Certain types of tickets purchased through an agent, third party or part of a package, where the airfare price is frequently not shown when purchasing the ticket, are known as exception fares. Exception fares earn miles and Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) in a different way.
These unpublished fares come from travel agents, vacation packages or other third parties. You still earn miles and MQDs with exception fares, just a little differently. Instead of earning based on ticket price (the way you earn with published fares), with exception fares you earn miles and MQDs based on distance flown and fare class paid, excluding Basic Economy.
EXCEPTION FARES MAY INCLUDE
You’ll earn miles and MQDs on exception fares based on a percentage of the distance flown* on your flight (except for Delta Vacations, which is explained below). The percentage is determined by the fare class of your ticket (excluding Delta Main Basic/Basic Economy).
Use the following chart to see how many miles and MQDs you’ll earn according to the exception fare rules. For example, if you are on a Delta Comfort ticket and fly a distance of 2,500 miles, you would earn 2,500 miles and $500 MQDs.
| Exception Fare Class (Delta 006 Ticketed Only) | Miles* | MQDs |
|---|---|---|
| Delta One®/First Class - J | 150% | 40% |
| Discounted Delta One®/First Class – C, D, I, Z | 150% | 30% |
| Delta Premium Select – P, A, G | 150% | 25% |
| Full Fare Delta Main/Delta Comfort - Y, B, M, W, S | 100% | 20% |
| Delta Main - H, Q, K, L | 75% | 15% |
| Discounted Delta Main - U, T | 50% | 10% |
| Deeply Discounted Main Cabin - X, V | 50% | 5% |
| Delta Main Basic (Basic Economy) - E | N/A | N/A |
*Miles and MQDs earned are based on a percentage of distance flown. For purposes of mileage and MQD credit, “distance flown” means the calculated distance between origin and destination, as determined by Delta in its sole discretion, regardless of the actual distance traveled on any individual flight.
You can earn $1 MQD per $1 spent on the Total Package Price** for every completed Delta Vacations package when booked through Delta Vacations directly. All passengers listed on the Delta Vacations booking will earn MQDs on the flight portion of the package, which is determined through the Exception Fares calculation, based on a percentage of the distance flown* on your flight.
If the Delta Vacations package includes a flight component (whether such fare is an exception fare or not), the MQDs earned by each passenger in the Delta Vacations booking will be as follows:
| Exception Fare Class (Delta 006 Ticketed Only) | MQDs |
|---|---|
| Delta One®/First Class - J | 40% |
| Discounted Delta One®/First Class – C, D, I, Z | 30% |
| Delta Premium Select – P, A, G | 25% |
| Full Fare Delta Main/Delta Comfort - Y, B, M, W, S | 20% |
| Delta Main - H, Q, K, L | 15% |
| Discounted Delta Main - U, T | 10% |
| Deeply Discounted Main Cabin - X, V | 5% |
| Delta Main Basic (Basic Economy) - E | N/A |
In addition to the flight portion of the MQDs, the lead booker will also earn MQDs on the non-flight portion of the package. Learn more.
* MQDs earned are based on a percentage of distance flown. For purposes of MQD credit, “distance flown” means the calculated distance between origin and destination, as determined by Delta in its sole discretion, regardless of the actual distance traveled on any individual flight.
| Medallion Status | Miles* |
|---|---|
| Diamond | 120% of miles awarded |
| Platinum | 80% of miles awarded |
| Gold | 60% of miles awarded |
| Silver | 40% of miles awarded |