How the Delta Reserve Amex helped me reach airline elite status for the first time

Before my days at TPG, I didn't know much about airline elite status nor did I particularly care. Lounge access and first-class upgrades felt like something only attained by road warriors who flew weekly and only saw their families on the weekends.

Related: How the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card elevated my trip to Paris

However, I was wooed by the limited-edition (and no longer available) version of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card made with metal from a retired Boeing 747. (I also have a floral-patterned version of The Platinum Card® from American Express and usually choose beers based on the label art, if that tells you anything about how I make life decisions.) The Delta card helped me realize it was possible to earn Delta SkyMiles elite status through a mix of flights and credit card spending.

In fact, I hit Delta Silver Elite status within the first few months of 2024 after Delta made significant changes to its Delta SkyMiles program and locked in Delta Gold Medallion status just before the end of the year.

In addition to jumpstarting elite status, the Delta Reserve Amex has many other travel-friendly benefits. It offers 15 SkyClub lounge visits per year, an annual companion certificate, priority boarding, a 15% discount on award travel, a statement credit for Global Entry ($120 every four years) or TSA PreCheck (up to $85 every 4 1/2 years) and more.

With the Delta Reserve, you can earn up to 125,000 bonus SkyMiles: 100,000 bonus SkyMiles after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership, plus earn 25,000 bonus SkyMiles after spending an additional $3,000 on purchases (for a total of $9,000) in the first six months of card membership. According to TPG's October 2025 valuations, that bonus is worth up to $1,563, but you can technically squeeze even more value out of those miles thanks to Delta's TakeOff 15 feature that let's you save an additional 15% on award tickets.

Here's how I earned Delta Gold Medallion status and how I plan to maintain it in the coming year.

How to qualify for Delta Medallion status

As of 2024, Medallion Qualification Dollars are Delta's only elite qualification metric. You must reach a certain MQD threshold within the calendar year to earn one of Delta's four elite status tiers:

• 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

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The more MQDs you earn throughout the year, the higher status you'll achieve, with each tier providing more and better benefits than the last.

When you hit one of these thresholds and earn elite status, you'll begin enjoying the benefits right away, as well as through January of the following year. For example, because I hit Gold Medallion status in December 2024, I'll keep that status through Jan. 31, 2026.

All SkyMiles members earn 1 MQD per $1 spent on flights operated by Delta or one of its partner airlines. Delta SkyMiles American Express cardholders earn additional MQDs on purchases made with their card, thanks to the program's MQD Boost.

You earn 1 MQD for every $20 in purchases with the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card or Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card and 1 MQD for every $10 in purchases with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card or the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card.

Delta flights

I still don't consider myself part of the camp of frequent flyers who I mistakenly thought were the only ones who could earn elite status. However, I did fly quite a bit for work and pleasure last year. (As a writer who primarily covers theme parks and family travel, most of my trips were a bit of both.)

In 2024, I earned 3,203 MQDs on 17 flights (32 total flight segments). That averages out to only about 1 1/2 one-way Delta flights per month, far from the type of traveler who only sees their families on weekends and holidays.

Delta Reserve Amex credit card spending

As I mentioned, my Delta Reserve Amex earns 1 MQD for every $10 spent on the card. I wouldn't say I went out of my way to put spending solely on this card, but I was conscious of using it frequently enough to see if I could hit the threshold for Silver Medallion and then Gold.

Looking back over my 2024 credit card statements, I earned between 37 MQDs and 406 MQDs per month. The high end of that spectrum was thanks to putting all of my family's December 2024 spending (including Christmas shopping) on my Delta Reserve Amex when I realized Gold Medallion status was within reach.

In total, I earned 2,523 MQDs via credit card spending in 2024.

Annual MQD Headstart and other ways to earn

There are other card perks that automatically earned me even more MQDs and made Gold Medallion possible.

Each year, Delta Amex cardholders earn a 2,500 MQD Headstart. Delta also issued a one-time 1,000 MQD bonus as a result of the changes to the SkyMiles program.

Luckily, Delta also offers occasional opportunities to earn MQDs on categories that don't typically earn MQDs. Last year, Delta offered a promotion to earn MQDs on rental cars and hotel stays booked through the Travel Extras portal. My husband also travels for work, so we took advantage of that for about 600 additional MQDs.

Keep an eye on your inbox (or on TPG's deals page) so you don't miss out on special offers like this one that can help you earn additional MQDs.

My Medallion status benefits

When I hit Silver Medallion, I began to enjoy some of the benefits of elite status. I received the occasional Comfort upgrade and was once upgraded to first class on a red-eye flight home after a work trip. Getting even a few hours of sleep (and a glass of Champagne) made Silver Medallion worth it, in my opinion.

I haven't flown yet now that I've hit Gold Medallion, but these are the benefits I have to look forward to:

• 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

I have two Delta trips booked already this year, and I'm curious to find out if I'll get more frequent upgrades.

Bottom line

Earning Silver Medallion status this year should be fairly simple. The 2,500 MQD headstart will push me to the halfway mark, and even if I only fly the exact number of Delta flights I did last year, I'll easily cross the 5,000 MQD mark.

Whether or not I see a major difference between the perks of Silver Medallion and Gold Medallion status will probably determine whether or not I shoot for Gold again this year. If the upgrade frequency is about the same, I'll probably be fine keeping Silver Medallion status because so many of the benefits come from having the Delta Reserve Amex and not necessarily from my status tier.

Even if you are only a semi-frequent traveler like myself, you should be able to employ my somewhat loosey-goosey strategy of combining flights and credit card spending to hit Delta Medallion status, too.

Related reading:

• The best credit cards to reach elite status
• How to maximize the new statement credits on the Delta Amex cards
• Is the Delta Reserve Amex worth the annual fee?
• Best Delta credit cards