Delta Status Match Challenge Unlocks SkyTeam Benefits

Delta Status Match Challenge Unlocks SkyTeam Benefits
Delta offers a great status match challenge. Photo: Delta Air Lines.

Delta has updated its SkyMiles Medallion Status Match Challenge, offering a little-known shortcut to elite status with Delta and the SkyTeam alliance.

The eligibility criteria for completing a challenge changed in January 2024. So has the amount of time you’ll get to enjoy the benefits of your SkyTeam status if you complete the challenge – now up to a total of two years.

You could be eligible for instant SkyTeam Elite Plus status if you currently hold Gold or Platinum status with Qantas or Virgin Australia. Elite Plus is the highest alliance-wide status tier in the SkyTeam alliance, which includes 19 members such as Vietnam Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Air France.

SkyTeam member airlines as of 2024: Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Czech Airlines, Delta, Garuda Indonesia, ITA Airways, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, MEA, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Xiamen Air.
SkyTeam member airlines as of 2024.

If you’re accepted for a status match, you’ll initially receive three months of Delta SkyMiles status. By completing a challenge during the three-month trial period, you can then extend this status until the end of January 2026!

Our guide to Delta’s 2024 SkyMiles Medallion Status Match Challenge explains how this all works…

Delta SkyMiles status benefits

Delta’s SkyMiles loyalty program has four status tiers: Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond Medallion.

Benefits when flying Delta

Of course, SkyMiles status gets you lots of benefits when flying on Delta itself. This includes complimentary space-available upgrades.

Delta One seats
Delta One, the airline’s Business Class product. Photo: Delta.

You can read the full list of benefits on the Delta website.

Benefits when flying other SkyTeam airlines

Qantas and Velocity Silver match to Delta Silver status, which is equivalent to SkyTeam Elite. Alliance-wide SkyTeam Elite benefits include:

  • Priority check-in
  • Priority boarding
  • Access to preferred seating
  • Extra baggage allowance
  • Priority waitlisting

Qantas and Velocity Gold and Platinum match to Delta Gold and Platinum, respectively, which gets you SkyTeam Elite Plus status.

As a Gold, Platinum or Diamond member, you’ll get complimentary lounge access when flying internationally with other SkyTeam airlines. However, as a rather harsh exception, Delta no longer provides its frequent flyers with lounge access when flying Economy on its own international flights.

SkyTeam Lounge in Sydney (SYD)
The SkyTeam lounge in Sydney’s international terminal. Photo: SkyTeam.

Unfortunately, Delta SkyClub lounge access is not available when flying within the USA on a domestic Delta flight. Under the SkyTeam alliance rules, you also would not get lounge access when travelling on a purely domestic itinerary within any other country.

Other benefits of SkyTeam Elite Plus include:

  • Priority baggage
  • Higher additional baggage allowance
  • Guaranteed access to full-fare Y class economy tickets on any long-haul flight at least 24 hours prior to departure, even if the flight is sold out.

SkyTeam airlines are often overlooked by Australian frequent flyers, but many actually fly to Australia. These include Garuda Indonesia, Vietnam Airlines, Korean Air, China Airlines, Xiamen Air and China Eastern.

Vietnam Airlines Airbus A350 at Sydney Airport
Vietnam Airlines is one of many SkyTeam carriers that flies to Australia. Photo: Matt Graham.

Delta used to be a Virgin Australia partner, but this arrangement ended in June 2022. Outside of the SkyTeam alliance, Delta continues to partner with LATAM Airlines.

How to apply for a Delta Status Match Challenge

If you’re eligible, you can apply for a SkyMiles Medallion Status Match Challenge on the Delta website.

You’ll need to already hold an equivalent status tier with another airline that is not in the SkyTeam alliance. Delta will match with many airlines, including Qantas, Virgin Australia, American Airlines, United and British Airways.

You will need to prove that your current airline status is valid and was actually earned through flying (i.e. not another status match). Delta requires that you include an activity statement with your application that shows you’ve earned your current status by flying.

