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DL/Sky Team: 2019 Consolidated Mileage/Status/Challenge Runs help needed

Old Dec 31, 2018, 10:40 pm
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Last edit by: Pat89339
For each request, please include the following information:

Departure Airport:
Miles Needed:
Required Spend or Budget:
Available Travel Dates:
Required Metal or Codeshares okay*:


For each response. Please quote the original request. DO NOT START A SEPARATE THREAD.

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NOTE: You will have greater chances of success if you have greater flexibility on travel dates and cost. If you need a lot of MQMs on weekends only for < 5 cpm it probably won't happen.

Other creative possibilities depending how many MQMs you need:
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*"Required Metal or Codeshares" is, approximately, asking whether you need a flight operated specifically by Delta or if partner flights are ok. If you are just looking for MQMs to hit a Medallion tier the normal way, then the answer is yes. If you are doing a status challenge, the answer is also probably yes, but read the T&C of your challenge carefully to be sure (for the regular status challenge the answer is also "yes")

NOTE: some partner flights earn MQMs at reduced rates. See this chart for more info.

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DL/Sky Team: 2019 Consolidated Mileage/Status/Challenge Runs help needed

Old Mar 20, 2019, 1:49 pm
  #31  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Atlanta, GA
Programs: DL Platinum
Posts: 3
Departure Airport: ATL
Miles Needed: As many as possible
Required Spend or Budget: ~$1000-1500
Available Travel Dates: any time during the last week of May
Required Metal or Codeshares okay: Delta

Thanks for the help!
NocturnalRob is offline  
Old Mar 20, 2019, 7:31 pm
  #32  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,894
Originally Posted by NocturnalRob
Departure Airport: ATL
Miles Needed: As many as possible
Required Spend or Budget: ~$1000-1500
Available Travel Dates: any time during the last week of May
Required Metal or Codeshares okay: Delta

Thanks for the help!
You may consider a positioning flight to JFK and then taking a China Eastern flight to Singapore. Flights to SIN on MU are running about $930 for the end of May and will get you about 20,000 MQMs.

Delta from JFK to SIN on May 27 - 29 is $888 but will give you less MQD and RDM than the China Eastern option.

You may want to look at flights on AeroMexico from ATL to EZE or SCL as well.
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Last edited by canuck_traveler; Mar 22, 2019 at 6:28 am Reason: add Delta option to SIN
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Old Mar 26, 2019, 4:12 am
  #33  
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 60
Been held up with Dads Cancer for 2 years, need to earn status

*Departure Airport: IAD (Dulles Airport)
*Miles Needed: Platinum status 75,000 MQMS or100 MQS
*Required Spend or Budget:Most cost efficient &effective
*Available Travel Dates: Anytimein May 2019
*Required Meta or Codeshares okay*:
Yes

Hi, guys. Looking for help in getting back in the game. Dad has been suffering from cancer for over 2 years. So basically lost everything taking care of him....which honest to God, didnt bug me one bit. I was more then happy too. With that said I need build my status back up with your help please. Anytime and day in May. Possibly to States/countrys that I know people.

Leaving from IAD to anywhere....From Msp, San Francisco, LA, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Mumbai (Bom), London......or literally anywhere. I dont mind jumping on one flight to the other, as I should be having lounge access.

Like I Mentioned before...those are preferable places to stop...where I can get off and meet family & friends....but anywhere is fine with me to do a turn around & fly back out.


Thank you so much for your time, as this would be exciting to get...as I would love to travel with my parents...and put them on same itinerary so they can get some up grades with me....etc. Hard last few years, and want to find myself back again...thats why Im willing to do this by myself...will give me some time to Myself....as hes recovering, and once hes done, its time to travel. God gave a new life..👏🏻 Celebration time is coming soon!!! Thank you again!

Last edited by LeedH; Mar 26, 2019 at 4:19 am
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Old Mar 26, 2019, 9:06 am
  #34  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,894
Originally Posted by LeedH
*Departure Airport: IAD (Dulles Airport)
*Miles Needed: Platinum status 75,000 MQMS or100 MQS
*Required Spend or Budget:Most cost efficient &effective
*Available Travel Dates: Anytimein May 2019
*Required Meta or Codeshares okay*:
Yes

Hi, guys. Looking for help in getting back in the game. Dad has been suffering from cancer for over 2 years. So basically lost everything taking care of him....which honest to God, didn’t bug me one bit. I was more then happy too. With that said I need build my status back up with your help please. Anytime and day in May. Possibly to States/country’s that I know people.

