If you’re a regular traveler, holding elite status with a major airline like Delta Air Lines can make your journeys more comfortable and rewarding.
However, deciding which airline loyalty program makes the most sense for you can be difficult, given the variations between the carriers regarding complimentary upgrades, bonus points or miles, lounge access and other valuable perks.
Also, is it even worth pursuing elite status at all?
This guide will dive into Delta’s loyalty program and explain how its status tiers work in 2024, how to earn them through travel and non-travel expenses, and whether striving for elite status is even worth the effort.
Here is everything you need to know about elite Medallion status in the Delta SkyMiles program.
Earning Delta Medallion status in 2024
In 2023, Delta announced changes that would make it significantly harder to earn Medallion status in 2025. Rather than use a combination of spending and flying, your qualification progress next year will be entirely based on how many Medallion Qualification Dollars you earn. Gone are Medallion Qualification Miles and Medallion Qualification Segments.
The public reaction was so immediately negative that Delta softened some of the changes, though it is still harder to earn Medallion status in 2025 compared to 2024. Remember, you earn Medallion status based on your activity from the previous calendar year.
What is Delta Medallion status?
Delta gives loyal SkyMiles members elite status each year, rewarding them with various benefits to make their travel more comfortable and easier.
There are four published tiers of elite status:
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- Silver Medallion
- Gold Medallion
- Platinum Medallion
- Diamond Medallion
Delta also has an invite-only status tier called Delta 360, though the exact qualifications for this status are not public. However, you can receive complimentary annual Delta 360 status by reaching 5 million lifetime miles flown.
Related: Your guide to Delta Air Lines lifetime elite status
In 2023, Medallion status was earned through a combination of two metrics (based on your flight and spending activity in the 2022 calendar year):
- How far SkyMiles members flew on Delta or its partner airlines each calendar year (MQMs) or how many individual flights they took (MQSs)
- How much SkyMiles members spent each calendar year (MQDs)
However, since Jan. 1, 2024, Delta has done away with MQMs and MQSs, and these metrics are no longer factored into obtaining elite status. Medallion status is now only measured by MQDs.
You will obtain elite status when you reach a specific earning threshold within the calendar year it’s earned, as well as through the end of January the following year. For example, if you reach elite status in June 2024, you will have earned your status for 2025, and you hold that status through Jan. 31, 2026.
Status levels reset every year in January, so you must keep meeting the requirement of MQD earnings to maintain your status.
How to qualify for Delta Medallion status
Delta now only uses MQDs as criteria for qualification — and the thresholds are increasing significantly from the 2023 levels. Below are the requirements to obtain 2025 Medallion status:
- Silver Medallion: SkyMiles members who have earned 5,000 MQDs
- Gold Medallion: SkyMiles members who have earned 10,000 MQDs
- Platinum Medallion: SkyMiles members who have earned 15,000 MQDs
- Diamond Medallion: SkyMiles members who have earned 28,000 MQDs
Read more: Is Delta Air Lines status worth it? What this disappointed soon-to-be-Diamond Medallion thinks
Delta Medallion status levels and benefits
Here are some key benefits of each of Delta’s status tiers.
SkyMiles Silver Medallion
This is the entry tier in Delta’s program, and you’ll receive benefits like:
- Complimentary Delta One upgrades for flights within the U.S. (except on basic economy “E” fares) on the day of departure
- Complimentary first-class upgrades from 24 hours before departure (except on basic economy “E” fares)
- Upgrades to Comfort+ within 24 hours of departure (except on basic economy “E” fares)
- Priority boarding and check-in
- One complimentary checked bag
- 7 miles per dollar spent
SkyMiles Gold Medallion
Delta’s mid-tier status includes some enhanced perks, including:
- Complimentary Delta One upgrades for flights within the U.S. (except on basic economy “E” fares) on the day of departure
- Complimentary first-class upgrades from 72 hours before departure (except on basic economy “E” fares)
- Upgrades to Comfort+ within 72 hours of departure (except on basic economy “E” fares)
- Waived same-day confirmed changes
- Sky Priority
- Two complimentary checked bags
- 8 miles per dollar spent
SkyMiles Platinum Medallion
In addition to the previously mentioned Silver Medallion and Gold Medallion perks, you’ll get the following:
- Complimentary Delta One upgrades for flights within the U.S. (except on basic economy “E” fares) on the day of departure
- Complimentary first-class upgrades from 120 hours before departure (except on basic economy “E” fares)
- Upgrades to Comfort+ at the time of booking
- Three complimentary checked bags
- Sky Priority
- Your pick of a Choice Benefit
- Waived same-day confirmed changes
- 9 miles per dollar spent
SkyMiles Diamond Medallion
You’ll get everything detailed above, plus some even better perks (discussed in more detail below):
- Complimentary Delta One upgrades for flights within the U.S. (except on basic economy “E” fares) on the day of departure
- Complimentary first-class upgrades from 120 hours before departure (except on basic economy “E” fares)
- Upgrades to Comfort+ at the time of booking
- Three additional Choice Benefits options
- Complimentary Clear Plus membership
- Higher upgrade priority
- 11 miles per dollar spent
Be sure to check out Delta’s website to review the full list of benefits available to SkyMiles Medallion members.
