Questions and Answers

I finished last year with 65k MQMs and an international address with DL. I can keep going over the details but the easiest thing is to post what I sent to the DOT. Please if anyone has any advice.

The issue I have relates to Delta’s Medallion program. I have spent hours on the phone with them to try to understand why I did not receive status this year with Delta, (specifically Gold) when I finished last year (2015) with 65k MQMs and an international address which would exempt me from any MQD requirement. So directly, according to the terms of their program, I should have Gold status this year. To further confirm this fact, Delta rolled over 15k of my 65k MQM on Jan 1, something they only do for those members who have achieved some level of status.

Now the phone service from Delta has been abysmal, the buck never stops anywhere as they continually try to pass me back and forth between departments who all say they dont work on cases like mine. Additionally, I have had agents say they 100% agree with my logic but have no way to affect a change in my status and I have had agents tell me that there is a rule that I had to live outside of the country the entire year in order to waive the MQD requirement which simply isnt true. Firstly, it is not written anywhere. Second, if you were to look at my account online in November or December of last year you would have seen the MQD (Medallion Qualifying Dollars) greyed out with the statement “This MQD section only applies to US residents.” I would like Delta to comply with the rules of their own program and give me status. further, there should be mileage or monetary compensation for depriving me of status for the first 3-4 months of this year. Finally I wasnt to address one detail that may be brought up by Delta, which is a policy that states that after the MQD requirement is waived in a given year, it will only give you status when you move up status levels. Meaning if you have already earned Platinum in MQMs but dont have the MQDs for Platinum but only for silver for example, you would not receive the benefit of the MQD waiver until you hit the next level of status. Meaning you wouldnt instantly get Platinum. However, in my case, this point does not apply since I did not earn Gold status when I hit 50k MQMs because I didnt have enough MQDs for that or even for silver. so when I got the waiver, and then earned another 15k MQMs, that put me over the threshold for gold with the waiver in place, I should have received gold status for 2016.

Also, I want to stress the degree of difficulty and frustration i have had in dealing with Delta and their phone and email agents. they have repeatedly contradicted each other and most often, tried to pass me on to another agency. This is truly unfair when the skymiles phone agents do not know the own rules of their program. It is Delta’s job to educate them. Many of these agents had no idea that there was such a thing a an MQD waiver for international fliers. Others accused me of trying to game the system by moving my address out of the US when the process for changing your address is in fact rigorous and required the submission of utility bills etc. Overall, I want my status to reflect Gold, perhaps into 2017 as I have now missed almost half of 2016. this would seem a fair remedy.

and whether they can or cannot extend the status compensation should be given for something I have spent 20+ phone hours on and more hours researching and reading terms and conditions. At 20usd an hour, this would equate to a 400usd voucher or 40,000 miles. All of this in addition to status fairly earned and extended into 2017. if it cannot be extended then compensation should be greater to compensate for the missed months.