One benefit of holding certain Delta American Express cards is the opportunity to spend your way to Delta MQD exempt status. Except two Delta Amexes are losing that perk — kind of.
Earning MQD Exemption Waivers with Delta Amexes
Delta’s MQD requirements for Medallion status ($3000 for Silver, $6000 for Gold, $9000 for Platinum) are waived if you spend $25,000 on one or across multiple qualifying Delta American Express cards during a calendar year.
(The $15,000 Diamond MQD requirement is waived if you spend a quarter million dollars on your Delta Amexes. There are ways to avoid that. We’ll talk about it in a few minutes.)
For example, spending $25,000 on the Platinum Delta Amex will earn you the Silver/Gold/Platinum MQD waiver.
Or spending $20,000 on the Platinum Delta Amex and $5000 on the Delta Reserve Card does it as well. (Again, just an example.)
Mix and match! Collect ’em all! Trade with your friends!
Except there’s one (actually three) big exceptions.
Not All Delta American Express Cards Equally Earn MQD Waiver Exemption Spend
Purchases on your Delta American Express Blue card, Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card and/or Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card will not count toward your MQD waiver spend if those are the only Delta Amexes you hold.
But if you have at least one of the below credit cards, then your Delta Gold Amex spend will count against your MQD waiver:
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
In other words, if you have a Delta Gold card — and it’s your only Delta Amex — but spend $25,000 on on it, your MQD waiver accrual will be $0.
But if you get a Delta Reserve or Delta Platinum card, that $25k spend on the Gold will earn your MQD waiver.
It’s kind of a racket, I know.
How to Make This Easier
Get a Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express or its business counterpart. The everyday spend bonuses are far superior, you get a Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit (starting January 30, 2020), companion certificate, and can buy access to Delta Sky Clubs. (Or get a Reserve personal or business card and enjoy complimentary Sky Club and Centurion Lounge access whenever you fly Delta.)
Your Gold card becomes superfluous at point — unless you want to gamble that Amex Offers savings will cover the $99 annual fee.
Other Ways to Earn MQD
If you hold only a personal Delta Gold Amex or the business flavor but don’t want another Delta credit card, there are two other ways to earn MQDs. (These complement each other, BTW, so mix and match.)
- Spend the required amount ($3k/$6k/$9k/$15k) on Delta Air Lines-marketed flights. Remember that only base fares and surcharges qualify as MQD. Government fees do not count.
- Travel on a partner airline and credit the flight to your Delta SkyMiles number. Why? Your MQD accrual for those flights is based on a percentage (determined by fare class) of miles flown, regardless of what you pay.
For example, I posted a trip on Virgin Atlantic from LAX to Johannesburg, South Africa. (We often post them to our mileage run section, FYI.) The airfare was about $1860 for Premium Economy.
But because the trip travels about 22,090 miles and Virgin Atlantic Premium Economy “K” fares award 30% MQD based on distance flown, SkyMiles members can expect to earn around $6627. On one trip. That costs less than a third of the MQD it earns.
If you (understandably) wondered “Why are these people always so excited about AeroMexico runs to Ecuador or day trips to Guatemala City?” now you know. 😉
So if you don’t want to earn MQD with Delta credit card spend, consider taking a couple of MQD runs. (Keep in mind the mileage run masters at Juicy Miles can cook up something ridiculously awesome for you.)
Questions?
Ask away in the Comments section!
–Chris
Other Delta Amex Topics We’ve Covered This Month
Now is a fantastic opportunity to apply for Delta Amexes because many have great welcome bonuses — and you can lock in a year at their current annual fees.
We’ve covered several related topics during the past several weeks including:
- My Thoughts on the New Delta American Express Benefits, Fees, and More!
- 10 Things to Know About Bonus MQM on the Updated Delta Amex Cards
- What You Need to Know About the Delta Amex MQD Waiver
- Delta Main Cabin 1 Boarding: How Valuable is This Delta Amex Perk?
- Sky Club Access for Delta American Express Cards: Which Cards are Now Eligible?
- Saving Money with the Delta Amex Free First Checked Bag Benefit
- “No Status” Upgrades for Delta Reserve Cardholders?
- Is Centurion Lounge Access with a Delta Reserve Card Really That Great?
- Saving 20% on Delta Purchases Made Onboard During Flights with Delta American Express Cards
- A Mileage Run Without Getting On a Plane? Yes!
- Scoring More First Class Upgrades: How Delta American Express Cards Can Help
- Trip Delay Coverage with the Delta Reserve Cards and Delta Platinum American Express Cards
Big Welcome Bonuses Expire WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30!
