Originally Posted by
tonyrocks922
It does kind of annoy me that tiers are based on miles flown and not revenue. Shouldn't customers who spend more money be valued more? I will hit over $9,000 in MQDs this year but still be at FO based on MQMs.
When I first started the traveling gig, my longest flight was MSP-LEX. I used to spend huge money for those short flights and only got Silver Elite with NWA because they just gave it to me with only about 8500 qualifying miles, if memory serves. Then I discovered FT. It didn't take long before I was PM from Delta's DMQM offer. I was still only flying about 40-50K miles for work. I hit DM in 2011 by doing vacation runs. Then, my area expanded but I still only averaged about 100K MQMs from work. But, I still take cheap flights to parts unknown (to me) when I can. Why would I give $16-22K to Delta every year and not have their "top" status? I don't even consider this gaming the system. I think of it more as getting the most out of it. Plus, those long international flights I fly for fun are usually off peak so Delta wins when I use my GUCs by not letting a nice D1 seat go empty while appreciating a loyal customer. It's a win for both of us.