Back in October 2023, Delta announced major changes to its million miler program, which are overwhelmingly positive. This is an update, as these changes are live as of today, so some SkyMiles members should see their lifetime elite status updated.
Delta million miler status becomes harder to earn
Delta SkyMiles has a million miler program, and historically it has been possible to earn lifetime elite status at the following thresholds:
- One million miler earned you SkyMiles Silver Medallion status for life
- Two million miler earned you SkyMiles Gold Medallion status for life
- Four million miler earned you Platinum Medallion status for life
- Six million miler earned you Diamond Medallion status for life
New as of 2024, Delta has made some major changes to what activity counts toward million miler status:
- As of January 1, 2024, million miler status is calculated through lifetime flight miles, so the number of eligible miles flown determines your million miler status
- Historically million miler status has been based on how many Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) you earned, and those could be earned through credit card spending, and class of service bonuses (for flying in premium cabins) also counted toward that
- Delta is honoring all existing MQM balances toward lifetime status, so they’re being converted at a 1:1 ratio to the new metric
This change makes it much harder to earn lifetime flight miles. A lot of SkyMiles loyalists have historically earned a lot of their activity toward million miler status with non-flying means, so this change will significantly slow down many members’ progress. The good news is that there’s a real silver lining to this change, as Delta has hugely improved the perks associated with its million miler program.
Delta million miler status becomes more rewarding
While Delta million miler status is now harder to earn, it’s also becoming much more rewarding, as million miler members are receiving a significant boost to their elite tiers. As of February 1, 2024, million milers are receiving the following elite status:
- One million miler earns you SkyMiles Gold Medallion status for life (rather than Silver Medallion)
- Two million miler earns you Platinum Medallion status for life (rather than Gold Medallion)
- Three million miler earns you Diamond Medallion status for life (rather than Gold Medallion)
- Four million miler earns you Diamond Medallion status for life (rather than Platinum Medallion)
- Five million miler earns you Delta 360 status for life (rather than Platinum Medallion)
- Six million miler earns you Delta 360 status for life (rather than Diamond Medallion)
These changes are absolutely massive. Even at the one million mile tier, you’re going from Silver Medallion to Gold Medallion. Meanwhile Diamond Medallion only requires being in the three million miler tier, rather than the six million miler tier. Heck, the fact that you can get invitation-only Delta 360 status through the million miler program is pretty awesome as well.
Whether or not these changes are a net positive of course depend on what percent of your MQMs have historically been earned from “butt in seat” flying vs. other means.
There’s a certain irony to these changes
I can’t help but point out the general irony to these changes, but then again, it’s not like any airline is terribly consistent with its logic.
With the recent SkyMiles program changes, Delta is now emphasizing non-flying activity more than ever before. You can qualify for elite status exclusively through credit card spending, and when booking through Delta, you earn MQDs at the same rate whether you’re booking a Delta flight or a Delta Vacation Package.
So Delta is basically saying it no longer cares how much you fly, as long as you engage with the company in a profitable way (which is fair enough, since non-flying activity is a lot higher margin).
Yet when it comes to the million miler program, Delta is taking exactly the opposite approach. The airline used to count credit card spending toward million miler status (in certain increments), but with these changes, that’s no longer the case.
In many ways I think this is actually a good balance, and will help to keep some people more engaged with the program and flying, rather than just spending on credit cards.
Where does Delta’s million miler program rank?
Among the “big three” US carriers, I previously ranked Delta’s million miler program as being in the middle when it comes to how lucrative it is. With these changes, I still consider it to be in the middle, but now definitely much closer to United than American:
- United MileagePlus has the most lucrative million miler program, and you can earn Global Services status for life at the four million miler tier, and can even nominate a companion to share your status
- American AAdvantage has by far the least lucrative million miler program, as you can earn at most second-tier AAdvantage Platinum status, with no opportunity to earn higher status
With Delta’s new lifetime status program, you basically need the same activity as with United to reach the first three thresholds (though invitation-only status requires an extra million miles). But no matter what, you can’t nominate a companion for the status. It’s embarrassing just how far behind American is when it comes to lifetime elite status.
Bottom line
As of 2024, Delta SkyMiles has made significant changes to its million miler lifetime elite status program. Earning lifetime miles is now more complicated, as only flown miles count, rather than MQMs (since that’s no longer even a metric that the program has).
The good news is that Delta has made the million miler tiers much more rewarding — you earn Gold at one million miler (rather than two million miler), Platinum at two million miler (rather than four million miler), Diamond at three million miler (rather than six million miler), and Delta 360 at five million miler (that previously couldn’t be earned with the program).
What do you make of Delta’s million miler changes?
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