kobyjones21

I have 173k rollover mqms. So to qualify for Diamond for 2023 do I "just" need to meet the spend requirement ($250k) to regain Diamond for 2023 and get the choice benefits?

mmgm

Yes

kobyjones21

I have spent more than the 25k to get the platinum benefits but they have not loaded in the choice benefits page yet. Presumably they will on 2/1/22

audidudi

Or you can spend $15K on DL/SkyTeam flights and thus qualify with MQDs!

sydneyracquelle

Or just open up a foreign bank account in Canada, Mexico or elsewhere with $5 in it and skip the MQDs/AMEX Waiver.

KDCAflyer

Yeah, I think it's a bit more stringent than that...

andrewk829

Does anyone actually qualify for Diamond by way of the "waiver" of $250K on DL credit card spend? I mean, what would be the circumstances by which someone would charge $250K per year on their credit card? Maybe some small business operators (though that seems off that a business would use a credit card at that level of spend). Does any person with "typical circumstances", even a fairly wealthy person, put that much on a credit card each year? If a person does a lot of international business class travel and charges it all to their cc, then they would qualify on the basis of ticket spend and wouldn't need the waiver.

I guess I can see Delta establishing a spend higher than $25K for the waiver for Diamond, but $250K seems absolutely excessive and out-of-reach for the vast majority of its customer base. Why not a more reasonable number, like maybe $50K?

xliioper

DL originally announced they were going to completely eliminate the waiver for DM and then got sufficient pushback from Amex and it's customers and raised it 250K instead. It's certainly within reach of fairly high income people and businesses which you can be certain are highly valued to Amex. The $250K level likely pushes it out of reach of all but the most hardcore manufactured spenders.

SuperG1955

I know 2 unrelated people who each put over $1 M on multiple CC's, including multiple AMEX each. It's business related and OPM.

MSPeconomist

For personal spending, charging a new luxury car or a significant piece of jewelry to a credit card could help with the $250K waiver requirement.

El Boocho

For some people, estimated taxes can take a big chunk of the spend. If you factor in the value of the points, MQMs and the potential tax impact. It can really reduce the net transaction fee cost. I’m not saying there aren’t better places for such spend.

vtgambler

I'm one of those small business owners that has right around seven figures of spend to spread on various credit cards. Why would that be "off"? Many vendors require payment by credit card because they don't want to deal with any payment risk and they get their money right away. Online advertising is a great example. Even if I had the option of Net 30, why not take the points/miles/cash back?

As for putting $250K on a Delta card to get Diamond, I won't do it. I spend enough to get the Platinum waiver, and any amounts above that to get the bonus MQMs needed to get to 75K. As a domestic traveler I don't see the value in Diamond and, one Skypeso per dollar spent is a joke. I put most of my spending on Chase cards which earn me 1.5 to 3 points per dollar spent, and at a minimum, get redeemed at 1.5 cents per point. The return is therefore 2.25% to 4.5%. I think that's the best available right now. Feel free to point me in another direction if there is something better!

devans999

I qualified for the 250k waiver (around 260k total between 2 delta amex). 90% business spend. There are better cards for general business spend, but the bulk of my spend is on dell, and amex offers some pretty good promos to bump my card return, either additional miles per dollar, or 10% back on up to 15k of purchase. So that makes it competitive with some of the other cards, but wouldn't apply to most people.

El Boocho

I agree with everything you've said. I'd just add that if you use a business card it's 1.5 miles on purchases >$5k

kobyjones21

it’s quite easy for some small businesses. I charge 150k+ a month.