To Diamond or Not to Diamond?
 

Question for all you super-smart FT'ers.

- I am NW/DL platinum.
- My last scheduled flight of 2009 (JFK-->CDG) will put me up to 125,750 MQM, thus qualifying me for Diamond for 2010.
- I almost exclusively travel internationally, so it seems that most of the benefits of Diamond would be lost on me.
- Before NWA went away, I booked a RTW award ticket that will take up 1/2 of next year, so I probably will not qualify for platinum again for 2011 if starting fresh. But if I do not register my final flight of 2009, enough miles will roll over for me to easily get Platinum for 2011.
- Generally, what I'm interested in is international lounge access and upgrades (of which there are none, even at Diamond, except the useless, so-called SWU).

So the question is: To Diamond or Not to Diamond?

Unless I'm missing something, I probably should not Diamond, right? Are there any likely hidden benefits (upgrades) or anything? Being a former NW, perhaps the DL elites can tell me: are there usually frequent MQM promotions with Delta during the year that would help me retain Platinum even I hit Diamond?

This all brings up the question of the value of Diamond at all. For the international traveler, the only benefit I can see is 125% v 100% bonus RDM, and that's just not that attractive.

Am I missing something? There must be other people being forced to make this (rather odd) decision to deliberately avoid a hitting a higher level...

TIA for any thoughts!

Given you travel internationally, I would think two years of Platinum are far better than one Diamond and one Silver. I wouldn't count on another DEQM promo next year, but I guess you never know.

I think you've reached the right conclusion for yourself.

You ask a great question and one that has been addressed on other threads - although without conclusive answer.

Some say that for the first year, every mile over 75,000 will be rolled-over. Some say, emphatically, that is not true.

Some say with the number of new PMs being inflated, Diamond will be important for upgrades. Some say that only matters if you live at a hub.

Some say Delta has an unwritten rule that you will only drop one level no matter what, so a Diamond will be PM then next year no matter what. Others deny that.

So, I have no idea what you should do!

While that should be true because the benefits will not kick in until "Spring 2010", if you read the rules it seems to suggest that you get rolled over at 125 if make Diamond because you qualify for Diamond in 2009.

"any MQMs you've earned above your Medallion qualification level at the end of the year will rollover to your MQM balance for the following year"

.

Always better to be on top rung, more so for domestic though.

Is this fact or urban legend, I know NW never soft landed, if Delta did which I don't believe so they certainly couldn't with Rollover MQM's, makes that program almost useless to half the flyers.

Sorry, no soft landings. If you were Diamond and only got 49,500 MQM's the next year they may gift you to GM, but they won't soft land you to PM.

If you don't want Diamond
 

If you don't want Diamond, why not register your miles for your last flight with another Skyteam airline. That way you are not throwing away miles.

Who knows, Delta might buy the other Skyteam member next year and your points would be added to your Delta account again.

It really depends on your flying patterns and what benefits are important to you. Since the SWU's are useless to you (me too), and the other benefits are marginal, I would make a point to end with well under 125K MQM (what if you have 124K MQM and they bump you to DM with no rollover MQM's? It is possible.

I am in your boat, ending with about 120K MQM and not doing a MR to get to DM.

Couldn't one refuse the "gift" then? After all, the rule is 125k or plus. If I stop at 124k, can Delta force me to Diamond?

I was wondering exactly that, too. It would certainly be goofy to give up miles to end up at, say, 122MQM, then get bumped anyway.

If I had to guess, I would bet that you can't refuse the "gift."

Ive recieved a "soft landing" from Gold To Silver before when I didnt fly for a whole year.

It's already happening... an unexpected rebook in Y [ from the WP dinner event ^ ] pushes me over 124k by EOY. My cushion between current bookings and the dreaded DM status is only about 600 EQM. They had better NOT dip into the fractional sub-DM pool for an unearned "status bye."

:eek:

I am over the Diamond hump by about 20K miles but I wish I weren't. I would much rather be Plat next year and most of the way to requalifying for Plat for 2011 than Diamond in 2010 and not very far along for 2011. With my travel patterns, DL Diamond gives me less value overall than the old NW Platinum. Yes, I know that's a pointless comparison, but it's a reality.

However, this is a very individual decision. Only one thing more for the OP to consider: If you're sitting on a big pile of banked miles, being able to change and cancel awards without a fee could be very helpful in maximizing the value of those miles. Otherwise, it seems like deleting your SkyMiles number from your last flight of the year is the way to go. Just for fun I'd open an account with one of the more exotic partners, like Aeroflot or CSA or Kingfisher, and credit the miles there.

I'm stopping at 121k just for that reason. I never thought about having a rebook into Y situation though. Hmmmm. Might need to push some more miles towards SU just in case that happens.

And begin the frustrating wait that it is to see if your SU Bonus miles from DL flights actually make it into your Bonus account. No retro fax in number with SU...not yet anyway but I'm trying like mad to get one!