Delta Permanently Extends Status Eligible Award Earnings, Lifts Mileage Earning Cap

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Last year, Delta announced that members would be able to earn status qualifying MQM, MQS, and MQDs for award travel based on flight distance, segments, and miles used for the award tickets at a rate of 100 miles per dollar.

Delta then extended status for everyone, rolled over status miles, and said that award travel for 2022 would also earn status qualifying MQM, MQS, and MQDs.

And now Delta says that award travel will qualify towards earning status as a permanent program feature. That also means that while American and United have moved away from counting flight distance towards earning status, Delta will continue to do so.

Delta also announced that they will lift the cap of earning 75,000 miles on paid tickets. That doesn’t affect most people, as it requires a ticket costing between $6,800-$15,000 depending on your status, but it was always a odd program restriction. Delta was the airline that put it into place when they ditched the old distance based mileage earning and went to spend based mileage earning. AA and United copied that same earnings scheme and cap.

Delta is even looking backwards and will award miles retroactively for expensive flights that should have earned more than 75,000 miles back to 1/1/22.

Now, if only Delta didn’t take the axe to their Diamond Medallion program…