Do I Continue to Earn Skymiles Form the Balance on My Amex Delta Card

Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc. has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Eye of the Flyer and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Welcome to a regular feature on Eye of the Flyer! This blog series covers "rookie" topics about either a Delta or other travel-related theme (sometimes both!) and attempts to break down each topic to a basic level. You can read up on all the previous posts HERE . Now on to this featured subject!

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Several readers emailed questions about the Delta MQD waiver feature of several co-branded SkyMiles American Express cards.

I figured other people might have the same concerns. So, here are the questions and my answers.

Quick Primer: Delta's Amex MQD Waiver

Before we jump into the questions, let's quickly explain the Delta Amex MQD waiver.

If you want to be a Delta Medallion (elite status) member, you must earn a prescribed number of Medallion Qualification Miles (MQM) or Medallion Qualification Segments (MQS).

But that's only half the battle.

You must also earn a required amount of Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQD). That's how much you spend on Delta-marketed flights in Main Cabin or higher (so, Basic Economy flights do not count). MQD consist of your base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges. They do not include government taxes or fees.

The MQD requirements are:

• $3000 for Silver
• $6000 for Gold
• $9000 for Platinum
• $15,000 for Diamond

However, the Silver, Gold, and Platinum MQD requirements are waived if you spend $25,000 on one or across multiple qualifying Delta American Express cards during a calendar year. That number jumpsten times to $250,000 if you want to reach Diamond.

Plenty of people earn MQD by spending money on airline tickets. (Imagine that!) But others prefer the Delta Amex MQD method.

Which Delta Amex Cards are Eligible?

You must hold at least one of these co-branded cards to earn the MQD waiver on your Delta Amex spending:

• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card

Purchases made on your Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, orDelta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card will not count toward your MQD waiver spend if those are the only Delta Amexes you hold. But if you have one of the four "premium" cards (a Delta Platinum or Reserve card), your Gold or Blue spending counts toward the MQD waiver.

Question: "Does all my spending need to be on one Delta American Express card so I can earn the MQD waiver?"

Nope!

It certainlycan be. But you're allowed to spread your required $25,000 (or $250,000 for Diamond) across multiple cards. I reached the $25,000 waiver several times over the years by "scattering" my spending on several cards. For example, one year it was something like $2,000 on a Delta Gold Business Amex, $1,000 on a Delta Platinum Amex, and $22,000 on a Delta Reserve Business Amex.

Why would you want to spread your spending?

As I always say, everyone's personal needs, goals, and budgets are unique. So, it's not a one-size-fits-all answer. But consider these factors:

First, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card earns 2X SkyMiles at restaurants worldwide (including takeout and delivery in the US) and US supermarkets. That's better than the 1X those purchases earn on a Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. But you may hold both cards because of their respective Companion Certificates or because being a Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card member is an upgrade tie-breaker.

Or perhaps you haven't received a specific Delta Amex card's welcome bonus and want to take advantage of a great promotion.

For example, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card offers new members 100,00 bonus SkyMiles after spending $5,000 in purchases within three months of approval. (Offer expires June 8, 2022, terms apply.)

The Reserve, Platinum, and Gold have increased promotional offers expiring on June 8.

Finally, some cards receive targeted Amex Offers and others don't.

Question: "I heard spending $340,000 on my Delta Reserve card gives me Diamond Medallion status. Is that true?"

Do you have at least 125,000 MQM or 140 MQS? Then yes!

If you don't? No. You must still accumulate those 125,000 MQM or 140 MQS.

That said, those four "premium" cards (the Delta Platinums and Reserves) also allow cardholders to achieve "Status Boosts." Those are bonus MQM deposits once you reach certain spending thresholds:

• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
  • 15,000 bonus MQM each time you spend $30,000 on eligible purchases during a calendar year. A maximum of 60,000 bonus MQM may be earned ($120,000 in spending.)
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
  • 15,000 bonus MQM each time you spend $30,000 on eligible purchases during a calendar year. A maximum of 60,000 bonus MQM may be earned ($120,000 in spending.)
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
  • 10,000 bonus MQM each time you spend $25,000 on eligible purchases during a calendar year. A maximum of 20,000 bonus MQM may be earned ($50,000 in spending.)
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
  • 10,000 bonus MQM each time you spend $25,000 on eligible purchases during a calendar year. A maximum of 20,000 bonus MQM may be earned ($50,000 in spending.)

You can max out the Status Boosts on all of them each year.

Let's say you do that on the Delta Reserve consumer card, a Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, and one of the Delta Platinum cards. You'll spend $290,000 in the process and earn 140,000 MQM. That's Diamond Medallion status right there because you earn the prescribed MQM and surpass the $250,000 MQD waiver for Diamond.

(I'm guessing the reader's $340,000 figure came from maxing out all four Delta Amex Status Boosts.)

Be aware that once you reach a card's Status Bonus maximum (i.e., $120,000 in spending on a Delta Reserve), you won't receive any more MQM from that card during the calendar year. Sure, you can keep spending on the card. But all you earn are SkyMiles. You're better off switching to another Delta Amex card or something different.

Question: "Should I put all my spending on my Delta Amex and earn the $25,000 MQD waiver ASAP?"

Here is another question whose answer depends on the person.

First, keep in mind that reaching the $25,000 MQD waiver is an upgrade tiebreaker. It's number five on the list, but I've personally seen it affect upgrade ranking. I reached the $25,000 in Delta Amex spending last year. My wife did not. There were times we'd travel on different reservations (my daughter always is on my wife's), and I'd be three or four slots higher than her on the upgrade list. Same fare class, tickets booked within a couple of minutes of each other, and both my wife and I hold our own Delta Reserve cards. So, we deduced that my earning the $25,000 Delta Amex waiver spending kicked me higher up the list.

So, that's one plus of knocking out the spending requirement sooner than later.

If you're in a hurry to reach (or requalify for) Medallion status and choose to go the MQD waiver route, then yes. Spend away on your Delta Amexes.

What I don't like about this, though, is that you potentially shoot yourself in the foot by missing out on great welcome promotions for other cards because you're too focused on your Delta status. For example, I blogged about my new U.S. Bank Triple Cash Rewards Card. I need to meet the minimum spending requirement, so all my business purchases go on that card. I'm fine with that andreasonably confident I can hit the $25,000 MQD waiver spending later.

But whatever works for you is just fine and dandy. I know people who hit their MQD waiver and Status Boosts by paying tuition and taxes — and they're done a couple of weeks into the year. I know others who put every cent on their Delta Amex card during the year and barely cross the threshold in late December.

Also, keep in mind it might be more efficient to contact point.me and have them create a partner mileage run for you — and you'll earn MQD for a fraction of their price. That may get you to status much faster than spending money on your Delta Amex cards.

Final Approach

People emailed us questions about the Delta Amex MQD waiver. Because some of the feature's terms, conditions, and practices may seem complex and complicated, I wanted to share those questions and answers with you. (I hope it didn't make things worse! 😉 ). If you have any questions or wish to add some data points, please do so in the below Comments section!

To see rates and fees for theDelta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link. Terms apply.

To see rates and fees for theDelta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this link. Terms apply.

To see rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link. Terms apply.

To see rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, please visit this link. Terms apply.

To see rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, please visit this link. Terms apply.

To see rates and fees for theDelta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, please visit this link. Terms apply.

Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc. has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Eye of the Flyer and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

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Source: https://eyeoftheflyer.com/2022/05/11/delta-amex-mqd-waiver-questions/