How to Earn Inexpensive Medals Eligible Dollars By Booking Delta Partner Tickets

news7g10/25/2022

1 6 minutes read

It’s not a secret Delta’s Elite Status not cheap. After all, in addition to the 125,000 Medallion Miles or 140 Qualifying Rewards, top tier Diamond Medal status requires earning $15,000 in Medal eligibility. Worse yet, this will grow to $20,000 for the 2024 state year.

That means you have to spend $15,000 (1 MQD, excluding taxes) this year on Delta Air Lines to qualify and maintain your Diamond Medal status. However, by maximize your MQD earnings on Delta partnersyou can earn 15,000 MQD while spending under $7,500 – and it’s not as hard as you think.

SkyMiles members can earn MQDs with any SkyTeam member and the amount is accrued based on fare class and flight distance. So this means that a $1,000 business class ticket booked directly with KLM can accrue MQD 2,000 or more, depending on the duration of the fight.

Let’s look at earning MQD on partner flights and how it can make earning Delta’s Medallion elite status much less expensive.

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Some basic information about earning MQD with partners

As with most airlines these days, Delta primarily awards elite status to members with high annual spending — at least when you earn status on Delta’s own flights. While Miles for awarding medals earned based on the distance you fly, you will also need Medallion Eligible Dollars to qualify for status on flights with Delta tickets, unless you qualify for Waiver of MQD through credit card spending.

You earn about 1 MQD for every dollar spent on Delta flights, excluding taxes. For example, on a Delta flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for $348.60, you’ll earn 311 MQD. This information is available during the booking process on delta.com.

The basics to achieving Delta elite status with partners

China Eastern Airlines business class is one of the good places to earn Delta partner MQD. ETHAN STEINBERG / DANGER POINTS

With Delta’s SkyTeam partners, you earn MQDs based on four factors: whether you booked directly with Delta, the length of your flight, the fare class, and the airline operating your flight.

1. Should You Book Directly With Delta?

When you book directly with Delta, you earn MQD based on your fare, regardless of the active carrier. This means that if you book an Air France ticket on Delta.com, you still earn MQD based on the fare.

However, when you book directly with a partner airline, you will earn MQD based on the distance you fly and partner rate set by Delta.

Consider Air France’s business-class return flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). When booked with Delta and Air France, the flight costs the same $3,678.18.

Delta’s earnings are shown during the booking process on delta.com. As you can see, by booking this ticket directly with Delta, you will earn 3,500 MQD.

Delta earnings will require some research and calculations when booking with Air France. According to Air France SkyMiles partner chartAir France flights in fare classes Z and I (like this one) earn MQDs on a 40% basis.

We have to multiply the total distance traveled by 40% (0.4) to calculate how much MQD you will earn.

According to the Great Circle Mapper, this journey has a total of 10,033 miles – 10,033 times 0.4 equals 4.013.20. So by booking with Air France you will earn 4,013 MQD.

In this case, but not all, you will earn more MQD by booking with Air France instead of with Delta.

2. What is the best partner airline to earn MQD?

Above partner airline earnings page, Delta offers earnings rates to all of its airline partners. There are Core Global Aviation Partners and Global (non-core) Aviation Partners. Core airlines earn more MQDs, MQMs and redeemable miles across the board.

Delta’s core global airline partners are:

Nebulized.
Air France.
China Eastern Airlines.
KLM.
Korean Airlines.
LATAM.
Virgin Atlantic.

Delta Global (non-core) Airline Partners that earn MQDs are:

Aerolineas Argentinas.
Europa atmosphere.
Cape Air.
China Airlines.
China Southern Airlines.
CZA (Czech Airlines).
Guarda Indonesia.
Hawaiian Airlines (only flights between islands).
ITA Airways.
Kenya Airlines.
MEA (Middle East Airlines).
Saudia.
TARGET.
Vietnam Airlines.
WestJet.
Xiamen Airlines.

3. How do you know which class you have booked?

Sometimes, there’s no easy way to know what class you’re booking. In the last example, I had to call Air France to determine what fare the flight was being sold for.

That said, some airlines will show you your online booking class. For example, Virgin Atlantic will show your fare class on the checkout screen next to your class of service.

Expedia also displays the fare class you are booking on the checkout screen. For example, on a Korean Airlines business class return flight from Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) to Incheon International Airport (ICN), I can select “Show details” on the review page. by Expedia. However, you should still confirm the issuing airline with Expedia if you’re booking itineraries operated by multiple airlines.

