Newbie Looking at first MR before EOY, help appreciated!
 

Hi,

I'm 9k miles short of gold medallion on delta for the year, and I would love to keep my status for 2015. I'm looking at doing either a domestic or international run to make up the difference, and I'm based in Seattle. This is my first run and post on FlyerTalk.

The international run I'm looking at is:
sea-nrt-sin-nrt-sea over 12/29-12/31. The ticket price is $1,192.70. These are x fare tickets.
My questions are:

Is this a good deal on the mile?
Will I have any issues with customs or lack of visa/travel plans?
I know no visa is required for US Citizens into Singapore, but I thought it was worth double checking with folks that have done it!

A domestic run would also be fine by me if anyone has any leads. I get double MQM out of Seattle until the end of the year, so a shorter trip could certainly get me the miles I need. I need to travel either 11/26-11/27, 12/12-12/14, or 12/29-12/31. A domestic trip is also attractive for upgrade potential and on-board wifi.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can offer!

Best,
Davey

Oh! Total miles for the Sea-nrt-sin-nrt-sea trip are:
Miles earned* = 32284
Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) earned = 16142

Off the top of my head, this plan seems like it might be overkill in terms of time, money and miles. But I don't know the DL program well enough to be sure. You might check the Mileage Run Deals forum to see if anything better is out there re DL, and the Mileage Run Discussion forum to see if folks in similar positions to you have posed questions and gotten answers with advice.

Thanks for your reply! I was thinking the same. The time issue is a big one and I'm definitely paying more than I'd like. That said, with the double medallion miles out of Seattle for this year, this is a way to collect a bunch for rollover. Of course I don't know how the new program will effect my standing for next year...

I did buy the ticket, but I'm looking for some easier domestic jaunts before my 24 hours to cancel is up.

You're welcome, and welcome to FT!

Well, if you get some rollover miles out of it, I'd imagine that has a value in and of itself...but again, I'm not really familiar with the DL program.

To answer another question, you don't need a visa for Singapore. Though I've been there a number of times, I can't recall if these is even an arrival form to fill out.

Regardless, I suppose it's possible you'd need to be able to say the name and address of the hotel you'd be staying at. If your trip is so short that there would be a same-day turnaround, I don't think there would be a problem if you didn't have a hotel to name. But you might pose this question re what to say in Singapore in the Asia forum under the Destinations heading above.

An alternative would be two trips to the east coast, for example
12/12 SEA-SLC-EWR-SLC-SEA $340 5294 miles
12/13 SEA-JFK-SEA $341 4820 miles

Thank you both! All very helpful info.

Looks like I just need to decide to cancel it for two west coast to east coast trips, spend less, and get fewer miles (but still enough for gold), or do the long haul and take advantage of the double MQM from Seattle before the year is out. I do love the Singapore airport, but not the flight there!

True, but if I'm doing my math right I could possibly get 32k MQMs for the flight, which would land me in spitting distance of platinum. That would absolutely be worth it. If I'm doing my math right with all the promotions involved, including double everything on the legs into and out of Seattle.

I think you might be missing the point of a MR... Gold or even Plat status is def not worth spending $1200-1500 for.

the redeemable miles you're getting for a trip to nowhere and back at 4c/mile aint worth it for a horrible program like DL (with abysmal redemption values,) or even the best programs out there. cause there are much cheaper ways to earn miles, incld buying the miles outright from the airline for cheaper.

then again perhaps if you explain why its worth it to you, maybe you can justify it (to yourself) to do a MR like this.

I'm pretty sure I get it, but if you have any useful tips or want to share why you do a MR, I'll take those given this is the info desk.

FYI, Delta has sold MQMs in the past to the tune of 10+ CPM. This trip, if I do it, would be 4.6 CPMQM or 3.2 CPM. Not the only compelling reason, but not bad!

The big difference with the DL program is rollover. This necessitates different strategies. It's not just a matter to finding the cheapest way to attain status but rather the best in terms of cost and total status miles, including those that will be rolled over.

You have a great opportunity (assuming that you were eligible for the promo and registered) to earn lost of extra miles from SEA. This is unavailable to DL people in other locations. I would take advantage of it while it is available to build a foundation for the next year.

At SIN, the aircraft is on the ground for about five hours, depending a bit on the time of the year. The OP could take a hotel downtown for a few hours and use taxis in both directions, but this would be a waste as there's little to see at that hour. OP could also pass a few hours at a late night bar or nightclub. There's a Crowne Plaza land side at SIN, but it tends to be expensive, again for just a few hours. A cheaper option is to take an airside transit hotel for a few hours (IIRC the minimum is six hours for about $70). OP could also just have fun in the terminals, nap in the free movie theater, or pay to use a contract lounge.

With no checked bags, one isn't normally required to go land side through customs and immigration as departing and arriving passengers are mixed at SIN. Boarding passes can be obtained from the right contract transfer desk and security is done at the gate for DL flights. However, once one does go landside at SIN, you cannot return to airside until the DL check in counters open at about 3:45 am, including to go to the transit hotels.

When the DL flight arrives, in principle you could rush to catch a taxi to one of the late night food courts (hawker centers) such as Newton Circus or perhaps one close to the water near the airport. There's one at the airport (land side) that's mostly used by airport workers, but I think it closes relatively early.

With rollover, OP is getting status this year (for next year's program) and a good start on status for the following year. As a GM, redeemable miles are earned at 200% (assuming that there isn't a SEA promo for RDMs as well as MQMs), which even at one cent per mile (essentially guaranteed by pay with miles) are worth about $350, or $750 at two cents per mile which isn't unreasonable on DL if one is flexible.

Last year the prices for MQMs were very high. Even the previous year, the price was about $995 for 10,000 MQMs with no RDMs included.

**********************************

Before doing a MR, the OP needs to check that MQD requirements have been or will be satisfied.