Delta MQM rollover conversion choices now live: Here's how to do it

21.02.2024 - 18:03 / thepointsguy.com / Delta

As part of a slew of changes to the Delta SkyMiles Medallion program, the earning metric known as MQMs is going into the dustbin of history. Collecting Medallion Qualification Miles has been one of the most unusual and fun ways to pursue status with Delta Air Lines. Now Delta is ditching the annual rollover benefit that used to let you begin each year with an MQM boost of however many MQMs over last year's status level you went.

Delta has now gone to a less complicated metric: Medallion Qualification Dollars, or MQDs. These are essentially a measure of how much you spend with Delta Air Lines in its many iterations.

The good news is that the extra MQMs you may have sitting in your account can still be very useful. Delta has now made several one-time conversion choices live in your Delta SkyMiles account.

Delta was one of the few programs that let you roll over excess MQMs you accumulated during the status year into the next elite status qualification year. Some people (including me) had accumulated hundreds of thousands of extra MQMs over the years, and there were fears they wouldn't be worth much now that Delta has moved toward an all-MQD world.

But Delta came through in the end, offering a unique opportunity for some top-tier elite members.

Delta made those rollover options live overnight.

Elite members can use up their rollover MQMs from last year by extending their 2024 status. For every 100,000 rollover MQMs you had sitting in your account after the end of 2023, you can choose to extend your status by a year.

You will have until Dec. 31 to decide how you would like your rollover MQMs to be converted.

You can choose to convert your MQMs to MQDs, miles or a combination of both. Here are those choices:

Members with MQM rollover balances over 100,000 can also choose to extend their 2024 Medallion status for one year for every 100,000 rollover MQMs.

I was sitting on 108,671 rollover MQMs. One hundred thousand of those MQMs can be used to extend my Diamond status by a year. That means I'll be Delta Diamond through 2025 (and part of 2026) just via MQMs. That is quite a perk and is the one that I chose.

As you can see in the screenshot below, I elected to extend my status by a year. I will now have top-tier Diamond Medallion status through Jan. 31, 2026.

That left me with just 8,671 rollover MQMs. Since I will have status already, I chose to earn the extra miles. I didn't love the conversion rate of 2:1, but I'll take what I can get.

Once you've made your selections, you must confirm the choices on another page.

That's it. Delta then warns that the conversion will take up to 48 hours to be applied to your SkyMiles account.

I'll be monitoring and will update this story when the rollover status and extra