Near the end of last year, Delta announced that it would make some significant changes, including abolishing MQMs. As part of the move, Delta announced that members with excess MQMs that rolled over will be able to convert them to MQDs or Redeemable SkyMiles. Well, if you haven’t done this yet, this functionality is still live on the Delta website. You can now convert your rolled-over MQMs to MQDs, Redeemable miles, or even use some of them to extend your status for 2025.
MQM Conversion Rollover Overview
You can convert your rolled-over MQMs as follows:
- The one-off conversion must be completed by December 31, 2024.
- You can convert your rolled-over MQMs to MQDs or, redeemable SkyMiles, or a mix of both.
- If you have a sufficiently large balance, you can use your MQMs to extend your status through 2025.
- You can only do the conversion once; you cannot make various conversions during the year.
MQM Conversion Rates
The conversion ratio is pretty straightforward: 10:1. For every 10 MQMs you convert, you will receive 1 MQD. However, it is worth noting that you can also opt to convert your excess MQMs to redeemable SkyMiles. If you choose to take this route, the conversion ratio is much more favorable at a rate of 2:1. For every 2 MQMs you convert, you will receive one redeemable SkyMiles.
MQM Rollover Conversion Percentages
One thing to keep in mind is that you are not free to convert how the MQMs as you want. So, you cannot decide what percentage of your MQMs to convert to SkyMiles and MQDs, respectively. Instead, the Delta website will offer you various options of the percentage split for your conversion. The current splits on offer are as follows:
- 0% to MQDs and 100% to redeemable miles.
- 25% to MQDs and 75% to redeemable miles.
- 50% to MQDs and 50% to redeemable miles.
- 75% to MQDs and 25% to redeemable miles.
- 100% to MQDs and 0% to redeemable miles.
Use MQMs to Maintain Status
One thing to note is that if you have a huge balance of MQMs over 100,000, you can use that to extend your status for a year. In exchange for 100,000 MQMs, you can extend the validity of your 2024 Delta Medallion Status for a year.
You can then choose to convert the remainder of your balance to MQDs or redeemable miles. One thing that is unclear is how many years you can extend your status by converting your stock of MQMs. For instance, if you have in excess of 300,000 MQMS, can you exchange them for three years of your current status? Or are you restricted to exchanging only 100,000 MQMs for one year’s worth of status?
One thing to note is that you do not receive any additional Status levels for your 100,000 MQMs. So, a Delta Medallion Gold member will receive Delta Medallion Gold for 2025. On the other hand, a Delta Diamond member will receive a Delta Diamond for 2025. This is despite the fact that both have converted 100,000 MQMs. Unless you hold top-tier status, you may want to crunch the number and work out if converting your MQMs to MQDs is a better option than spending 100,000 MQMs to renew your current status for one year.
You may find that converting to MQDs, coupled with your current travel plans, will earn you a higher status than you already have this year.
Final Thoughts
If you have a stock of MQMs that you can convert, this is an excellent opportunity to turn them into something quite useful. You have until the end of the year to convert your MQMs.
If you’ve already waited until the end of the year, you may find that you are able to use your rolled-over MQMs to fill in any gaps in your strategy. For instance, if you are a few MQDs short by next week, that is the perfect opportunity to convert and fill the gap in your MQDs. One thing you will have to keep in mind is that you can only do this once. So, make sure to crunch the numbers a few times to work out the best conversion mix for you.
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