Jan 1, 2020, 3:46 pm
Last edit by: Zorak
Direct link to the Choice Benefits selection page: https://www.delta.com/en_US/skymiles...hoice-benefits
(click on the text in the red background that says "SELECT YOUR CHOICE BENEFITS")
NOTE: see Delta changes/devaluation to GUC Program -2022 (Only 1 Class of Service Upgrade) for important information on changes to Upgrade Certificates (mainly Globals but Regionals are affected as well)
For the 2020 Medallion Year (status earned in 2019), you receive one Platinum Choice Benefit (CB) upon reaching Platinum Medallion, and in addition three Diamond CBs upon reaching Diamond Medallion. You may choose these benefits individually at any time during the Medallion Year, so you might choose one Diamond benefit (such as Sky Club membership) immediately and wait to choose your Platinum benefit and other Diamond benefits until you need them.
All benefits must be selected by the end of the Medallion Year (Jan 31, 2021 for the 2020 Medallion Year)
Platinum Choice Benefits
Diamond Choice Benefits
Expiration Dates, Other Considerations, and Related FlyerTalk Threads
Roughly speaking, there are three classes of Choice Benefit:
Choose as early as possible:
These will end at the same time no matter when you choose them, so you're best off choosing them immediately (or for gifted status, Feb 1 if the recipient had that status or higher for the preceding Medallion Year).upgrade certificates (GUCs and/or RUCs), Delta vouchers. These expire 1 year after selection, so if you choose them in June they will expire much earlier than if you choose them in December (or the January ending that Medallion Year).
Choose whenever (keeping in mind the Jan 31 deadline for choices): redeemable miles, Tiffany gift cards. These do not expire (AFAICT in the case of the Tiffany cards).
Regional and Global Upgrade Certificates
Using Regional Upgrades
The Official - GLOBAL UPGRADE CERT success thread - Yay! I got it!
Sky Club Options (Diamond only)
Diamond Choice Benefit - Sky Club Guest Pass (Consolidated Thread)
20k or 25k SkyMiles (RDMs)
Travel Vouchers
Gifting Status
Tiffany Gift Cards
(click on the text in the red background that says "SELECT YOUR CHOICE BENEFITS")
NOTE: see Delta changes/devaluation to GUC Program -2022 (Only 1 Class of Service Upgrade) for important information on changes to Upgrade Certificates (mainly Globals but Regionals are affected as well)
For the 2020 Medallion Year (status earned in 2019), you receive one Platinum Choice Benefit (CB) upon reaching Platinum Medallion, and in addition three Diamond CBs upon reaching Diamond Medallion. You may choose these benefits individually at any time during the Medallion Year, so you might choose one Diamond benefit (such as Sky Club membership) immediately and wait to choose your Platinum benefit and other Diamond benefits until you need them.
All benefits must be selected by the end of the Medallion Year (Jan 31, 2021 for the 2020 Medallion Year)
Platinum Choice Benefits
- 4 Regional Upgrade Certificates (RUCs)
- 20,000 bonus redeemable miles (RDMs)
- $200 travel voucher
- $200 Tiffany gift card
- gift Silver Medallion status to another person
Diamond Choice Benefits
- 4 Global Upgrade Certificates (GUCs) *OR* 8 RUCs *OR* 2 GUCs + 4 RUCs (upgrade certificates may only be chosen once)
- Sky Club individual membership
- Sky Club executive membership (allows 2 guests in addition to the member) as an upgrade from individual membership (this can be combined with an individual membership selection by using 2 Diamond CBs)
- Sky Club guest pass (allows 2 guests in addition to the cardholder if you have access via Delta Reserve or non-Skymiles Amex Platinum credit cards)
- 25,000 RDMs
- $200 Delta travel voucher
- $200 Tiffany gift card
- gift Gold Medallion status to another person
Expiration Dates, Other Considerations, and Related FlyerTalk Threads
Roughly speaking, there are three classes of Choice Benefit:
Choose as early as possible:
These will end at the same time no matter when you choose them, so you're best off choosing them immediately (or for gifted status, Feb 1 if the recipient had that status or higher for the preceding Medallion Year).
- gifted status
- Sky Club membership
- Sky Club guest passes
- Global/Regional Upgrade Certificates starting with the 2022 Medallion year
Choose whenever (keeping in mind the Jan 31 deadline for choices): redeemable miles, Tiffany gift cards. These do not expire (AFAICT in the case of the Tiffany cards).
