Originally Posted by
Palladio
Hi all, I'm new to this forum, and am trying to figure out how to retain my SM status, or at least rollover my miles into 2017 if possible.
I was SM in 2016, and currently have around 20K MQM accumulated towards 2017. If I buy a first class ticket SAN-ATL to visit family for the holidays, I'll reach the 25K MQM needed to retain SM for 2017.
However I'll still be short on MQD - about $4,000 needed to make the waiver threshold on my Skymiles Amex (and I don't want to spend that much), or about $600 in MQD directly with Delta. Do I need to go out and buy a ticket to wherever for that extra $600 or is there another way to do this via the "buy miles" program?
Money spent with the MQM purchase count towards MQD. Although be careful, the MQM purchases are different from the regular "buy miles" program.
Click here to see what your offer is, or if you even qualify:
http://dn.delta.com/skymiles/purchasemqms/landing
Do the math here, if you decide to purchase MQM. Since purchasing MQM actually gives you more MQM, depending which offer you get and how much you buy, you may not need to purchase an F flight for to visit your family.
Also, do the MQD count right away or only after the flight is taken? In other words, could I buy a ticket for future use in 2017 that would count towards MQD now?
The MQD for a ticket only count after you fly. So to earn MQD in 2016, you'll have to fly the ticket in 2016. Keep in mind taxes and fees don't count as MQD. So if you spend exactly $600 on a ticket, you'll earn less than 600 MQD.
Any held/advice would be greatly appreciated, I don't want my 25K MQM miles earned in 2016 to just disappear!
It's fun having status, isn't it! However, spending $600 to keep Silver sounds awful expensive. I'm only $500 short of Gold myself, and I'm having a hard time justifying that expense.
Think about what you can buy for that $600. How much are you flying next year? How much would that be per trip for a chance at an upgrade? Maybe you're just better off buying F or Comfort+ for your trips next year?
If you're going to fly a lot more next year than this year, maybe it's worth it...