Originally Posted by
lucke27
So, related question about choosing 2018 Medallion benefits. Obviously, I'll choose the GUC's so I can at least waitlist the JFK- Tel Aviv flights. Should I request Gold Medallion for my wife or is that irrelevant since she's supposed to get my Diamond status (or so we're told) if we're in the same reservation? None of the other options are that valuable to me; so, I would choose that if I thought it would increase our chances for an upgrade. Thoughts from anyone? Many thanks!
When you and your wife are traveling on the same booking, the only benefit to her having GM status is that she earns slightly more miles than a general SkyMiles member would (8x per dollar vs. 5x per dollar). Everything else should be inherited from your DM status -- upgrade priority, baggage allowances, Sky Priority access, etc.
Her having GM could have more value if she ever flies without you, of course, to give her Sky Priority line benefits, free domestic checked bag, a chance at an upgrade, etc. that a general member would not have. But value of that depends how often that happens.
One marginal case -- if the two of you ever travel together with other people who don't have elite status, there could be some marginal benefits. For example when traveling internationally GMs and above get lounge access for themselves and a guest, so if the two of you traveled internationally with 2 other people, you could get all 4 into the lounge if your wife were GM, whereas your DM status only gets 1 guest.
Arguably the most valuable other DM choice benefit is the 25K miles, since even if Delta miles aren't worth a lot, they're generally worth at least a cent each (guaranteed to be worth at least a cent each if you hold a Skymiles Amex), so that's worth $250, while the gift cards are only $200. And you could select the 25K miles twice if you didn't gift GM status to your wife. So the question would be whether the extra miles your wife would earn while traveling together, plus any benefits she'd get while traveling without you, is worth $250.
(BTW -- for me, and for others I know, there can also be a "spouse likes the idea of having some elite status of their own, even if it isn't actually worth much in practice" value to the GM gift...)