Can a credit card help earn Delta status?
To make it easier to earn elite status in 2024, Delta will give eligible frequent flyers who also hold the following cobranded cards a head start on the 2024 MQD metrics, with a boost of 2,500 MQDs toward status qualification at the start of the 2024 year:
The MQD head start is awarded per card, so you’ll enjoy more than one 2,500 MQD boost if you have multiple eligible cards. Additionally, you’ll be able to enjoy bonus MQDs based on everyday spending on these cards.
Specifically, the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Amex and the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Amex will accrue 1 MQD for every $10 spent. Meanwhile, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex and the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Amex will accrue 1 MQD for every $20 spent.
There is no limit to how many MQDs you can earn from spending on the cards, so you could potentially earn elite status just from swiping your Delta Amex card. However, that’s a ton of money to spend, especially when there are better options for your everyday purchases.
Is Delta Medallion status worth it?
If you earned Delta elite status in 2023, it’s valid through Jan. 31, 2025. If you qualify in 2024, your status will last until Jan. 31, 2026.
It’s critical to consider how much you’ll be traveling in the future to decide if Medallion status is worth it. If you push hard to reach Diamond Medallion status, the valuable perks outlined above apply only when traveling. With the high MQD requirements in 2024, you would need to spend a significant amount of money with the airline or on a cobranded card to earn this top-tier status, so you must also ensure you are traveling enough to enjoy it.
That said, many of you may wind up within striking distance of the next tier, so consider whether the benefits are worth pushing for. There’s no sense in going out of your way for perks that don’t matter to you. Pursuing elite status with an airline you can’t feasibly fly regularly is a fool’s errand. Consider Delta’s service from your home airport(s) and how easy it is to reach your desired destination.
This hobby has many trade-offs, and one of the most common is deciding whether to use your preferred airline or hotel chain when it’s not the most convenient or cheapest. Would you book a one-stop Delta flight if Southwest Airlines had a cheaper, nonstop option? If the answer is no, it may not be worth going out of your way to earn Delta elite status (or any elite status, for that matter).
The final consideration involves travel rewards credit cards. Many airline cobranded cards offer perks that mirror what you’d enjoy as an elite member. For example, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card includes a free checked bag, priority boarding and a 20% inflight discount. The card has an introductory annual fee of $0 for the first year, then a $150 annual fee (see rates and fees).
Meanwhile, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card provides 15 Sky Club lounge visits each year access when flying Delta along with complimentary upgrades (behind all Medallion members) and an annual companion certificate (valid for round-trip domestic flights in economy, Comfort+ or first class). To earn unlimited Sky Club visits each year, the total eligible purchases on the card must equal $75,000 or more between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024, and each calendar year thereafter.
If you can pay a flat annual fee for one of these cards and gain access to perks that matter to you without going out of your way to earn elite status, that may be a good plan.
Bottom line
Earning airline elite status carries an array of perks that can make your entire travel experience more comfortable.
However, not all levels with all carriers are created equally, so analyzing which elite status program best aligns with your typical travel patterns and what you value most as a traveler is critical. Given the recent negative SkyMiles changes, it is harder than ever to earn elite status unless you are spending considerable amounts of money with the airline, on cobranded cards or a combination of the two.
If you’re considering switching your loyalty in 2024, we hope this detailed look at Delta’s elite status program has helped your decision.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Gold, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business, click here.
