hey everyone, new here. Im looking to qualify for PM next year via flying + 25k waiver. probably looking to app the delta plat cc in dec. will the signup bonus MQM post the moment spend is met or would it post after statement is cut?(therefore counting as 2022 MQM) it wouldnt make sense to spend 25k in dec because that spending would count towards my 2021 waiver and not 2022 correct?

I think you'd be cutting it a bit close if you applied in December and were hoping to apply it to 2021. Spend on my cc looks to post mid-month every month...Aug 14, Sep 14, Oct 16. Statement date is same date as date that it gets posted to my DL account. Met my bonus in October and my bonus MQM posted Oct 31. Based on my single observation, it would depend on when you have your closing date. I'm not sure the lag between sign-up and closing dates for the statements. If you open your account say Nov 25, will your closing date then be Dec 25? Then end of same month for the bonus MQM / waiver to hit. From what I recall, the spend waiver does not roll over to next year, although your miles and spend will roll over one more time this year.

You're asking about two different things, MQM and MQD waiver.

For the signup bonus MQM, it's been a while since I dealt with that, but I believe they will post in the year you hit the milestone, but that is not an issue for 2021/2022 because everything rolls over, and if you plan on maintaining status in the future, it's still not an issue because of rollover MQM, so I think you're fine there.

On spend and how it counts towards earning MQD waiver and also spend towards MQM boosts if you plan on earning those, they look at individual transaction dates, so while you may want to go ahead and apply for the card now, you want to wait until January 1 to start spending for your MQD waiver. So, if there are bills you can wait until January 1 to pay, do that. There will be a counter on your AMEX page and on the Delta website for spend, the one difference if you have more than one Delta card being the AMEX site has a counter for each card (which matters for MQM boosts) and Delta.com shows all spending combined (which is what matters for the MQD waiver).

so im specifically looking to get a waiver for 2022, but i also have spending coming up in december thus im thinking about spending the 3k for signup bonus in dec, having it post possibly in jan? so it would count towards my 2022 year

i currently dont have status with delta, so MQM should not roll over? or it will roll over regardless? as for spending MQD waiver i have enough spend throughout the year to easily get there, main issue for me is since i have no current status obviously id want to spend heavily on the card earlier on and possibly book a couple of premi cabins to get to 75k earlier in the year and hope for upgrades later on

I'm not sure if the spend counts in the year it was spent or the year posted for the MQD waiver in your case. I'd call AMEX and ask to clarify just to be on the safe side. I think it counts when posted vs spent, but wouldn't hurt to call and check.

My understanding is that all MQM will rollover, regardless of status.

Don't need status...all MQM will roll over again this year. Basically giving you three years to qualify for elite...2020, 2021, and 2022. That said, I'll likely hit mileage requirement for Diamond in 2022, but be nowhere near the spend requirement for the status.

I'm not going to reinvent the wheel, here is the best answer on when spend counts towards your MQD waiver, with a link to the rules on the AMEX website:

nice. so basically i can spend the 3k for 10k signup bonus MQM tomorrow and it will roll over, then on jan 1 spend 25k and will qualify for waiver. thanks guys

Right, and once you spend $25k for the MQD waiver you'll also get a 10k MQM boost.

That is an interesting point that I wish I had thought of a few years ago when it mattered more.

If one is marginal on MQMs for PM they could intentionally not make the MQD limit for PM. Carry the extra MQMs but then in Jan drop a 25K tax bill on Amex and never lose PM status.

Will keep this play in mind, but as of now MQM;s are kind of overflowing for many of us so it does not matter.

I don't think you are thinking of that correctly. In your scenario in a normal year (i.e., without the rollover we've gotten in 2021 and 2022) on January 1 Delta would take 50k MQM and give you Gold and rollover the rest. If you spend 25k to get the MQD waiver on January 1, that applies for the status you earn in that year.

yea. pretty much i plan on switching all my flying to delta from united and based off what ive seen and read MQM is really easy to get. this is just about maximizing speed in which i can get PM for 2022 since im starting from "scratch"

They're maybe not as easy to get as American's new Loyalty Points, but the beauty of MQM with rollover is that as long as you stay at least Silver, they never go to waste.

IIRC in normal years, one must *EARN* Silver to have any rollover. Gifted, status challenged, or MM Silver doesn't count for this.