked through Delta Cars & Stays.
- Direct link to offer.
Key Terms
- Car Rental, Hotel and Vacation Rental bookings reserved on carsandstays.delta.com from May 19, 2025 through July 14, 2025 (for travel dates from May 19, 2025 through September 7, 2025) will be eligible to earn Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) upon the completion of a qualifying car rental, hotel or vacation rental booking. For clarity, this offer does not include any stays or car rentals booked through Delta Vacations or any cruises booked through Delta Cruises.
- SkyMiles Members will earn 1 MQD per eligible US$1 or equivalent foreign currency (“Qualifying Dollars”) spent on the base car rental rate for every completed rental booking, and on the base hotel or vacation rental rate for every completed stay. Qualifying Dollars include the cost of the hotel room or vacation rental property, before taxes and fees, charged at the time of booking or upon checkout.
- Taxes, fees, gratuities, room service, other booking charges, or any bookings which are paid or reduced by miles, redemption vouchers or discount codes are excluded from MQD credit and are not included in the Qualifying Dollars. For clarity, if miles are used as a form of payment (whether for all or a portion of the booking), no portion of the booking will be eligible to earn MQDs.
- A qualifying car rental booking includes rentals at a participating location for one or more days at rates other than travel industry rates or discounts, wholesale of tour package rates or discounts, wholesale tour package rates, insurance/dealer replacement rates, corporate and government rates, group travel discounts, or rentals in conjunction with a frequent flyer car award, or other corporate agreements applicable to the respective car company.
Quick Thoughts
Booking through Delta Cars & Stays means you’ll forgo shopping portal earnings, while for hotel stays it also means you’ll miss out on earning hotel points and elite night credits, plus you won’t be eligible to receive status benefits.
That being the case, why would you book through Delta Cars & Stays? Well, if you’re looking to earn status with Delta, earning 1 MQD per dollar could be useful, but it could come at a significant aforementioned cost.
A more compelling use case will be for those with Delta Amex cards. Other than the Delta SkyMiles Blue credit card, Delta cards come with annual statement credits valid for hotel and vacation rental stays booked through Delta Stays. Earning MQDs in addition to the standard 2x SkyMiles you normally earn means that now could be a good time to book those stays provided they occur by September 7.
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I have used Delta stays at Boutique Hotels where I wouldn’t be earning points anyway.
Needs to be year round. Too short notice.