20 Best Ways to Earn Lots of Delta SkyMiles [2022]

- UPDATED: October 5, 2022 |

Travel /
Airlines

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In addition to being one of the largest airlines in the United States, Delta Air Lines operates its largest hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) — the busiest airport in the world.

SkyMiles, the Delta Air Lines loyalty program, is a dollar-based program. Unlike mileage-based redemption programs where miles are earned based on distance or segments traveled, under this program bonus miles are earned based on the dollar amount spent.

In this post, you’ll learn which credit cards earn Delta SkyMiles, as well as specific strategies you can implement to maximize the number of miles you earn for each purchase (whether or not you use a Delta SkyMiles credit card).

Enroll in Delta SkyMiles

You don’t need an affiliated credit card to begin earning miles; just sign up online for a Delta SkyMiles account. There are actually two types of miles in the Delta SkyMiles loyalty program: miles and Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs).

Miles are earned by making purchases and can be redeemed for awards. As a member, you’ll begin earning 5 bonus miles for every $1 you spend on flights (you will earn more if you use a Delta SkyMiles credit card).

MQMs are based on distance traveled, and they help you achieve elite status (Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond) and extra benefits.

When you sign up for a membership, you will be assigned a unique Delta SkyMiles account number that you’ll use to earn miles in a variety of ways.

Delta Skymiles earning — Image Credit: Delta.com

1. Delta Air Lines Credit Cards

American Express offers various personal and business Delta credit cards. Most of the cards offer a welcome bonus once you meet a spending requirement. Because there are several options, you should choose the card that works best for your situation.

It’s important to evaluate your spending habits before making a decision.

Hot Tip: This article is focused on earning bonus frequent flyer miles, but some of these credit cards also offer benefits like complimentary or discounted access to Delta Sky Club.

2. Earn 2x Bonus Miles on Delta Purchases

When you make a purchase with select Delta SkyMiles credit cards, you’ll receive bonus miles on Delta purchases. The best part is your purchases don’t have to be for flights in order to qualify!

For instance, pay for baggage fees with your Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card and you will still earn 2 miles per $1.

3. Everyday Purchases for 1x Bonus Miles

Every purchase you make outside of Delta will earn you 1x miles. That means it pays to use your card for as many purchases as possible!

Look for opportunities to use your Delta card in categories that don’t typically earn more than 1x miles. For example, use your card for medical expenses, gym memberships, random online purchases, and drugstores.

Built-In Miles Boosts kick in starting at $25,000 (Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card) and $30,000 (Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card).

You’ll earn 10,000-15,000 bonus miles and MQMs depending on the card — a great spending motivator!

4. Earn Medallion Status

The 4 elite status tiers in Delta SkyMiles (Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond) earn miles at a rate of 7x, 8x, 9x, and 11x per $1 respectively.

Once you reach 25,000 MQMs (or 30 Medallion Qualification Segments), plus $3,000 Medallion Qualifying Dollars, you’ll achieve Silver Medallion Status.

From that point on, you will earn an additional 2x miles for Delta purchases… on top of the 5x miles you earn as a SkyMiles member and 2x miles for using your SkyMiles credit card. That’s a total of 9x miles for purchases you make through Delta!

Interested in how you can fast track your way to elite status with Delta? The chart below shows how many MQM’s you will earn based on your fare class purchased!

Delta fare class mileage earnings — Image Credit: Delta.com

Flexible Points Credit Cards (Recommended)

5. American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards

Delta Air Lines is an American Express Membership Rewards partner. This means that you can also rack up Delta miles by making purchases with American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards.

You won’t lose any value by transferring your points because it’s done at a 1:1 ratio. Go ahead and purchase flights for 3x miles (instead of 2x) with a card such as the American Express® Gold Card and transfer them over later.

In fact, you can earn points at U.S. gas stations, restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and other places between the Amex Gold Card, The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card, and The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card.

Then, transfer these points to your Delta SkyMiles account to accrue more miles than you thought possible.

Recommended American Express Cards (Personal)

If you’re a business owner, see our list of the best Amex business credit cards.

6. Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards

You can earn Marriott points and transfer those to Delta at a transfer rate of 3:1. Plus, for every 60,000 Marriott points that you transfer, you’ll receive an extra 5,000 Delta miles bonus.

