What is qualifying spend?

Spend as the metric, or one route among several

Delta: spend only. Delta describes Medallion Status for 2027 as earned only through MQDs, by reaching spending activity during the 2026 calendar year (1 January to 31 December 2026); that status is valid from the day it is earned until 31 January 2028, and MQDs reset each calendar year and do not roll over. [2] The thresholds are $5,000 for Silver, $10,000 for Gold, $15,000 for Platinum and $28,000 for Diamond. [2] MQDs are the sum of a member's spend on Delta-marketed flights in Main Cabin or above, including base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges but excluding government-imposed taxes and fees, plus select partner airline flights and select exception fares. [2]

Hilton: spend or stays or nights. Hilton Honors members qualify for Elite Tier Status on Stays, nights or Eligible Spend in any calendar year. [4] Silver requires 4 Stays, 10 nights or $2,500 of Eligible Spend; Gold 15 Stays, 25 nights or $6,000; Diamond 25 Stays, 50 nights or $11,500. [4] Diamond Reserve is the exception that needs both: 40 Stays and $18,000 of Eligible Spend, or 80 nights and $18,000. [4] Hilton states that Points earned do not count toward Elite Tier Status qualification, so only the spend definition itself matters for status. [4]

Marriott: nights for status, charges for Points. In the Marriott Bonvoy programme rules checked, an Elite Night Credit is the credit toward Elite Status and Lifetime Elite Status, and it is earned only on a night during a Qualifying Stay. [3] Qualifying Charges are defined in those rules for earning Points, not as a status metric; the phrase "qualifying spend" appears for spending at participating outlets without a stay, where members may earn 5 base Points per US$1 of qualifying spend on the total bill after discounts and exclusions. [3]

What counts and what does not

Delta. Base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges on travel marketed by Core Global and Global Airline Partners and ticketed through a Delta channel with a ticket number beginning "006" also earn MQDs; for travel ticketed and marketed by those partners, MQDs are awarded from the published mileage earn charts. [2] Award tickets operated by Delta partners in Main Cabin or above, booked through a Delta direct channel, earn MQDs equal to miles redeemed divided by 100, while government-imposed taxes and fees on them earn nothing. [2] Paid Delta One, Premium Select, First, Comfort and Preferred Seat purchases made through a Delta channel earn MQDs, but complimentary access to those seats does not. [2] MQDs may only be earned by the member travelling whose name and SkyMiles number are in the reservation. [2]

Delta cards and packages. Holders of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum and Platinum Business American Express cards earn $1 MQD per $20 of eligible purchases, and Reserve and Reserve Business card holders earn $1 per $10; those cards also receive an MQD Headstart of $2,500 per card type each Medallion Qualification Year, capped at four deposits and $10,000 in total across eligible cards. [2] Delta Vacations packages earn $1 MQD per US$1 of the Total Package Price, which excludes taxes, fees, insurance, room service, other booking charges and amounts paid directly to the hotel, car or activity provider. [2]

Hilton. Eligible Spend means room rate, eligible food and beverage, telephone, laundry, pay-per-view movies, entertainment and recreational facilities and other incidental charges charged to the member's room during a qualifying Stay, and the member must be the guest of record. [4] Charges not billed to the room during a Stay are not eligible, and taxes, including city occupancy tax, are not Eligible Spend. [4]

Marriott. Qualifying Charges are charges incurred during a stay in a guest room at a participating property by a member as registered guest on their folio, plus up to two additional guest rooms with the same check-in and check-out dates, and they include qualifying room rates, food and beverage (excluding alcohol or tobacco where prohibited by law), direct-dial in-room telephone and fax, and in-room movies and video games, provided the membership number was given and the member pays. [3]

Exceptions and limits

• Delta Main Basic (Basic Economy) tickets earn neither miles nor credit toward Medallion and Million Miler Status. [2]
• Delta does not award MQDs for ancillary purchases and fees including checked baggage fees, Sky Club memberships, Wi-Fi passes, in-flight food and beverage, unaccompanied minor fees, pet travel fees, mileage purchases, ticket change fees, the Direct Ticketing Charge, same-day confirmed fees, the Administrative Service Charge and the External Reissue Charge. [2]
• Paid upgrades or Preferred Seats bought at the airport in Amsterdam or Paris for a Delta-operated flight earn no miles or MQDs; if the seat cannot be provided the purchase is refunded and no MQDs are awarded, and a voluntary change after purchase brings no refund and no MQDs. [2] Employee award travel, free, barter, pass travel and similar tickets earn no MQDs. [2]
• Delta card spend: eligible purchases exclude fees, interest charges, cash advances, travellers' cheques, person-to-person transactions, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, gift cards and other cash equivalents, and American Express uses the merchant's transaction date to decide the Qualification Year, so a purchase made on 31 December but listed as 1 January counts in the later year; returns and credits are deducted and can produce a negative balance. [2]
• Certain Delta tickets where the fare is not disclosed — bulk, consolidator, cruise, vacation package, inclusive tour and similar — count toward MQDs, except bookings made through priceline.com or hotwire.com where the carrier is not disclosed before purchase. [2]
• Hilton excludes whole categories of stay from Eligible Spend and night credit, including wholesale or tour operator packages, contracted crew rates, travel agency discount rates, casino player packages, Go Hilton Team Member and Family & Friends rates, timeshare stays, marketing packages with a sales presentation, HiltonGetaways.com bookings, complimentary or barter rooms, NET Group Tour and Group Tour Series rates, NET contracted Entertainment or Encore rates, third-party website bookings and opaque channel bookings; no credit is given for a no-show. [4]
• Hilton group master-billing arrangements are not eligible, while incidental charges a member pays directly at check-out are; for stays outside the United States, Eligible Spend is converted to US dollars weekly at a published exchange rate. [4]
• At Marriott, charges from food and beverage outlets managed or operated by a third party may not be eligible, and charges at outlets not located within the property are not Qualifying Charges; the programme also reserves the right to change earning structures and qualifying requirements. [3]

Related pages

Status points are the other common spend-adjacent currency. Elite qualification thresholds compares the targets themselves, elite qualifying nights covers the night-based route, qualification period explains which dates count, and status renewal covers keeping a tier once it is earned. For hotel-specific rules see hotel status qualification and status thresholds in major programmes.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. Only the Delta SkyMiles, Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors programme pages were used; other programmes, including American AAdvantage, United MileagePlus, The British Airways Club, World of Hyatt and Accor ALL, are not covered here.

1. Delta SkyMiles: How to Get Medallion Status (thresholds and MQD terms), checked 18 October 2026
2. Marriott Bonvoy Loyalty Program Terms & Conditions, checked 18 October 2026
3. Hilton Honors Member Rewards Terms and Conditions, checked 18 October 2026