Though what sort of stings is that DL has structured the new program in a way where some people will sort of be forced to keep the Reserve card regardless, because it’s the only card offering a reasonable spend to MQD ratio. (Especially compared to AA where all cards have the same spend ratio, even the free one.). So in that sense, for non-Diamonds this is an additional $695 they didn’t have to spend before. (And Diamonds who don’t have the Reserve card may feel compelled to get it, so that’s $550 for them.)
Hypothetical question for everyone- would you be happy giving up the companion cert on the Reserve in exchange for unlimited SC access? That’s sort of the odd quirk with the card, compared to similar cards from AA and UA- those don’t come with many benefits aside from lounge access.
I'm sure the 23-year-old consultants advising DL on this matter thought it would drive Reserve signups and spending. You can see the skeleton of the old credit card program in the new one – the blue card is for folks that want to earn SkyMiles with no annual fee, the gold card is for folks that want a free checked bag, the platinum card is for folks who want to be able to earn status and get a companion certificate, and the reserve card is for earning status faster, getting a better companion certificate, and pre-paying for 10 lounge visits. I suspect the fact they did not introduce a higher-AF club card with unlimited visits is due to DL's desire to be perceived as premium to the most number of people by cycling people through the lounge throughout the year with their 10 visits. They also missed the forest for the trees when limiting visits per year to control Sky Club crowding.
Heck, I can see the rationale for the MQD levels too – they expected folks to give Delta Vacations or Delta Stays their hotel spending – someone traveling somewhere for a week on a $400 RT plane ticket likely will also be spending $800 on hotels for that week. Experienced travelers know that OTAs have terrible customer service and you won't get your hotel elite benefits, but hotel elite programs honestly have gotten weak enough that I think most of the non-road-warriors won't care.