Your ultimate guide to the Delta Choice Benefits program

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. Many travelers believe the Delta SkyMiles program has decreased in value over the years. However, Delta Medallion status can be extremely valuable if you travel with Delta Air Lines regularly. One particularly valuable perk is the Choice Benefits program available to …

Feb 5, 2025 - 04:35

Your ultimate guide to the Delta Choice Benefits program

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

Many travelers believe the Delta SkyMiles program has decreased in value over the years. However, Delta Medallion status can be extremely valuable if you travel with Delta Air Lines regularly. One particularly valuable perk is the Choice Benefits program available to Platinum and Diamond Medallion members.

Whether you’re a newly minted Delta Medallion member or a longtime Delta loyalist, here’s what you need to know about Delta Choice Benefits, including how to earn them, when to select them and which benefits are best.

How to earn Delta Choice Benefits

You earn Delta Choice Benefits each calendar year you qualify for Platinum or Diamond Medallion status. Specifically, you earn one Choice Benefit when you qualify for Platinum Medallion status and three Choice Benefits when you qualify for Diamond Medallion status.

Delta aircraft — SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY

Delta now only uses one metric — Medallion Qualification Dollars — for elite qualification. Here are the current calendar year requirements for the two tiers of Delta Medallion status that offer Choice Benefits as a perk:

Platinum Medallion status: 15,000 MQDs
Diamond Medallion status: 28,000 MQDs

You can earn MQDs on flights and other transactions with Delta and its partners, including vacation packages and spending on cobranded Delta credit cards. Plus, those with the following premium cobranded Delta credit cards get a boost of 2,500 MQDs toward status qualification every year:

You earn one 2,500 MQD boost for each card type. Having one or more of these premium Delta cards in your wallet can be extremely helpful if you want to earn Delta Medallion status.

When to select Delta Choice Benefits

You can select Delta Choice Benefits after earning Platinum or Diamond Medallion status based on activity within a calendar year. You must select your Choice Benefits by the day your status expires if you don’t requalify.

Woman using a laptop — MINISERIES/GETTY IMAGES

So, if you qualified for 2025 Medallion year status based on activity in 2024, you’d need to select your Choice Benefits by Jan. 31, 2026. Likewise, if you qualified for 2026 Medallion year status based on activity in 2025, you’d need to select your Choice Benefits by Jan. 31, 2027.

You can currently select Delta Choice Benefits via the Delta website or app. However, Delta will remove the ability to select Choice Benefits via its website starting June 1, 2025. From that point on, you must make your selection(s) via the Delta app.

Some Choice Benefits expire on a set date regardless of when you select the benefit. So, you’ll get the most value from some Choice Benefits by selecting the benefit as soon as you’re eligible.

Options you can select as Delta Choice Benefits

Here’s a look at your Delta Choice Benefits options if you earned Platinum or Diamond Medallion status for the 2025 or 2026 Medallion year:

	Platinum Choice Benefits (choose one)	Diamond Choice Benefits (choose three)
Upgrade certificates	Four regional	Four global, eight regional, or two global and four regional (may only select this Diamond Choice Benefit once per Medallion year)
Bonus miles	30,000	35,000
Delta Sky Club membership	None	One executive membership (requires three choices) or one individual membership (requires two choices)
MQDs toward the next Medallion year	1,000 (toward the 2026 Medallion year) if you earned Platinum Medallion status for the 2025 Medallion year 1,000 (toward the 2027 Medallion year) if you earned Platinum Medallion status for the 2026 Medallion year	2,000 (toward the 2026 Medallion year) if you earned Diamond Medallion status for the 2025 Medallion year 2,000 (toward the 2027 Medallion year) if you earned Diamond Medallion status for the 2026 Medallion year
Gift Delta Medallion status	Two Silver Medallion	Two Gold Medallion
Delta Vacations Experience credit (can only select once per Medallion year)	$400	$500
Delta American Express statement credit (only available on select cards; can only select once per Medallion tier, per Medallion year)	$400	$700
Delta travel voucher	$300	$350
Wheels Up flight credit (can only select once per Medallion tier, per Medallion year)	$1,500	$2,000
Sustainable aviation fuel contribution	$250	$250
Starbucks Rewards Stars (can only select once per Medallion tier, per Medallion year)	6,000	6,000

Now, let’s examine each option for those who earned Platinum or Diamond Medallion status for the 2025 or 2026 Medallion year and the value they might provide.

Upgrade certificates

After earning Platinum Medallion status, you could use your one Choice Benefits selection for four regional upgrade certificates. And if you earned Diamond Medallion status, you could use a choice to get one of the following:

Four global upgrade certificates
Eight regional upgrade certificates
Two global and four regional upgrade certificates

Delta One seating — SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY

These upgrade certificates give higher priority than Medallion complimentary upgrade requests and can get you a one-class, space-available upgrade on most fares except Delta basic economy.

However, regardless of when you select your Choice Benefits, you must book and fly using these certificates by the end of the Medallion year associated with that Choice Benefits selection. So, if you earned Platinum or Diamond Medallion status for the 2025 Medallion year, you’d need to fly using these certificates by Jan. 31, 2026.

Bonus miles

With your Choice Benefits, you can select bonus miles for yourself, another SkyMiles member or a SkyWish charity. You could choose 30,000 bonus miles (worth $360 based on TPG’s January 2024 valuations) at the Platinum Medallion tier and 35,000 bonus miles (worth $420) per choice at the Diamond Medallion tier.

