Delta MQD Calculator
Delta SkyMiles qualifies Medallion status purely on Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQD) — a measure of what you spend on eligible fares, in US dollars, across the calendar year. Distance and cabin only matter insofar as they change the fare.
Enter a route, cabin and fare below to see the MQD a flight earns, on Delta or SkyTeam partners.
Calculate your MQD
Add further segments and adjust detail in the full builder after calculating.
SkyMiles status tiers
| Tier | MQD required from zero |
|---|---|
| Silver | 5,000 |
| Gold | 10,000 |
| Platinum | 15,000 |
| Diamond | 28,000 |
Qualifies on MQDs (spend-based, ≈ revenue). The counter is a calendar year and resets to zero on 1 January; status earned in a year runs to 31 January of the year after next. The MQD Headstart is a credit against that single annual counter, so it counts toward every tier rather than only the upper ones: it comes with four named US-issued American Express products (Delta SkyMiles Platinum and Reserve, personal and business), and is granted per card type rather than per card held. Main Basic (Basic Economy) earns NO MQDs: the asterisk on Delta's own $1-MQD rule states that Main Basic tickets are not eligible for earning miles OR credit toward Medallion and Million Miler Status, and MQD is the sole Medallion currency (read 31 Aug 2026) — the opposite of United, whose Basic fares earn full PQP. The zero is encoded against the FARE PRODUCT ('Main Basic', selectable on booking class E), not against a bare letter: E is doubly attested as Basic's letter (Delta's own fare card and Flying Blue's chart) but from a single fare card, and the week's Saudia finding is that letters do not identify fare products — an E ticket with no product selected still computes at the published $1 rule.
Frequently asked questions
- How are MQD earned on flights?
- On Delta's own flight numbers, from the eligible fare — base fare plus carrier surcharges, excluding government taxes — at 1 MQD per US dollar. SkyTeam partners are different: Delta publishes a separate percentage-of-distance MQD chart for each partner airline, keyed to booking class, so a partner sector does not earn from spend at all. Enter the fare for the sector rather than the whole ticket, in the currency you paid; the calculator converts at a dated reference rate, and entering US dollars avoids the conversion entirely.
- Is MQD the only status requirement?
- Delta qualifies Medallion status on MQD alone — the thresholds below are the whole requirement, with no separate flight or segment minimum. Co-branded card spending can also contribute MQD. The MQD Headstart, carried by four US-issued American Express Delta SkyMiles cards, is a credit against that single annual MQD counter, so it counts toward every tier rather than only the top two, and it is granted once per card type. Card MQD sits outside a per-flight calculation.
- What are the Medallion thresholds?
- The ladder below shows the current MQD thresholds for Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond Medallion status.