Hitting MQD but short on MQM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MSP
Programs: DL FO - HH Diamond - Hertz Persident's Circle
Posts: 55
Hitting MQD but short on MQM
Hello all,
It's been a while since I've posted but wanted to see if I have any options regarding Medallion status with Delta. This may be a dumb question/topic so I apologize in advance if so.
Years ago I was in a role that took me around the country a decent amount and I would easily earn GM or PM year after year. A couple years ago I took a role where I still travel a decent amount, but all of my flights are quite short within my territory. I have been stuck at SM for a few years now and it is driving me nuts seeing how how much my yearly spend is. With my current travel schedule, I will end the year around 50 MQS with a measly 34k MQMs earned. Here's the thing that bugs the heck out of me; most of my flights are booked fairly last minute and my MQD total for the year looks to end up at nearly $15k.
I'm guessing I know the answer, but do I have ANY other options to reach GM? I know the benefits are minimal with GM to most, but it would really be a big jump in my eyes. I have gotten MQM bonuses in the past from AMEX and doubt I am eligible for anything of that nature.
Thanks in advance for any insight.
It's been a while since I've posted but wanted to see if I have any options regarding Medallion status with Delta. This may be a dumb question/topic so I apologize in advance if so.
Years ago I was in a role that took me around the country a decent amount and I would easily earn GM or PM year after year. A couple years ago I took a role where I still travel a decent amount, but all of my flights are quite short within my territory. I have been stuck at SM for a few years now and it is driving me nuts seeing how how much my yearly spend is. With my current travel schedule, I will end the year around 50 MQS with a measly 34k MQMs earned. Here's the thing that bugs the heck out of me; most of my flights are booked fairly last minute and my MQD total for the year looks to end up at nearly $15k.
I'm guessing I know the answer, but do I have ANY other options to reach GM? I know the benefits are minimal with GM to most, but it would really be a big jump in my eyes. I have gotten MQM bonuses in the past from AMEX and doubt I am eligible for anything of that nature.
Thanks in advance for any insight.
#2
Join Date: Feb 2017
Programs: DL DM, UA Gold, Alaska MVP, Bonvoy (lol) Ambassador
Posts: 2,994
Short answer is.. no (other than putting spend on the Amex cards). Best you can do is call and beg them to give you status. Some people get rounded up if they are close. You're not too far from qualifying for gold via segments.
You could, of course, go on a mileage run. Flights to places in SE Asia are frequently on sale and net huge miles. Even not on sale you could pick up something like a flight to SIN from MSP on Delta for only $1.1K and that would get you the required MQM. I've never thought it worth it to do mileage runs (if not the $, the time invested.. an MSP<->SIN situation is basically 4 days of flying and recovery).
You could, of course, go on a mileage run. Flights to places in SE Asia are frequently on sale and net huge miles. Even not on sale you could pick up something like a flight to SIN from MSP on Delta for only $1.1K and that would get you the required MQM. I've never thought it worth it to do mileage runs (if not the $, the time invested.. an MSP<->SIN situation is basically 4 days of flying and recovery).
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MSP
Programs: DL FO - HH Diamond - Hertz Persident's Circle
Posts: 55
Short answer is.. no (other than putting spend on the Amex cards). Best you can do is call and beg them to give you status. Some people get rounded up if they are close. You're not too far from qualifying for gold via segments.
You could, of course, go on a mileage run. Flights to places in SE Asia are frequently on sale and net huge miles. Even not on sale you could pick up something like a flight to SIN from MSP on Delta for only $1.1K and that would get you the required MQM. I've never thought it worth it to do mileage runs (if not the $, the time invested.. an MSP<->SIN situation is basically 4 days of flying and recovery).
You could, of course, go on a mileage run. Flights to places in SE Asia are frequently on sale and net huge miles. Even not on sale you could pick up something like a flight to SIN from MSP on Delta for only $1.1K and that would get you the required MQM. I've never thought it worth it to do mileage runs (if not the $, the time invested.. an MSP<->SIN situation is basically 4 days of flying and recovery).
#5
Join Date: Jan 2007
Programs: Delta PM
Posts: 216
I'm not quite sure what this means, but I'm in the same boat as you. I make 35K MQM from flying regionally but spend 60K on the delta reserve and 25K on the delta plat and get to PM that way. It basically accounts for every cent of my family's spend, but we just make it. Won't help this year but maybe that is next year's strategy?
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: MSP
Programs: DL FO - HH Diamond - Hertz Persident's Circle
Posts: 55
I'm not quite sure what this means, but I'm in the same boat as you. I make 35K MQM from flying regionally but spend 60K on the delta reserve and 25K on the delta plat and get to PM that way. It basically accounts for every cent of my family's spend, but we just make it. Won't help this year but maybe that is next year's strategy?
#7
Moderator: Hyatt; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: WAS
Programs: :rolleyes:, DL DM, Mlife Plat, Caesars Diam, Marriott Tit, UA Gold, Hyatt Glob, invol FT beta tester
Posts: 18,885
So with that level of spending with both cards you earn enough bonus MQMs to hit PM? Can you do that every year? I may be grossly mistaken, but I thought you were only eligible for those types of bonuses every few years. If that is the case I might have to throw away my debit card and start using a specific credit card for EVERYTHING
#9
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Twin Cities
Programs: Delta DM MM, IHG Plat, Hilton DM, Marriott SE, Emerald EE, Oakdale Gun Club, NRA & GOA Life Member
Posts: 3,870
Hello all,
It's been a while since I've posted but wanted to see if I have any options regarding Medallion status with Delta. This may be a dumb question/topic so I apologize in advance if so.