Leaving from IAD to anywhere....From Msp, San Francisco, LA, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Mumbai (Bom), London......or literally anywhere. I don’t mind jumping on one flight to the other, as I should be having lounge access.

Like I Mentioned before...those are preferable places to stop...where I can get off and meet family & friends....but anywhere is fine with me to do a turn around & fly back out.


Thank you so much for your time, as this would be exciting to get...as I would love to travel with my parents...and put them on same itinerary so they can get some up grades with me....etc. Hard last few years, and want to find myself back again...that’s why I’m willing to do this by myself...will give me some time to Myself....as he’s recovering, and once he’s done, it’s time to travel. God gave a new life..���� Celebration time is coming soon!!! Thank you again!
A suggestion would be IAD-JNB on Virgin Atlantic. Their economy delight fares earn a 25% bonus on MQMs so you would get about 22,000 for the trip (IAD-LHR-JNB-LHR-IAD). Some weekend fares in May are around $1132.

On Delta, take a look at trips to the Hawaiian Islands. Tickets are running in the $520 range (e.g. KOA) and earn about 9500 MQMs.

If you want to go up to JFK, then you can try China Eastern or Delta to Singapore. Some fares are running in the $900 range and will earn about 20,000 MQMs

Also, some flights on AeroMexico from JFK to South America (e.g. UIO) will give you a decent return on your $.

Last edited by canuck_traveler; Mar 26, 2019 at 9:11 am
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Old Mar 26, 2019, 8:55 pm
  #35  
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 60
Originally Posted by canuck_traveler
A suggestion would be IAD-JNB on Virgin Atlantic. Their economy delight fares earn a 25% bonus on MQMs so you would get about 22,000 for the trip (IAD-LHR-JNB-LHR-IAD). Some weekend fares in May are around $1132.

On Delta, take a look at trips to the Hawaiian Islands. Tickets are running in the $520 range (e.g. KOA) and earn about 9500 MQMs.

If you want to go up to JFK, then you can try China Eastern or Delta to Singapore. Some fares are running in the $900 range and will earn about 20,000 MQMs

Also, some flights on AeroMexico from JFK to South America (e.g. UIO) will give you a decent return on your $.
Thank you so much for responding. I have a lot of questions and I apologize if it gets too much.

1) [Off topic question deleted by moderator]

2) Do I need to buy a certain class fare ticket? For example husband has the reserve card...which I may be getting to help with upgrades for me and my parents traveling on sale itinerary. Last trip had the V class on it. Did that make us get less miles? Because I bought it on the delta website, and now making me nervous as people are saying V fare isnt good?


3) How many of these should I complete. Example as you said IAD-JNB will be almost 22,000 miles. Does that mean I need to do that about 3 times? Since Im looking to get the platinum status? (Or I mean...do combination of flights to other place...to get to 75,000)

4) Do you possibly see any good runs to BOM (mumbai India) and again any time in May can be during the week not just weekends. (I started my designing there and would be nice to say hi to a few friends and come back) even from Msp

5) Ive been seeing people say to buy Premium/Business/First class to get them faster. But I know those are so ridiculously high at times. [Off topic portion deleted by moderator].

6) Depending on doing all these segments to reach that platinum status...what are is the price criteria I may be spending around? Since Im flexible the whole month of May and trying to do that status with the least amount of dollars spent...like everyone else obviously. I have approximately 13,000 miles and if I get approved for Delta reserve...I know its 5,000 MQMs and 70,000 mile offer.

I know these are a lot of question and Im sure I have a few more. But like I said...would love to get a breather after these rough two years with my dads cancer and dont mind flying around as hes recovering at home for the month of May. As well as getting this status to fly with my parents and give them a breather and to celebrate going through these rough time...and hopefully to a brand new year and many more to come!


