Earn MQDs on hotel stays and rental cars when you book through Delta by the end of March
Editor's Note
Delta Air Lines is offering Delta SkyMiles members another path to earn Medallion Qualification Dollars toward elite status with its Stays and Cars promotion. You can earn 1 MQD per base dollar spent on hotel bookings, vacation rentals and car rentals booked through the Travel Extras portal by March 31 for travel completed by April 30.
Earn Delta MQDs on hotels and vacation rentals
During this promotion, you'll earn 1 MQD per dollar spent on hotel stays and vacation rentals booked through Delta's travel portal. This is in addition to the redeemable SkyMiles (members earn a minimum of 2 miles for every dollar spent on the base hotel rate) you ordinarily earn for every dollar spent at most hotels booked through the Travel Extras portal.
Per the promotion's terms, you can only earn on the base cost of the hotel room — before taxes and fees are charged at the time of booking.
For example, here's what you could earn for a two-night stay at the Moxy Minneapolis Downtown:
- 390 MQDs
- 781 SkyMiles (worth $9.37 based on TPG's February 2025 valuations)
Earn Delta MQDs on rental cars
Additionally, participants earn 1 MQD per dollar spent on base car rental rates for every completed rental booking.
You will not earn MQDs on charges like taxes, one-way rental fees, fuel services and tolls. Additionally, when booking cars through Delta's portal, you can earn bonus SkyMiles with rental car partners and if you hold elite status with Delta.
For instance, Hertz is a Delta partner. If you decide to book a rental car with the company through Delta, you'll earn 4 miles per dollar spent on qualifying rentals as a basic SkyMiles member. Additionally, depending on your Delta elite status, you can earn 5 to 8 miles per dollar spent on qualifying rentals.
As another example, say you decide to book a Hertz rental car at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) through Delta's portal. Here are how many MQDs and SkyMiles you can earn on a two-day-long rental with the current promotion:
- 113 MQDs
- 456 SkyMiles (worth $5.47 based on TPG's February 2025 valuations)
Important terms
As always, make sure to read the full terms and conditions of this promotion before you book.
One of the most important things to note is that you can only earn MQDs if your name appears on the credit card you pay with. Delta will not credit MQDs if the first and last names on the card do not match the information on the SkyMiles account.
After you travel, it can take up to eight weeks to receive the MQDs.
Additionally, those with a Delta cobranded card can earn up to $100 or up to $250 Delta Stays statement credits annually when they use the card to purchase prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays. Prepaid Delta Stays reservations qualify as Delta purchases on cobranded cards.
Delta cardholders — including those with the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card or the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card — earn 3 miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases. Cardholders of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card earn 2 miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases.
Bottom line
This promotion is another way to earn Delta status without flying. By earning MQDs through nonflight activities outside one of the airline's cobranded cards, this promotion sets a new precedent for Medallion status.
Delta appears to be sending emails about this promotion to SkyMiles members in batches — we hope to see more ways to earn MQDs like this one in the future.
Related reading:
TPG featured card
Rewards
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro offer
Annual Fee
Recommended Credit
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month