Regional and Global Upgrade Certificates
Expire one year after selection, so ideally you should wait until you want to apply one before you make this selection (but note the overriding deadline for selecting all CBs as noted above)- Starting with the 2022 Medallion Year, Upgrade Certificates expire at the end of the associated Medallion year. The example from DL's web site is:
For example, if you reach Diamond Medallion Status on August 1, 2022, then you will be eligible to select Choice Benefits for your 2023 Status and any Upgrade Certificates selected for your 2023 Status will be valid until January 31, 2024, regardless of the date they were selected. - Usually appear in your account within a few hours after selection. Agents may not be able to see them right away, but as long as you can see them in "My Wallet" you can give an agent the 006 certificate number and the redemption code via phone/Twitter.
Using Regional Upgrades
The Official - GLOBAL UPGRADE CERT success thread - Yay! I got it!
Sky Club Options (Diamond only)
- Sky Club options expire at the end of the Medallion Year (Jan 31, 2021 for the 2020 Medallion Year) no matter when the selection is made
- if you have Choice Benefit selections pending from multiple Medallion Years, be careful which year you are selecting from as this will affect the expiration date. The DL web site will list the expiration date of the benefit before you finalize your selection, so pay close attention. If you have multiple years in play, select from the latest year for the longest validity period.
- there is a minor technical distinction in guests permitted between an Exec Membership (two guests, or spouse and children under 21 without any limiting language) and the Guest Pass (two guests) but in practice SC agents seem to permit spouse+children (even if more than two guests) for the Guest Pass as well.
Diamond Choice Benefit - Sky Club Guest Pass (Consolidated Thread)
20k or 25k SkyMiles (RDMs)
- Do not expire
- certain Delta-branded American Express cards allow "Pay With Miles" at 1c/RDM; tickets bought that way will earn full MQMs, but earn MQDs based only on the dollar amount paid (if any). Since RDMs do not expire, this may be preferable to the voucher.
Travel Vouchers
- Expire one year from issue, so ideally you should wait until you want to apply one before you make this selection (but note the overriding deadline for selecting all CBs as noted above)
- travel vouchers used on future tickets will earn Medallion Qualification Dollars
- certain Delta-branded American Express cards allow "Pay With Miles" at 1c/RDM; tickets bought that way will earn full MQMs, but earn MQDs based only on the dollar amount paid (if any). Since RDMs do not expire, this may be preferable to the voucher.
Gifting Status
- gifted status expires at the end of the Medallion Year (Jan 31, 2021 for the 2020 Medallion Year) no matter when the selection is made. If you know this will be one of your selections, then select it immediately so it is effective as long as possible.
- if you have Choice Benefit selections pending from multiple Medallion Years, be careful which year you are selecting from as this will affect the expiration date. The DL web site will list the expiration date of the benefit before you finalize your selection, so pay close attention. If you have multiple years in play, select from the latest year for the longest validity period.
- status cannot be gifted if the recipient currently has that level or higher status
Tiffany Gift Cards
- Tiffany gift card has no expiration date listed in the terms
Platinum and Diamond Medallion Choice Benefits (The Definitive Thread)
Oct 22, 2018, 3:24 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC/ EWR/ PHL
Programs: UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,210
Which Choice Benefit Did You Choose
I saw OMAAT had a post on the varying Delta Choice Benefits and which one to choose: https://onemileatatime.com/delta-choice-benefits/
Just curious, which one(s) did everyone choose?
Just curious, which one(s) did everyone choose?
Oct 22, 2018, 4:38 am
#2
Join Date: May 2004
Location: formerly Gold now Diamond, formerly MSY, now LAX, formerly NW, now DL
Programs: Hyatt Plat, Hilton Gold, SPG Gold, Delta Diamond/1MM
Posts: 4,635
Usually I go for the $200 delta vouchers for everything aside from the GUCs, since I have a SC membership already. I think though, I might be doing the 20k PM miles and the 25k DM miles instead for the upcoming years. Part since I've been overshot DM this year and hope to earn that relatively easily for 2020, then burn miles for J flights. RUCs seem to be hard to confirm so not likely a great benefit in the end since I prefer a sure thing like $$ off or award tickets.
