Status / Diamond on Dollars Alone ?
Jun 24, 2015, 6:40 pm
#47
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
Just relocated to NYC, so Platinum is far far far from making me a special snowflake here, I am just a step ahead of "would you mind holding this box of cargo on your lap for the duration of the flight sir" level... 
but I take what I can get.
As to final status, sure. Reminder that I moved mid year, so 90% of the below activity happened over the last 3 months of the year.
Final MQM: 37,406
Final Actual Miles Flown: 23,792
Final MQD: 18,688
Spend per Mile Flown: $0.785
I am assuming it was the high spend per mile combined with the short period of time it was spent over that triggered the bump, but who knows.
but I take what I can get.As to final status, sure. Reminder that I moved mid year, so 90% of the below activity happened over the last 3 months of the year.
Final MQM: 37,406
Final Actual Miles Flown: 23,792
Final MQD: 18,688
Spend per Mile Flown: $0.785
I am assuming it was the high spend per mile combined with the short period of time it was spent over that triggered the bump, but who knows.
I've seen coworkersr with much higher MQD for similar (or more) MQM that received no such bump.
Are you sure you didn't inadvertently register for one of the NYC promos?
Jun 24, 2015, 8:08 pm
#48
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: CLE
Programs: UA Gold, DL DM, UA 1K, MR PP
Posts: 352
Will I get status from spend alone?
FT Member: No
FT Member: No, absolutely not! Never
FT Member: No and you shouldn't expect it. Unless you spend over 100K no one cares.
Fast forward. Flyer got bumped up 2 levels just from spend.
"Oh well Platinum is not special anyway."
I don't know, I'm batting 34 for 40 on upgrades this year as PM, and 100% to and from CLE (which is half of those flights). Pretty sure I would get much less as a Silver.
Bottom line FT was wrong on this one and I would think more of a, "Oh, no $%#@, that's awesome they bumped you up, now we know for the next person who asks." Is a bit more appropriate.
Jul 1, 2015, 9:38 pm
#49
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
Was this what you got out of my post that you quoted? If so, that was not my intent.
I was 1) asking OP to disclose his/her MQM/MQS/MQD since, as you say, it could be useful to others in a similar situation, and 2) hinting that DL has a pattern of offering promotions and bumps to NYC- and SEA-based customers that are not available to others.
None of us here will actually know for sure, but I stand by my hunch that OP's move to NYC combined with his travel/spending patterns likely contributed to the status bump. I wouldn't expect anyone who is spending $0.70 or $1.00 CPM to receive a similar bump, and in fact know people spending more than that who have not.
But to nibble at the bait just a bit:
PM is, of course, not special. Nor is FO, GM, DM, 360, or anything else. They are all simply structured categorization levels set up by the marketing department of a travel vendor that conveys certain perks and benefits in the hopes of attracting more business and revenue. Nothing more, nothing less.
I was 1) asking OP to disclose his/her MQM/MQS/MQD since, as you say, it could be useful to others in a similar situation, and 2) hinting that DL has a pattern of offering promotions and bumps to NYC- and SEA-based customers that are not available to others.
None of us here will actually know for sure, but I stand by my hunch that OP's move to NYC combined with his travel/spending patterns likely contributed to the status bump. I wouldn't expect anyone who is spending $0.70 or $1.00 CPM to receive a similar bump, and in fact know people spending more than that who have not.
But to nibble at the bait just a bit:
PM is, of course, not special. Nor is FO, GM, DM, 360, or anything else. They are all simply structured categorization levels set up by the marketing department of a travel vendor that conveys certain perks and benefits in the hopes of attracting more business and revenue. Nothing more, nothing less.
Jul 2, 2015, 1:34 pm
#50
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: ATL
Programs: DL GM / PC APM / SPG GM / GP PM
Posts: 248
Flyer 1: $15,001 mqd's & 126,000 mqm's
is more valuable than
Flyer 2: $20,000 (or more) mqd's & 75,000 (or less) mqm's
maybe someone could explain it to me, but I just can't wrap my head around it. In my business the more we charge for the less service the better. So if customer A spends $20,000 for 5 widgets and customer B spends $20,000 for 50 widgets. They are both going to spend $20,000 with me, but in one case I'm going to gross $4,000 per widget, in the other case $400 per widget, who is really my most valuable customer? The person who ordered 50 widgets or the one who only ordered 5? Now translate this into airline speak, in the example above one customer paid you 11.9 cents per mile and the other paid you 26.6 cents per mile. One spent $20,000 with you and One spent $15,0001 with you, why are you rewarding the lowest spender?