The 3-month challenge period will begin within one day of Delta responding to your request (you cannot choose an exact start date). It could take up to 15 business days for Delta to get back to you, but it’s usually quicker than this.

You can only request a Delta status match once every three years.

New eligibility criteria from 2024

As of January 2024, there are also two additional eligibility requirements that did not previously apply.

Firstly, your Delta SkyMiles account must be at least 30 days old.

Secondly, and most crucially, non-US residents must have flown Delta at least once in the three years prior to requesting a status match. This must have been a Delta-marketed flight on a Delta ticket, in a fare category higher than Basic Economy. You must have credited this flight to Delta’s SkyMiles program.

What you get during the 3-month challenge period

Once your challenge period begins, you’ll have three months to enjoy the benefits of Delta SkyMiles Medallion status. You won’t receive a physical membership card, but your account will be updated and you will receive a virtual card through the Fly Delta app.

According to the terms and conditions on Delta’s website, you’ll only receive status benefits on Delta-operated flights during the challenge period. But there is anecdotal evidence that the status may still be accepted when flying with some SkyTeam partner airlines.

SkyTeam Lounge in Santiago (SCL)
The SkyTeam Lounge in Santiago, Chile. Photo: SkyTeam.

How to complete a Delta status challenge

Your SkyMiles status will be extended if you earn a minimum amount of Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) during the 3-month challenge period.

Here’s what you’ll need to earn to extend your SkyMiles status until January of the year after next:

Status challenge tierRequirement to extend status
SilverEarn at least 1,250 MQDs within 3 months
GoldEarn at least 2,500 MQDs within 3 months
PlatinumEarn at least 3,750 MQDs within 3 months

If you don’t meet the criteria for your requested challenge but do for one of the lower tiers, you’ll still get to keep the lower tier until the end of January in the year after next.

How to earn MQDs from Australia

You can earn MQDs by flying on Delta or its partner airlines. It’s also possible to earn MQDs by spending on an eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express credit card, but these are only available in the United States.

You earn 1 MQD per USD1 spent on airfares with Delta, except taxes, and excluding Basic Economy tickets. So, to complete a Gold challenge on Delta-marketed flights, you’d need to spend at least USD2,500 (~AU$3,792), plus taxes. This would be fairly easily doable by booking a return trip to the USA flying Delta in Premium Select or Delta One (Premium Economy or Business Class).

Delta recently revamped its "Premium Select" meal service
Delta Premium Select. Photo: Delta.

When flying on partner airlines, you’ll earn MQDs based on the number of miles flown and your fare class. See the Delta website for earn rates on partner airlines.

For example, you could fly Xiamen Air (a SkyTeam partner airline) from Sydney to Amsterdam via Xiamen for around AU$4,600 return in Business Class. This books into “I” class, which earns Delta MQDs at a rate of 20% of miles flown. This itinerary would earn you around 4,148 MQDs – more than enough to complete a SkyMiles Gold or Platinum challenge.

Enrol in January to enjoy status for longer

This year, Delta has changed the length of time that it awards status with one of these challenges.

If you start a challenge any time during the 2024 calendar year, and subsequently complete the challenge, you’ll get to keep your newly-minted Delta status until 31 January 2026. So, starting a Delta SkyMiles Medallion Status Match Challenge earlier in the year will maximise the time you get to keep your status!

How Australians can benefit from a Delta status match

By completing a Delta Status Match Challenge, Australians can enjoy benefits when flying with any SkyTeam airline for up to two years! Although SkyTeam is often overlooked by Australian frequent flyers, there are plenty of SkyTeam airlines flying here.

Delta SkyMiles members can also access benefits when flying with LATAM Airlines (including between Sydney-Auckland). And when travelling to the USA, you’ll be able to waitlist for complimentary upgrades on Delta flights.

Qantas Airbus A330-200 at Sydney Airport
Delta’s partner LATAM flies between Sydney and Auckland. Photo: Matt Graham.

