Back this year is a Delta Air Lines promotion that gives Delta SkyMiles members another path to earn Medallion Qualification Dollars toward elite status.
Specifically, you’ll earn 1 MQD per base dollar spent on hotel and car rental reservations booked through the Travel Extras portal by Feb. 29 for travel completed by May 31.
Here are the details.
Earn MQDs on hotels
During this promotion, you’ll earn 1 MQD per dollar spent on hotel stays booked through Delta’s travel portal. This is in addition to the 2 redeemable SkyMiles you ordinarily earn for every dollar spent at most hotels.
The terms of the promotion state that you can only earn on the base cost of the hotel room before taxes and fees are charged at the time of booking.
For example, here’s what you could earn for a three-night stay in March at the Grayson Hotel, a midtown Manhattan property that is part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection:
Earn MQDs on rental cars
Additionally, you’ll earn 1 MQD per dollar spent on the base car rental rate for every completed rental booking made here.
Like the hotel bookings, you will not earn MQDs on charges like taxes, one-way rental fees, fuel services or tolls.
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For example, here’s what you’d earn on a weeklong rental in late March at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK):
- 171 MQDs
- 684 SkyMiles (worth about $8.21 based on TPG’s valuations)
Note that elite members earn more miles with Hertz, though this won’t affect how many MQDs you earn.
As a Delta frequent flyer, you’ll earn:
- 4 miles per dollar spent as a basic member
- 5 miles per dollar spent as a Silver Medallion
- 6 miles per dollar spent as a Gold Medallion
- 7 miles per dollar spent as a Platinum Medallion
- 8 miles per dollar spent as a Diamond Medallion
For Dollar and Thrifty reservations, all SkyMiles members earn 4 miles per dollar, while members earn 2 miles per dollar for all Alamo, Enterprise, National, Avis, Budget and Payless reservations.
Important terms
Read the full terms and conditions of this promotion here. One of the most important things to note is that you can only earn MQDs if your name appears on the credit card you pay with. Delta will not credit MQDs if the first and last names on the credit card do not match the information on the SkyMiles account.
After you complete your travel, it will take up to eight weeks to receive the MQDs.
Additionally, those with a Delta cobranded card can earn up to $100 or up to $250 Delta Stays statement credits annually when they use the card to purchase prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays. Plus, prepaid Delta Stays reservations now qualify as Delta purchases on cobranded cards. Delta Platinum and Reserve cardholders, including those with the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card or the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, will earn 3 miles per dollar spent. Delta Gold cardmembers, including those with the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, will earn 2 miles per dollar spent.
Bottom line
This is another way to earn Delta status without flying. Delta appears to be sending emails to SkyMiles members in batches with this promotion.
By earning MQDs through non-flight activities and outside one of the airline’s cobranded credit cards, this promotion sets a new precedent for Medallion status. We hope to see more ways to earn MQDs like this one in the future.
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