Workarounds for attaining Diamond medallion in 2019
Oct 8, 2017, 1:58 pm
#91
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 1,884
And an average of $31.24 per segment????
Oct 8, 2017, 1:58 pm
#92
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: MSP
Programs: Delta PM, Marriott Plat, Hertz Pres
Posts: 3,649
Multiple DL Amex Reserves? Stacking boosts?
Oct 8, 2017, 2:19 pm
#93
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toledo, OH
Programs: Delta DM & MM, Hilton DM, Marriott gold, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska 75K, Wyndham Diamond,
Posts: 15,399
Because Hilton will give out Gold status with just simply having a credit card or diamond with only $40K in credit card spend with no hotel activity. Makes it hard for gold's who spend 30+ nights a year in Hiltons or diamonds 60+ to get upgrades when they are competing against people who have the status with just a $75 a year credit card.
Oct 9, 2017, 7:47 am
#94
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold, Hertz PC, National Exec
Posts: 6,736
Oct 9, 2017, 7:59 am
#95
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,409
Some people do segment runs. A cheap ticket with two or three segments in each direction might get into this range if the person only takes such flights and never travels based on need to get to some specific place at a specific time.
Oct 9, 2017, 10:21 am
#96
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 355
Seems perfectly doable if people charge extensively on their DL Amex, then book most airfare with Pay With Miles. Collect the MQMs, don't collect the MQDs. Not too tough.
Oct 9, 2017, 10:31 am
#97
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold, Hertz PC, National Exec
Posts: 6,736
I suppose, although, in that sort of scenario, I'd wonder whether just charging on a 2% cashback card, and buying tickets for cash, wouldn't make more sense.
Oct 9, 2017, 10:32 am
#98
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 355
True. One would have to factor the MQM boosts though if chasing status...and of course this calculus has changed for DM in the future.
Oct 9, 2017, 10:56 am
#99
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: LAX
Programs: Fallen DL DM (PM) 2MM
Posts: 4,783
Not saying this was done, but if you burned a lot of miles with PWM you could end up with that sort result. You earn full MQMs (and MQSs) but only MQDs on the cash portion (taxes and fees come out of the cash portion first)
Oct 9, 2017, 1:41 pm
#100
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Flying to a boat
Programs: DL DM/2MM, Bonvoy Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 823
Not really a workaround, but flying from Tampa to MSP for the Superbowl could almost get you DM in just 5 hours each way, off that one domestic flight...
Last edited by ULDB65; Oct 9, 2017 at 3:36 pm
Oct 9, 2017, 2:54 pm
#101
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: TYS
Programs: Delta, AA, Hilton
Posts: 149
Sure, that could do it, but the poster said that it's not hard to get 120k MQM and get nowhere near the MQD threshold, then posted what seemed to be a rather extreme example. Using PWM like that would probably cost at least 500k SM, so it's not really what I would consider 'easy'.
Oct 9, 2017, 3:13 pm
#102
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold, Hertz PC, National Exec
Posts: 6,736
Oct 9, 2017, 3:27 pm
#103
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Flying to a boat
Programs: DL DM/2MM, Bonvoy Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 823
Oct 9, 2017, 5:47 pm
#104
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: DL DM/MM, AS MVPG 100K
Posts: 60
A bad scenario perhaps?
I hate to be the party pooper here, but what would prevent Delta from doing the following:
"Effective 30 April / some other date before the next calendar year, to qualify for Diamond Status, you must have spent AT LEAST $7k/9k/12k of the $15k MQD requirement with DL...."
I'm not giving them an idea here, but the fear that they can nerf the MQD workarounds and leave us with thousand-dollar partner flights that we cannot fully use to earn DM, is making me think twice about even trying.
"Effective 30 April / some other date before the next calendar year, to qualify for Diamond Status, you must have spent AT LEAST $7k/9k/12k of the $15k MQD requirement with DL...."
I'm not giving them an idea here, but the fear that they can nerf the MQD workarounds and leave us with thousand-dollar partner flights that we cannot fully use to earn DM, is making me think twice about even trying.
Oct 9, 2017, 6:22 pm
#105
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: 4éme
Posts: 12,041
I hate to be the party pooper here, but what would prevent Delta from doing the following:
"Effective 30 April / some other date before the next calendar year, to qualify for Diamond Status, you must have spent AT LEAST $7k/9k/12k of the $15k MQD requirement with DL...."
I'm not giving them an idea here, but the fear that they can nerf the MQD workarounds and leave us with thousand-dollar partner flights that we cannot fully use to earn DM, is making me think twice about even trying.
"Effective 30 April / some other date before the next calendar year, to qualify for Diamond Status, you must have spent AT LEAST $7k/9k/12k of the $15k MQD requirement with DL...."
I'm not giving them an idea here, but the fear that they can nerf the MQD workarounds and leave us with thousand-dollar partner flights that we cannot fully use to earn DM, is making me think twice about even trying.