Closing in on Delta Status? Last-Minute Tips to Level Up Your Medallion Status

The year is drawing to a close, and that means one thing: Delta flyers across the country are scrambling to lock in (or level up) their Delta Medallion Status for next year.

Look, I get it. I've done some questionable things in the past just to lock in another year of status. But after an enormous (and unpopular) overhaul last year, earning Delta status is more expensive than ever. Unless you're an ultra-frequent traveler flying on your employer's dime, most travelers are much better off as free agents.

But I know some of you out there are dangerously close to reaching that next tier. And lucky for you, there are a handful of ways to close the gap before Dec. 31. 

Our take: After 7 Years with Platinum Status, I'm Done Chasing Delta Medallion

The Basics of Earning Delta Medallion Status Now

Everything changed in 2024.

Delta doesn't care about how far you fly anymore – Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) are gone for good. Nowadays, all Delta cares about is how much you spend with them: It's all about the almighty (Medallion Qualifying) Dollar, or MQD. And you need to earn more of them than ever. 

After blowback last fall, Delta eventually rolled back some of the worst of these spending increases. Still, it'll cost you … a lot: Even the lowest-level Silver Medallion Status now requires spending $5,000 a year with the airline … while top Delta Diamond Status clocks in at a whopping $28,000 MQDs.

And because of how Delta counts these MQDs, these spending requirements are actually a bit higher than you might think.

The mandatory taxes and fees you pay on each and every plane ticket do not count toward MQDs. On a standard domestic flight, you can safely subtract about $50 – for example, this $207 roundtrip fare from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Denver (DEN) would only net you $165 MQDs. Even higher taxes and fees on many international trips will chip away more still at how many MQDs you'll earn. 

From instant boosts from credit cards to upgrades, there are few other ways to pad your count of MQDs beyond booking and taking more flights. We'll get to those shortly. 

Not sure how close – or how far – you are to hitting that next tier of Medallion Status? Delta's new(ish) Medallion tracker makes it easy to check. Just log into your SkyMiles account at Delta.com and click your name in the upper right corner to see where you stand. It even factors in flights you already have on the books (but haven't yet taken) through the end of the year

For example, my wife has already re-qualified for another year of Silver Medallion Status in 2025 with more than $5,700 MQDs in the bag. But even with another $1,410 MQDs pending, she's still more than $2,800 MQDs shy of climbing to Gold Medallion next year. 

Whatever tier you're shooting for, remember: You only have until Dec. 31 to earn all the MQDs you need before everything resets. And it's not enough to book a bunch of flights before that deadline – you need to actually put your butt in that seat before the year is over.

Tips & Tactics to Level Up

Desperate to add to your balance of MQDs before the year is over? You're in the right place. 

From first to worst, here are our favorite ways to inch closer to Medallion Status before 2024 draws to a close. 

Upgrade Your Seat

There's a fun and easy way to close the gap in your pursuit of Delta status. In the wise words of Tom Haverford: Treat yo' self … to an upgrade. 

Unless you bought the cheapest Delta basic economy ticket, the airline allows virtually anyone to pay (or redeem SkyMiles) to upgrade to Delta Comfort Plus or first class. Spoiler alert: The price you pay to bump up will inch you toward Delta status. Just like the flights themselves, a small amount of taxes and fees don't count.

That means this $74 upgrade to first class on an upcoming flight would get me $69 MQDs. 

And again, just as with the flights, you won't earn those MQDs right when you hit purchase on your upgrade. You'll have to actually take the flight in order to get those MQDs, which means paying for an upgrade now for a flight next year won't do you any good. 

Buy Some Gear from Delta's Window Seat Shop

Retail therapy and MQDs? Yep. 

For a second year in a row, Delta will open up its so-called “Window Seat Shop” with travel gear for sale later this month. Delta cardholders get early access bright-and-early on Nov. 22, while it opens to all SkyMiles member Nov. 23. The airline is even opening a physical location will open near Delta's Seattle (SEA) Sky Club on Nov. 23.  

What's for sale? Delta says: “From Thailand to South Africa, this year’s Window Seat Shop is packed full of one-of-a-kind items from around the globe.” Last year, Delta sold limited edition skateboard decks, Japanese lamps, hand-crafted pottery, and even courtside tickets to a New York Knicks game.

But here's the real kicker: Every $1 you spend shopping gets you $1 MQD toward your status. Taxes, shipping, and handling don't count, but still.

You need to have a Delta SkyMiles American Express Card in order to be eligible. But let's be honest: You're chasing Delta status. That's a given.

Add (Or Upgrade To) a Better Delta Card

Like it or not, having a Delta co-branded Amex card is … well, pretty much essential for earning Delta status these days. If you don't have one already, adding the right Delta card to your wallet could give you a huge boost. 

Delta quietly added a perk to some of its top cards last year that has still flown under the radar: MQD Headstart. Translation? Just for having one of these cards in your wallet, you'll get an automatic $2,500 MQD boost:

• *delta skymiles platinum card*
• *skymiles business platinum*
• *delta reserve card*
• *delta reserve business*

So if you're done flying for the year but still $2,000 MQDs or so away from Delta Gold or Platinum status, this is by far the easiest way of getting over the hump. 

Let's say you're one of millions of travelers with the *delta skymiles gold card*, which doesn't include such that perk. Even with the end of the year closing in, adding (or upgrading) to one of these eligible cards beforehand would get you that $2,500 MQD boost – a Delta spokesman previously confirmed that you'd get your MQD Headstart deposited into your account within eight weeks of upgrading, if not significantly sooner.

