sd1024

I have 60k MQMs so far this year and have planned travel that will take me to ~110k. I will be changing jobs and will not be travelling much if any next year for work so my question is, do I go for diamond for 2013 and likely be FO or nothing in 2014 or do I stick with Plat for 2013 and roll over a bunch of miles and be able to easily make gold for 2014?

number21

Dm2013 + fo2014 < pm2013 + gm2014

imho

DaddyRabbit

There is a good argument to roll over to Gold.

DP-340

I agree. I would not like to be FO any year!

syd999

I was in the same exact position last year. I chose to take the Diamond + FO option. I don't really regret it

1) When you travel very little, airline status is not important. Even after years of being plat/diamond, now I couldn't give a crap about airline status anymore.
2) Choice Benefit: 25,000 miles + $200 delta voucher = $450 in value over staying Plat.
3) 2 Diamond tags - sold on Ebay. Made $125
4) The longer you have status, the more inclined you will be keep status. I accepted that airline status doesn't mean anything to me anymore and starting burning miles. Down from 1.2 Million to 500K which is great as the miles are more and more worthless every year.
5) 90% upgrades + lounge access for 1 year > 2 years of ~50% upgrades (YMMV)

dailycavalier

Agreed. I value the Gold benefits a lot, so I would personally rollover to Gold instead of going for Diamond. Gold benefits that I find especially valuable:

• Same Day Confirmed - for convenience, maximizing mileage, or going for that VDB
• Free Economy Comfort seats on domestic flights (international is free for Platinum and Diamond)
• Sky Priority for TSA and boarding
• Elite Plus for SkyTeam benefits and lounge access on international flights
• Same-Day Standby
• 100% bonus miles

mnredfox

The higher you go,more and more going down gets painful.

tokyomike

I'm a PM now, and will be a DM by June. With 6 more months of travel to come, does the MQM's after 125k get rolled over? Thanks!

rdg_dc

wow

DeltaFan4Now

Yes, they do.

hnewman

Go for DM and then gift yourself GM in March of next year. Does this work?

MSPeconomist

OP should be sure to book award tickets to use redeemable miles before the end of February 2014 if domestic coach is desired, in order to take advantage of the enhanced award inventory for elites. GM or FO won't make much difference when flying these as upgrades are unlikely and FO gets a free bag. Of course, paying for EC in the future could matter.

Buckshot

Stay at PM and rollover to GM. As others have posted, FO is pretty much worthless on any legacy airline.

sd1024

Sounds like most people are for PM then GM, thanks for the advice!

gooselee

Slightly OT, but what's the draw of people buying DM tags again? I don't see what benefit this would ever provide if you don't have actual status. Aside from allowing other pax to easily ID you as full of yourself.