I’m sure everyone is getting tired of all the hot takes on the Delta SkyMiles/SkyClub changes, but now that I’ve had a week or so to digest them, I had a few more thoughts.

2025 Status

A lot of Delta Medallion members will have a tough decision to make. Convert their excess rollover MQMs (as of 1/1/2024) to MQDs at 1:20 or SkyMiles at 1:2. At first glance, it makes sense to just take the SkyMiles, which can usually be redeemed at around 1.3-1.5cpm (if you have a Delta credit card) and use them toward free flights. However, you may want to wait on this. The deadline to convert is not until 12/31/2024. Why not see how close you are to the next Medallion level toward the end of the year?

I will have about 76,000 rollover MQMs which will either give me 38,000 SkyMiles (worth around $500-550) or 3,800 MQDs. You can also convert in blocks of 25% so for example I could take 50% SkyMiles and 50% MQDs, etc.

My plan is to have a sense of how close I am to Silver Medallion toward the end of 2024 and act accordingly. I already know I will not get close to Gold Medallion based on my previous spending patterns. If my MQD total is a little over my current estimate of 4,000, I will probably take 25% of the rollover in MQDs to make sure I hit 6,000 total and get Silver status for 2025. I am not expecting to get any upgrades to First or even to Comfort Plus, but at least with Silver, we can pick preferred seats (exit row!) and get other elite benefits for another year.

Beyond 2025, I would be surprised to hit any level of Delta elite status unless I start traveling a lot for work or have some expensive trips (unlikely as we tend to use miles and points traveling internationally.) Whatever your plan is today, hold off a bit before you convert and see how close you are to 2025 status.

2024/2025 Flying

Should you switch to another airline now and start preparing for life without Delta in 2025? Most of us in Atlanta/Detroit/Minneapolis/Salt Lake City would probably say no, let’s just milk our Delta status and lounge access for the last year. If you are a New York/Los Angeles Delta flyer, you might want to look at the competition if you are interested in earning meaningful elite status for 2025. There are also quite a few Delta loyalists who live in other airline’s hubs such as Dallas and Chicago. Yes, these people have been mostly connecting via Delta hubs rather than taking nonstop flights for years. I’ll never understand this mindset as while I mostly enjoy traveling, the point of the trip is at the destination (especially on a domestic flight).

I expect most of us Atlanta flyers will keep using Delta in 2025 and beyond, but will comparison shop. If it’s close, I’ll probably stick with Delta, but if there’s a big fare difference, hello Southwest/American/United/JetBlue, maybe even Spirit (I’ve actually seen decent reviews). With our annual travel insurance, we won’t worry too much about cancelled flights or delays as we can just book something else and get reimbursed later.

Lounge Access

For 2024 (and through January 2025), we will continue to enjoy unlimited SkyClub access. on 2/1/2025, the new limits kick in for the rest of that year and moving forward.

At this point, I’m not sure what credit cards we are keeping with lounge access going forward. It is very likely that we will keep our Morgan Stanley Amex Platinum as I can get the annual fee waived with a minimum balance in an account at Morgan Stanley and it comes with a free authorized user card. That will get us six SkyClub visits each plus access to Amex Centurion lounges when flying any airline (plus all the other Amex Platinum benefits that make the card a moneymaker even if you are paying the annual fee).

As for my business Delta Reserve card that I used the last four years to help earn Delta Platinum status by achieving spend levels for MQM boosts, I have until February 2024 to decide about that card. I likely will just wait for the companion ticket to be safely in my account and then cancel the card while I can still get the annual fee refunded. I certainly won’t be spending on the card next year and I don’t think the companion ticket (and 10 club visits) is worth keeping the card year over year.

We could always each grab a personal Delta Reserve card at the beginning of 2025 for the signup bonus if we felt that the 10 SkyClub visits (plus two guest passes) were needed. I find that possibility unlikely as I don’t wish to waste any spend on those cards. We could hopefully instead continue to get some Amex Business Platinum no lifetime language offers to add to our SkyClub pass limit.

There is now a Priority Pass restaurant in Atlanta in Concourse B – the Sam Adams Brewhouse. With Priority Pass memberships from Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Ritz-Carlton and Capital One Venture X Business credit cards, you and up to two guests can get $28 worth of food and drink at the restaurant. It won’t be totally free as you should also tip your server appropriately. There is also the currently substandard Club lounge in Concourse F and, coming soon, the largest Amex Centurion lounge in the network in Concourse E. So, there are non-SkyClub options if we want to seek them out. Perhaps more will come online as there is a gap in the lounge market for Delta flyers in Atlanta (and other Delta hubs).

It will be interesting to see how things develop over the next year as Delta reacts to the general negative feelings about the changes. I’m sure there is more to come on this topic.

If you enjoyed this post (or have questions), let me know in the comments or send me an email at emptynestermiles@gmail.com. If you are thinking about opening a new credit card, please use one of my links.