ATOBTTR

If you book a DL flight through the DL partner's site, you'll earn MQDs as a percentage of distance flown. For example, if you book a VS Premium Economy ticket, you'll earn MQDs at a rate of 30% of distance flown. If you flew VS in Premium Economy on LAX-LHR-LAX, which is 10,900 miles round trip, you'd earn about 3,270 MQDs. If you get a premium economy fare on VS for well under $3,270 round trip, you'd be coming out well ahead (whereas if you paid more than $3700, you'd be coming out behind). You can check the partner earnings on DL.com which will tell you how each partner earns for flights booked through that partner.**

**Part of the trick here is booking through that partner and ensuring the partner is the marketing carrier for the flight number (and that as the marketing flight #, it still earns per DL).

As another example, AeroMexico is often touted for having pretty good deals on J fares from the US, and earns MQDs at a rate of 40% of distance flown. At about 4,200 miles round trip on JFK-MEX-JFK, you could earn 1680 MQDs on AeroMexico but often find deals for much cheaper than that on that route.

Zorak

Just to be clear, as of... last year some time I think? ... marketing carrier is all that matters. I booked AF-marketed flights thru Orbitz and got $93xx+ MQDs for $34xx.

TTT

Yup. One can also book KL/AF/VS marketed flights via Delta as well, though it can be a bit tricky.

rogo

I'm going to argue that it's just fine to spend the $250K on Delta credit cards, assuming you use the Reserve/Platinum combo on personal and business and only have two cards at a time.

You spend <$450 x 2 on card annual fees. Amex will prorate so the portion of the year these exist as Platinum cards will be cheaper. But let's argue it costs $900.

Then you spend $5000 to manufacture spend (at fees of 2%, I'll leave folks to decide how to achieve that, but it's reasonable) or actually spend all the money to do it, which costs you 2% cashback.

Total spend $5900, including opportunity cost

Now, what do you get?

Well, you get 250K SkyMiles for the spend straight up. And then you get bonuses for each of the 8 times you earn MQMs from the cards (at $25K, $50K on the Platinums you earn an extra 10K each time... so that happens four times... at $30K, $60K you earn an extra 15K SkyMiles each time.... so that happens four times... total? you get 4 x 10 = 40, 4 x 15 = 60 or 100K)

So you get 350K Skymiles, which can't be worth less than $3500 and obviously can be worth more (many will get close to $5000 in value)

Net cost? $2400

Because you are not otherwise making Diamond, you can count all your Diamond benefits here.

1) 25,000 SkyMiles ... not less than $250
2) 25,000 SkyMiles again (I believe you can do this?!?... if not subtract $50 for the voucher)... not less than $250

That's $500 more in benefits... net cost $1900

You also earn 2 more SkyMiles per dollar spent. I'll value that at $80. You get Clear for free instead of paying $79. I'll value that at $40 since some people can't really enjoy Clear or justify a lot for it.

Now, your net cost is $1800.

Now, the hard part. Do you fly Delta regularly? If no, why are you Diamond? If yes, you are now a Diamond so complimentary upgrades are much more real than for Platinums -- some routes, it's impossible as a non-Diamond.

What do you value that at? 4 of them in a year? $150 each on average? Seems fair. $600 worth of free upgrades that are only happening as a Diamond

Now you net cost is $1200

So you have two roundtrip tickets that can now be business class/D1 thanks to being Diamond. There is no way this is worth less than $1200. It could easily be worth $4000. Maybe you can't use them? So take more regionals. Maybe you don't really value international business class? So maybe you shouldn't have become Diamond at all if you can use neither set of upgrades. this

Also, you got 100K MQMs doing this. How many did you need to make Diamond that you otherwise didn't get? I dunno, but you'll rollover the surplus.

My guess is most people will value those MQMs at something. If you use .01/MQM, they alone are worth $1000.

So really, unless you are flying so much already and wouldn't need them now or in the future, you are already breakeven.

Also, you have two companion certs from the reserve card. I will value those at a total of just $400. And therefore, I am ahead while using conservative valuations.

