How I Leveraged My Amex Business Platinum Benefits for Delta Medallion Status

How I Leveraged My Amex Business Platinum Benefits for Delta Medallion Status in 2025

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• Using the Amex Business Platinum Card strategically can help travelers earn Delta Medallion status at a discount.
• You’ll benefit most by utilizing the 35% points rebate and Insider Fares when booking Delta flights through Amex Travel.
• Ideal for luxury and frequent travelers who already spend regularly on airfare or business expenses.
• Delta Medallion status unlocks perks like free upgrades, waived baggage fees, and priority boarding.
• This guide breaks down exactly how I leveraged my Amex Business Platinum benefits for Delta Medallion status—and how you can too.

Table of Contents

• Why Use the Amex Business Platinum to Earn Delta Medallion Status?
• How Much Does Delta Medallion Status Cost in 2025?
• Best Way to Leverage Your Amex Business Platinum for Delta Status
• Sample Strategy to Earn Silver Medallion
• How to Plan This Strategy the Smart Way
• HopStrip-Style Tips and Tools for This Travel Hack
• FAQ: How I Leveraged My Amex Business Platinum Benefits for Delta Medallion Status
• Final Thoughts: Why This Strategy Works for Today’s Traveler

Why Use the Amex Business Platinum to Earn Delta Medallion Status?

If you have the Amex Business Platinum, you might not realize how easily it can double as a Delta Medallion fast-track card. Here’s why it works:

1. Pay with Points Rebate: With the 35% points rebate on your selected airline (I chose Delta), you effectively get back over a third of your points when booking through Amex Travel. That’s massive savings when rebooking future flights.
2. Insider Fares: These “secret” discounted cash fares on eligible Delta flights are often up to 20% off compared to what’s shown on Delta.com. You have to search within Amex Travel to find them, but they’re there.
3. Earn MQDs, Not Miles: Unlike partner award travel that won’t earn elite credit, when you book paid Delta flights through Amex using the “Pay with Points” feature, Delta treats your fare like a regular paid ticket—meaning you earn MQDs toward elite status.

Put those all together, and you’re trading your Membership Rewards points not just for flights—but for elite benefits like priority boarding, complimentary upgrades, and free checked bags.

Another huge perk? Delta no longer uses MQMs in their Medallion program (as of 2024), and now focuses entirely on MQDs—so it’s all about how much you spend, not how far you fly. That makes leveraging card benefits smarter than ever.

How Much Does Delta Medallion Status Cost in 2025?

Delta ditched the mileage-based MQM tiers in 2024. Now, it’s all about Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs). Here’s what you need to hit for each status level in 2025:

• Silver Medallion: $5,000 in MQDs
• Gold Medallion: $10,000 in MQDs
• Platinum Medallion: $15,000 in MQDs
• Diamond Medallion: $28,000 in MQDs

However, not all spending counts. Only eligible Delta-marketed flights earn MQDs. And that’s where the Amex Business Platinum comes in—paying with points via Amex Travel still counts as if you paid in cash, so you’re earning credit toward these tiers.

Example: I booked a $500 Delta roundtrip through Amex Travel using the “Pay with Points” feature. It gave me the base fare MQDs (excluding taxes/fees), and I got 35% of my points instantly rebated. I earned MQDs and saved points in one single transaction.

Best Way to Leverage Your Amex Business Platinum for Delta Status

This is how to get the most out of the Amex Business Platinum if your goal is Delta Medallion elite status:

1. Select Delta as Your Preferred Airline: You can change your selected airline once per year. Head into your Amex account settings and make Delta your chosen airline for the 35% rebate to apply.
2. Book Through Amex Travel Using Pay with Points: Navigate to the Amex Travel portal, search for Delta flights, and pay using Membership Rewards. Only Pay with Points bookings qualify for the 35% rebate—not transfer redemptions.
3. Look for “Insider Fares”: These fares are only shown when you’re logged into Amex Travel. They can shave up to 20% off the cost compared to public fares, lowering your overall MQD “cost.”
4. Watch for Paid Fare Equivalents: Because Delta treats Amex Travel bookings as cash tickets, you earn MQDs just like a regular paid flight—but you didn’t technically “pay” in cash if you used points.
5. Stack with Incidental Fee Credit (Optional): In addition to Pay with Points savings, you get an annual airline fee credit (up to $200 as of 2025). Use this to offset baggage, seat selection, or other Delta fees.

