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Upgrading award travel for MQMS?

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Old Jun 16, 2021, 6:53 pm
  #1  
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Upgrading award travel for MQMS?

If I pay to upgrade my Delta SkyMiles award ticket with a Delta AmEx, do I earn MQMs?
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Old Jun 17, 2021, 1:57 am
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Originally Posted by SHPike
If I pay to upgrade my Delta SkyMiles award ticket with a Delta AmEx, do I earn MQMs?
No. You'll earn RDM/MQD for the amount to upgrade, but it doesn't change a ticket from award to paid for MQM purposes.

ETA - Award flights flown by EOY will earn MQM due to the Accelerator bonus DL is running. Anything flown after regardless of if book it now, won't earn MQM, even if you upgrade.

Last edited by flyerCO; Jun 17, 2021 at 2:38 am
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Old Jun 17, 2021, 12:02 pm
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Originally Posted by flyerCO
No. You'll earn RDM/MQD for the amount to upgrade, but it doesn't change a ticket from award to paid for MQM purposes.

ETA - Award flights flown by EOY will earn MQM due to the Accelerator bonus DL is running. Anything flown after regardless of if book it now, won't earn MQM, even if you upgrade.
It works the other way around though yea? If you buy the ticket and then upgrade?
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Old Jun 17, 2021, 12:07 pm
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Originally Posted by photojojo
It works the other way around though yea? If you buy the ticket and then upgrade?
Yes and no. You have to use the FCM (First Class Monetization) offers to earn on an upgrade with miles which is done via the web/app; you can't call in to a rep and upgrade for the "standard" rates (e.g. - 45K TPAC, etc.).
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Old Jun 18, 2021, 12:12 am
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Originally Posted by photojojo
It works the other way around though yea? If you buy the ticket and then upgrade?
.
Yes. In that case you have a paid not award ticket despite upgrading with miles.
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Old Jun 18, 2021, 9:44 am
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Originally Posted by flyerCO
No. You'll earn RDM/MQD for the amount to upgrade, but it doesn't change a ticket from award to paid for MQM purposes.

ETA - Award flights flown by EOY will earn MQM due to the Accelerator bonus DL is running. Anything flown after regardless of if book it now, won't earn MQM, even if you upgrade.
This is so misleading.

Provided your travel is this year, you'll earn bonus MQMs on tickets you pay to upgrade (Regardless of how the upgrade is paid for, with miles or $$ and regardless of the the type of the original fare). It has me paying to upgrade routes I know I'm guaranteed an upgrade, just because I want the extra MQMs.
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Old Jun 18, 2021, 11:16 am
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Originally Posted by hi55us
This is so misleading.

Provided your travel is this year, you'll earn bonus MQMs on tickets you pay to upgrade (Regardless of how the upgrade is paid for, with miles or $$ and regardless of the the type of the original fare). It has me paying to upgrade routes I know I'm guaranteed an upgrade, just because I want the extra MQMs.
Not misleading at all. An award ticket doesn't earn MQM just because you accept a FCM offer or pay a seat assignment fee.

Till EOY award tickets are getting MQM under the Accelerator program. Regardless of if you buy it this year, if it's for travel next year you don't earn MQM for award tickets. Upgrading doesn't change this.

Not sure what was misleading about that? I even made sure to mention the accelerator program. I could've just said award tickets don't earn MQM. It would be technically correct, but misleading since the accelerator program is giving MQM for award flights this year.
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Old Jun 18, 2021, 11:32 am
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I actually agree how this is rather misleading. I recently upgrades using a MUA and only realized I will not be earning MQDs for it unfortunately. Can someone help me understand why MUAs do not earn on the accelerator program but Award tickets do? I understand how FCM earn within the program.
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Old Jun 18, 2021, 11:40 am
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Originally Posted by sbr7d
I actually agree how this is rather misleading. I recently upgrades using a MUA and only realized I will not be earning MQDs for it unfortunately. Can someone help me understand why MUAs do not earn on the accelerator program but Award tickets do? I understand how FCM earn within the program.
Because that's how they wrote the rules. It's not satisfactory as an answer, I know, but it's just how it is. MUAs "look like" certificate upgrades in many ways, which probably has something to do with it. So even though to us it's the same "form of payment" it's handled differently on the back end.
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Old Jun 18, 2021, 12:18 pm
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Originally Posted by sbr7d
I actually agree how this is rather misleading. I recently upgrades using a MUA and only realized I will not be earning MQDs for it unfortunately. Can someone help me understand why MUAs do not earn on the accelerator program but Award tickets do? I understand how FCM earn within the program.
It's not if you focus on what OP question was about,. Discussion was about MQM, not RDM/MQD.

MQM have never been earned for straight award tickets. The accelerator is a temporary exception for an extraordinary time.

Do you mean earn the premium cabin bonus for using MUA? Airlines have always gone by what you actually paid in cash for earnings. Yes sometimes the system glitches, but airlines have consistently gone by what you paid, not what you upgraded to with miles. Heck, there was a time when upgrading with cash didn't even get you the bonus. If you upgrade an award with cash via FCM offer you'll earn RDM/MQD for the cash amount.
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Old Jun 18, 2021, 12:27 pm
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Originally Posted by Zorak
Because that's how they wrote the rules. It's not satisfactory as an answer, I know, but it's just how it is. MUAs "look like" certificate upgrades in many ways, which probably has something to do with it. So even though to us it's the same "form of payment" it's handled differently on the back end.
Certificate upgrades technically shouldn't change the earnings. However due to system issues it does for partners.

MUA are technically certificate upgrades. We just don't see a certificate since they're issued electronically by system nowadays. An ecertificate is created when miles are pulled. This ecertificate is then applied to reservation. This is why agents at airport can't do MUAs, they don't have knowledge to pull miles to create an ecertificate.
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