Oct 22, 2018, 4:57 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC/ EWR/ PHL
Programs: UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,210
Usually I go for the $200 delta vouchers for everything aside from the GUCs, since I have a SC membership already. I think though, I might be doing the 20k PM miles and the 25k DM miles instead for the upcoming years. Part since I've been overshot DM this year and hope to earn that relatively easily for 2020, then burn miles for J flights. RUCs seem to be hard to confirm so not likely a great benefit in the end since I prefer a sure thing like $$ off or award tickets.
Oct 22, 2018, 10:54 am
#5
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. / Washington, DC
Programs: AA PPro/DL PLT, PPass, Marriott / Hilton Gold, JetBlue Mosaic, Hertz Presidents Circle, Amex Plat
Posts: 4,630
Last year I lost 2 RUCs because of a flight that was cancelled and I didn't have any other eligible flight before the expiration. Tried to apply them to two flights happening after expiration, as suggested by the RUC thread, and it was a no go.
This year I selected the voucher. Might do the same for next year.
This year I selected the voucher. Might do the same for next year.
Oct 22, 2018, 10:59 am
#6
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: PIT, BWI, or IPT
Programs: Dividend Miles, WorldPerks
Posts: 1,302
Last year I lost 2 RUCs because of a flight that was cancelled and I didn't have any other eligible flight before the expiration. Tried to apply them to two flights happening after expiration, as suggested by the RUC thread, and it was a no go.
This year I selected the voucher. Might do the same for next year.
This year I selected the voucher. Might do the same for next year.
Oct 22, 2018, 11:12 am
#7
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: MKE
Programs: DL Diamond, 2 MM
Posts: 1,009
I thought about taking the RUCs so I called and asked if any long domestic flights, like to HNL or LAX were available for five dates using RUCs but nothing was available. That confirmed what I have been reading here, that RUCs were really hard to redeem except for short flights. I now always chose the miles. I have chosen the gift card in the past, and that was nice, except I think miles are a better choice.
Oct 22, 2018, 11:30 am
#8
Join Date: Sep 2011
Programs: Delta DM, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,495
I thought about taking the RUCs so I called and asked if any long domestic flights, like to HNL or LAX were available for five dates using RUCs but nothing was available. That confirmed what I have been reading here, that RUCs were really hard to redeem except for short flights. I now always chose the miles. I have chosen the gift card in the past, and that was nice, except I think miles are a better choice.
2019: RUCs for Platinum and GUCs, Gold Status Gift, and Sky Club Guest Pass for Diamond
I've never let any RUCs expire, although sometimes it's possible I would have received a complimentary upgrade anyway. I recently noticed I had one left expiring in January, and no flight to use it on, but they let me apply it to a SLC-IAD flight in March where it cleared immediately. The agent didn't even want to search availability for me because she said Delta would never open up availability on a flight that long this far in advance.
Oct 22, 2018, 1:36 pm
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,037
I think I might try the RUCs this year (and the GUCs). I've been doing more transcons where they would be quite nice. My upgrade percentage without them has been very low on LAX<->NYC, as expected.
Oct 22, 2018, 2:46 pm
#12
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. / Washington, DC
Programs: AA PPro/DL PLT, PPass, Marriott / Hilton Gold, JetBlue Mosaic, Hertz Presidents Circle, Amex Plat
Posts: 4,630
Agree. But in my case, DL Amex is not an option and any redemption from my home airports would cost a lot in fees. Any Ex-CDG redemption costs over 100 Euros, any ex-SDQ redemption costs over $100. So using the $200 voucher is the next best option.
Oct 22, 2018, 8:37 pm
#14
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: HSV
Programs: Bellevue Lifetime Premiere Mega Elite Supreme
Posts: 1,509
My wife is about to hit DM this year all on her own, just by flying with me on a handful of international itineraries so we actually get to see each other on occasion.
We both have AXR cards, and I choose guest access for one of me benefits, so we have that covered. Naturally, we’ll both have PM RUCs and DM
GUCs selected, but that leaves two benefits for her and one for me left to select. Since I no longer see the “FO Bag Caddy” benefit option (WTH Delta?!), all I have left to select from is a half-pack of Big Red chewing gum and a signed William Shatner autobiography.
I’m really struggling here.
We both have AXR cards, and I choose guest access for one of me benefits, so we have that covered. Naturally, we’ll both have PM RUCs and DM
GUCs selected, but that leaves two benefits for her and one for me left to select. Since I no longer see the “FO Bag Caddy” benefit option (WTH Delta?!), all I have left to select from is a half-pack of Big Red chewing gum and a signed William Shatner autobiography.
I’m really struggling here.