Upgrading to Delta Reserve
Sep 16, 2018, 4:35 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 375
Upgrading to Delta Reserve
We currently have Delta Gold Amex and I am Gold Medallion. We have a very high spend this year and I earned the MQD Waiver spending over $32K on the card this year in Qualified purchases (Kitchen Reno). Can I upgrade to the Delta reserve and get the 15K MQMs since I have already spent the amount required for the card? AKA Does my qualified spend transfer to the new card for MQM bonus purposes?
Sep 16, 2018, 9:50 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: DUS
Programs: DL, HHonors, Bonvoy, Hyatt
Posts: 2,072
Unfortunately no. If my memory serves me right, you earn the MQMs based on your spend since your last bonus. Meaning that if you upgrade today you will have $7k in spend towards the $30k required for the Reserve bonus.
Sep 16, 2018, 10:24 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: DL PM, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, AA, WP
Posts: 840
Now if you apply for a new Reserve card, like the business version, you should get the bonus MQMs for that new product. And decide later whether you want to keep or ditch the Delta Gold Amex. During the overlap, both card spends should accrue to your next year's MQM waiver.
Sep 17, 2018, 4:53 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 375
So they do not take my spend on my gold card into account? It is generous offer, but I still have to spend an additional 3K when I've already spent 32K on the gold card not realizing I should have gotten the reserve at the beginning of the year. Dang... Is this a discretionary thing or a hard and fast rule. Also, why do you suggest to get a new card rather than upgrade?
Sep 17, 2018, 6:54 pm
#6
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,187
You only get one lifetime shot at each card (personal gold/platinum/reserve and business gold/platinum/reserve). When you upgrade or downgrade you miss out on the very generous (60,000-70,000 mile plus 10,000 MQM) signup bonuses that end on 9/19.