Offer: Earn MQD’s When Booking Hotels with Delta

Tl;dr: these promotions are a great way to make progress towards Delta status, especially if you have a premium co-branded card.

We generally don’t talk about airline status here because it’s outside the realm of normal-person travel, but I make a slight exception for Delta status because it is relatively easy to obtain just with credit cards. The co-branded Amex Platinum and Reserve Delta cards each offer cardholders a “headstart” of 2500 Medallion Qualification Dollars toward elite status, which starts at 5000. Since you can get both cards and receive both headstarts, you can get Delta status automatically that way.

If you are a somewhat regular Delta flyer, though, one card might be enough—you can take the 2500 MQD headstart, earn some MQD’s by flying, and then top off the rest with credit card spending and bonuses like the one Delta is currently offering: MQD’s on travel booked through Delta’s Expedia-based travel site.

The deal

Now through June 24th, you can earn 1 MQD for each $1 spent on hotels, vacation rentals and car rentals (minus taxes and fees) at Delta’s online booking site. You will also earn SkyMiles on the booking (usually 2 miles per dollar). Travel must be completed by September 8th.

Why this pairs well with a Delta card

Thanks to Delta’s recent revamp of their co-branded Amex cards, all of the annual-fee cards come with credits that apply to travel booked through this site. The premium Reserve and Platinum cards also earn MQD’s on all spending.

The Reserve, for example, has a $200 hotel credit, earns 1 Skymile per $1 spent, and earns 1 MQD for every $10 spent. So a $200 hotel booking would use that hotel credit, earn (roughly) 200 MQDs through this promotion, 400 SkyMiles through Delta Travel, 200 Skymiles on the card, and another 20 MQDs from the card’s MQD boost.

In my experience, Delta offers this promotion at least once a year (this is already the second offer of 2024). This means Platinum and Reserve cardholders will have great opportunities to make the most of their travel credits, although they may want to try to time their bookings to coincide with these promotions.

Conclusion

For those who already have Delta Amex cards, now is a great time to go take advantage of those travel credits if you think you might be making a run for elite status this year. And if you are considering picking up the Platinum card, Reserve card, or both, it’s important to know about these promotions so you assess the value of the card(s) for earning elite status and maximize their value if you do add them to your wallet.