Adelphos

I was debating whether I should try to roll over a lot of miles at the Platinum level or go for Diamond, but I should be able to clear another 40K to 50K in MQM
this year. Makes a lot of sense to push for Diamond.

coke cans and winglets

I’m in a similar boat, I requalified for Platinum already and am sitting on 136,505 MQM and $11,686 MQD. I could easily make Diamond by the end of the year but not sure how long I could sustain Diamond while I could comfortably maintain Platinum and just rollover a lot for next year. Basically debating on whether I want to push for Diamond, push for higher Alaska status, or just outright become a free agent for the rest of the year but the last is least likely as my travel patterns make DL and AA most convenient for me and I credit AA flights to AS as gaining status on them is far easier.

ctsgoblue

I have 200k MQMs due to all the rollovers but <$5k MQDs. I suspect I'll end the year with 240-250k MQMs and maybe $10-12k MQDs (still haven't gotten back to quite my usual travel volume). Will probably have a bunch of rollover again

Goodoldflyer

#FirstWorldProblems

Seriously, though, a lot of folks having the same debate, comparing two (or three) years of Platinum to a year of Diamond during a year of plenty of both.

Ryno1234

I will re qualify for Diamond next week. My 2022 travel is on pace to surpass 2021 which was a record for me. 1-2 trips each week. All domestic.

DiverDave

That's a good strategy, especially given the AS tie up with AA.

Personally I think the tie up should never have been allowed seeing as AA is the world's largest airline and all that. But it is not under challenge (unlike the JetBlue and AA alliance) so it should work well for you!

Only drawback to being Delta Platinum is I think there will be a TON of platinums for the next few years. That will be due to the army of folks with three years' worth of MQM rollovers who cannot accumulate $15K in MQDs or $250K in Amex spending. Which will include me. I am likely to end the year with around 280K MQMs. Currently Diamond, but not a chance of maintaining that without the Accelerator promo. And even then I scraped by with less than $200 MQDs to spare.

David

findark

I'm in a similar boat with hundreds of thousands of MQM and an Amex waiver.

I don't see much value in Diamond especially with the new GUC rules, but Plat gives me pretty much everything I need and $1,400 or so in RUCs to boot. I'm not flying as much as I used to, though.

JBJ2435

I'm similar in that I have over 200k MQM, but only $1k MQD but already surpassed the Amex waiver for PM. My work travel has not yet resumed (first trip in August), and will likely be greatly reduced. I've been DM for years but I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how to get to the $14k MQD's needed by the end of the year. I have a couple of trips planned but used GUC's (before the new rules kicked in) so the D's are lower than a normal J trip and I only have so many vacation days. I estimate that I'll be about $7k short on MQD's with the planned travel so far.

beachmouse

And me. Currently at 128K MQMs, will finish this year above 150K MQMs and I see a pathway to holding PM through the end of 2025 and a soft landing to GM for 2026.

I’m a middle class leisure flyer so DM is never going to happen. My goal is to hang onto what status I can get for as long as possible.

Adelphos

1) I have only been moderately successful as an "earned" Platinum this year on upgrades, I think Diamond would be a big leap for the routes I fly
2) It seems like not many people are buying up to Premium Select and having success using GUC - is that a fair comment?

EDIT - just playing around, I see tons D1 availability using GUC on $1,200 to $1,500 round trip Premium Select fares. That seems like a fair deal / use of GUC to me.

findark

I almost never roll the dice on upgrades, so the marginal difference for me would be very small. Obviously for others it can make a difference.

It's quite easy to buy PS outright and confirm a GUC into D1, but most of the time the PS fare itself is quite expensive which eats most of the benefit. Finding reasonably-priced PS on a flight with Z space to clear the GUC and in a market where there isn't also a very cheap cash Z fare... that's where it gets complicated.

Also, as I get older, I'm more willing to pay to fly where and when I want rather than following the vagaries of upgrade space. At least with the new RUCs, I can fairly reliably find Z space on something I was going to book anyway.

Towerjay

Diamond for next year secured. Switching to United for the next couple months to lock in 1K with them. Not really a fan of theirs, but given the instability in travel right now I value options more than anything and having top tier on 2 majors makes that a lot easier. Once that is secured, will probably switch back to Delta for the last 5 months of the year.

iflyalexair

I think I'll easily hit the MQD waiver for DM on the AMEX. I'll have another 120k MQMs coming this year too. Lol.

MQMs: 614,616
MQSs: 34
MQDs: $9,252
Card Spend: $162+

exwannabe

I suspect that many are in the same bucket as me. Nothing at all matters other than AMEX spend, which already gets me PM and will never get me DM.

Good news is it looks like I can get back to reality next year. Make status with good old fashion flying.

TuxTom

Sitting at just over 300k MQM and $10k MQD. Thankfully my busiest time of year for travel has mostly wrapped up right as DL operations have completely blown up. Hopefully things get back to normal after the summer rush and I'll requalify for DM in the fall