United Airlines is releasing a surprise international flight deal each day this week… check it out here!
Gooood morning, beautiful people!
Mike is busy tackling the bustling city of Beijing, so for today, you’re stuck with me (Tiffany). Btw, speaking about yourself in the third person is super weird… 🤷🏻♀️
Nonetheless, here’s what I’ve got:
😮 Delta status match through 2026?!
Oh, Delta. They seem to be the “problem child” airline this year—stealing that role from Southwest, who is probably glad to be out of the drama spotlight for a bit.
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, Delta announced late last year that it’s making some major changes to its loyalty program. And people were mad.
Pissed, really.
Delta walked back on some of these changes, but still, it’s cringe 😬
BUT NOW the airline is looking up at us with those guilty puppy dog eyes we all know…
So yeah, Delta is continuing to try and win our love back by offering a pretty great status match challenge in 2024.
If you want to know the ins and outs of Delta’s loyalty program, you can read our guide, but its Medallion Status Match Challenge will allow customers with other airline statuses to match to an equivalent status with Delta.
This status match is free, initially, for three months—but, there are also opportunities to extend it to 2026 👀
First things first, here’s how to qualify for Delta’s 2024 status match:
You cannot have received a status match (promo Medallion status or complimentary Medallion status) in the last three years. An exception is if your complimentary status was through your Million Miler status.
You currently hold elite status with a qualifying airline (see this page).
Submit proof of your earned status (e.g. a photo of your elite card membership and a statement from the qualifying airline that shows your elite status and activity that helped you earn that status). Both need your name on it!
Be a Delta SkyMiles member for at least 60 days prior to submitting your documents
In the last three years, you need to have flown on at least one Delta-marketed flight in a fare class that was higher than basic economy.
Even if an airline you have status with isn’t listed on Delta’s comparison page, I would still personally request a match. You never know!
Now, how to extend this Delta status to 2026:
Three months of free elite status when flying with Delta is great, but if you want to extend these perks through January 31st, 2026… you’ll have to put in some work during that three-month window to earn the needed Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) 👇
And how do you earn MQDs you ask? Mainly by flying with Delta or its partners, or by booking vacation packages through Delta Vacations.
💡Remember:
1. Basic economy fares will not count towards earning MQDs.
2. And the MQDs boost from some of the airline’s popular credit cards (which starts in February) also do not count toward these thresholds.
You can enroll in this status match anytime from now until December 31st, but because you only get a three-month window to 1.) Enjoy the complimentary status, and 2.) Work towards extending that status, if you qualify, I would wait to enroll around the time that you have specific travel plans.
To be clear, no matter when you enroll, you’ll be gifted complimentary status for three months.
And if you meet the additional requirements, your elite status will be extended through January 31st, 2026.
Overall, this is pretty exciting—especially if you’re someone still mentally grappling with your love/hate relationship with Delta.
Just remember, plan and enroll wisely if you want to take advantage of this opportunity.
💰Get paid to visit Vancouver, Canada
I love Canada. And I especially love Vancouver. It’s a rad city, and with the current Stay Vancouver promo… you can get paid to visit 🎉
This promo is supported by Vancouver’s tourism council, and it’s essentially incentivizing travelers to visit the city, stay for a couple of nights, and do cool things to support the local economy.
Here’s how it works. If you stay at least two nights at a participating hotel, you’ll receive up to $250 dollars in Mastercard prepaid gift cards.
More specifically, you’ll receive either $150, $200, $225, or $250 in gift cards at check-in. This value depends on which hotel you’ve booked… and there are a lot of ‘em that qualify.
44 hotels, to be exact. I counted 😉
You can see below that there are tons of hotels at all different price points that are offering these gift cards at check-in.
And here are the deets to know:
Use promo code: Mastercard (if it isn’t already loaded in the search query for you)
You must book through StayVancouverHotels.com
Your stay must be between now and April 30th, 2024
This offer is limited and could end at any time
You can make a maximum of three bookings per guest
That last bullet is interesting. Though the fine print terms and conditions won’t allow you to make consecutive two-night stays at the same hotel to max out on this promo, you could decide to hotel hop if you wanted to.
That means if you wanted to stay six nights in Vancouver, you could stay at three different hotels (in two-night increments), and walk away with up to $750 🤯
This is a baller promo.
Additionally, I read that at check-in, you may also have the option to offset your hotel expenses with the gift card, if you choose (e.g. use it to cover the hotel cost vs. taking the Mastercard and spending it elsewhere).
Additionally additionally, because Stay Vancouver takes your reservation via their portal and subsequently books directly with the participating hotels on your behalf… you should be able to add your hotel loyalty number if you booked with, say, a Marriott property (or other brand).
Just contact the property after the fact with your reservation info, like I did here 👇
As someone who lives just across the Vancouver/Washington state border, I spend many a weekend XC skiing at Whistler, cycling the city’s trails, and regularly discovering new restaurants.
It’s a fantastic destination, and definitely worth a visit this winter and upcoming spring!
🤣 Cheeky travel meme
Nope! *Cue miles and points* 😍
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That’s all for your mid-week pick-me-up on this fine Wednesday.
Talk to you again soon 🥰
