Since American Express has recently raised the offers on 3 of their co-branded Delta cards, here are a few examples of how you can use Skymiles.
It’s no secret that Delta loves a good devalue (and that they have hidden their award chart online), but all rewards programs have value if you use their points properly. Plus, it’s always good to diversify. Earning Delta Skymiles isn’t a major focus for me, but I don’t live in a Delta hub. That said, I have used Skymiles for cheap travel before. And I like that Delta doesn’t charge a close-in booking fee, which usually runs you $75 on most other airlines.
Anyway, here are a few examples on how you can redeem Skymiles.
Domestic
A couple of months ago, Delta announced a 5,000 Skymiles one-way award. These awards are based off of the revenue price of a ticket, opposed to being distance-based, like British Airways Avios. This means that a specific route won’t always be 5k one-way, and if you do find a 5k Delta one-way award, you may just want to pay cash since it’s usually under $80.
You’re most likely going to find Delta domestic awards in the range of 7,500 Skymiles – 12,500 Skymiles one-way. The domestic Delta hubs and key markets are: Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia. You will have more options to use your Skymiles domestically if you live in or fly to these cities.
One example, and a route that I’ve flown Delta on, is non-stop from Austin to LAX, which runs 12,500 Skymiles and $5. Pretty standard award price, but a heck of a lot better than cash.
Delta Austin to Lax Skymiles
Another domestic option would be to fly to Hawaii, which I was able to find at 22,500 Skymiles and $5 in economy one-way. Pretty standard. But the sign-up bonus alone from one of the limited time offers would be more than enough for a round-trip ticket to Hawaii. Easily worth over $800 in value.
LAX to Hawaii Delta
You can also use your Delta Skymiles for domestic award flights on Alaska Airlines, since they are partners.
Europe
We all want to go to Europe, right? Good Delta markets in Europe are Paris and Amsterdam.
New York to Amsterdam in business class usually shows 62,500 Skymiles and $5 one-way. I try to keep my business class awards to Europe around 50,000 miles, but that’s not always possible based on award availability. Economy awards on the same route are a standard 30,000 Skymiles and $5.
Atlanta to Paris business class awards and economy awards were pricing the same on the dates I was searching. 60,000 Skymiles and $10 to fly round-trip to Europe is still a good deal. Easily $2,000 in value.
ATL-CDG Delta Skymiles
You can also use your Delta Skymiles on Virgin Atlantic (and they have a nice upper class) to fly to London or other international spots.
You can now book one-way awards on Delta, but they are a little more expensive than booking round-trip European awards. Delta adds more fuel surcharges for award flights originating in Europe (if it’s not a rt). Boo. But I like the flexibility of one-ways. On round-trip tickets, you eventually won’t be able to mix award cabins either. But you still can by calling in to a representative.
South America
Using your Delta Skymiles for South America award flights is also an option, but no earth shattering value here. I saw economy one-way awards for 30,000 miles and $5. Ho Hum.
However, Aerolineas is a part of the Skyteam network and using Skymiles for intra-South America flights with them can be a great deal. You do have to search for their award space on Expertflyer or for free on Air France’s site.
Australia
Australia can be an extremely tricky award to book, so it’s important that you have a lot of award options at your disposal. You can fly Delta metal or their partner, Virgin Australia, to Australia.
Economy awards from LAX – SYD are 50,000 Skymiles and $5, and business class would be 80,000 Skymiles. Australia awards can be pricey since it’s such a long flight, and in my opinion, this would be a good use of your Delta Skymiles.
LAX-SYD Business Class on Virgin Australia
Tahiti
Delta partners with Air France and Air Tahiti, so if the French Polynesia is on your bucket list, you may have to turn to Delta Skymiles.
Economy flights are 50,000 Skymiles one-way, and business class are 80,000 miles. You can find Air France availability on the Delta website, but not Air Tahiti. Using Expert Flyer may be your best option when searching for these flights.
Conclusion
Delta Skymiles are definitely not the most valuable, but if you already hold a lot of the other major travel cards, you might want to take advantage of the Delta limited time offers. Especially if you live in a Delta hub.
It’s always good to diversify your miles so that you have the most options when it comes time to book an award. And it’s nice that you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Delta to top off your account for an upcoming booking.
Hope this post helps give you an idea of some Delta award redemptions. Do you have a Delta award option that I left off?
— Geoff Whitmore