tlm399

Hey guys I've been platinum medallion for a few years now. I fell about 6,000 mqds short for my 2020 status. So in hopes to keep it I opened an Amex Reserve business card at the beginning of December. I met the required spending limits for the card on December 20th to get the MQD bonus of 10,000 but my statement doesn't close until January 14th. So my question is will that count for my 2020 status or was i too late and it be applied towards my 2021status? Im sure there is a post about this already so i appoligize. Im new here lol Thank you!

bloc0102

Do you mean MQMs? Unless you spend 25k on the Amex, it won't help if you're short MQDs, as the bonus is MQMs.

tlm399

Sorry yes I meant MQM's

MSPeconomist

The Reserve card gives 15,000 MQMs to keep or gift at $30,000 spend. OP received a new business Reserve card, not a Plat card.

I suspect the OP's card has a welcome bonus offer of MQMs and RDMs, maybe 10,000 MQMs and 20,000 RDMs for $5,000 spend during the first three months.

There's been some previous discussion on this question here on FT, especially recently in the AmEx forum. My understanding is that we don't know whether the welcome bonus MQMs in such cases will count for 2019 or 2020, unlike the case of the regular annual ones that always count for the year in which they were earned, even if they hit the DL FF account well into the new year. In fact, there have been recent reports of AmEx not crediting the welcome bonuses very quickly due to concerns about people returning stuff. In addition, we don't know whether a business Reserve card is treated differently from the personal version.

bloc0102

I mentioned $25k for the MQD waiver, as OP originally said they were short MQDs.

Often1

All important points and easily resolved by OP calling DL to determine whether DL either credits to 2019 as a matter of routine or will do so on request.

Would be helpful if OP returns with that information after his call.

xliioper

I wouldn't count on an agent giving the correct info. From reports in recent thread below, the sign-up bonus MQM's seem to be posting 7-10 days after meeting spend (unlike annual MQM boosts, they don't seem to wait until statement close). So it's possible they could post before year end. I would not count on sign-up bonus MQM's being backdated to previous year if they post in 2020. There don't seem to be any firsthand reports of what's done in these cases (unlike the annual MQM boosts where there are many examples which verify they get backdated based on year annual spend is crossed).

Amex Reserve sign-up bonus MQMS

gooselee

The good news is that the worst case here is the MQMs post for 2020, and OP has a ~29k MQM head start on re-gaining Plat for 2021.

tlm399

Thanks Guy's. I will give Amex and Delta a call and let you know the outcome. I feel like if its earned in December then that's what it should count towards? But who knows I'm sure there is some fine print somewhere about it. I guess worst case i get a jump start on my 2021 status like goose lee said!

tlm399

Good evening. I called Amex today and they informed me that it would take 6-8 weeks before I would receive my Bonus MQM's on my Sky miles account. Not because of Amex (they already showed my bonus "pending") but because of Delta. He suggested I call Delta and ask how long it will be and if it will count to my 2020 status or my 2021 status. So i just sat down to call them but before i did i checked my SkyMiles page and my Bonus MQM's were there! I'm Platinum medallion for 2020! This status thing will drive you crazy! lol So here's a quick recap I Received my Amex business reserve card on Dec 23. I spent the $3000 as required on Dec 24th. I received my 10,000 welcome bonus MQM's and 30,000 bonus miles on 12/27. I hope this helps anyone else who was in the same situation. Thanks!

cplunk

Um, YA.

I had a flight from SEA to MCT booked on Delta and KLM that would give me enough MQDs to make sure I hit Diamond this year. But then the customer's plan changed a few days before leaving and I needed to be there 12 hours earlier (without leaving any earlier due to other commitments), and had to fly Lufthansa instead...

And am now 1100 MQDs short. Spent the last month trying to come up with some way to make up that gap, but am resigned to settle for platinum now.

MSPeconomist

Do you have an offer from DL to buy MQMs, MQSs, and MQDs?

Brandon_Live

If it's the welcome bonus (probably 10,000 MQMs and 40,000 or 75,000 RDMs, depending on timing and use of referral or not), then the bonus should post a few days after hitting the minimum spend. If you really hit the min spend amount (remember, some things don't count, including the annual fee), then I'd have expected it to have appeared by now. Either way, if you hit the min spend in 2019, the MQMs should count for 2020 status.

The Miles Boost / Status Boost thing which kicks in when you spend $30,000 on the card does require your statement to close, and will post a couple days after that. But the welcome bonuses aren't tied to statement closings at all.

I hit a delay with my Reserve personal card's welcome bonus which seemed to be tied to the fact that my original card got stuck in processing (it was approved to ship but didn't, then a customer service rep ordered me a new replacement card). In that case, I'd hit the min spend using the Instant Number, but it didn't actually show up until a couple weeks later just after my original (already invalidated) card shipped from the Amex facility. Very strange issue they had there, and while it's possible it wasn't related to the welcome bonus delay, the timing suggests to me it was.

MSPeconomist

1. AFAIK we don't know for sure whether the welcome MQMs necessarily count for 2019 if the spend requirement is met in late December. IIRC AmEx T&C say that it can take eight weeks for the MQMs to post.

2. It's absolutely incorrect that Reserve card MQMs will appear in one's account soon after the statement closing date. In particular, you must choose whether to keep or gift them.

Wimsta

I had a similar experience, I got the card for the sky club, since I didn't feel like renewing at whatever price they're charging now.

I completed my spend Dec. 7th and had the miles and MQMs deposited on the 12th.

You should see 2 deposits of 5000 MQMs and 5000 RDMS and 2 deposits of 15,000 RDMS for a total of 10,000 MQMS and 40,000 RDMS if yours is the same as mine, giving you 10,000 more than you posted above.

Platinum benefits are worth it IMO. Cheers!