Originally Posted by findark

I wouldn't be surprised if we're in the minority, but I am someone else that finds it significantly easier to make DM under the new rules because the card spend is mix-and-match with actual flying. Under the old rules, I neither flew 125k MQM in a single year nor spent $250k on my card, but under the new rules I can mix ~$8k in Delta tickets flying far less than 125,000 miles with $150k in card spend and various promos and accelerators and make Diamond that way.

I think there are a decent number of people who meet this profile in some way, perhaps most with more flying and more in the $50-100k of spend that is providing in the ballpark of 10k MQDs to start. But the flexibility to match any amount of spending and flying is what makes it so much easier to qualify.