What's the alternative?

Well, of course you can just not be Diamond. But you want to be. So you choose to fly extra. The key is to earn enough MQDs to push your spend to $15K when it otherwise wouldn't be. Every scheme to do that involves flying. It involves your time. It involves hassle. It's surely valid to do this, but the cheapest you're going to get 10,000 MQDs is probably by spending $2000-4000. And yes, you'll get a bunch of MQMs and RDMs for that. But you also will spend a few days in the air and at airports (some love this!!!) and the remainder of the money.

For a lot of FlyerTalkers that's a totally valid thing to do. For me, it would've been about 6 days over the year. I value that at $2000-4000. And the cost of airfare similarly. So that's $6000 out of pocket/opportunity costs to pull it off. Not worth it to me.

A net of ~$0 on the card spend? Yeah, it's obnoxious and I hate Delta and Amex for doing this. But I'll be sure to redeem my 370K new SkyMiles on some flights where I get closer to 1.4cents/each on average. When I do that I'll be confident that I made out ahead of the game. I should note that I don't "manufacture spend" in the conventional sense and I've merely come up with ways to generate enough of it to basically make the 250K waiver from my couch. Whether you can do that or not I cannot say.

TheHorta

highroller4321

Thanks for the replies everyone!

It sounds like taking advantage of a partner flight might be the way to go. As far as just straight spending it doesn't seem like its the best use of the money.

SuperG1955

The simple answer is that it pays to do it when the value of the additional benefits that you will actually use exceeds the additional cost.

If you're going to rely on CC spend, don't forget to factor in the CC cost and the cost of any manufactured spend as well as the lost opportunity of earning at least 1% on a cash back card.

ProfRB

This year I'm a diamond, and have accumulated over 200k MQMs but only 8000 MQDs. I love the GUCs (and have been mostly successful using them TPAC) -- but the downside to using GUCs is that I can't do the MQD runs on partner airlines. Should I try to find MQD runs to get me to diamond this year (if so, any suggestions?) Or what do you think about a one-year-diamond, next-year-platinum strategy, where one year I earn the GUCs on partners, then the next I cash them in flying on delta metal? Long-term planning seems risky when the rules of the game can change at any time....

gooselee

I just made DM and would have very much rather have stayed at PM with a bunch of rollover. So for me, the answer is $0.

But aside from holding a DL Amex, I don't really go out of my way to maximize status in the way lots of FTers (very understandably) do. I even fly OAL several times a year.

It's all YMMV.

scubadu

I would recommend doing what matters most to YOU rather than a bunch of anonymous posters on an internet site. Determine what you most value, what your budget is, etc. Just based on your comments though, it almost feels like you are "chasing" status a bit. Ask yourself if that is necessary. Perhaps just fly where you need to fly, on the most direct routes, at the best price and let the status chips fall where they may.

Regards

dinanm3atl

For sure. Sometimes even better as some partners have true Premium Economy on long haul and they pay 20%(in most cases) MQDs in distance flown.


Me too. Have not had a problem although usually use them on KLM as I can use ExpertFlyer. Call. Book. Apply. Done.

Keep in mind PS/PE with some partners can make even more sense. See below.

Same. I booked PE on CZ JFK-SIN. It was ~800 dollars. I will get 18,XXX MQMs and ~3600 MQDs for 800 in spend.

Love_Travel

IMHO, Diamond status has value only if you are doing lot of domestic and international travel. Do you Travel every week with in US? Or at least twice a month? How often you do international travel? At least twice a year? If yes, it is worth it. Even in such situation, maximum of 2000$, to get the status. Anything more than that, is not worth

sdadept

the GUCS have become unreliable and frankly aren't worth it anymore. The only benefit I see that is useful to me in the redeposit of miles but I get that with platinum as well. IMHO there is no good reason to be loyal to Delta at this point.

MarkP24

Just curious which routes you've tried to use the GUC's on?

SuperG1955

If you have rigid travel dates that can be the truth.
I have flexible dates and sometimes flexible destinations and never have a problem.