Very few people flying DL will feel the need to spend 250k on Amex
I think one will see a lot more PM and a lot fewer DMs.
If you plan to hit DM with mainly card spend in 2017 do it NOW with the help of Delta Reserve MQM from friends.
In 2018, the value of DR MQMs will drop significantly as it is of no use beyond PM.
In fact I think the number of people with DR card will also drop (although the tie breaker will help the hard core keep it for a while).
Originally Posted by
jamesteroh
The more I think about it, the more I'm wondering if I'm better off just dropping to PM for 2019 and getting rid of all my Am Ex cards except a reserve for SC access/tie breaker and just doing FCM on the long routes I want.
Between the savings on the annual fees on the Am Ex cards and the extra income I'll get from using a better rewards card on all the spend over skypeso's will help pay for some FCM fares and will guarantee I'll have a seat up front.
I was chatting with a girl in my office whose husband can't get anywhere near $250K in spend on credit cards and is going to drop to PM for 2019 but she said he knows his upgrade changes will drop significantly and on trips to Vegas, SFO, SAN and LAX he is just going to buy FC fares instead and/or use his many miles he has banked to upgrade.
If others dropping to PM use the same reasoning that is going to be fewer seats available upfront even though there are fewer diamonds competing for them. Maybe this is an effect Delta was hoping for, fewer diamonds plus they will sell more FC seats this way and/or get miles off the books.