Delta SkyMiles changes: Airline overhauls how you earn Medallion status in biggest change yet

13.09.2023 - 21:03 / thepointsguy.com / Delta

If you're looking to earn status with Delta, listen up: There are big changes coming to the SkyMiles program — and they're not necessarily pretty.

Delta Air Lines is overhauling how you earn Medallion status as part of perhaps one of its biggest loyalty updates yet. The airline is retiring Medallion Qualifying Miles and Medallion Qualifying Segments, and it'll instead focus on a redefined version of Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs).

There's much more to unpack as part of the airline's announcement, which also includes some drastic changes to Sky Club access policies (more on that in a separate story).

Depending on your personal travel and spending habits, Delta's news may not necessarily sting that much. But there will certainly be some flyers who will miss the old program.

Here are all the details.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, Delta will consolidate all Medallion status earning activities into one metric, called Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs).

If you've been flying Delta for a while, you're probably familiar with MQDs — they've historically been equivalent to the spend requirement in order to earn status. MQDs were introduced in 2014 and joined MQMs and MQSs to create Medallion status thresholds.

When MQDs were first introduced, they were earned from spending on Delta flights (and as a function of distance and fare class on eligible partner tickets). The more you spend, the more MQDs you earn.

Going forward, MQDs won't just track your eligible travel spend on Delta and its partners — you'll also earn MQDs from a handful of other methods.

As you can see, beginning next year, earning MQDs should be easier than ever, especially if you book car rentals, hotels or vacation packages through Delta.

That said, there's (unfortunately) a pretty big devaluation coming to how you earn MQDs from cobranded credit card spending — one that's sure to rankle some long-time Medallions.

Previously, Delta granted MQD waivers for those who spent $25,000 on eligible cards up to Platinum status. (Waiving the Diamond MQD requirement took $250,000 in annual spending.)

Now, depending on which card you use, that $25,000 in spend would turn into either 1,250 or 2,500 MQDs — not even enough to put you halfway to entry-level silver status.

If you're a big spender who used to hit the $250,000 MQD waiver, that spending will now translate into 125,000 or 250,000 MQDs, which, at most, still puts you 100,000 MQDs short of Diamond status.

For Delta, these changes make sense — the airline wants to build an ecosystem around SkyMiles that captures value from the entire end-to-end travel journey. This includes car rentals, hotels and vacation packages, not just flights. The more you spend in the ecosystem, the more you are