One note: There's no way to double-dip on MQD Headstarts by upgrading. For example, you wouldn't get a total of $5,000 bonus MQDs by upgrading from a Platinum to Delta Reserve card midway through the year. You'll need to open the Delta Reserve Card outright and keep your existing Platinum Card open.

But if you're really far off from your prized Delta status, there's nothing stopping you from adding two cards to your wallet. These MQD Headstart boosts stack: Get all four and you'd get 10,000 MQDs status, instantly hitting Gold status. 

Is it worth paying an extra $700, $1,000, or $2,000 in annual fees just to hit that next tier of Delta status. Maybe … but probably not. Nonetheless, it's an option before the year closes out. 

Read more: How to Get Instant Delta Status from 2 Amex Cards

Spend on Your Delta Card

Personally, my Delta co-branded credit card lives in the drawer – I use other, more rewarding credit cards day to day. But if you're really, really close to the Medallion status you crave, whipping out your Delta card more often could be a savvy move. 

In the new world of earning Delta status, there's a way to earn additional MQMs for everyday spending on select Delta credit cards

In its place, Delta has created a far-less rewarding system to earn additional MQDs for everyday spending on select Delta credit cards – and sorry, *delta skymiles gold card* cardholders, yours doesn't cut it.

Exactly how many MQDs you'll earn depends on which one you've got:

• You'd only earn 1 MQD for every $10 you spend on a *delta reserve card*.
• It's worse on the *delta skymiles platinum card*: just 1 MQD for every $20 spent.

Let's say you're bound to wind up $100 or so MQDs shy of the Delta status you want for next year. Put a $1,000 on a Delta Reserve Card, and you're set. With the Delta Platinum Card, you'd need to charge $2,000 to earn that same $100 MQDs.

Is this the most efficient way to earn a bunch of the Delta MQDs you need? Not even close. But if you have a big purchase coming up, can't get another credit card, or don't have any outstanding Delta flights before the year is done, it might be the easiest. 

Rollover Your Extra Miles from Last Year

Remember how I said Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) are gone for good: That wasn't quite accurate: Delta flyers who racked up some serious mileage last year have one last chance to put them to use to earn status for next year. 

For years, Delta flyers rolled over their excess MQMs – whatever they'd earned above their current tier – to get a head start on the next year's status. Through the end of the year, Delta is giving flyers with status and extra MQMs a few options to turn them into something else entirely.

Delta has been emailing Medallion members with rollover miles repeatedly as the year draws to a close. So if, for example, you've got 75,000 rollover miles, you could turn them into:

• Redeemable SkyMiles on a 2:1 basis, so those 75,000 rollover miles could be 37,500 SkyMiles
• Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs) on a 10:1 basis, giving you'd get a maximum of $7,500 MQDs for a final boost toward earning status
• Or even turn a large stash into an automatic year (or longer) extension of Medallion Status – though you need at least 100,000 rollover MQMs for a year extension, so that's not an option in our example

If earning another year of Medallion Status is your top priority, option 2 is clearly the best pick here. Delta will also allow you to mix and match between these options.

You have until Dec. 31 to make your selection and that pick is final – it can't be reversed. Otherwise, Delta will automatically turn your excess MQMs into MQDs.

If you have Rollover MQMs and haven't moved forward yet, just log into your SkyMiles account at Delta.com and head to the “My SkyMiles” tab. You should see a box alerting you that the one-time rollover MQM conversion is available now – click “Convert Now” to get started. 

Read more: How to Roll Over Your Delta Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) From Last Year

Book a Last-Minute Getaway Through Delta Vacations

Mulling one last trip before the year is over? You're not alone. Why not kill two birds with one stone: Book a package deal through Delta Vacations for a getaway and earn your Delta status, too.

It's a serious silver lining of Delta's otherwise unpopular status overhaul: Almost every dollar you spend on Delta Vacations packages now earns you MQDs – and not just the cost of flights, but on hotel stays, rental cars, and other expenses, too. That means you an earn a boatload of MQDs on a trip before the end of the year.

That Delta Vacations package must include a flight – simply booking a hotel or rental car alone won't cut it. And you have to take and finish the trip before Dec. 31. 

For example, this $2,500 long weekend trip for two from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Palm Springs (PSP) next month – including Delta flights, of course – would earn a whopping $1,950 MQDs. Just last year, that exact same trip would have earned a fraction of that amount.

Read more: Are Delta Vacations the New Mileage Run?

Book a Delta Flight

I saved the worst for last. If you've exhausted all the other options on this list, your last recourse is just to get on the plane. 

Don't call it a mileage run, as it doesn't matter how far you fly anymore when earning Delta status: You just need to spend money on Delta flights. If you're $250 MQDs short of that next tier of Delta status, you'll need to book a $250 Delta flight – actually, more like $300 since the taxes and fees built into your airfare don't count. 

Two critical elements to keep in mind:

• You need to actually take that flight by Dec. 31 – booking before the deadline isn't good enough.
• Whatever you do, don't book a basic economy ticket – those no longer earn credits toward Medallion status

On the bright side, you could earn some MQDs without spending a dime by redeeming SkyMiles instead, as even award travel with Delta still counts toward status. But you may need to fork over a lot of them: You earn $1 MQD for every 100 SkyMiles you redeem, so a 25,000-SkyMile redemption would earn you $250 MQDs. 

Flying a Delta partner airline like Air France, KLM, Virgin, or Korean Air before the year is out? You can also credit those flights toward your Medallion status, though it follows a completely separate (and convoluted) set of rules than a simple Delta-operated flights.

Bottom Line

If you're starting from scratch, forget about earning Delta status for next year. It's too late – and, more importantly, too expensive. And it's just not worth it.

But if you're close to that next tier of Medallion Status, use some of these tactics to pad your stash of all-important MQDs before the year draws to a close.