One of the vital common frequent flyer applications is Delta SkyMiles, the loyalty program of Delta Air Lines. TPG’s February 2025 valuations peg Delta SkyMiles at 1.2 cents apiece, and you may redeem them for flights, upgrades, accommodations and extra. You may sometimes get probably the most worth out of your miles in the event you snag certainly one of Delta’s frequent flash sales, which provide discounted award flights domestically and overseas.
Whether or not flying or buying on-line, incomes SkyMiles is straightforward. Delta has a big selection of cobranded bank cards, lots of that are offering huge welcome offers proper now that may assist enhance your SkyMiles account. Maintain studying to seek out out extra in regards to the Delta SkyMiles program.
Associated: Best Delta credit cards
What’s the Delta SkyMiles program?
Delta SkyMiles has roughly 120 million members, making it the world’s largest airline loyalty program. Becoming a member of this system is free, and your miles by no means expire.
You may earn Delta SkyMiles by a wide range of strategies. Some common ones embrace flying with Delta and its companions, spending on Delta’s cobranded playing cards, transferring factors from American Express Membership Rewards, buying by the Delta SkyMiles Shopping portal, eating out by the SkyMiles Dining program and partaking in various other promotions supplied by the airline.
You may also earn Medallion Qualification {Dollars} that will help you attain Delta’s 4 elite standing tiers, which give perks like seat upgrades, precedence boarding and airport lounge access.
Associated: How to keep your points and miles from expiring
Delta SkyMiles program companions
Delta is a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance, which incorporates over a dozen airways worldwide. You may earn and redeem SkyMiles while you journey with any SkyTeam airline. SkyTeam serves 1,000 locations and touches nearly each a part of the globe, with flights touchdown on six continents.
The members are:
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- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Aeromexico
- Air Europa
- Air France
- China Airways
- China Japanese Airways
- Delta Air Traces
- Garuda Indonesia
- Kenya Airways
- KLM
- Korean Air
- Center East Airways
- SAS
- Saudia
- TAROM
- Vietnam Airways
- Virgin Atlantic
- XiamenAir
Associated: Delta bolsters 2025 plans in Europe, Asia with 2 new international routes
Different companions
Delta has a number of different partnerships past SkyTeam members, supplying you with quite a few choices for incomes miles even while you aren’t flying with Delta or a SkyTeam airline. Nonalliance companions embrace:
- AirBaltic
- Cape Air
- China Southern Airways
- El Al
- Hawaiian Airways
- LATAM
- WestJet
Simply word that every partnership has specific restrictions and requirements.
Associated: The best websites for searching SkyTeam award availability
Delta SkyMiles elite standing
The SkyMiles program presents four elite status tiers for frequent Delta flyers: Silver Medallion, Gold Medallion, Platinum Medallion and Diamond Medallion.
Incomes Delta Medallion standing
As of Jan. 1, 2024, Delta solely makes use of Medallion Qualification Dollars as standards for qualification — and the requirement thresholds have elevated considerably lately. Delta additionally modified the best way you earn MQDs by card spending, eliminating the MQD waiver profit from eligible playing cards.
You may earn MQDs within the following methods:
Now that it is more durable to earn Medallion standing, is it price attempting? Listed below are some key advantages of every of Delta’s standing tiers.
Associated: Is Delta Air Lines status worth it? What this disappointed soon-to-be-Diamond thinks
SkyMiles Silver Medallion
The bottom elite tier in Delta’s SkyMiles program is Silver Medallion standing. As a Silver Medallion, you may obtain:
- Complimentary first-class upgrades on home and short-haul worldwide flights from 24 hours earlier than departure
- Upgrades to Consolation+ inside 24 hours of departure
- Precedence boarding (Zone 5) and check-in
- One free checked bag on flights operated by Delta and choose accomplice airways, plus a free checked bag for as much as eight of your companions when touring on a Delta flight
SkyMiles Gold Medallion
Subsequent up is Gold Medallion standing, which gives you:
- Complimentary first-class upgrades on home and short-haul worldwide flights from three days earlier than departure
- Upgrades to Consolation+ inside three days of departure
- SkyPriority standing
- Waived charges on same-day confirmed adjustments
SkyMiles Platinum Medallion
The third tier within the SkyMiles program is Platinum Medallion. Along with the beforehand talked about Silver Medallion and Gold Medallion perks, you may get the next:
- Complimentary first-class upgrades on home flights and short-haul worldwide flights from 5 days earlier than departure
- Upgrades to Consolation+ at reserving
- Your decide of a Choice Benefit
SkyMiles Diamond Medallion
Lastly, the best publicly obtainable tier within the SkyMiles program Diamond Medallion. Diamond members get every little thing detailed above, plus some even higher perks:
Delta additionally has an invitation-only status known as Delta 360 — however this tier stays considerably mysterious since Delta would not publish any data on its advantages or tips on how to earn it.
