@redpat wrote:Congrats K.
I just can’t pull myself away from AA. Lol, I had two Atlanta trips this year and Delta was direct and AA not but I still couldn’t book delta. The cost was basically the same and it really only cost me time, 2hrs.
These are the funny things we may do to maintain the upper ends of elite status, more miles and segments if time is the cost.
Thank you! Yes, it may seem silly to some people, but it can certainly be a huge benefit to not take the most direct route to some places. And loyalty certainly pays off if you can make it work for you. Plus with your AA vs Delta choice, you may need to take baggage fees and lounge access into account to arrive at your "true cost." If you have to pay $25 for a bag in each direction, buy yourself a $15 fast food meal because there's no convenient lounge option, and get fewer miles back on your flight because you have a lower or no elite status on the other airline, then it always makes sense to go with a ticket with your preferred airline if the price is close.
Oh, also I forgot to give two very special thank yous. Thanks to @Anonymous for starting the thread on the elevated 70k Reserve offer. It only shows on the Delta website, and since I already had the SkyMiles Platinum my cookies prevented the offer from showing up for me, so I would have never known about it otherwise. And thank you to @NRB525 for pointing out the not-so-obvious that I could still apply for the card in 2018 and just not complete the $5,000 spend until after January 1st in order for the MQMs to apply to my 2020 elite qualifications. (Otherwise I'd lose the 10,000 MQMs at teh end of this year.) My original plan was to either upgrade my Platinum with a minimal or no upgrade offer, or to apply on January 1st for the standard 40k offer. This is a best of all worlds, as I get the full 70k SkyMiles, I get the 10k MQMs when I actually need them, and I'm still in a timeline where I may be able to either save or offset the $195 annual fee on my SkyMiles Platinum by calling retention now that I have the Reserve.
If anyone else is interested in the historically high 70,000 SkyMile offer for the Delta Reserve, the direct link is here [not a referral or affiliate link].
Congrats on the approval!
I applied first of 2018, and ended up taking a bunch of business trips, so the Delta Skyclub access worked out very well. Looking forward to my First Class companion ticket booking early 2019.
For myself, I now have quite a few MQM over Silver status, but have not quite reached $25k AMEX Delta card spend, and likely will not trigger that unless I figure out some reason why Gold would be better than Silver. Will then take another run at $25k and then $30k in 2019 to ensure Silver for 2020. Year End planning for MQM
I applied first of 2018, and ended up taking a bunch of business trips, so the Delta Skyclub access worked out very well. Looking forward to my First Class companion ticket booking early 2019.
For myself, I now have quite a few MQM over Silver status, but have not quite reached $25k AMEX Delta card spend, and likely will not trigger that unless I figure out some reason why Gold would be better than Silver. Will then take another run at $25k and then $30k in 2019 to ensure Silver for 2020. Year End planning for MQM
@K-in-Boston, I wanna be like you when I grow up! 
That's freaking awesome! I'm eyeballing a Delta SkyMiles card in the future, but I'll live vicariously through you for now. 
Thanks! Other than the MQM/MQD/RDM boost, signup bonus, upgrade priority by having the card, and the companion certificate, the card is unfortunately very redundant for me (including Sky Club access) which is sad considering its $450 annual fee. But those are more than enough! If you don't think you'd qualify for silver (FO) for 2020 without the rollover, then yes I'd probably just leave it be so that you can ensure you keep it.
As for FO vs GM, the key differences are:
- 1 extra RDM (SkyMiles) per $
- Confirmed F and C+ upgrades 72 hours instead of 24 hours before departure (including some Aeromexico flights)
- Waived same-day confirmed and standby fees
- Sky Priority boarding and security access (so if the PreCheck line is long, they just send you to the front of the regular line - annoying with the shoes/belt/laptop/liquids shuffling, but it's nice to have the option; I've even read some reports on FT that if the passenger has both SkyPriority and TSA Precheck, they were allowed to go the front of the Precheck line).
- Higher priority phone line
- SkyTeam Elite Plus status (regular Elite gets you pretty much nothing on other SkyTeam airlines), bolded because this is one that I am most likely to benefit the most from.
- Priority baggage handling
- SkyTeam lounge access
- Five Star Hertz status
I may still go for gold, after getting through the Hilton Aspire spend.
I have had some luck, some disappointments with trying to flash Silver status to KLM situations.
Five Star I actually reached this year as well. Then pretty much stopped business traveling
I have had some luck, some disappointments with trying to flash Silver status to KLM situations.
Five Star I actually reached this year as well. Then pretty much stopped business traveling
Congratulations, K! 👍👍
Congrats K!!!
I haven't app'd yet but if I do it's going to be for the business version ( I have the Business Gold Delta).
I think the lounge access should be revamped to include primary cardholder +1 complimentary guest. I'm also looking to get the Platinum Delta for the companion tickets which will come in handy when I travel with DW for our traditional winter travel. 