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If you're going to fly private, you might as well bank some extra rewards while you're doing it. Through Delta's partnership with Wheels Up, you can earn 35,000 SkyMiles by signing up for a Core membership. You can even spend your way to Diamond Medallion status two times over.
Here's what you should know about this unique but expensive path to Delta Medallion status.
Earn Delta Status and Bonus SkyMiles by Flying Wheels Up
Wheels Up offers private jet service on demand. Members and non-members alike can book charter flights through the Wheels Up mobile app or website, roll up to the airport, and fly without the hassle of commercial air travel. But of particular interest in this post is the value proposition of signing up for a Core membership. There's a unique Delta angle.
Outside of extended benefits — such as guaranteed jets, access to special events, and discounted deadhead flights — the main draw of picking a membership tier is the ability to book travel at capped hourly rates. Flight pricing is dynamic, but members don't have to deal with uncapped hourly rates like non-members do.
Wheels Up features three membership levels with varying degrees of perks and price points: Connect, Core, and Business. We'll focus entirely on the Core tier, as it's the key to unlocking Delta elite status and earning a sum of Delta SkyMiles.
Wheels Up Core membership
On price alone, Core memberships are the premium of the two consumer-level tiers. To join, you'll be on the hook for a $17,500 initiation fee and annual dues of $8,500 starting in year two. Or, if you purchase a Fund, which means depositing a large sum of money into a “bank account” to seamlessly pay for Wheels Up (and even Delta) flights, you can drop the initiation fee to $9,500.
Yes, those are astronomical prices to pay before even stepping on an airplane, but if we had to guess, those looking at private jet flights likely have the cash to bankroll an initiation fee. It only gets more expensive from here.
Core members can enjoy nationwide service, as well as access to select destinations in Canada and the Bahamas. The rates you'll pay depend on the airplane. As a Core member, you can choose from five aircraft categories, but larger jets will always carry a higher price tag.
The Delta angle
Delta owns a portion of Wheels Up, so the rewards for signing up for a Core membership make sense. After enrolling and paying the initiation fee, you'll earn 35,000 SkyMiles as a welcome gift. And on each renewal, you'll earn 15,000 SkyMiles.
On average, AwardWallet users redeem Delta SkyMiles for 1.34¢ apiece, which makes 35,000 miles worth about $480 towards award travel. The 15,000 miles you get from renewing are worth around $205.
While bonus miles are great, the real rewards of signing up for Core come from complimentary Delta Medallion status. Each year as a member, you can earn Delta status based on your Wheels Up spending. Even better, if you deposit into a fund, you can also use that money to cover Delta flights.
Here's a look at the Delta elite status you can earn through Wheels Up spending in a calendar year:
- Gold Medallion: $50,000
- Platinum Medallion: $100,000
- Diamond Medallion: $200,000
- Diamond Medallion + Gold Medallion: $250,000
- Two Diamond Medallion: $400,000
And before you ask, the answer is “no.” Sadly, there is no secret “two Diamond” or “Gold Diamond” elite tier. While that would be super cool, the second status you earn is a gift you'll need to give to someone else.
Related: Do Delta SkyMiles Expire?
Is Wheels Up a Cost-Effective Path to Delta Elite Status?
The numbers are steep. But then again, so is the cost to achieve Delta Medallion status this year.
To earn Delta Medallion status, you'll need to earn a lot of Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs). And for each tier, here's the number you need to earn:
- Silver Medallion: $5,000 MQDs
- Gold Medallion: $10,000 MQDs
- Platinum Medallion: $15,000 MQDs
- Diamond Medallion: $28,000 MQDs
You can accrue MQDs at a rate of $1 MQD per dollar spent on the ticket price for Delta-marketed flights operated by Delta or one of its partner airlines. Another option is to purchase a vacation package and earn $1 MQD per dollar spent on the total package value, excluding taxes and fees. Delta will also occasionally offer hotel and rental car reservation promotions at the same 1 MQD per dollar spent rate.
On balance, the cheapest way to Delta status is by flying Delta. It's a far cheaper proposition than earning status through paying for private jet flights. And if you have Delta credit card that earns MQDs on everyday spending, the path to status becomes a tad less expensive.
However, if a lot of private jet flying is in the cards, then picking up Delta status through heavy Wheels Up spending can be an effective path to Delta Medallion status that you didn't have to go out of your way for.
Final Thoughts
There are often multiple ways to earn airline elite status, and signing up for a Wheels Up Core membership and then spending tens of thousands of dollars on private jet flights is one of the more interesting avenues. Even better, you can earn some SkyMiles when you sign up for a membership.
But if one thing is clear, private flying is expensive, and this route to status won't make sense for everyone. Earning Delta status organically through Wheels Up spending is one thing, but spending on Wheels Up just to earn Delta status is another. In almost all cases, the cheapest way to Delta Medallion status is just by earning the MQDs it takes to get it.
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