Associated: Delta 360 status: What it is and how to earn the invite-only elite status
Find out how to earn SkyMiles
There are a number of methods to earn Delta SkyMiles. The simplest methods are flying Delta-operated flights, touring with a SkyTeam accomplice and opening a Delta cobranded bank card. You may also earn miles by on a regular basis actions like buying and eating.
Earn SkyMiles by flying
While you fly Delta on a Delta-issued ticket in the principle cabin or above (basic economy fares don’t earn miles), you may earn SkyMiles based mostly on the bottom value of your ticket. The upper your standing tier, the quicker you may earn miles.
- Normal member: 5 miles per greenback
- Silver Medallion: 7 miles per greenback
- Gold Medallion: 8 miles per greenback
- Platinum Medallion: 9 miles per greenback
- Diamond Medallion: 11 miles per greenback
In observe, because of this in the event you purchase a one-way flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK) to Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) for $250 earlier than taxes, you may earn 1,250 SkyMiles as a basic member. Nevertheless, you may earn 1,750 miles as a Silver Medallion and a whopping 2,750 miles in the event you’re a Diamond Medallion.
One other solution to earn miles is by flying Delta’s accomplice airways, however the way you earn these miles will depend on the way you booked the ticket. For instance, while you e-book accomplice airline tickets on Delta’s web site, you may earn miles the identical approach as you’ll on a Delta-operated flight.
In the meantime, in the event you e-book a accomplice flight on the provider’s web site (for instance, Air France) and add your Delta SkyMiles quantity, you may earn miles based mostly on a share of the space flown. The precise variety of SkyMiles you may obtain varies based on the partner, reserving class and your elite standing.
Associated: Can I earn the miles if I buy someone a ticket?
Earn SkyMiles by bank cards
There is a Delta bank card for everybody — the loyalist, the enterprise traveler and even the rare flyer. All of them besides the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card supply the next perks:
Every card presents some further perks for vacationers. This is a have a look at a number of the finest Delta SkyMiles bank cards from American Categorical. (Phrases apply.)
| Bank card | Annual payment | Welcome bonus | TPG’s valuation (as of February 2025) | Notable perks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card | $0 introductory annual payment for the primary 12 months, then $150 (see rates and fees) | Earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in eligible purchases inside the first six months of card membership. | $960 |
|
| Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card | $350 (see rates and fees) | Earn 90,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in eligible purchases within the first six months of card membership. | $1,080 |
Enrollment is required for some advantages. |
| Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card | $650 (see rates and fees) | Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership. | $1,200 |
Enrollment is required for some advantages. |
| Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card | $0 introductory annual payment for the primary 12 months, then $150 (see rates and fees) |
Earn 90,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 in your new card within the first six months of card membership. |
$1,080 |
|
| Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card | $350 (see rates and fees) | Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $8,000 within the first six months of card membership. | $1,200 |
Enrollment is required for some advantages. |
| Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card | $650 (see rates and fees) |
Earn 110,000 bonus miles after spending $12,000 in purchases within the first six months of card membership. |
$1,320 |
Enrollment is required for some advantages. |
Associated: 5 things you need to know about Delta SkyMiles
Earn SkyMiles by buying portals
One of many best methods to earn SkyMiles is thru Delta’s on-line buying portal, Delta SkyMiles Shopping. You may earn miles for purchases you’ll ordinarily make with over a thousand retailers on-line.
Should you do not have already got an account, you need to register utilizing your SkyMiles quantity. Then, you should utilize the search field to seek out the shop or product you are on the lookout for and examine costs and mileage charges at totally different retailers. You may also favourite shops, so you may be notified when these shops supply bonus miles.
