Even though SkyMiles 2015 doesn’t start until January 1, Delta flyers know that dollars spent already matter when it comes to your elite status next year. Now, in addition to miles flown, dollars spent are figured into your elite Medallion status qualification for next year.

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Delta flyers are also aware that if you spend at least $25,000 on your SkyMiles Amex, you get a waiver of the MQD requirement. While I haven’t hit that number on my Delta Amex yet, I will. So if the MQD waiver is there, why should anyone care about MQDs? A matter of principle. Delta makes the rules here, and the least they can do is ensure MQDs get credited when earned. I was going through my flights for the year recently and found this.

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I did not receive MQDs from a fairly expensive short-haul flight on the second leg of a roundtrip flight. I wrote Delta and pointed out the missing MQDs. To Delta’s credit, I received a response the same day.

We are aware that MQDs are not posting correctly for some tickets issued
in our system.  Often these MQDs are associated with flights which
experienced some sort of delay or cancellation.  Please understand, our
SkyMiles Leadership team has been working diligently with our IT team to
repair the problem.  We have forwarded the ticket information for these
flights and ask that you allow 8 to 10 weeks for the requested flights
to be corrected.  We regret any frustration or inconvenience this has
caused and thank you for your patience.

Thank you for your support as a Platinum Medallion member and for
trusting your business to us.  Be assured, we will make every attempt to
serve you well; we are focused on the future and look forward to our
continued business relationship.”

So, Delta is aware of the problem, and they are working to fix it. That’s good. The email points out that the SkyMiles leadership team is working with IT to fix it, and they’ve identified an issue when flights experience some sort of delay or cancellation. That did not happen on this particular flight, but I did same day confirm onto a later flight than I originally booked. Could be a useful data point in watching your MQD balance.

In the end, this isn’t the biggest deal in the world, but if you are a Medallion elite that does not carry any of Delta’s Amex products (and I know there are some), it matters. Mind your MQDs, especially if there is a delay, cancellation, or other change to your original booking.

-MJ, September 5, 2014