Recommended Marriott Cards

Delta Shopping & Dining

An easy way to earn miles is through airline shopping and dining programs. Check out how below:

7. SkyMiles Shopping Portal

delta-eshopping-portal — There are plenty of partners you can shop with online to earn extra Delta miles! Image Credit: SkyMiles Shopping

Earn Delta miles while you shop hundreds of online stores with SkyMall Shopping. You get access to millions of products in one spot! Look for seasonal sales as well as coupon code discounts and free shipping deals.

The SkyMall Shopping site is easy to navigate. Follow these steps to get started:

Visit SkyMilesShopping.com
Enter your SkyMiles membership number
Click on an offer, product, or store
Shop and earn Delta miles for your purchases

Hot Tip: You don’t need to pay with your Delta SkyMiles credit card to make purchases through SkyMiles Shopping. If you do, however, you’ll earn 1 mile per $1 on top of your bonus miles for shopping at the store!

8. Delta SkyMiles Dining Program

Earn miles for eating at restaurants when you sign up for the Delta SkyMiles Dining Program. It really is one of the most passive ways to accumulate miles for an activity you’re probably already doing!

Hot Tip: Link your card to SkyMiles Dining and you will earn 3-5 miles per $1 whenever you dine at a participating restaurant. You don’t need to utilize your Delta credit card, but if you do you’ll earn an additional 1x miles on that meal.

Special Ways to Earn Miles

9. Shopping at Retailers

Some simple ways to earn frequent flyer program miles with Delta include purchasing cookies, flowers, and other gifts:

Company	Product/Service	Miles
Biscoff Store	Biscoff cookies and gifts	1 mile/$1
FTD	Flowers and gifts	20 miles/$1
Vinesse Wine Clubs	Membership enrollment	1,500 miles

10. Paying Utility Bills

Check out this table of all the ways you can earn miles through your electric and gas services:

Company	Product/Service	Miles
Energy Plus	Monthly electric and gas service (where available)	5,000 miles after 2nd month 2 miles/$1 on supply portion of bill
Georgia Natural Gas	Monthly gas service	Sign up and earn 2,500 miles 2 miles/$1
Ohio Natural Gas	After 30 days of continuous service	3 miles/$1

Unfortunately, there are times when the miles offered aren’t as valuable as you would think once you consider all the terms. It’s always advisable to research an offer before signing up.

Figure out which deals make the most sense for your financial situation before you take an offer just to earn bonus points.

11. Refer a Friend to a Credit Card

Refer a friend who gets approved for a Delta credit card and receive 5,000 miles. Do keep in mind that there is an annual cap of 55,000 miles through the program.

For more information, check out our guide to the American Express refer a friend program.

12. Earn Delta SkyMiles from Instacart

Delta members who link their Instcart accounts can earn miles for every dollar they spend. Those with Instacart Express membership will earn 1.5 miles per $1 spent, while those without will earn 1 mile per $1 spent on purchases.

Earning Miles for Traveling

13. Book Delta Flights

Use any of the Delta SkyMiles credit cards and earn 2 miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases. Plus, SkyMiles members earn MQM miles and miles toward future award travel when flying to nearly 330 destinations worldwide.

Miles are earned based on the price of each ticket for a Delta-marketed or Delta-ticketed flight (minus government-imposed taxes and fees). A round-trip flight and a one-way will both earn.

How do you know if a flight is Delta-marketed? It will have the letters “DL” in the flight number. Delta-ticketed flights begin with “006.”

You’ll also earn miles when you travel on flights marketed or operated by a Delta partner.

Virgin Atlantic and Delta are located together at London-Heathrow’s Terminal 3. In addition to earning miles, members can enjoy a host of benefits through the partnership.

Hot Tip: Did you know that you could earn Delta miles by flying on one of their partner airlines? For more information, check out this in-depth guide to help you know where to credit your airline miles.

14. Book Delta Vacations

Take a Delta Vacation (including flight and hotel reservations) and earn up to 7,500 miles toward award travel. All you have to do is provide your SkyMiles number during the booking process.

The number of miles you can earn varies depending on the package, but you get extra miles for including qualified car rentals, choosing a Preferred Pick hotel, and using your Delta SkyMiles credit card from American Express.

