Delta Leaves Its Elite Status Bar Untouched for a Third Year

Delta Air Lines is keeping the bar for its Medallion elite status where it is for 2027. A spokesperson confirmed to The Points Guy on October 22 that the qualification thresholds are unchanged from 2026, marking the third straight year without an increase. The numbers are measured in Medallion Qualification Dollars: 5,000 for Silver, 10,000 for Gold, 15,000 for Platinum and 28,000 for Diamond.

Members earn one MQD per dollar spent on Delta-marketed flights or Delta Vacations packages. Flights operated by partners earn MQDs based on distance and fare class instead. Certain Delta American Express cards also earn MQDs through spending, and some give a 2,500 MQD head start each year, which can shorten the climb for cardholders.

Timing matters for anyone chasing status. MQDs reset on January 1, 2027, and anything earned above a threshold does not carry over into the next year. Status earned in 2027 lasts through all of 2028 and expires on January 31, 2029. That gives frequent flyers a full year of benefits from the year’s flying, which is a reason to check spending against the thresholds before the year-end reset.

The decision stands out because rivals have been adjusting. United and Southwest have recently changed their status rules, and American Airlines had not yet published its 2027 requirements at the time of the report. The last significant Delta change came in late 2023, when it lowered thresholds by about 15 percent during a SkyMiles overhaul, and current requirements remain below the levels first announced then.

Sources: The Points Guy, Delta Air Lines