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Experienced award travelers hold Delta SkyMiles in low regard, and with good reason. SkyMiles offers less upside than major airlines’ counterparts, which results in a low average redemption value of 1.1c per mile. Personal Finance Insider’s most recent values. Amex is an Insider partner.
SkyMiles has a lot of upside. However, you can still get a great return. To get the most mileage for your miles, you need to know which redemption options to target and which to avoid.
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Delta Miles: Best Ways to Use
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Intro offer
65,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 on your new card purchases within your first six months (offer ends November 9, 222)
Rewards
2x Miles earned on dining at restaurants all over the globe and for delivery and takeout in the U.S. Get 2x Miles for groceries in U.S. supermarkets. Delta purchases made directly through Delta earn 2x Miles All other purchases earn 1X Miles
$0 for the first year and then $99 thereafter
Annual Fee
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Intro offer
65,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 on your new card purchases within your first 6 month of account opening
Reward Program
Get 2x Miles for dining in restaurants around the world and takeout or delivery within the U.S. Get 2x Miles for groceries in U.S. supermarkets. Delta purchases made directly through Delta earn 2x Miles All other purchases earn 1X Miles
$0 for the first year and then $99 thereafter
Annual Fee
$0 upfront for the first Year, then $99
Annual Fee
American Express’s Website
This card is great for frequent and occasional Delta flight passengers who want elite-like perks but don’t have to pay an excessive annual fee. Delta cardholders are entitled to a free checked bag and priority boarding. If you’re looking for more luxurious benefits, such as airport lounge access or inflight discounts, then you should consider the premium cards.
Card Details
Rewards
Earn 2x Miles when you dine at restaurants all over the globe and order take-out and delivery within the U.S. Get 2x Miles for groceries in U.S. supermarkets. Delta purchases made directly through Delta earn 2x Miles All other purchases earn 1X Miles
Annual Fee
$0 upfront for the first Year, then $99
Intro offer
65,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 on your new card purchases within your first 6 month of account opening
Recommendation Credit
Good to Excellent
APR Regular
Variable 18.74%-27.74%
Pros & Cons
Highlights
Additional Reading
Delta uses dynamic award pricingOn its own flights, the price tends to be aligned with cash prices so it is very rare to get a high redemption value. SkyMiles partners are a great way to score exceptional deals.
Virgin Atlantic partner award flights
Consider this Virgin Atlantic flight in May 2023, which is non-stop and one-way. A seat in economy could be booked for 35,000 SkyMiles or in Virgin Atlantic’s Airbus A350 business-class cabinFor 120,000 SkyMiles (plus $6 security fee in each case).
Delta Air Lines
Cash would have cost the same flight $625 in economy class and $2630 in business. This will give redemption values of 1.79c per mile and 2.19c per mile, respectively.
Delta Air Lines
These redemption values are inflated by the fact one-way transatlantic flights are often expensive when paid cash. The one-way economy fare is slightly less than a round trip ticket in this example, but it would still be a bargain for someone booking an unconventional itinerary.
LATAM Airlines offers partner award flights
Another example is this LATAM Airlines flight from Los Angeles, California to Lima, Peru. This non-stop flight can be booked as an economy award for 25,000 SkyMiles plus $21 fees.
Delta Air Lines
The cash price, at $858, is much lower, and yields a great redemption value of under 3.35 cents per miles. This is more than twice our high Delta SkyMiles valuation.
Delta Air Lines
Delta SkyMiles Flash Sales
Delta sometimes offers discounted awards called SkyMiles Flash Sales. These sales are not well-marketed, so persistence and luck will be required to find them. They’re also only available on a limited number of routes so you’ll need more luck to get them to match your travel plans.
Despite this, some deals can be quite amazing. At the moment, none of these deals are available. However, past sales included round-trip economy tickets to Europe and Asia for less 35,000 miles and domestic round-trips to selected destinations for less 10,000 miles. These sales occur in low demand when cash fares can also be cheap, but the mileage discount tends not to be as large as the cash discount, yielding high redemption value.
