Originally Posted by
imisspretzels
MSP, so are you saying that I could get the Delta Gold card now using a targeted 35K offer of RDM and then upgrade to the platinum either in Dec. or Jan. to get the 5000 MQM's sign on bonus? I expect I would not get any additional RDM from them.
Does that actually work? I would expect they would want me to hold the Gold card for at least a year or some amount of time.
Also, I know the platinum has a MQM boost at the 25K threshold. Where would I have to cap my spending in order to get the 10K MQM boost?
You need to check on how long you must keep a card before upgrading. However, I was trying to point out that when you upgrade, you generally receive the differences in both status and redeemable miles from the offer on your initial card and the new one. If you're taking an offer that gives some MQMs, be absolutely sure that they will not be wasted because you will not get to 25,000 MQMs by the end of the year and therefore will get absolutely NO rollover.
However, if you want an AmEx card before January and you're going for one that does give some signup MQMs, you could postpone hitting the required target until after the end of the year. For example, signup for a Plat card in mid-October that offers (I'm making up numbers, I don't know what's currently available) 5000 MQMs after $5000 of spending during the first three months. You make sure that you do not go over $4500 total during 2012 and then spend a lot in early January to hit the $5000 target and collect your 5,000 MQMs that count as earned in the 2013 year so that they're not lost because you didn't hit 25,000 MQMs (Silver) and become eligible for rollover.
You're possibly confusing the signup bonuses and the possibility to earn MQMs every year from the DL Plat and Reserve cards based on annual calendar year spending: For Plat, 10,000 MQM for $25,000 or 20,000 for $50,000 and for Reserve, 15,000 MQM for $30,000 or 30,000 MQM for $60,000 in annual spending on that card.