Enjoy luxury travel? Earn 1 mile per $1 spent with SkyMiles Villas. Call 1-866-6230 to plan a trip.

15. Book With Hotel Partners

Stay with one of the many Delta SkyMiles hotel partners and earn extra miles for each night.

Hotel	Miles/Stay	Hotel	Miles/Stay	Hotel	Miles/Stay
Accor Live Limitless Hotels	Up to 12.5 miles/€	Langham Hospitality Group	Up to 1,500	Radisson Rewards Americas	Earn Delta miles for stays instead of Radisson points
Hyatt Hotels & Resorts	500	Marriott Hotels	Up to 2 miles/$1	Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts	500
Intercontinental Hotel Group	Up to 2 miles/$1	Millennium Hotels and Resorts	500	World Hotels	500

Note that some of these hotels have their own credit cards as well, such as The Hilton Honors American Express Card, Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card and The World of Hyatt Credit Card.

16. Book With Airbnb

Recently, Delta formed a partnership with the lodging giant, Airbnb, that allows you to earn 1x miles for all dollars spent with the company.

You can also earn up to 25,000 miles (at the time of writing) for becoming a host and renting rooms out! Earn 2,500 bonus miles after reaching your first $250 in host earnings, earn an additional 7,500 additional bonus miles after reaching $1,000 in host earnings, and earn another 15,000 bonus miles after reaching $2,500 in host earnings.

To check out current details, visit deltaairbnb.com.

17. Book With Car Rental, Limo, and Shuttle Partners

You can also earn miles for car rentals and other transportation services. The table below shows the participating companies and the miles offered.

Rental Company	Miles	Rental Company	Miles	Rental Company	Miles
Alamo	500 per rental	Europcar	60 per day	Sixt	500 per rental
Carmel	Up to 2 miles/$1	ExecuCar	150 each way	SuperShuttle	50 each way
Dollar	500 per rental	Hertz	500 per rental	Thrifty	500 per rental
Enterprise	500 per rental	National	500 per rental

Hot Tip: Make sure you’re covered without paying extra! See our guide on the best credit cards for car rental insurance coverage.

18. Book Cruises Through Partners

skymiles-cruises — Book cruises through Delta partners and you can earn extra miles for your vacation. Image Credit: CruisesOnly

Delta partners with CruisesOnly to offer bonus miles on popular destinations like Europe, Alaska, and the Caribbean. Sail with one of the big cruise lines and earn miles based on the number of nights in your package:

# of Nights	Miles
1-5	1,500
6-8	3,000
9-12	5,000
13+	10,000

SkyMiles members enjoy big discounts and access to exclusive offers. One recent deal offered triple miles (up to 30,000!) on select bookings.

Check out the latest itineraries at skymilescruises.com!

Hot Tip: Interested in booking that exciting adventure but not sure what to pack? Check out our ultimate packing list for cruises!

19. Utilize Points.com to Transfer Points

Add your Delta SkyMiles account to Points.com. This program allows you to exchange and transfer points and miles between over 100 loyalty programs.

Unfortunately, the transfer rates are a little steep. However, if you have unused miles that you can’t redeem for travel, it can be a decent option.

Every so often you can find a Points.com promotion that pays off. In this case, you may be able to exchange points from another loyalty program for Delta miles without paying a hefty fee.

points-dot-com — You can sign up to Points.com in order to earn and trade your point currencies, which could be a way to earn some more Delta miles! Image Credit: Points.com

20. Use Lyft to Earn Miles

Lyft Delta Partnership — You can earn Delta miles with Lyft! Image Credit: Lyft

You’re also eligible to earn miles by linking your Lyft account and taking rides!

You will earn according to the following scheme:

1 mile per $1 spent on every U.S. ride
2 miles per $1 spent on airport rides

If you’re a frequent rideshare user and value miles, this is another way to boost your SkyMiles balance!

Hot Tip: If you’re a seasoned Lyft rider, don’t miss our article on the perks and benefits for Lyft passengers!

Final Thoughts

It really is incredible how many ways there are to earn miles with Delta SkyMiles!

In addition to the welcome bonuses offered with the Delta credit cards, remember that you have numerous shopping, dining, travel, and other special ways to earn tons of miles.

Get started on implementing the strategies we discussed, and before you know it you will have seemingly endless miles at your disposal. These will be useful when you are looking to redeem an award for a vacation!

