findark

I don't understand why you mention the Diamond bonus at all - it has nothing to do with buying tickets with the card.

Even using a vanilla Platinum and transferring the MR to Delta (itself a poor value of MR) yields higher return for airfare.

gm1955

I can see that it might have been clearer if I'd noted 2 distinct components to the total reward: points earned from paid airfare and points saved on award travel. However, even at base (5 miles per dollar) the net is 4.4%. Between silver and diamond there is a range that tops out around 5.5% (includes only the ~17% on 7-11 miles per dollar accrued from TAKEOFF15.) And more obviously, it's only worth it to the extent you find the award travel deals to be better than cash rebates.

I agree Diamond has nothing to do with getting Skymiles related to using Reserve vs another credit card, but total miles are relevant related to how many additional trips you can get when booking awards at a discounted rate. From the extent that an equivalent Skymiles balance goes further, earning more skymiles means a larger net benefit.

I am not familiar with the "vanilla" Platinum benefits or conversion ratio, so it's very possible that based on conversion ratio it may be a better deal than the Reserve when considering only award tickets. I'd have to admit this is a small consideration for me compared to the savings from companion tickets and lounge access. It's hard to imagine I'd pay for the card if TAKEOFF15 was the only benefit.

findark

My point is that you can hold a Reserve while using a different credit card to purchase your Delta tickets. You still get the 15% discount on awards, companion certificate, etc. regardless of whether you spend a single dollar on the card. So any appreciation of these benefits is an argument to hold the card, not an argument to put spend on it. Many of us sock-drawer our Reserve cards, and even when I am putting spend on it (I plan for some ~$100k spend this year so I can hit DM), none of my Delta tickets will be part of that total.

The Amex Platinum (not Delta) earns 5x Membership Rewards points on airfare, which can be transferred as SkyMiles 1:1 for a fee (or to other mileage programs at what is generally seen as better value). It is one of a number of options to earn on airfare which is better than 3 Delta miles per dollar.

josephstern

Right - and if you have a personal Amex Plat to get 5x on the charges, and then a Business Amex Plat to get the 35% rebate on bookings (assuming you select Delta as your preferred airline) you end up with each MR point that would otherwise become 1 Delta mile as instead being worth 1.54 cents toward Delta airfare. Plus, since you're booking with money as far as Delta is concerned, you earn your RDMs too (which I think would be worth about another .15 cents per point here, bringing the total value for a Diamond pretty close to 1.7 cents - not 100% sure on the math for this last bit).

xliioper

This makes sense if you are spending many $1K's a year on travel and flights. But it's kind of hard to justify the annual fees if you are only spending a few $1K a year. (Yes, there are other benefits that come with these cards, but it's not always possible/realistic to make use of all of them).

CrazyEddie

Thanks for this post. I was just mulling over adding (well - adding back) my Amex Reserve for business to get the $2500 MQD annual boost. I had two Reserve cards for years - initially because of the 30k MQM cap per card. I kept the business Reserve for longer than needed, but I'm wondering if getting it again is worth the $2500 - even if I keep it in my sock drawer. Thoughts?

flyerfirsts

This will be the last year I bother earning Platinum, and I am considering dropped my Delta Platinum and just keeping the Delta Reserve because I don't fit in main cabin seats and the upgrade "offers" to C+ from main always cost way more than just buying C+, so the companion ticket isn't worth it. The only upshot would be if Silvers actually get C+ upgrades. So, in the new status economy have Silvers been finding it is pretty sure to get upgraded to C+ or no?

findark

IMO the companion certificate is make-or-break with the card. The AF is a lot to pay just for $2,500 MQD if you use no other benefits.

GatorBlues

Has Delta announced when and how you must elect whether to convert your rollover MQMs to skymiles or extended status?

gm1955

IIRC 4/10 of the legs I booked in Feb and March had no C+ available at the time of booking, typically 2-4 weeks in advance. On all but 1 of those flight I got upgraded as Diamond to C+ prior to check-in, but only rarely before the 120-hr window. On only 2 of those legs did I eventually get UG to FC. On an ATL-RDU 3/22 I only got upgraded to C+ at the gate, and I was 2 of ?? for 2 available C+ seats

I would infer that C+ would NOT be something to expect as an upgrade within the Silver upgade window for C+ on many flights. It obviously will depend on how many rows of C+ and day/route details.

xliioper

Conversion link has been up for several weeks now on website -- https://www.delta.com/myskymiles/convertmqms
If you don't make a selection by 12/31/24, they will autoconvert to MQDs.
Status extension only applies to status level earned during 2023. If happen to attain a higher status level during 2024 earnings year, you will not be able to use status extension option to extend it.

gm1955

Thanks for this reply; it led to additional investigation related to future planning. The only AMEX cards I have currently are both Delta-branded: a personal platinum and a business reserve. I plan on keeping a Delta-branded reserve and applying for either the personal or business non-Delta PLATINUM AMEX. It looks like the sign up offer is usually better for the Business card.

I know based on my spouse's experience that one option is to drop the DL Business Reserve and elevate the DL Personal Platinum to a Reserve card (apparently even if you have both it wasn't an option to simply convert the business card to a personal card.) I haven't had any other AMEX cards since 2016.

Does anyone have knowledge on how having a Delta Business Reserve would impact the odds of success for the Business PLATINUM AMEX? Would I be better to convert my single DL AMEX to a personal Reserve before applying?

xliioper

I have a personal Reserve an attempted to apply for for a personal Platinum. They rejected signup promo mileage bonus due to holding the personal Reserve, but was given the option to apply for the card without the bonus. Was mostly interested in Headstart Bonus, to save about 60K MQMs from rollover conversion to MQD for DM (to use for conversion to 30K RDM). But doesn't seem to make much sense to spend $350 to save 30K RDM. Will keep Reserve for time being mostly for lounge access, companion cert, and 15% awards discount.

findark

There is a little bit of uncertainly here - your application for the Platinum Card (not Delta) should not be affected by your Delta card accounts, unless you are generically in Amex popup jail.

Applications for a Delta Platinum Card may be impacted by other Delta card accounts.

Dracarys

I applied for the Delta Platinum in October of 2022 and applied for the Delta Reserve in Jan of 2023 and got both welcome bonuses without any issues. These were personal cards though and not business.