Last-minute strategies for earning Delta Medallion elite status

With just two months left in 2024, time is running out to qualify (or requalify) for Delta elite status.

If you haven’t done so already, check your elite qualification metrics, tally up your travel for the rest of the year and see where that puts you in terms of elite status for next year. If you’re short of your goal, you still have time to close the gap. There are plenty of ways to earn Delta Medallion status, and they don’t all involve flying.

Here are some ideas for earning what you need before the end of the year.

Last-minute Delta earning strategies

Time is short, but if you think you’re not quite going to make the earning threshold of your desired elite status tier, there are still some good options to put you over the top.

Remember that as of Jan. 1, 2024, Delta consolidated all Medallion status earning activities into Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs), axing Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) and Medallion Qualification Segments (MQSs) — though it did pull back on some of those changes after widespread customer outrage.

Now, MQDs track not just your eligible travel spend on Delta and its partners but also other methods, like your spending on Delta-issued credit cards and car rentals, hotel stays and Delta vacations. You’ll need to reach the following MQD thresholds for each Medallion status tier:

Spend on a Delta cobranded credit card

Some Delta cobranded credit cards allow cardholders to earn MQDs or unlock MQD head starts, both of which can level you up to a higher Medallion tier. The following cards give you an automatic $2,500 MQDs each year (known as the MQD Headstart), plus additional MQDs when you spend on the card:

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It may be worth applying for one of these cards to push you over the top for next year’s Medallion status. If you already have one of these cards and your everyday purchases won’t get you close enough to your desired status level, you might consider temporarily paying bills and other expenses with your cobranded card to nab some extra MQDs.

Just beware that the spending and bonus MQDs must be posted to your account in 2024 to count for elite status qualification for the 2025 status year, so know your statement closing dates and be sure your spending is on a statement that will be issued before the end of the year.

Apply for a status match challenge

Historically, Delta SkyMiles has been one of the most generous programs regarding status challenges. After being temporarily unavailable during the recent program changes, the SkyMiles Medallion Status Match Challenge has returned. If you hold elite status with another airline, you can request a match. If approved, you’ll receive the equivalent Delta status for three months, along with a status challenge to extend your shiny new Medallion status.

Earn status with Choice Benefits

Delta’s Choice Benefits for Platinum and Diamond members include MQD Accelerators to help you get closer to next year’s status. In 2024, Platinum members can select this Choice Benefit to boost their MQDs by $500, while Diamond members can earn an extra $1,000 in MQDs this way. (In 2025, these numbers will increase to $1,000 for Platinum and $2,000 for Diamond.) But these MQDs typically take six to eight weeks to be deposited into your account, so if you plan to use this route to achieve next year’s status, now is the time to make your Choice Benefit selection.

Another Choice Benefit option allows you to gift Medallion status to other members. Platinum Medallions can choose to gift Silver Medallion status to two people, and Diamonds can gift Gold status to two people. So be nice to friends or family who might be able to give you a hand up into the club.

Note that Platinum status members can select one Choice Benefit, and Diamond status members can select three benefits. You can select your Choice Benefit as soon as you earn status; however, the 2024 benefits must be selected by Jan. 31, 2025.

Fly private, earn Diamond Medallion status

Delta has a partnership with Wheels Up, a private jet subscription service. Wheels Up members can receive one Diamond Medallion status for every $100,000 spent in a Wheels Up Fund during a calendar year. Wheels Up Customers who spend $125,000 in Wheels Up Charters are eligible to receive one Diamond Medallion status. Both offers of status do not include Choice Benefits.

Of course, this is not the cheapest option for earning Delta elite status. However, if you or your business use the service anyway, it might be a good option to bypass the other requirements and go straight to the top.

For more details on Delta’s partnership with Wheels Up, click here.

Book an award ticket

One of the best changes to the SkyMiles program in recent years is that Delta award tickets booked in Main Cabin or higher now earn MQDs. This was originally introduced as a temporary benefit in 2021 but later became a permanent feature of the program, and it can make earning status much cheaper.

If you have a stash of SkyMiles sitting in your account, consider redeeming your miles to close the gap to your desired status tier. The number of MQDs you’ll earn is calculated by dividing the number of miles redeemed by 100. And remember that holders of select Delta American Express cards automatically receive 15% off Delta-operated award tickets.

There is one major exception to keep in mind: Only Delta-ticketed award flights earn elite status metrics. Your award ticket must be booked with Delta SkyMiles through a direct Delta channel in order to qualify. For example, using Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles to book an award flight operated by Delta won’t earn MQDs, even if you add your SkyMiles number to the itinerary.

However, according to the terms and conditions, “SkyMiles Members can earn MQDs on Delta Award Travel tickets operated by Delta partners.” So it seems the operating airline can be Delta or any of its partners as long as the flight is ticketed through Delta.

Earn MQDs with partners

Since achieving Delta Medallion status now requires hitting spending thresholds, mileage runs are not the useful tool they once were if you’re flying on Delta metal. But on the bright side, you can still leverage partner fares to earn MQDs quickly. This is because these flights earn MQDs based on a percentage of the distance of the flight, not the price of the ticket.

If you go this route, know that earning rates vary depending on which carrier and fare class you fly. For example, an Air France flight in first class will earn MQDs based on 60% of the miles flown, while a first-class Hawaiian Airlines ticket will earn 20% of the miles flown. Remember, MQDs are not to be confused with SkyMiles.

You can also earn 1 MQD per dollar spent on Delta Vacations, the airline’s platform for booking all-in-one vacation packages. However, Delta Car Rentals and Delta Stays bookings no longer earn MQDs.

Bottom line

Even though the year is coming to a close, there’s still time to level up to the next tier of Delta Medallion elite status.

The most important thing is to know where you stand now and how short you’ll be after accounting for the rest of your planned travel for this year. Once you figure out how many extra MQDs you need, you can use these strategies to ensure you earn your desired elite tier for next year — and all the perks that come with it.

Last-minute strategies for earning Delta Medallion elite status