Strategy questions about upgrading DM membership to executive for 5-6 round trips per year with my wife and young son.
To this point I have been getting my own access to Skyclub via the Reserve card, and set my wife up with the $175 additional reserve card. We occasionally pay the $29 for my son when deemed worthwhile -- i.e., a very long layover or a more interesting club e.g. ATL-F or SFO. Practically speaking this means most times, my wife heads to the Skyclub while my son and I hang out in the terminal because sitting in there for less than an hour eating popcorn is not worth $29.
I will make DM for the very first time in December. I'm aware the executive upgrade is available as a DM choice benefit. This thread indicates a cash upgrade of $245. Either as a choice benefit or paying an up-charge, the math works out for us to downgrade the additional reserve card (it's up for renewal in November) and get the executive membership.
A few questions if anyone has done this recently:
1. How soon after making diamond for the first time does your individual membership start? My flight on 12/3 will push me over 125k MQMs, and I have the MQD waiver so I should officially be DM on either 12/4 or 12/5. Our first trip as a family is 12/20.
2. Does the paid upgrade get you 1 calendar year from the date of upgrade, or is it somehow tied to your medallion year? If it's based on exactly one calendar year then it's probably best to wait until I'm at the first Skyclub that we want to access together to get maximum duration from it?
3. Is the paid upgrade still $245 for the executive membership?
4. If I opted for the choice benefit, would that be effective as soon as I selected it, or only between 1/1/2017-1/31/2018? I'm specifically thinking of the 4 (potential) lounge visits that occur between 12/20/2016-12/31/2016.
FWIW I probably will not re-qualify for Diamond in 2017, so this is really a one-year question, and then we'll be back to the reserve card strategy. Thanks in advance for any advice on how to play this.