Last edited by N615HL; Jul 2, 2015 at 1:41 pm
Jul 2, 2015, 5:40 pm
#51
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: PBI/FLL/MIA
Programs: DL DM/2MM, MR Ambassador, National EE
Posts: 1,614
I have yet to figure out why:
Flyer 1: $15,001 mqd's & 126,000 mqm's
is more valuable than
Flyer 2: $20,000 (or more) mqd's & 75,000 (or less) mqm's
maybe someone could explain it to me, but I just can't wrap my head around it. In my business the more we charge for the less service the better. So if customer A spends $20,000 for 5 widgets and customer B spends $20,000 for 50 widgets. They are both going to spend $20,000 with me, but in one case I'm going to gross $4,000 per widget, in the other case $400 per widget, who is really my most valuable customer? The person who ordered 50 widgets or the one who only ordered 5? Now translate this into airline speak, in the example above one customer paid you 11.9 cents per mile and the other paid you 26.6 cents per mile. One spent $20,000 with you and One spent $15,0001 with you, why are you rewarding the lowest spender?
Flyer 1: $15,001 mqd's & 126,000 mqm's
is more valuable than
Flyer 2: $20,000 (or more) mqd's & 75,000 (or less) mqm's
maybe someone could explain it to me, but I just can't wrap my head around it. In my business the more we charge for the less service the better. So if customer A spends $20,000 for 5 widgets and customer B spends $20,000 for 50 widgets. They are both going to spend $20,000 with me, but in one case I'm going to gross $4,000 per widget, in the other case $400 per widget, who is really my most valuable customer? The person who ordered 50 widgets or the one who only ordered 5? Now translate this into airline speak, in the example above one customer paid you 11.9 cents per mile and the other paid you 26.6 cents per mile. One spent $20,000 with you and One spent $15,0001 with you, why are you rewarding the lowest spender?
Jul 2, 2015, 6:01 pm
#52
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: LAX
Programs: AAdvantage EXPLAT, Hilton Diamond, SPG/Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Citi Exec MC, Amex Plat
Posts: 1,443
That revenue is great and by all means, should be pursued, but it's also not the stickiest revenue. What airlines need over the long term is also high fare sticky business that keeps coming back over and over again. Loyal pax may not be the most profitable of pax, but they are very reliable business streams that will tolerate a revenue premium because they keep coming back. They also know the product very well and thus are rather inexpensive to service. Loyal pax are also good brand ambassadors. High status pax give Delta more revenue than a competitor would earn from those pax and those pax get from Delta more perks that other airlines won't give them.
Loyal pax pay the salaries, high rev pax pay the bonuses, you need both to run a successful shop.
Jul 2, 2015, 6:49 pm
#53
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: ATL
Programs: Delta DM/1.3MM, Marriott PP/LTP, Natl EE, Etihad Guest, FT FNG
Posts: 662
Also keep in mind someone who drops $10K on a J ticket without thinking about it also has the luxury of flying with anyone they want based on schedule convenience as most other carriers have a comparable J product or even have an F product too. Perks you offer them via Medallion status, they'd have anyways via their paid J ticket. Upgrades are worthless to a paid J traveler on DL.
That revenue is great and by all means, should be pursued, but it's also not the stickiest revenue. What airlines need over the long term is also high fare sticky business that keeps coming back over and over again. Loyal pax may not be the most profitable of pax, but they are very reliable business streams that will tolerate a revenue premium because they keep coming back. They also know the product very well and thus are rather inexpensive to service. Loyal pax are also good brand ambassadors. High status pax give Delta more revenue than a competitor would earn from those pax and those pax get from Delta more perks that other airlines won't give them.
Loyal pax pay the salaries, high rev pax pay the bonuses, you need both to run a successful shop.
That revenue is great and by all means, should be pursued, but it's also not the stickiest revenue. What airlines need over the long term is also high fare sticky business that keeps coming back over and over again. Loyal pax may not be the most profitable of pax, but they are very reliable business streams that will tolerate a revenue premium because they keep coming back. They also know the product very well and thus are rather inexpensive to service. Loyal pax are also good brand ambassadors. High status pax give Delta more revenue than a competitor would earn from those pax and those pax get from Delta more perks that other airlines won't give them.
Loyal pax pay the salaries, high rev pax pay the bonuses, you need both to run a successful shop.