Delta Sky Club benefits

At the Diamond Medallion tier, you could trade all three Choice Benefits choices for a Delta Sky Club executive membership or two Choice Benefits choices for an individual Delta Sky Club membership.

The executive membership — typically costing $1,495 or 149,500 miles — gives you and up to two guests (or your spouse or domestic partner and children under 21) unlimited complimentary Delta Sky Club access. Meanwhile, the individual membership — typically costing $695 or 69,500 miles — gives you unlimited complimentary Delta Sky Club access for yourself.

However, these Delta Sky Club memberships are only valid through the end of the Medallion year associated with that Choice Benefits selection. So, if you earned Diamond Medallion status for the 2025 Medallion year and used all three choices for an executive membership, your membership would be valid through Jan. 31, 2026.

MQDs toward the next Medallion year

You can use Choice Benefits selections for MQDs toward the next Medallion year. You could choose 1,000 MQDs toward the next Medallion year at the Platinum Medallion tier and 2,000 MQDs per choice toward the next Medallion year at the Diamond Medallion tier.

Gift Delta Medallion status

You can use your Choice Benefits to gift Delta Medallion status to someone else. Each choice is worth two gifts, with Platinum Medallion members able to gift Silver Medallion status to a pair of travelers and Diamond Medallion members able to gift Gold Medallion status.

Mature businesswoman using phone while traveling by a taxi — LUIS ALVAREZ/GETTY IMAGES

The gifted status is valid through the end of the Medallion year associated with the Choice Benefits selection. So, for Choice Benefits tied to the 2025 Medallion year, the gifted status would last through Jan. 31, 2026.

Delta Vacations Experience credit

You could use your one Choice Benefits selection after you earn Platinum Medallion status for a $400 credit toward a Delta Vacations package. Or, you could wait until you earn Diamond Medallion status for a $500 credit. However, you can only select a Delta Vacations Experience credit as a Choice Benefit once per Medallion year.

The credit is valid for one year after being issued for a flight-and-hotel package, and you are the only one who can use it. A two-night minimum stay is required for Choice Benefits selections tied to the 2025 Medallion year, while a four-night minimum stay is required for selections tied to the 2026 Medallion year.

Delta American Express statement credit

If you are the primary cardmember of the Delta Platinum Amex, the Delta Platinum Business Amex, the Delta Reserve Amex or the Delta Reserve Business Amex, you can choose a statement credit on your card as a Choice Benefit at each Medallion status tier.

Woman paying with a credit card — FILADENDRON/GETTY IMAGES

You can choose a $400 statement credit at the Platinum Medallion tier and a $700 statement credit at the Diamond Medallion tier. However, you can’t use multiple Choice Benefits to get multiple statement credits at the Diamond Medallion tier.

Delta travel voucher

With your Choice Benefits, you can select a Delta travel voucher. A Platinum Medallion choice is worth $300, and each Diamond Medallion choice is worth $350.

You’re the only one who can use the voucher, but you can use it toward the Delta flight portion of a Delta Vacations package. Vouchers are valid for 12 months from their issuance, which should occur within 48 hours of when you select the voucher.

Wheels Up flight credit

You could choose a $1,500 Wheels Up private aviation flight credit at the Platinum Medallion tier or a $2,000 flight credit at the Diamond Medallion tier.

WheelsUp plane — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

You can only apply Wheels Up flight credits to new Wheels Up bookings (excluding Wheels Up Shared Flights and Hot Flights). Flight credits expire 12 months after issuance, and you can only select a Wheels Up flight credit once per Medallion year.

Sustainable aviation fuel contribution

You can use your Choice Benefits to support Delta’s use of sustainable aviation fuel. Delta will apply $250 for each choice toward the incremental cost of sustainable aviation fuel instead of traditional jet fuel.

Starbucks Rewards Stars

Finally, U.S.-based SkyMiles members enrolled in Starbucks Rewards may choose 6,000 Starbucks Rewards Stars as a Choice Benefit once at each tier. However, Stars will expire six months after the calendar month they were deposited.

Which Delta Choice Benefit is best?

The best Delta Choice Benefits depend on your specific situation. However, the best Delta Choice Benefits are usually upgrade certificates, bonus miles, American Express statement credits and the Wheels Up private aviation flight credit.

Delta One bed — BEN MUTZABAUGH/THE POINTS GUY

Of course, you can’t get the statement credit if you don’t have an eligible Delta Amex card, and you won’t find the Wheels Up flight credit valuable if you don’t need to fly privately at least once per year. Likewise, some travelers don’t want to deal with trying to maximize upgrade certificates. So, bonus miles may be the most valuable if none of these other three higher-value Choice Benefits are appealing.

If you are reading this guide later in 2025 or in January 2026 and still have 2025 Medallion year Choice Benefits that you must select by Jan. 31, 2026, you’ll likely want to avoid benefits that expire on that date. Specifically, as Jan. 31, 2026, nears, the best Delta Choice Benefits for the 2025 Medallion year will become bonus miles or the Delta Vacations Experience credit.

Bottom line

There are many options when it comes to Delta Choice Benefits. These benefits can provide significant value, so making an informed choice is important — especially since some perks may expire quickly if you choose them near the end of your Medallion year.