The information regarding The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express^® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Card, click here.

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

Frequently asked questions

What are SkyMiles?

The Delta Air Lines loyalty program is called SkyMiles. Members earn miles and a variety of benefits for traveling with Delta depending on their level of status. Miles can be redeemed for awards flights.

What are the benefits of enrolling in Delta SkyMiles?

Members receive benefits such as bonus miles, free checked bags, priority boarding, and more depending on membership status. Once enough miles accrue, you can redeem them for travel or other options.

What are the Delta SkyMiles membership tiers?

Delta SkyMiles has 4 membership tiers: Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. You must earn a certain number of miles/segments and meet a specific dollar threshold each year to advance to the next level.

Where can I sign up for Delta SkyMiles?

Enroll in SkyMiles on the Delta SkyMiles website.

Where can I sign in to my Delta SkyMiles account?

You can sign in to your Delta SkyMiles account by following the link here.

Does Delta SkyMiles have airline partners?

As a member of the SkyTeam Airline Alliance, Delta partners with airlines such as Aeroflot, Air France, Czech Airlines, and KLM. Other Delta partners include Hawaiian Airlines (how to earn HawaiianMiles), Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, and Alaska Airlines.

How many Delta SkyMiles are needed for a free flight?

You can redeem Delta SkyMiles for free flights on Delta or any of their partner airlines. You can also transfer points to and from SkyMiles partners, including hotels. Since Delta no longer publishes an award chart, the number of miles needed for a flight can vary. Check out the SkyMiles deals page for great discounts on award flights!

When do Delta SkyMiles expire?

Delta miles do not expire. However, your account can be terminated for fraudulent or other unfavorable activities.

How do I redeem Delta SkyMiles?

1) Visit Delta.com or the Delta App and log in to your SkyMiles account
2) Select Book a Flight
3) Under the ‘Show Price In’ section, select “miles”
4) Enter your flight preferences and select ‘Find Flights’
5) Choose the flight you want to book, complete the purchase, and you’re all set!

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About Jarrod West

Jarrod has been writing about the ins and outs of credit cards and loyalty programs, along with airlines and hotels, for over 6 years. He is regularly called upon to share his expertise on the latest news within the space, and has been featured in publications such as Matador Network, The New York Times, RetailMeNot, and Yahoo! Finance. Jarrod has over 20 credit cards in his wallet and has tested out dozens more in order to vet the very best card options for readers. As he is constantly sampling new cards, Jarrod also earns (and redeems) over 1 million points and miles each year. This allows him to book luxury travel experiences the world over, and save tens of thousands of dollars in the process.

Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.