Delta partner booking example

A KLM Airbus A330-300 at the gate at Dulles International Airport (IAD). KYLE OLSEN / THE BAD POINTS

Now that you know how to calculate the MQD you will earn on a partner award ticket, here are some examples of earning MQD with Delta partners. They were found at the time of writing this story and may not be available anymore, but they are here to serve as inspiration for finding your own partner journey to maximize MQD earnings.

Economy: Madrid with Air France – 3.19 MQDs per dollar

Air France and KLM round-trip tickets in fare class E (cumulative base 10% MQD) cost $397, so you’ll earn the following:

Los Angeles to Paris: 5,670 base miles, 567 MQD.
From Paris to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD): 660 miles, 66 MQD.
Madrid to Paris: 660 base miles, 66 MQD.
Paris to Madrid: 5,670 base miles, 567 MQD.
total: Fly 12,660 miles, 1,266 MQD.

Economy: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with Saudia – 3.45 MQDs per dollar

While Saudia is not a core partner, long-haul flights and discounts could make Saudia attractive for earning MQDs. This journey is in fare class L and earns MQD on a 10% basis.

From New York to King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED): 6,365 miles, 637 MQDs.
King Abdulaziz International Airport to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL): 4,394 miles, 439 MQDs.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport to King Abdulaziz International Airport: 4,394 miles, 439 MQDs.
King Abdulaziz International Airport to New York: 6,365 miles, 637 MQDs.
total: Fly 21,517 miles, 2,152 MQD.

Economy: London with Virgin Atlantic – 1.47 MQDs per dollar

Virgin Atlantic will join SkyTeam early 2023. In the meantime, SkyMiles members can earn and redeem miles on Virgin Atlantic. This cruise is operated in fare class E, so it earns MQD on a 10% basis.

JFK to Heathrow Airport (LHR): 3,451 miles, 345 MQD.
Heathrow Airport to JFK: 3,451 miles, 345 MQD.
Total: 6,903 miles, 690 MQD.

Economy: Lima, Peru, with Aeromexico – 1.67 MQDs per dollar

Aeromexico is another core Delta partner. This round trip, booked in fare class R (cumulative base 10% MQD), costs $463 and will earn the following:

Miami International Airport (MIA) to Mexico City International Airport (MEX): 1,276 miles, 128 MQD.
Mexico City to Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM): 2,629 miles, 263 MQDs.
From Lima to Mexico City: 2,629 miles, 263 MQD.
Mexico City to Miami: 1,276 miles, 128 MQD.
total: 7,810 base miles and 781 MQD.

Premium Economy Class: Budapest, Hungary, with Air France – 3.03 MQDs per dollar

Air France is a core partner of Delta. This premium economy class return ticket costs $1,246 and is booked in fare classes W/Y (cumulative base 30%/25%). It will earn the following:

Los Angeles to Paris: 5,670 miles, 1,701 MQD.
Paris to Budapest Airport (BUD): 777 miles, 194 MQD.
Budapest to Paris: 777 miles, 194 MQD.
Paris to Los Angeles: 5,670 miles, 1,701 MQD.
total: Fly 12,894 miles and 3,780 MQDs.

Business: Mumbai, India, with KLM – 1.72 MQDs per dollar

This round trip costs $4,397 and is sold in fare class Z (40% cumulative basis). It will earn:

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS): 5,473 miles, 2,190 MQDs.
Amsterdam to Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL): 3,962 miles, 1,585 MQDs.
From Delhi to Amsterdam: 3,962 miles, 1,585 MQD.
Amsterdam to San Francisco: 5,473 miles, 2,190 MQD.
total: Flies 18,870 miles, 7,550 MQDs.

Business: Lima with Aeromexico – 3.88 MQDs per dollar

Aeromexico is another core Delta partner. This round-trip business class ticket costs $1,048 and is sold in fare class D (40% cumulative basis). It earns:

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to Mexico City: 2,449 miles, 980 MQD.
Mexico City to Lima: 2,629 miles 1,052 MQDs.
Lima to Mexico City: 2,449 miles, 980 MQD.
Mexico City to Vancouver: 2,449 miles, 980 MQD.
total: Flies 10,156 miles, 4,062 MQDs.

Key point

No matter which cabin you travel in, each of these examples allows you to earn significantly more than the 1 MQD per dollar you would earn on Delta-operated flights. Even if you’re starting from scratch, you can earn huge amounts of MQDs and SkyMiles miles on partner flights.

As you can see sometimes you can earn north of 3.5 MQD for every dollar spent, so you can earn 15,000 MQD by spending more than $4,000 if you do it one way strategy. This is a far cry from the $15,000 you need to spend on Delta-operated flights to earn 15,000 MQD.

news7g10/25/2022

1 6 minutes read