Years ago I was in a role that took me around the country a decent amount and I would easily earn GM or PM year after year. A couple years ago I took a role where I still travel a decent amount, but all of my flights are quite short within my territory. I have been stuck at SM for a few years now and it is driving me nuts seeing how how much my yearly spend is. With my current travel schedule, I will end the year around 50 MQS with a measly 34k MQMs earned. Here's the thing that bugs the heck out of me; most of my flights are booked fairly last minute and my MQD total for the year looks to end up at nearly $15k.
I'm guessing I know the answer, but do I have ANY other options to reach GM? I know the benefits are minimal with GM to most, but it would really be a big jump in my eyes. I have gotten MQM bonuses in the past from AMEX and doubt I am eligible for anything of that nature.
Thanks in advance for any insight.
It's been a while since I've posted but wanted to see if I have any options regarding Medallion status with Delta. This may be a dumb question/topic so I apologize in advance if so.
Years ago I was in a role that took me around the country a decent amount and I would easily earn GM or PM year after year. A couple years ago I took a role where I still travel a decent amount, but all of my flights are quite short within my territory. I have been stuck at SM for a few years now and it is driving me nuts seeing how how much my yearly spend is. With my current travel schedule, I will end the year around 50 MQS with a measly 34k MQMs earned. Here's the thing that bugs the heck out of me; most of my flights are booked fairly last minute and my MQD total for the year looks to end up at nearly $15k.
I'm guessing I know the answer, but do I have ANY other options to reach GM? I know the benefits are minimal with GM to most, but it would really be a big jump in my eyes. I have gotten MQM bonuses in the past from AMEX and doubt I am eligible for anything of that nature.
Thanks in advance for any insight.
You could, of course, go on a mileage run. Flights to places in SE Asia are frequently on sale and net huge miles. Even not on sale you could pick up something like a flight to SIN from MSP on Delta for only $1.1K and that would get you the required MQM. I've never thought it worth it to do mileage runs (if not the $, the time invested.. an MSP<->SIN situation is basically 4 days of flying and recovery).
#10
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Atlanta, GA
Programs: Delta Skyteam / Marriott
Posts: 3
Mileage flight suggestions from Atlanta
My first post so please excuse any format errors. I travel frequently and appreciate the Platinum benefits i get with Delta. This year I've hit both Platinum Amex targets and received both 10k MQM bonuses. I have no flights scheduled for the rest of the year and am 8k miles short of getting Platinum status again. With a mileage run appearing to be my only option, I wanted to ask for guidance or suggestions for a run out of Atlanta that can help gain 8k miles for around $600. I've read using a Skyteam partner can make it easier, but can't seem to find anything to Asia for cheap. Thank you in advance.
#11
Join Date: Feb 2017
Programs: DL DM, UA Gold, Alaska MVP, Bonvoy (lol) Ambassador
Posts: 2,994
My first post so please excuse any format errors. I travel frequently and appreciate the Platinum benefits i get with Delta. This year I've hit both Platinum Amex targets and received both 10k MQM bonuses. I have no flights scheduled for the rest of the year and am 8k miles short of getting Platinum status again. With a mileage run appearing to be my only option, I wanted to ask for guidance or suggestions for a run out of Atlanta that can help gain 8k miles for around $600. I've read using a Skyteam partner can make it easier, but can't seem to find anything to Asia for cheap. Thank you in advance.
That said, trying to get cheap deals out of ATL on Delta (or a SkyTeam partner) is a tough slough. Your best bet is to take a repositioning flight to a more competitive area (either a non-DL hub, or a competitive Delta hub like JFK or LAX) and look for deals there. The repositioning flight may cost you a few hundred dollars, but it will likely take far more off of the airfare. For example, ATL-HKG via KE is $1800 from ATL but only $700 from LAX. That said, since you only need 8K MQM you may be able to try to find a deal to Europe (although it is getting to the time of year that this will be tough) from an East Coast city.
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,014
My first post so please excuse any format errors. I travel frequently and appreciate the Platinum benefits i get with Delta. This year I've hit both Platinum Amex targets and received both 10k MQM bonuses. I have no flights scheduled for the rest of the year and am 8k miles short of getting Platinum status again. With a mileage run appearing to be my only option, I wanted to ask for guidance or suggestions for a run out of Atlanta that can help gain 8k miles for around $600. I've read using a Skyteam partner can make it easier, but can't seem to find anything to Asia for cheap. Thank you in advance.
#13
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: 100,368
I would have suggested looking at ANC (or Fairbanks if DL serves there in low season), but the earthquake yesterday might mean that flights will be disrupted for a while. Plus, it could make spending a weekend there more difficult in terms of ground transportation and hotels, etc.
RDU sometimes has good deals.
ATH or IST is sometimes cheap, but since these places have somewhat warm weather, they might not be so cheap now. Most TATL RTs from ATL won't earn 8,000 MQM RT in coach, but Central/Eastern Europe (AF/KLM connections in many cases, so pay attention to codeshare etc. details carefully to make sure you know how many MQMs your ticket will earn). Similarly, northern South America isn't far enough from ATL while southern South America is expensive at this time of year.
RDU sometimes has good deals.
ATH or IST is sometimes cheap, but since these places have somewhat warm weather, they might not be so cheap now. Most TATL RTs from ATL won't earn 8,000 MQM RT in coach, but Central/Eastern Europe (AF/KLM connections in many cases, so pay attention to codeshare etc. details carefully to make sure you know how many MQMs your ticket will earn). Similarly, northern South America isn't far enough from ATL while southern South America is expensive at this time of year.