35 comments

Shelly January 18, 2018
Your article is wrong, you don’t receive choice benefits until you make platinum or diamond.
Reply
- Alex Miller January 22, 2018
  Nice spot, thank you Shelly. This has been updated 🙂
  Reply
- Dave January 14, 2019
  Why be a b*tch about it. Easier to say there was a mistake…. jeez some people.
  Reply
mbh May 31, 2018
You didn’t answer the question I had when I clicked on the piece: what is the bonus MQM boost one gets (toward Medallion status) for C+, B, or F flights? I know there is a boost, but cannot find what it is. (Also, shouldn’t you mention, to be fair, that it makes much more sense to buy DL tix on the Amex Premier Rewards Gold card, since you get 3 miles/$, instead of 2, and they transfer to many airlines, including DL?)
Reply
- Michael McHugh June 2, 2018
  Hi mbh
  F and J fares are eligible for a 100% MQM bonus. P, A, G, C, D, I, Z, Y, and B fares are eligible for a 50% MQM bonus. I would call Delta re: C+ as this upgraded seat fare does not show a % MQM bonus on the DL website.
  Re: buying DL tickets with a DL vs. Amex card, if you’re not trying to hit a min. spend on a DL card, it likely makes more sense to book a ticket with the Amex Gold to earn 3x MRs. The MR to DL transfer ratio is currently 1:1, which means you’ll earn DL points at a higher rate (3x) vs. a lower rate (2x).
  Reply
Kellie Nielson July 6, 2018
My question is how can I earn dollars toward status on Delta. I have more than enough MQMs to qualify for Diamond. But, I always have trouble coming up with the MQDs to qualify for Gold. What suggestions do you have for that?
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton July 6, 2018
  Earning MQDs to qualify for Medallion Elite status with Delta is challenging if you’re not doing a lot of paid business travel annually. You can, however, earn MQDs quickly by traveling on premium fares with Delta’s partner airlines. For example, if you purchased a business class fare on Aeromexico and credit the miles flown to the Delta Sky Miles program, you would receive 40% of the miles flown towards your MQDs. A 9000-mile flight in business class on Aeromexico would earn $3600 MQDs. A business class flight on China Eastern to Asia is another example where you may fly 18000 miles and at 40% of miles flown, you would earn $7200 MQDs, more than enough for Gold status. You can access partner airline charts on Delta.com ( https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/skymiles/how-to-earn-miles/airline-partners.html) to learn more about how the amounts are calculated.
  You could also spend $25,000 on an eligible Delta credit card to waive any MQD requirement for Elite status up to Platinum status.
  Thanks so much for the question.
  Reply
Frances stepp August 3, 2018
Do I receive points when I pay and travel with my grandson? It doesn’t allow me to put in my flyer number for him.
Reply
- Michael McHugh August 15, 2018
  Hi Frances
  The person who is flying will be the one who receives the airline miles. If you pay for both flights, you both will receive miles for the flights flown. I would create a frequent flyer account for your grandson if you want to earn airline miles for his flight.
  Reply
bfitz October 15, 2018
Can you explain rewards of a US Bank VISA flex perks card and using those versus Delta Rewards? It started out as NWA rewards. I am wondering if it is worth keeping this card or getting something else. Thanks.
Reply
- Alex Miller October 17, 2018
  Bftiz – a great time to look at US Bank FlexPerks because a lot changed in 2018. Now points are worth 1.5 cents/point on airfare, either booking through their rewards portal or through their Real Time Rewards after you have used the card to purchase a ticket. An advantage of booking through their rewards portal is every ticket gets a $25 airline allowance. Instead of booking a round-trip, book two one-ways and get $25 each way. You have to make the purchase such as for baggage on the day of travel and call in to US Bank to request the allowance – it does not process automatically. This is great for economy tickets, and, since they are cash tickets, you earn miles for the flight. If you are looking for business class tickets, you’ll want to focus on cards like the American Express Delta cards that earn SkyMiles and you may get better value on those premium cabin awards.
  Reply
Chang January 2, 2019
Hi, thanks for the great article.
I would like to share that you can also link your Lyft account to your delta membership, so that you can also earn 1 mile/1$ & 2 mile/$1 on airport rides too.
Reply
- Stephen Au January 3, 2019
  Hey Chang,
  Great point! I actually use Lyft myself a lot, and it definitely helps your Delta SkyMiles balance quite a bit!
  Thanks for reading and helping us with your feedback!
  Reply
Eli February 4, 2019
I was wondering if Delta gift card purchases still qualify for miles on my Delta Amex card? I’m trying to burn thru the 3k needed for the bonus miles.
Reply
- Katie Seemann February 6, 2019
  Hi Eli,
  According to their website, gift cards are not eligible for bonus miles on the Delta Amex cards. However, sometimes the system could read a gift card purchase from delta.com as an eligible purchase, so it might be worth testing out by purchasing a gift card in a small amount to see if you earn bonus points.
  Reply
Joe February 12, 2019
Hi,