Sample Strategy to Earn Silver Medallion

• Book $5,000 worth of qualifying Delta fares through Amex using Pay with Points
• After rebate, you’ve only spent around 325,000 points (thanks to the 35% rebate)
• You earn enough MQDs for Silver—and can continue to book more to reach Gold or beyond

Here’s a deep dive into the full method from Eric Rosen at The Points Guy.

How to Plan This Strategy the Smart Way

Ready to unlock Delta perks with points, not just dollars? Follow these quick steps:

1. ✅ Choose Delta as your preferred airline in your Amex account profile
2. 🛫 Browse Delta flights via the Amex Travel portal (not Delta.com)
3. 💳 Use Pay with Points at checkout—make sure the rebate applies
4. 🧾 Monitor your MQD progress in your Delta SkyMiles account
5. 💥 Combine with business or personal travel to hit targets faster
6. 📅 Start early in the calendar year to maximize status length

HopStrip-Style Tips and Tools for This Travel Hack

At HopStrip, we believe in planning smarter—not spending more. Here’s how we’d approach this play:

• Use Amex points as a tool, not just a reward: With the 35% rebate, you’re essentially getting massive discounts on flights.
• Combine business and leisure trips (aka “bleisure”) to reach MQD thresholds faster without flying irrelevant routes.
• Don’t blow your points on premium cabins unless you’re close to a higher Medallion tier—remember, it’s MQDs you’re collecting.
• Still comparing cash fares vs. points value? Use this flight comparison tool to benchmark what you would’ve paid out of pocket.
• Elite status pairs well with luxury travel: bring it together by booking hotels with perks that match.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

FAQ: How I Leveraged My Amex Business Platinum Benefits for Delta Medallion Status

Q: What is the 35% Pay with Points rebate on the Amex Business Platinum?

A: When you use your Amex Membership Rewards to pay for flights on your selected airline (like Delta) via Amex Travel, you’ll get 35% of those points back—up to 500,000 points per year.

Q: Do Delta flights booked through Amex Travel really earn MQDs?

A: Yes—if you use the Pay with Points feature or pay in cash for a Delta-marketed flight, Delta treats it like a paid fare, so it earns MQDs.

Q: How much is Silver Medallion status worth?

A: It includes free checked bags, priority check-in and boarding, and occasional upgrades—even on award tickets. If you fly Delta a few times per year, it can easily save you hundreds of dollars.

Q: Can I combine this strategy with other credit card or airline promos?

A: You can! Just make sure you’re not double dipping on incompatible promos. Delta occasionally runs MQD boost offers that stack with purchased flights.

Q: Is it worth getting the Amex Business Platinum just for Delta status?

A: It can be—especially if you travel frequently for work or can use the card’s 5x points on flights, airline fee credits, and airport lounge access. But the card does have a high annual fee, so the benefits have to align with your travel lifestyle.

Final Thoughts: Why This Strategy Works for Today’s Traveler

Knowing how I leveraged my Amex Business Platinum benefits for Delta Medallion status has permanently changed how I think about elite status and travel points. Instead of struggling through mileage runs or clunky airline promos, I now convert points directly into perks using a card I already depend on.

In a travel world shifting toward spend-based loyalty, smart travelers have the edge—not just the frequent ones. Whether you’re a digital nomad, luxury seeker, or business flyer on a mission, leveraging your Membership Rewards for real-world upgrades just makes sense.

Want to fly smarter, not harder? This is one upgrade that’s truly worth the effort.

🧳 Ready to see how far your points can go? Start by comparing Delta flight prices and see where your MQD journey begins.