Last edited by Pat89339; Mar 26, 2019 at 9:12 pm Reason: Off topic questions removed. OP should post those questions in the DL Forum
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Old Mar 26, 2019, 9:19 pm
  #36  
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 22,929
Do you realize that Delta also has a spend requirement for status (MQD's)? For Platinum it is 9000 MQD's. It can be waived if you spend $25000/year on a DL Amex card, but otherwise, you really need to understand the MQD earnings on flights before going off and booking a bunch of mileage runs. For Delta flights, it is basically be what you spend on the flights minus taxes and fees. For partners, you can often do better by booking premium cabins.
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Old Mar 26, 2019, 10:20 pm
  #37  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,894
Originally Posted by LeedH


Thank you so much for responding. I have a lot of questions and I apologize if it gets too much.

1) [Off topic question deleted by moderator]

2) Do I need to buy a certain class fare ticket? For example husband has the reserve card...which I may be getting to help with upgrades for me and my parents traveling on sale itinerary. Last trip had the V class on it. Did that make us get less miles? Because I bought it on the delta website, and now making me nervous as people are saying V fare isn’t good?

First, as LBJ pointed out, if you are registered with Delta in the United States, then you have to meet both mileage and dollar requirements to reach Platinum status.

Does a certain fare class matter? If you are flying Delta then the business and first class fares earn more MQMs and MQDs but for the economy fare classes, MQM is based on the mileage flown and MQD is based on the cost of the flight minus taxes and fees.

If you are flying with partner airlines then fare classes really do matter as some fare classes do not earn mileage at all. You need to check on the Delta website which gives information on the MQMs and MQDs earned with each fare class on the different partner airlines. For example, in the Virgin Atlantic example I gave for an Economy Delight fare ticket to JNB, MQMs earned are 125% of mileage flown and MQDs are 25% of mileage flown – roughly 5000 MQDs.

3) How many of these should I complete. Example as you said IAD-JNB will be almost 22,000 miles. Does that mean I need to do that about 3 times? Since I’m looking to get the platinum status? (Or I mean...do combination of flights to other place...to get to 75,000)

To reach the 75,000 MQMs for platinum, there are no set routes that you have to fly. Just earn the mileage through a combination of flights. Of course, if you find a really good price/earnings to a location, you may want to fly it a few times (e.g. the popular mileage runs to Singapore.)

4) Do you possibly see any good runs to BOM (mumbai India) and again any time in May can be during the week not just weekends. (I started my designing there and would be nice to say hi to a few friends and come back) even from Msp

For Bombay, tickets are as low as $1131 on Virgin Atlantic if you stay for a few days (i.e. not immediate turn around) earning about 16,000 MQMs. MQDs earning at this fare class are 5% so you would only get about 815 MQDs.



5) I’ve been seeing people say to buy Premium/Business/First class to get them faster. But I know those are so ridiculously high at times. [Off topic portion deleted by moderator].

6) Depending on doing all these segments to reach that platinum status...what are is the price criteria I may be spending around? Since I’m flexible the whole month of May and trying to do that status with the least amount of dollars spent...like everyone else obviously. I have approximately 13,000 miles and if I get approved for Delta reserve...I know it’s 5,000 MQMs and 70,000 mile offer.


Traditionally, the earnings ratio of 5 cents / mile is the benchmark figure for a mileage run. Sometimes deals are available that have much better earnings (e.g. $500 tickets from JFK to SIN) but it will depend on when you can travel. This benchmark has less importance now as airlines require a spend amount as well.

I know these are a lot of question and I’m sure I have a few more. But like I said...would love to get a breather after these rough two years with my dad’s cancer and don’t mind flying around as he’s recovering at home for the month of May. As well as getting this status to fly with my parents and give them a breather and to celebrate going through these rough time...and hopefully to a brand new year and many more to come!

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Old Mar 27, 2019, 12:02 am
  #38  
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 60
$9,000 travel/ $25,000 spending ...Could they be mixed or has to be either or


Thank you guys both canuck_traveler & LBJ....Sorry as you can see Im totally confused, but finally catching on.

My question is...can they be combined? As in if I do a certain amount of flights to reach the the 9,000 and then making up the rest by spending the 25,000 (whatever is remaining)

Like if I do 2-3,000 in flights for the mileage run...can I possibly split the spending amount lesser then the 25,000, example lets say around 17,000-20,000 on expenses for the year? Or do do it have to be either 9,000 or the 25,000, no mixing and making them up together?

