Delta Airlines is making it harder for its customers to earn the coveted elite status and gain access to its exclusive Sky Club lounges.

The company will change how flyers will earn elite status, which is part of the latest reality check for air travel's era of mass luxury. Customers will be able to earn Delta Medallion status solely based on their spending starting on Jan. 1.

Delta's Sky Club Access

They will no longer be able to earn such status with a combination of dollars spent with the carrier and flights. The company's new model is similar to the one that American Airlines opted to use starting earlier this year.

Various major airlines have continued to raise their requirements for earning status as customer spending at the airline and on co-branded credit cards have surged in the past few years, which has caused the number of people with elite status to go ever higher, as per CNBC.

In a statement, Delta's senior vice president of customer engagement and loyalty, Dwight James, said that they want customers to receive status with activity beyond just air travel. The company's customers will earn 1 Medallion Qualifying Dollar for every $1 spent on Delta flights, car rentals, hotels, and vacation packages booked through the airline starting next year.

However, the ratio is not 1:1 for dollars spent through co-branded American Express cards. Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Reserve Business American Express card members can earn 1 Medallion Qualifying Dollar for every $10 spent on the card. On the other hand, Delta SkyMiles Platinum and Platinum Business American Express Card Members will earn 1 Medallion Qualifying Dollar for every $20 spent.

The airlines also released new requirements to earn elite status, with the Silver Medallion needing 6,000 MQDs, the Gold Medallion needing 12,000 MQDs, the Platinum Medallion needing 18,000 MQDs, and the Diamond Medallion needing 35,000 MQDs.

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Delta's Elite Status

The decision to change the requirements and make it harder for customers to earn elite status comes as it has not been able to solve the overcrowding issue at its Sky Club airport lounges. While the company has built plenty of new outposts, upgraded existing ones, and implemented a host of access restrictions, the issue persisted, according to The Points Guy.

The air carrier's latest decision to change how customers earn elite status is expected to affect Sky Club crowding levels significantly. On top of changing how customers get qualifying medallions, the company will also cap the number of annual Sky Club visits people can make with their credit cards.

With the planned changes, SkyMiles members will also earn status through spending on Delta Amex cards. The overcrowding issue at the company's Sky Clubs has been serious for the past year or so, as shown by frequent lines to enter the lounges.

Card members are also the only ones who can visit the allotments, meaning they cannot bring guests into the lounges. Visits are also additive, which means that if a person has multiple cards offering lounge access, they could use the allotment on each card, said One Mile at a Time.

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