Former executive editor Scott Mayerowitz is one of the nation's leading travel experts, having covered all aspects of the industry for the past 15 years. He has extensive knowledge about the airline, hotel and cruise sectors, plus the loyalty programs and credit cards that power them.
February 6, 2020 • 12 min read
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Quick summary
The article explores how certain airline credit cards can help travelers fast-track to elite status with a major U.S. carrier, even without frequent flying.
These cards offer unique perks such as lounge access, companion tickets and the ability to earn elite-qualifying miles through card spending.
Holding multiple cards can multiply benefits, including additional lounge guest passes and more companion certificates each year.
The piece highlights how these features can make travel more comfortable and potentially save money for frequent flyers or families.
What to consider
Some offers and benefits discussed may no longer be available, as noted in the article update.
Eligibility for perks like companion tickets and elite status boosts often depends on meeting specific spending thresholds within a calendar year.
Companion tickets and lounge access come with restrictions, such as fare class exclusions and guest limitations.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of how to strategically combine multiple airline credit cards to maximize elite status, lounge access and companion ticket benefits.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
For the past two decades, I've been active in the "hobby" of collecting points and miles to make travel cheaper and more luxurious.
OK — it's really part hobby and part obsession, complete with spreadsheets to track my account balances, progress toward elite status and all my free hotel night or flight companion certificates. With 19 credit cards — yes I know it's not normal — there are tons of perks to look after.
Cocktail hour conversations often turn into mini lessons about how to maximize credit card spend and advice about what new cards to get. My top suggestions (depending on the person) are often The Platinum Card® from American Express, the Chase Sapphire Reserve or — for those starting out in the hobby — the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. Up until this point, no one is typically shocked by my advice.
There is unquestionably value to be found in the Delta SkyMiles program, but you might be surprised at just how much power the Delta Amex cards themselves have to make your Delta flying experience better — and cheaper.
Fast-track to elite status
The greatest value in the Delta Amex cards (for me) is the ability to charge my way to Delta Medallion elite status. This is one of the unique features that, of the big three legacy U.S. airlines, only Delta has. Other airline credit cards can help get you closer to elite status. But only Delta lets big spenders charge their way to airline elite status without ever setting foot on a plane. (Frontier and JetBlue also let you earn top-tier via credit card spend.)
For those who aren't as obsessed with Delta elite status as I am, you earn SkyMiles elite status by accumulating a combination of Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) or Medallion Qualification Segments (MQSs), typically through flying. (You also need to spend a certain amount of money, but more on that later.) If you get 25,000 MQMs or 30 MQSs in a calendar year, you hit Silver Medallion status; the requirements for higher tiers are 50,000 MQMs/60 MQSs for Gold Medallion, 75,000/100 for Platinum Medallion and 125,000/140 for top-tier Diamond Medallion.
Flyers typically earn 1 MQM for each mile flown on Delta, with a 50% bonus for tickets purchased in premium cabins. However, with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, I earn 15,000 MQMs for every $30,000 in spending each calendar year, up to a total of 60,000 MQMs for spending $120,000.
To put this in perspective, earning 15,000 MQMs by traveling would require flying round-trip between New York and San Francisco three times in coach.
Also, by putting at least $25,000 on the card, Delta flyers are exempt from the airline's spending requirements for elite status up through Platinum Medallion. Low-tier Silver Medallion status would normally require a traveler to accumulate 3,000 Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) each year. That's $3,000 on airfare, before taxes and fees — in addition to all the miles (or segments) you need to fly. For Platinum status, the spending figure jumps to $9,000.
To be exempt from the spending requirement for Diamond status, one would need to spend $250,000 on one of the Delta American Express cards. That's pretty tough for most folks to do, but you can likely envision a small business owner easily hitting that target.
Here's where it gets interesting: A big-spending, small business owner could earn 60,000 MQMs for putting $120,000 on their Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card. If they also had the personal Reserve card and spent $120,000 on that, they would get another 60,000 MQMs. That means they would almost be at Diamond status without ever stepping foot on an airplane. (Of course, what good is status if you don't actually plan to fly, but you get the idea.)
(Photo by Nick Ellis/The Points Guy)
The consumer Delta Reserve card is currently offering 50,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first six months of account opening. The business Delta Reserve card is offering 60,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first three months of account opening.