Last edited by LeedH; Mar 27, 2019 at 12:06 am Reason: Thanking for responses 🙏🏻
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Old Mar 27, 2019, 1:51 am
  #39  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,894
Originally Posted by LeedH



Thank you guys both canuck_traveler & LBJ....Sorry as you can see I’m totally confused, but finally catching on.

My question is...can they be combined? As in if I do a certain amount of flights to reach the the 9,000 and then making up the rest by spending the 25,000 (whatever is remaining)

Like if I do 2-3,000 in flights for the mileage run...can I possibly split the spending amount lesser then the 25,000, example let’s say around 17,000-20,000 on expenses for the year? Or do do it have to be either 9,000 or the 25,000, no mixing and making them up together?



I don't think you can mix and match.

If you fly two trips to JNB on Virgin Atlantic on the Economy Delight fares, that will get you about 10,000 MQDs You would be able to do it on either the May 4, 11, 18 or 25 weekends with an immediate turn around in JNB (about 12 hours in JNB). Bookable on the Virgin Atlantic website at $1132 per trip.

IAD-SIN is $906 on May 21 (23 hours in SIN) and will get you about 20,000 MQMs. Bookable on Delta.

Last edited by canuck_traveler; Mar 27, 2019 at 2:22 am Reason: add info for booking
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Old Mar 29, 2019, 1:34 pm
  #40  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 11
Originally Posted by LeedH



Thank you guys both canuck_traveler & LBJ....Sorry as you can see Im totally confused, but finally catching on.

My question is...can they be combined? As in if I do a certain amount of flights to reach the the 9,000 and then making up the rest by spending the 25,000 (whatever is remaining)

Like if I do 2-3,000 in flights for the mileage run...can I possibly split the spending amount lesser then the 25,000, example lets say around 17,000-20,000 on expenses for the year? Or do do it have to be either 9,000 or the 25,000, no mixing and making them up together?
You cannot mix and match. If you look at your delta app or online, you will see two green bars. One has to be full. I shoot for the 25K.
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Old Mar 29, 2019, 1:41 pm
  #41  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 11
Departure Airport: MSP (I know, not the best starting point)
Miles Needed: 10,000+
Required Spend or Budget: 1000-2000
Available Travel Dates: Anytime in September, but weekends are preferrable.
Required Metal or Codeshares okay*: Codeshares okay


Just looking for options as after my current flights and CC bonus, I will be 10K short of Plat for 2020. I can re-position to someplace like LAX or ORD, and I am open to other airports. If it helps, I do have a Chinese and Indian travel.

Thanks in advance...
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Old Mar 29, 2019, 2:18 pm
  #42  
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 60
Originally Posted by canuck_traveler
I don't think you can mix and match.

If you fly two trips to JNB on Virgin Atlantic on the Economy Delight fares, that will get you about 10,000 MQDs You would be able to do it on either the May 4, 11, 18 or 25 weekends with an immediate turn around in JNB (about 12 hours in JNB). Bookable on the Virgin Atlantic website at $1132 per trip.

IAD-SIN is $906 on May 21 (23 hours in SIN) and will get you about 20,000 MQMs. Bookable on Delta.

thank you so much for for making it understandable and giving me good options! Once it gets closer...I may ask you for some updates....if that is okay?
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Old Mar 29, 2019, 2:21 pm
  #43  
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 60
Originally Posted by shishghate
You cannot mix and match. If you look at your delta app or online, you will see two green bars. One has to be full. I shoot for the 25K.
Haha omg! Defiantly...a good idea. Dont think I can do the 9,000 is really a good option. Thank you again!
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Old Mar 29, 2019, 9:35 pm
  #44  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,894
Originally Posted by LeedH



thank you so much for for making it understandable and giving me good options! Once it gets closer...I may ask you for some updates....if that is okay?
I would suggest buying the tickets when you see a good deal. If you wait to buy closer to the date, the good prices may be all gone.
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Old Apr 1, 2019, 4:57 am
  #45  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Multiple locations
Programs: AAdvantage ExPlat LT Gold, BA Silver, Aegean Star Gold
Posts: 5,034
Originally Posted by LeedH


Haha omg! Defiantly...a good idea. Dont think I can do the 9,000 is really a good option. Thank you again!
It's all about the MQDs Runs.. China Eastern JFK DEL $2346 and earn30194 MQMs, 40256 RDMs and MQDs of $8050!
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