Gifting your Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card MQMs - NerdWallet (2024)

Editor's note: Big changes are coming to Delta's SkyMiles program in 2024, including how members can earn elite status. The carrier will also be cutting back Sky Club lounge access. Read more on these upcoming changes here.

If you have the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card or Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, you already know that your card comes with a “Status Boost” to help you earn Medallion Qualifying Mile, or MQMs, — units you need to attain elite flyer status that comes with perks like complimentary upgrades, waived change fees and bonus Delta SkyMiles every time you fly. Spend $30,000 in a year on either card and you earn 15,000 MQMs, and you can do so up to four times a year for a total of 60,000 MQMs. Terms apply.

But keeping your hard-earned MQMs for yourself is just one option. You can also gift them to a friend or family member. Here’s an overview of both cards, followed by some things you’ll want to know if you’re thinking of giving those MQMs away.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: The basics

The personal version of the Reserve card carries a $550 annual fee. Terms apply. Besides earning 15,000 MQMs for every $30,000 charged in a year, cardmembers get a suite of other benefits:

Terms apply.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: The basics

The annual fee for the business card is also $550, but the mileage earning benefits are slightly different. You’ll earn the same 3 miles per dollar on Delta flights, but when you reach $150,000 a year in spend, non-Delta purchases start earning 1.5x SkyMiles instead of 1x. If you’re a big spender or charge a lot in business purchases throughout the year, this could mean a nice bump for you. The other card benefits are the same as the personal version of the card. Terms apply.

Delta Reserve Status Boost

The Status Boost is the same for both the personal and business versions of the card: You’ll earn 15,000 MQMs after you spend $30,000 on your card in a calendar year, up to four times. That means you can earn 60,000 MQMs with either card, almost enough for Platinum Medallion Status just in credit card spend. Terms apply.

Get emails on your MQM progress

Every time you hit a $30,000 spending threshold, Delta will shoot you an email titled “You’ve earned 15,000 More MQMs With Your Card.” It could end up in your junk folder if you’re not used to getting emails from American Express.

Want to track your own progress? Just use the handy tracker on the American Express website located under the “Home” section halfway down on the right hand side.

How to receive or gift your MQMs

Click the link in the email to get to the MQM website, then choose your card type.

You’re then asked to either apply the MQMs to your own account or gift them to someone else. To keep them for yourself, just click “Add the 15,000 MQMs to my SkyMiles account.”

The MQMs post right away.

If you want to gift your MQMs to someone else, you’ll need their name as it appears on their Delta SkyMiles account and their account number. A friend of mine gifted me his 15,000 MQMs and they appeared in my account about three hours later.

The bottom line

In response to the pandemic, MQMs you earned in 2020 are being applied toward your 2021 status. So if you keep the MQMs earned using your card, you’ll have a significant head start toward your next level of status.

Of course, if you have a frequent flyer in your family and it’s been a tough year for them, a Delta Status Boost could make a nice gift. Be sure to factor in where you and your potential gift recipient are sitting in terms of MQMs to advance to the next SkyMiles level. You may prefer to allocate them to the person who can most easily qualify for a new elite status.