StayingHomeIsBetter

I submit that they likely have absolutely no intent of thinning the herd.

Having an overcrowded herd drives folks to doing thinks like buying FCM tickets.

jamesteroh

True. And if they were interested in thinning the herds they would cap the number of MQM's you can get through Am Ex spend and rollover and eliminate the gifting of status from DM's and PM's.

Beckles

While Delta's intent with MQD may not be to thin the herd, but rather encourage folks to spend more, it will undoubtedly have the effect of thinning the Medallion ranks unless you believe the implementation of the MQD requirements somehow encourage more folks to become Medallions.

Often1

That only happens if you are one of the minute % of travelers who pays attention to the vagaries of FFP's. FT focuses on that minute %, so it appears to be a big deal. For everybody else, they book the 8 AM to JFK or whatever just as they have always done.

jamesteroh

I don't see MQD's thinning the herds at all, except for possibly silvers. You only have to charge $25K a year on an Am Ex and million milers are exempt from the MQD requirement as are people that have status gifted to them and people that don't have a US mailing address.

If Delta really wants to use MQD's to thin the herds they would require the spending for passengers that live outside the US and eliminate the Am Ex waiver. Anyone that flies enough to be PM or DM is probably going to be able to easily charge $25K on an am ex. The only ones I can see this having a bearing on are FO's or people who had financial problems years ago and screwed Am Ex and are on the infamous Am Ex blacklist. Thanks to the Am Ex waiver,, if I charge the $50k on my Delta business and personal American express cards, combined with my rollover miles, I'll be PM next year without stepping foot on a Delta plane (I may be able to be PM with just putting $50K on one of the Am Ex cards depending on how my rollover works out).

jamesteroh

Mod-please delete

Beckles

So you don't believe there is a single Medallion who is going to not qualify for Silver or qualify at a lower level because of MQD? I believe there is at least one, and the number is likely orders of magnitude greater than that.

I don't believe million milers are exempt from MQD, rather they don't have to meet MQD for their complimentary status, but to qualify for rollover or a higher level of status they still have to meet it. Separately I think the impact of the AMEX waiver is exaggerated on FT, spending $25k on a credit card is not a trivial matter for many outside of FT, even frequent travelers who spend that much on travel are sometimes restricted by corporate policies on how they pay for their travel (i.e., they must use specific corporate charge account or credit cards, or they don't even pay for airline tickets themselves).

jamesteroh

Sorry meant that gold's and fo's who have the status by being million milers are exempt from the MQD's as are people who have the status gifted to them.

Seeing you can get most of the benefits for being FO with an Am Ex card I can see people not bothering going out of their way to keep that status with spend.

I think $25K is very easy to achieve on a credit card for someone that flies enough for PM or DM, especially if they can put their business travel on a personal card. While it isn't as easy to do like when the mint program was around, there are still MS opportunities (when the mint MS program and the Charter One programs were around I had companion status on Southwest and I got at least 25 free flights a year by spending less than $1K a year in paid tickets so that is a program missed).

If Delta wants to truly thin the herds though they would eliminate the am ex waiver for MQD's and limit the number of MQMs you can rollover and get through an Am Ex card. If Delta made those changes you would see a lot few higher elites.

EZEDoesIt

While I benefit from the MQD waiver myself, I feel that it's ridiculous for DL to award card spend.

Beckles

Who is a better customer to Delta:

1. A customer who flies Delta for whatever reason.
2. A customer who flies Delta for whatever reason and chooses to spend $25,000 or more on a Delta-branded credit card.

Seems obvious to me who the better customer is and should receive some additional recognition.

Bonehead

I see some $374 CLT-LGA "G" roundtrips on low-demand weekends in January, so I'll bet this was simply a buyup to the lowest available FC fare. UA does the same thing.

jamesteroh

I also benefit from the MQD waiver myself and agree that if Delta wants to truly thin the herds they wouldn't have the MQM waiver.

But Delta is also making a lot of money off Am Ex. Same with selling MQM's.

Smyrnaflyer

Good luck with that. With all the FCM, chances with even an RUC are diminishing. I flew ATL/SFO/ATL in coach despite to RUC waitlists.

CMK10

I think it's becoming more normal. I have a RDU-DTW-JFK-RDU itinerary booked for February (cost $279) and was offered a FCM Upgrade for all segments for $89.70. Puts that at just under $30/flight. I took it.

pbarnette

Oh please. I refuse to believe that this is simply the market rate for a short route with likely near-zero natural premium demand. It is more likely a conspiracy or some egregious strategic error.