After deciding on your service provider, click on on the shop, product or supply, and you will be taken to the shop’s web site to buy and take a look at. The shop will alert the portal while you’ve made a purchase order, and the miles you earned might be added to your SkyMiles account. You may obtain a affirmation e mail when your miles have been posted — that is sometimes inside three to 5 days, however it might probably take as much as 15 days.
Virtually each main airline has a buying portal, so use a shopping portal aggregator to make sure you get one of the best deal while you store on-line.
Associated: Your guide to maximizing shopping portals for your online purchases
Switch Amex factors to Delta
Lastly, you may switch American Express Membership Rewards factors to your Delta SkyMiles account at a 1:1 ratio. We do not often advocate this as a result of we worth Amex factors greater than SkyMiles: TPG values Amex factors at 2 cents apiece, in comparison with only one.2 cents for SkyMiles, per our February 2025 valuations.
It is usually tough to get a better worth from Delta, due to dynamic pricing. You may additionally should pay an excise tax offset fee when transferring Amex factors to Delta (and different home frequent flyer applications).
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Find out how to redeem SkyMiles
Delta eliminated printed award charts in 2015, changing into the primary main U.S. airline to shift to dynamic pricing for award tickets. In consequence, you will want to go looking on the Delta web site or app to find out what number of SkyMiles you want for an award ticket. Delta’s web site is fairly straightforward to navigate, and its helpful calendar characteristic may help you discover the bottom costs on your subsequent redemption.
We have typically discovered one of the best redemptions on home flights. With one of many Delta cobranded playing cards that gives a 15% low cost on Delta-operated award tickets, you may typically e-book short-haul flights for below 4,000 SkyMiles one-way. That stated, costs will fluctuate by day, route and cabin class.
Word that Delta award tickets are totally refundable (on flights originating within the U.S. and Canada excluding primary financial system fares), so in case your plans change, you may redeposit the miles and get a refund for the taxes and charges you paid. This additionally permits you to rebook award tickets when the mileage value drops, securing a refund of the distinction in miles.
Moreover, you should utilize your SkyMiles to book partner tickets on most of Delta’s SkyTeam and nonalliance companions. Sadly, these have now largely been aligned with costs on Delta’s personal flights, minimizing the chance to get higher worth from accomplice awards, particularly in premium cabins.
Associated: How to redeem Delta SkyMiles for maximum value
Candy spots
With Delta utilizing full dynamic pricing throughout its route community, there aren’t many candy spots to maximise the worth of your SkyMiles. However, there are just a few good choices on the market.
Delta flash gross sales
Delta often runs SkyMiles flash gross sales to short- and long-haul U.S. locations and cities in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. We have seen some terrific offers for the principle cabin, Consolation+ and top quality. Previous offers embrace round-trip flights to Europe for just 33,000 miles and fares to Tahiti starting at 60,000 miles.
In fact, these low cost tickets aren’t all the time properly marketed, so it pays to examine availability usually. Delta usually costs short- and mid-haul award tickets properly below what different airways would cost for comparable flights. You may usually discover one of the best offers when reserving upfront and touring on off-peak dates.
Delta and LATAM financial system flights to South America
Whatever the class of service, money flights to South America are hardly ever low cost, particularly to Brazil. Delta SkyMiles members can e-book LATAM award tickets at cheap costs, and it is one of many higher methods to make use of SkyMiles. For instance, 66,000 SkyMiles can typically get you a round-trip itinerary from JFK to Sao Paulo-Guarulhos Worldwide Airport (GRU), and plenty of of those flights are nonstop.
Associated: How to get value from 5,000 or fewer Delta SkyMiles
Backside line
With its operational efficiency, huge route community and quite a few accomplice airways, Delta is commonly touted by some as one of the best home airline. The truth is, the provider has taken the highest spot in TPG’s evaluation of the best airlines in the U.S. for the final 5 years. Though latest adjustments to award pricing and elite standing necessities have upset many Delta loyalists, there’s nonetheless loads to love in regards to the Delta SkyMiles program.
Whether or not you are a frequent Delta flyer or extra informal buyer, specializing in a mixture of flying, utilizing buying portals and making purchases with Delta bank cards can enhance your SkyMiles steadiness on your subsequent redemption.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Gold Card, click on here.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card, click on here.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card, click on here.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Gold Enterprise Card, click on here.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Enterprise Card, click on here.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Enterprise Card, click on here.
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