Application links: Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Believe it or not, this can get even more lucrative. If somebody also had the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, they could earn even more MQMs with spending on the card. Those cardholders can earn 10,000 bonus MQMs after spending $25,000 on the card in a calendar year, and then another 10,000 MQMs after reaching $50,000 in spending in a calendar year. That card is currently offering a welcome bonus of 50,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first six months of account opening.
So why does this all matter?
Being a top-tier Delta Diamond member means higher chances of being upgraded on your flights plus plenty of other perks and waived fees. There's complimentary CLEAR membership, an expedited airport-security program that continues to expand. At the time of writing, it's available at over 30 airports and 20 additional event venues. These flyers also get three Choice Benefits (on top of the one you earn when reaching the Platinum Medallion requirements). Options for Diamond travelers include an individual Sky Club membership, upgrade certificates (including Global Upgrade Certificates), 25,000 bonus miles or a gift of Gold Medallion status to a friend or family member.
The Delta Sky Club PHX.(Photo courtesy of Delta Air Lines)
My Reserve card offers an individual Sky Club membership, and as of Jan. 30, 2020, the card now comes with complimentary access to American Express Centurion Lounges when flying Delta with a ticket purchased on the card (up to two guests may also enter for a fee of $50 each). There are already Centurion Lounges in airports such as New York-LaGuardia (LGA), Houston (IAH), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Miami (MIA), Las Vegas (LAS), San Francisco (SFO) and more. But it gets better, as more are on the way. I often fly out of Charlotte (CLT) for work travel and can't wait for the new Centurion Lounge to open there this year.
But what really excites me about the recent changes to the Reserve cards is the ability to now get two free guest passes to the Sky Club for each Reserve card. Since I have both the personal and small business Reserve card, that means I can guest my daughter into the lounge for free four times a year. (My wife has her own Sky Club access when flying Delta via The Platinum Card® from American Express.)
When traveling with kids, lounges are a great escape. There are plenty of snacks, free drinks and sometimes special perks. For instance, the Sky Club in Palm Beach International Airport has a cart with ice cream sandwiches and other frozen treats.
Here's where I start to truly justify the annual fees for my three Delta cards. That amounts to $250 for the Platinum SkyMiles card (see rates and fees), $550 for the personal Reserve card (see rates and fees) and another $550 for the business Reserve card (see rates and fees).
My family of three likes to travel — a lot.
Not all of my trips involve slime, but ... some do (Photo by Scott Mayerowitz / The Points Guy)
The Delta companion ticket award you receive by renewing your Platinum Delta Amex each year is valid in the Delta economy L, U, T, X and V fare classes. This excludes Delta’s basic economy fares (E class) and some higher coach fare classes. In my experience, this means that you can use the Delta companion ticket on a wide variety of dates and routes, but certainly not on every single flight.
The companion certificate on the Delta Reserve Amex is valid in all those economy fare classes listed above as well as in I and Z (first class) and W (Comfort+).
I plan out my family vacations months in advance and have never had a problem using them to get a free ticket — often worth hundreds of dollars.
Delta Premium Select cabin on the Airbus A350-900 (Photo by Nick Ellis / The Points Guy)
Earn Status while using miles
Getting 1 cent per redeemed Delta mile isn't the best redemption, but if you are sitting on a ton of Delta miles, it is an option — one that lets you travel for free and still earn those valuable MQMs.
I don't suggest this to everybody but the option is, well, another option. And I'm all for having many choices when redeeming miles.
Delta cardholders can take $50 off the price of a Delta ticket for 5,000 miles, in increments of 5,000. So a $280 ticket would cost either 25,000 miles and $30 or 30,000 miles. I would not suggest the latter since you are losing out on $20 worth of miles.
I have three Delta Amex cards because it makes it easier for me to earn valuable Delta Diamond status without doing mileage runs. On top of that, my Delta Amex cards give me Delta Sky Club access when flying Delta plus four Delta Sky Club guest passes. I also have three Delta companion tickets at my disposal every year.
Naturally, not everyone needs three Delta cards (or 19 credit cards in general), but having at least one Delta credit card can make your flying experience on Delta more comfortable and rewarding.
For rates and fees of the Delta Platinum Amex, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta Reserve Amex, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta Reserve Business Amex, please click here.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
