As part of a slew of changes to the Delta SkyMiles Medallion program, the earning metric known as MQMs is going into the dustbin of history. Collecting Medallion Qualification Miles has been one of the most unusual and fun ways to pursue status with Delta Air Lines. Now Delta is ditching the annual rollover benefit that used to let you begin each year with an MQM boost of however many MQMs over last year’s status level you went. Delta has now gone to a less complicated metric: Medallion Qualification Dollars, or MQDs. These are essentially a measure of how much you spend with Delta Air Lines in its many iterations.
The good news is that the extra MQMs you may have sitting in your account can still be very useful. Delta has now made several one-time conversion choices live in your Delta SkyMiles account. Delta Air Lines’ rollover MQM options are now live. Delta was one of the few programs that let you roll over excess MQMs you accumulated during the status year into the next elite status qualification year. Some people (including me) had accumulated hundreds of thousands of extra MQMs over the years, and there were fears they wouldn’t be worth much now that Delta has moved toward an all-MQD world. But Delta came through in the end, offering a unique opportunity for some top-tier elite members.
Delta made those rollover options live overnight. Rollover MQM options are now live. Elite members can use up their rollover MQMs from last year by extending their 2024 status. For every 100,000 rollover MQMs you had sitting in your account after the end of 2023, you can choose to extend your status by a year. You will have until Dec. 31 to decide how you would like your rollover MQMs to be converted. You can choose to convert your MQMs to MQDs, miles or a combination of both.
Here are those choices:
100% redeemable miles, 0% MQDs
75% redeemable miles, 25% MQDs
50% redeemable miles, 50% MQDs
25% redeemable miles, 75% MQDs
0% redeemable miles, 100% MQDs
Members with MQM rollover balances over 100,000 can also choose to extend their 2024 Medallion status for one year for every 100,000 rollover MQMs.
I was sitting on 108,671 rollover MQMs. One hundred thousand of those MQMs can be used to extend my Diamond status by a year. That means I’ll be Delta Diamond through 2025 (and part of 2026) just via MQMs. That is quite a perk and is the one that I chose. As you can see in the screenshot below, I elected to extend my status by a year. I will now have top-tier Diamond Medallion status through Jan. 31, 2026. That left me with just 8,671 rollover MQMs. Since I will have status already, I chose to earn the extra miles. I didn’t love the conversion rate of 2:1, but I’ll take what I can get.
Once you’ve made your selections, you must confirm the choices on another page. That’s it. Delta then warns that the conversion will take up to 48 hours to be applied to your SkyMiles account. I’ll be monitoring and will update this story when the rollover status and extra miles actually hit my account.
Delta Air Lines overnight made its MQM rollover choices live for its SkyMiles customers with excess rollover MQMs. It’s a really nice perk that those with more than 100,000 MQMs can extend their status for a year, and it sure beats the original announcement that MQMs would only be available for conversion. If you are one of the lucky Delta flyers with lots of MQMs, you can also convert them to MQDs or turn them into redeemable SkyMiles. I’m sad to see MQMs go away, but I’m thrilled that Delta didn’t just abandon those of us who’d accumulated extra MQMs over the years. It’s allowing me to extend my status until 2026 and will keep me roped into the SkyMiles universe after I’d strongly considered abandoning the program altogether. In addition to this rollover benefit and the enhancements Delta made to its American Express cobranded credit cards, I will stick with Delta for the next few years at the very least.
In conclusion, Delta’s decision to discontinue the MQM metric in favor of MQDs may be a disappointment to some loyal customers, but the airline has provided a valuable conversion option for those with excess MQMs. The ability to extend elite status or convert MQMs to miles or MQDs offers a way for customers to continue benefiting from their accumulated miles. The rollover options are a welcome surprise and show that Delta is committed to rewarding its most loyal customers. These changes demonstrate Delta’s dedication to enhancing the SkyMiles program and providing valuable benefits to its frequent flyers.