Delta SkyMiles saga: Airline eases the pain with 6 improvements to Medallion status, Sky Club access

18.10.2023 - 20:18 / thepointsguy.com / Delta

Delta Air Lines is softening the blow from its recent changes to the SkyMiles loyalty program and Sky Club access policies.

Just over a month ago, Delta announced that it was making it significantly harder to earn Medallion status while also limiting the number of annual visits that cobranded credit card holders can make to the Sky Club.

These sweeping changes touched nearly every aspect of the loyalty program, and the updates were drastic (think: $35,000 in annual spending required to hit top-tier Diamond Medallion status).

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The uproar about the changes started almost immediately. It didn't take too long for Delta's changes to trend on Twitter and other social media channels, garnering thousands of negative comments and reactions.

Delta rationalized the updates by saying that it's trying to balance supply and demand for elite benefits and space in the Sky Club, but many travelers weren't having it.

In fact, the airline received thousands of letters and complaints. Now Ed Bastian, Delta's CEO, has an update: The airline is making six improvements to the changes it originally announced last month.

While the changes may not be enough to win back some rankled travelers, something is certainly better than nothing.

One of the headlining updates is that Delta will lower the Medallion thresholds it announced in September. You can find the updated status thresholds in the table below.

Note that Delta isn't changing how you earn status. As announced last month, only one metric will count toward qualifying for status: Medallion Qualification Dollars.

Delta introduced MQDs in 2014 as a way to reward you for how much you spend on flights. Next year, the MQD metric will expand to include many more transactions with Delta and its partners, such as spending on vacation packages, hotels, cruises and cobranded credit card spending.

As you can see below, these updated status metrics are, at most, 20% lower than the ones announced last month. Relative to this year's levels, the revised thresholds are still between 25% and 67% higher — one of the most significant jumps we've seen from an airline in recent history.

To put this into perspective, top-tier Diamond Medallion status will require a whopping $28,000 dollars spent on Delta flights. Alternatively, if you want to charge your way to Diamond Medallion status, you'll need to spend either $280,000 or $560,000, depending on which cobranded Amex card you hold.

As such, I suspect that some Delta flyers will still be pretty upset with these revised thresholds.

Note that these new thresholds begin on Jan. 1, 2024, and you'll need to earn the aforementioned number of MQDs to enjoy