I would love to know which lounges will take a card vs some online verification. Will just use a fake one.

Okay, only kidding, but you have to wonder.

Other than partner lounges, I can not think of any reason anyone needs these things. All my years as Plat and now MM/Silver, nobody has EVER asked to see my funny little library card.

Admittedly, the phone agent who told me to take the expired card also said that "they can call us from the lounge in CDG and verify your status". But, while I haven't had too many interactions with them, I don't really see any AF employee taking the time to do that.

I've had to use it flying on AS before. But, they now have your status written on their boarding pass. I'm flying them tomorrow.

What lounge access are you getting on AS? I thought they didn't even let SkyClub members in anymore, let alone elites.

Oh I hear you - I fear you are correct.

If you get denied access because Delta hasn't sent out the physical cards yet, why not just pay the admission fee and send the bill to Delta?

Same here except Platinum.

While this may be true, I cannot hang my phone off my backpack and, thus, am just not as cool as other fellow Medallions. :D

ROFLMAO

Right after cleaning up the beer sprayed all over my screen.

I'm pretty sure that Delta already pays each time one of its elites uses a partner lounge, so something like this should be allowed. Not our fault that Delta is so slow at sending out new credentials.

I am sure they do not pay at the rate a passenger would pay.

And, only a guess, but I would suspect they do some sort of "true-up" each month (or whenever) and balance out visits by each airlines customers. Meaning if AF had 900 people visit Delta lounges and Delta had 800 visit AF, then the amount due would be on 100 people. Again, at a much lower rate per visit.

The card is often photocopied or scanned, and then I think it's copy is sent as proof of eligibility when the lounge operating airline sends the bill to DL for it (e.g. the AF lounge at NRT always photocopies the card). It's likely not their doing but I would bet it's DL insisting that if they don't have a copy of the physical card, that DL is not going to pay them for their pax lounge visit. And then that very same DL purposefully shortens the Medallion year and year after year fails to send out the cards on time (last year my DM card, and I was qualified for 2016 already back in 2014, only was mailed out in late March; this year I wonder will DL even send it out before April - they seem to do it the slowest for the highest tiers).

I requalified for DM in August, and have not seen anything yet.

Need the new package too. I lost another DM tag this last trip, due to the cheesy strap they provide. Guess I'll have to go to zip ties.

I haven't really had issues with no physical card in AMS or CDG, usually the STE+ on the boarding pass is sufficient. Also I have been pleasantly surprised that Priority Pass is encouraging all their lounges to use the digital cards, one less card to keep in my physical wallet. I would guess it's only at some further out partner stations the dragons may want to see the actual card.

I qualified for Silver at the very tail end of 2015 so I haven't had this situation before. My flying schedule has ramped up significantly and I should have the MQMs and MQDs to qualify for Gold by end of March and Platinum sometime in early summer. Will those level of benefits begin after qualification or in January 2017?

If you achieve higher status than you currently hold, the higher status usually takes effect the day after the relevant MQMs post to your account. So if you hit the GM MQMs/MQDs this year, you will be GM starting the day after, and continuing the rest of 2016 and all of 2017. Ditto for any other higher level you subsequently reach.