3Cforme

'Cause Zone 2, Zone 3, and Basic Economy don't exist? Come on...

jdrtravel

Is this commonplace? I don't think I've ever seen this happen, thought perhaps it is just the routes I fly. I believe that Zone 1 should still manage to get people room in the O/H bins, which seems to be the real issue.

GRALISTAIR

I agree I was using a bit of hyperbole - but still you could be way way down the boarding.

GRALISTAIR

Yes probably - active duty military in the scenario I used tend to check their bags and do not bring huge rollerboards aboard.

lsquare

What does it mean by 10,000 redeemable miles? Am I getting an additional 10k to use? I thought in my situation I don't need to worry about MQM?

lsquare

I guess it depends, but again, I haven't really flown DL that much over the years. On my last flight, I was in zone 2 and most bins were already full. I got lucky or else I'll have to put my backpack underneath my seat.

iflyalexair

The certificates are not difficult to use. You have restricted fare classes but that's it. If you are planning a domestic trip sometime in the future, you will be able to use it. I have redeemed about 50 of them. The only time I have not been able to redeem them with future trips is NYC-PBI/FLL during passover when DL is only selling K+ fare classes. Other than that, it's a breeze.

You can use them from Hawaii if you are a Hawaii resident.

The boosts you can earn with 25k/50k in spend count towards your MQMs, which is the only relevant factor for Medallion qualification since MQDs don't apply to you. So, you can easily add an additional 20k MQMs, which almost gets you to the next tier in many cases.

In fact, if you play the Amex game right and hold two cards, you can earn almost enough MQMs for Diamond status without stepping foot on a plane. Of course, you'd probably want to step on a plane if you're working toward diamond status to enjoy the benefits.

beachmouse

Yeah an extra 10K useable miles. You still need to collect Medallion-Qualifying Miles for status; it's the Medallion-Qualifying Dollars that non-US residents don't have to deal with.

lsquare

I just checked my SkyMiles account and I noticed that the MQD part is greyed out. I know I'm not the only one in this position, but should I ever move back and live permanently in the US, what's there to stop DL from imposing MQD on me? Or I guess I'll be exempt from MQD requirements for life until DL changes its policy?

iflyalexair

Certainly one of the greater questions in life. I would suspect that it would go under the radar unless you changed your address in your skymiles account. It could be possible that a clear pattern of domestic activity without any link to where you live abroad could raise an inquiry in Delta's eyes that might lead to you having to prove your foreign address at some time in the future.

Not sure how well Delta actually polices this.

Qwkynuf

"Redemable Miles" are the "SkyMiles" that you can use to pay for award tickets, upgrades, etc. "MQM" is literally "Medallion Qualification Miles", which is the component used to determine your Medallion level (Silver/Gold/Platinum/Diamond) - along with MQD (Medallion Qualification Dollars) if you are a US resident.

SkyMiles are earned based on the cost of your ticket minus taxes, and are some multiple of that depending on your Medallion level - 5 miles/$ for general members, 7/$ for Silver, 8/$ for Gold, 9/$ for Plat, and 11/$ for Diamond.

MQMs are earned based on distance flown, with a 500 mile minimum. For example, PDX-SLC is 630 MQM (I fly that one a lot), while PDX-SEA is 500 MQM even though it is only about 120 actual miles. Most premium cabin tickets earn a bonus on the actual miles - either 150% or 200%, depending on fare class

MQSs are earned based on individual segments flown

MQDs are earned based on the cost of your ticket minus taxes and rounded up to the next whole dollar - so a ticket that was $499.99 would generate 500 MQD, while one that was $500.01 would be 501 MQD.

Medallion status typically requires hitting (MQM threshold *OR* MQS threshold) *AND* (MQD threshold *OR* credit card waiver). Non-US residents are exempt from the MQD/Waiver requirement.

When you buy stuff with a Delta-branded AmEx, you earn SkyMiles for every dollar you spend - 1 mile per dollar for general spend and 2 miles per dollar for spend with Delta.

The Delta-branded Platinum and Reserve versions of the AmEx card offer bonus MQMs if you meet certain spend thresholds during a calendar year. For the Platinum you can get a 10,000 MQM bonus when you spend $25,000, and another when you hit $50,000. The Reserve gets you 15,000 MQM for spending $30,000, and another 15k when you hit $60,000. In theory you can stack bonuses, so if you were willing to carry one of each and spend $110,000 between them in a calendar year, you could earn 50k MQM - enough to get you to Gold - without ever stepping on an airplane. I have also read that you can do the same with the business versions of both cards - if you are willing to spend $220,000 between the four you would be just 25,000 MQM short of Diamond.

The final component is the AmEx spend waiver for US residents. If an Delta-branded AmEx cardholder spends $25,000 on their card, they are exempt from the MQD requirement for Silver/Gold/Platinum. This can be a benefit for members who carry over a large number of MQMs from year to year. Last year, Delta increased the spend waiver for Diamond to $250,000. So a US resident would need to either earn 125,000 MQM OR fly 140 segments (MQS) AND would have to either spend $15,000 MQD OR $250,000 on an AmEx.

For a non-US resident:orFor a US Resident:ororor

jdrtravel

How? It's one cert per year and the card has only been around for about 10 years, right? Even with two cards that's only 20.


Sorry to question the numbers, but again, how? The plat card is a max of 20K MQM's per year and the reserve is 30K MQMs per year, so at best you can reach Gold without stepping foot in a plane. Last year they allowed some people to hit a third benchmark, but even with that you'd only reach 75K MQMs with both cards (and extra 10 + 15), which would just get you to plat. I don't see anyway that these cards can get you even close to Diamond without stepping on a plane, not to mention the minimum spend.

Qwkynuf

If you move back and change the mailing address on your SkyMiles account, the MQD component would most likely automatically come back into play.

The common theory is that members with foreign addresses are exempted from MQD because they are not eligible for the American Express cards which can grant the spend waiver. Because of the way the system is constructed - (MQM or MQS) and (MQD or CC waiver), those with foreign addresses would be disadvantaged by not being able to get the waiver.

Qwkynuf

I think the answer to both questions is a combination of spouses and business cards. If you and a spouse both had Plat and Reserve cards, that would be a total of 4 certs per year (not that I would do that - that's $1250/year in CC fees for those "free" tickets!)

By the same token, if one held personal and business versions of Plat and Reserve and spend $220k between them you would be at 110k MQM. If your spouse also had a reserve, spent another $30k, and gifted you their bonus MQM, you would be at 125k MQM without ever stepping on a plane, and just another $30k of spend shy of the spend waiver.

So..... Husband and wife with a business, 5 Delta AmEx cards, $1,800 in annual fees, and $280,000 in annual spend would get you DM without ever stepping on a plane. Or, you could put $150k on a DPJ card and get DM instantly.

iflyalexair

I have opened the cards in my husband's name when the sign up bonuses were right. My parents each had a card and I used their certificates. My best friend is single and I use his. I've referred the card to about 15 people who forget they have the certificate and I make the point to make use of theirs, etc.

You can hold two accounts per skymiles number: the personal and the business. You can earn the two platinum bonuses at 10k MQMs each with 25k and 50k in spend then upgrade to reserve to get those two 15K bonuses at an additional 30k and 60k in spend on the personal and the business cards. You downgrade for the next calendar year and repeat. That's 100k MQMs if you can manage 220k in the calendar year in spend. Also, over the past many years, there have been small upgrade offers associated with moving from platinum to reserve, usually about 5k MQMs to upgrade. 100k/105k MQMs is pretty close to 125k.