Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.I just logged into my Delta.com account and saw that my rollover MQMs from 2012 have already posted. I am starting this year off at 7,141 MQMs without stepping on a Delta plane in 2013. While that isn’t as much as I rolled over last year, it’s a start and I didn’t want to get overly invested with Delta last year in case the rumors of SkyMiles changing into a revenue-based program turn out to be true. Because of that, I diversified my loyalty portfolio and qualified for American Executive Platinum and United Platinum.My new year’s bonus with Delta.. wish other airlines would followHowever, Delta’s rollover perk is great in my opinion since it allows customers to keep flying the airline after they reach an elite level for the year because you know those miles will go towards the next year’s qualification. In most programs, your elite miles reset to zero on January 1 of every year, so it’s nice to start your year with rollover padding, even if it’s just a little.Rollover BasicsRollover benefits mean Medallion Qualification Miles earned in 2012 above a member’s earned Medallion threshold level will roll over to 2013 and count toward 2014 Medallion status qualification. Whether you roll over 500 miles or one million, there’s no limit.If you are a Silver or Gold Medallion the maximum you can rollover is 24,999 miles, since anything more would bump you to the next level; Platinum Medallions may rollover up to 49,999 MQMs; Diamond Medallions have no limit to how many MQMs they can rollover. Something important to point out is if you do not qualify for Silver Medallion status, you wouldn’t be able to rollover any MQMs, so you must achieve elite status at some level in order to rollover miles.Members who receive complimentary or gifted Medallion status are ineligible for rollover MQMs unless they earn more MQMs than the gifted status requirement. For example, if a member is gifted Silver Medallion status in 2012 and also earns 30,000 MQMs in 2012, he will be able to roll over 5,000 MQMs since the Silver Medallion requirement is 25,000 MQMs - so essentially it’s the same conditions as earning elite status normally. Gifted status doesn’t gift you any MQMs- just temporarily elevates your status, so if you get gifted silver and accrue 28,000 MQMs, you are still a Silver with 28,000 MQMs- not a Gold (50,000 MQMs).Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.As I discussed in this post, sometimes it makes more sense to rollover miles than to gun for the next elite level - especially if you think you’ll be flying more the following year and can use the head start to qualify for an elite level you haven’t historically been able to hit. For me it means that, while exploring the elite benefits of American and United this year, I at least have a foothold toward earning Delta elite status at the levels I have been used to like Diamond and Platinum without having to necessarily fly all those miles this year.Maximizing MQMs from Credit CardsIf you didn’t get as many rollover miles as you need/want you can always get a bunch by getting Delta Amex premium credit cards. The Reserve card ($450 annual fee) gives 10,000 MQMs with the first purchase and an additional 15,000 MQMs at $30,000 in spend and yet another 15,000 at $60,000 in spend. The Delta Platinum card ($150 annual fee) gives 5,000 MQMs with first purchase and then 10,000 MQMs at $25,000 in spend and an additional 10,000 at $50,000 in spend. You have all calendar to achieve those spend thresholds, so it is better to plan and start now if that is an angle you want to take to maintain/achieve Medallion status.