Delta SkyMiles are sometimes considered to be poor value as a frequent flyer redemption currency, when redeemed for Delta flights. Delta no longer publishes award charts, opting for “dynamic” award pricing instead. But SkyMiles can still be good value when redeemed on SkyTeam partner airlines. Plus, there is often very good premium cabin award availability on SkyTeam flights to and from Australia.

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.
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Hi,

I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on the below.

I'm about to do a trip to (and within) the US, flying VA and DL. Itinerary is BNE-LAX-BOS, PHX-LAX-SYD-BNE with VA in Y+, and BOS-MSP-PHX with DL in F to fill the open jaw (had to do that to work within employer rules for mixing personal and business travel).

I'll get about 440 (or maybe 480 - not sure what the domestic "Y+" connections will count as) SCs out of it, which will be enough to push me into VA Gold (currently VA Red).

However, it's also enough miles (~27,000 I think) to do the Delta challenge and hit their Platinum status. I have QFF LTS, which I'd be using for the initial status match.

Given the bulk of my flying for the next 12 months is likely to be Oz domestic and maybe a Trans-tasman or two - unlikely to be any more trips back to the US - is it better to target the VA Gold, or would Delta Platinum give me the same benefits domestically, with the bonus of advantages if I end up in the US again in the next year (or two - is it a soft landing) ?

If it changes the equation at all, I also have a Gold Delta Skymiles AMEX which I took out as part of booking the flights above for the $150 cashback offer they had (used to live in the States so have a good credit rating there - though I was still surprised it went through :) ).

I'm not really very familiar with VA or Delta/Skyteam status, as nearly all my flying until now has been with QFF/OW.

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click to expand...

I may have misunderstood your question, but I don't think you'd be offered a Platinum status match with Delta if you only have Silver status with Qantas. You'd need to already have Platinum with another airline.

In any case, Delta status is most useful if you ever plan to fly on SkyTeam airlines. If most of your flying is on VA, might as well stick with Velocity. You do get some very good benefits on DL (albeit not domestic lounge access!) if you ever travel to the US again, though.

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I may have misunderstood your question, but I don't think you'd be offered a Platinum status match with Delta if you only have Silver status with Qantas. You'd need to already have Platinum with another airline.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding.

My impression from the article was that I'd be able to status match my QFF LTS to Delta Silver, then take the "challenge" part with the flying I'm about to do, to credit it all to DL and earn Platinum through that.

Or is the point to match a current status and the "challenge" is to do enough in three months to maintain that ?

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Or is the point to match a current status and the "challenge" is to do enough in three months to maintain that ?

Yes that is exactly the point. You can certainly match to Delta Silver, but you won't be offered a challenge to attain any status higher than that.

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Yes that is exactly the point. You can certainly match to Delta Silver, but you won't be offered a challenge to attain any status higher than that.

Ok. I was thinking it was like the old AA status challenge to hit a certain amount of miles flown in a short time period.

Makes the decision easy, then. :)

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Hi all

Am flying business class to JFK on China Airlines from SYD via TPE

I no longer have status on any other airline but QF WP.

It looks like this trip will get 28k miles.

Question is which is best Skyteam program to credit? Am posting here as I have requested Delta Status match, mainly for VA lounge access.

It is not clear if CI flights will maintain the Delta status or if I am better if joining another program

Thanks for any advice

Reply Like

Hi all

Am flying business class to JFK on China Airlines from SYD via TPE

I no longer have status on any other airline but QF WP.

It looks like this trip will get 28k miles.

Question is which is best Skyteam program to credit? Am posting here as I have requested Delta Status match, mainly for VA lounge access.

It is not clear if CI flights will maintain the Delta status or if I am better if joining another program

Thanks for any advice

What is your fare class for the China Airlines flights?

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They will be D class

Reply Like

They will be D class

Might as well credit to DL - you'll earn 100% miles which would be enough to complete the status match challenge.

Reply 1 Like

Might as well credit to DL - you'll earn 100% miles which would be enough to complete the status match challenge.

Does DL require a set number of segments to gain status?

Reply Like