When booking through the Hilton website, when I activate the Skymiles, will I still get the points and credit for the stay with Hilton or does it qualify as third party and kick me off their honors program? Trying to figure out if I can double dip or if it is one or the other only. Thanks!
Reply
- Stephen Au February 13, 2019
  Hey Joe,
  You can double dip in this situation. Be sure to verify that this is the case with Hilton before committing! Thanks for reading.
  Reply
Jillian March 4, 2019
Hello! I am wondering if monthly payments like gas, electricity, phone bill, and internet would count as eligible purchases towards the $3,000 spend needed to receive bonus points on the platinum card. Also, do Paypal purchases count as eligible purchases for the bonus miles? Thank you!
Reply
- Alex Miller March 5, 2019
  Hey Jillian – all of those purchases would count towards the minimum spend required to earn your bonus points. With PayPal, just make sure you’re paying with your Platinum Card vs pulling funds from your bank or another card. It’s easily done!
  Reply
Meagan DuBose March 8, 2019
Hi!
Let’s say I find a great deal on another airline. If I use my Delta AMEX to purchase this, would I receive points for the dollar amount spent?
I realize it wouldn’t be the 2X points but possibly the 1X per dollar?
Thanks!
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton March 8, 2019
  Hi Meagan. Yes, every purchase you make on your Delta Amex earns at least 1 mile per dollar spent. So, you would earn 1 mile per dollar for any other flight purchases other than Delta, which earns 2 miles per dollar. If you frequently purchase flights other than Delta, you may want to consider a card that earns more on travel. Here are some examples: https://upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/travel-rewards-credit-cards/
  Reply
Mary Ellis August 3, 2019
Excellent article. Thank you very much.
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton August 4, 2019
  Thank you for reading, Mary. We’re glad you found the information useful.
  Reply
Michael Evans October 28, 2019
Do rent payments count towards the $3,000 in minimum purchases within 90 days for the welcome bonus?
Reply
- Andrew Kunesh October 28, 2019
  Hi Michael, rent payments will count so long as the purchase doesn’t code as a cash advance. Thanks!
  Reply
Rob P December 4, 2019
When do the MQMs from the credit card spending actually come into my account? So if I get the Amex card today and spend $1k will the MQM’s hit my account before the end of the year?
Reply
- Jarrod West December 5, 2019
  Hi Rob,
  Traditionally, the MQMs would post when the statement closes in which the minimum spend amount was met. However, Amex also states that it can take up to 6-8 weeks.
  Reply
Steve G December 5, 2019
Hey Team – I’ve just finished my final biz trip on Delta and checked my qualifying status for Gold Medallion in 2020. Sadly, I am 6500 MQMs or 11 MQDs short (way more than enough MQDs). Siiigh – that was a lot of work to still not make it. Is there a way for me to get qualifying MQMs over the next 3 weeks via one of the methods you describe here? I’ve always viewed “QUALIFYING” MQMs as only achievable via actually flying somewhere but your article convinces me I may be able to save my current Gold Status!
One other question – if I can’t achieve status…I know my MQMs roll over in 2020 but not my MQDs – so I’d have to get 25K again on my Amex (I have Silver and Platinum Delta Skymiles cards) to gain my status back?
Thank you!!
Reply
- Jarrod West December 12, 2019
  Hi Steve,
  One option that many people do towards the end of the year to re-qualify for status is something called a “mileage run”. Essentially, you’ll want to locate flights that cover as large of a distance as possible, for the lowest possible cost. Another option would be to fly a really inexpensive flight, that covers a short distance, and fly it multiple times as the minimum MQMs you can earn on a Delta flight is 500 – even if the flight didn’t actually cover 500 miles.
  Thanks for reading!
  Reply
C Jones January 14, 2020
Hi, as far as I can tell, I think you can spend yourself into Medallion Status? I have a Delta Reserve card and I can get a 15,000 MQM bonus when I spend $30k in one year. So does that mean if I spend $60k on that card, I would qualify for silver? You need 25,000 MQM’s and I would get 15,000 twice (so 30k) plus a minimum spend of $25,000 which will have happened. Thanks!
Reply
- Jarrod West January 14, 2020
  Hi C Jones,
  Yes, you are correct. The Delta Reserve card allows you to spend your way to elite status.
  Reply
Joe Taylor December 16, 2020
If I book a hotel through Delta to earn points then also use my Skymiles card to pay will I earn the points on the booking through Delta and on the use of my Skymiles card?
Reply
- Jarrod West December 17, 2020
  Hi Joe,
  Yes, you will earn points for making the booking through Delta and for paying with your Skymiles card.
  Reply
Kelly Goodman February 15, 2022
I am both a silver and a platinum delta amex holder. I get 3x for delta flights on my card and 7x as a silver, so am I getting 10x dollars spent? For example, flight cost is $500 on my amex, that’s 1500 miles, 7x as a silver is an additional 3500, so should I be getting 5k miles for that flight?
Reply
- Stephen Au February 15, 2022
  Hi Kelly, that’s correct. However, keep in mind that your accrual is based on the fare and excludes any taxes, fees, and carrier-imposed surcharges like fuel srucharges.
  Reply