As even an idiot should have figured out by now, the MQD/PQD implementation was a tool for more than restricting elite status membership -- it's part of the infrastructure to cut away from earning of miles based on distance flown and transitioning to earning miles based on dollars spent.

The mileage spend-side restrictions applicable to the "new" award chart are going to gut the value customers get per mile redeemed for flights. DL is almost certainly still intent upon squashing arbitrage plays by customers that have customers getting sometimes even more than 2 cents of value per mile redeemed for a ticket compared to paying cash for a regular ticket.

When it comes to HVC customers or non-HVC customers, DL wants to fleece them all as much as it can get away with doing. Being a HVC customer is no strong armor in the face of DL's relentless assaults on SkyMiles customers in the main.

The days of the "broken" award booking tool on delta.com being broken will end with the revenue-based award chart's full implementation.