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card
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.
23 Comments
Opening up a bank account in Canada makes you MQD exempt if you claim Canadian residency.
@Frankie – True. But if you then do not start a majority of your trips from Canada, and Delta audits your account, they can shut you down and take all your points and cancel all your booked trips (on award points). Oh and dump you from the medallion program and end your million miler status (if you have it). Not worth the risk IMO.
Do you think the Reserve offer with 75,000 miles and 10,000 MQM’s is a good deal or would you wait for a better offer? I have a Delta Platinum Amex. Card. Thank You!
@Tom – It is a sweet offer plus you lock in 1 year at the lower fee vs the higher one next year. Thanks for using the links here on the blog if you go for the card!
It is odd that the MQD waiver is only for US residents. Is it because only a small percentage of Medallion members live outside the USA?
Sorry I mean the MQD requirement not waiver.
If I book Virgin Atlantic flights via the Amex Travel site will the MQDs credit through correctly? Any issue if it’s using Amex reward points.
@John: They should, as long as you’re paying with through Amex’s travel site and using MRs to offset the fare.
Hi I’m getting close to the $25,000 threshold, but it will be quite tight (without randomly spending on stuff I don’t need!) Do I actually have till Dec 31st 2109 to make purchases to reach the milestone or do I need dollars spent to actually appear on a Statement, which means I would only really have until Dec 19th? Thanks!
@Stephen Fletcher: As long as a purchase posts December 31 or sooner, you should be fine. –> Check out this article <-- for more details.
If I’ve earned the waiver, is it safe to close/cancel/downgrade my Delta Reserve card? Or will that revoke the waiver?
@Rory – Once earned you do NOT need to keep the card open. HOWEVER – you have earned this years waver for 2019? That will NOT count for 2020. The waver has to be re-earned each year starting on 1JAN each and every year! Clear?
Understood, thanks. Next year I expect my business travel to increase enough that I shouldn’t need the waiver and want to put my spend elsewhere.
@Rory – Got ya. Just keep a few points in mind before you act please.
1) Never downgrade unless you have had THAT card before. If not, apply for a new card (for the bonus – thanks for using our links btw) then cancel the old Amex card.
2) Never cancel before your fee bills. You have 30 days to cancel at that point. Wait for BOGO to post to your “My Delta” then you can cancel and the BOGO sticks.
3) Never cancel w/in 1 year if you got the card inside 12 months. Amex can (and has) sucked back new card bonus.
Just a technicality here. Although I wish you could earn MQD with Amex spend, you can’t. So it’s not really correct to talk about earning MQD via Amex spend. it would be really nice if you could convert Amex spending to MQD (for Diamond divide Amex spending by 16 2/3 for any spending, not only if you reach 250K, 250K/16.6666666666 = 15000, the MQD target).
I know this is a bit old – but I have a question.
I become eligible (I believe) for a card sign-up bonus in 6 months. I currently hold Gold Amex. With the COVID rollover of MQM but not MQD, I need to earn that MQD waiver. The question I have is this: If I get a Platinum or Reserve Amex in March or April, will my gold spend from Jan/Feb count towards the MQD waiver for 2021? Or does spend only count *while* I have both cards?
I double-checked with someone and, yes, the DL Gold Amex spend should count once you get the DL Platinum or DL Reserve. (And we always appreciate it when our readers consider using our affiliate links when applying for credit cards! Thank you!)
I have the Delta AMEX Platinum card and have earned the “Platinum, Gold and Silver MQD Waiver: $25K”, yet my 2022 Status says: “SkyMiles Member”. Don’t I qualify for the Platinum Medallion Status and receive perks, such as complimentary upgrades, with the waiver? Or, do I have to also hit the MQMs and MQSs threshold minimums?
@Kevin – You still need card waver PLUS MQM or MQS levels to be Silver, Gold or Platinum Medallion.
The only perk of the card spend waver is you do not need the MQD spend levels as that part of the qualification.
So if you spend 25,000 on Delta Amex and accumulate $9,000. of MQD’s via Aero Mexico flights you still need MQM’s for Platinum?
@Thomas – There is no need to accumulate $9,000 MQDs if you have the Amex card $25,000 spend waver. You do need 75,000 MQMs plus either spend waver OR $9,000 MQDs to be Platinum.
The AeroMexico partner deal in business class is so sweet because you earn many times the MQDs and a bunch of MQMs.
So I need 75,000 MQM’s in either case? Thanks! Tom
@Thomas – Correct (for Platinum).