These flash sales are for you if you are flexible and willing to travel wherever the road takes you.
Delta Sky Club Premium Drinks
Delta Sky Clubs offer complimentary alcoholic drinks, but Delta also offers a wide range of non-alcoholic beverages. Premium drinksAvailable for purchase are Champagnes, select wines and signature cocktails. These drinks can be redeemed at a flat rate 1.5 cents per miles, which puts them at the threshold of what we consider high redemption value. It doesn’t impact SkyMiles valuation in any way, as there are only so much opportunities to drink in Sky Club. However, it’s nice to have this option when you do.
Redeemable options with an average value
Although high-value SkyMiles Delta awards are difficult to find, it is possible to get above-average value, especially in economy.
Delta’s domestic economy class
This round-trip from Detroit to Nashville in February is 14,500 miles. There are $11.20 security fees in Main Cabin.
Delta Air Lines
The cash price of $219.20 yields a redemption value at 1.43 cents per Mile; 30% more than our average valuation of 1 cents.
Delta Air Lines
Delta offers international award flights
Another example is this round trip itinerary from Atlanta and Mexico City. An award for Main Cabin is worth 40,000 miles, plus $121 in tax and fees.
Delta Air Lines
Cash payments would cost $609 in Main Cabin. This yields a redemption price of 1.22 cents per miles after accounting for taxes and fees. The average redemption value for this first-class award is also close to ours, as 68,000 miles (versus $858), yields an even lower 1.08 cents per kilometer.
Delta Air Lines
SkyMiles redemptions for Delta flights will generally yield a good return. But, unless you take advantage of flash sales, it’s unlikely that it’s great.
Delta miles can be redeemed in low-value ways
Miles + Cash award
Delta also offers cash and award fares as well as Miles + Cash rewards that allow you to pay for your ticket using a combination of both cash and miles. This is an example of a round trip flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to Dallas that costs 24,000 miles and $192.
Delta Air Lines
This same itinerary will cost you 34,000 miles, $12 in SkyMiles awards and $338 cash fare. Miles + Cash could be used in this example to redeem 24,000 mile to save $146. This results in a miserable redemption value of just 0.6 cents per miles.
You could also consider it as $180 saving 10,000 miles (the difference in SkyMiles award or Miles + Cash fare). You’d get miles for just 1.8 cents each, which is much more than you can expect to receive from them on an average. The deal isn’t good, regardless of how you view it.
Flight upgrades
SkyMiles can be used to upgrade existing reservations such as this one from Seattle to Las Vegas. The upgrade from Main Cabin into Comfort+ would cost $117 (or 10,900 miles), and the upgrade to First Class would run $267 (or 24,900 miles).
Delta Air Lines
Both options have a slightly lower average redemption value at around 1.07 cents per miles. SkyMiles upgrade prices are so high that it is better to just book the award. This example shows that a First Class award for the exact same flight was available for 22,000 miles (or 2,900 miles less than what it would cost to upgrade).
Delta Air Lines
You’d be better off cancelling the flight and instead booking a First Class award, given the amount you have already spent on the original reservation. SkyMiles upgrades can’t be changed or refunded. Upgrades that you make and then change your flight itinerary are not transferable to other flights. All miles earned will be forfeited.
In short, SkyMiles upgrades canOffer a reasonable redemption value but you need to know what you are getting and check the price before you purchase.
Miles with Pay
Primary cardholders Delta’s Amex credit cards are co-branded by Delta get a Miles and PayBenefit that allows you to redeem increments up to 5,000 miles to lower the price of a ticket. Flat redemption value: 1 cent per mile A discount of $100 is available for every 10,000 miles you redeem. This could be a way to pay for a whole flight, but the last 5,000 mileage you redeem will give you an even lower value, unless your ticket is $50.
SkyMiles will not be earned for the amount you pay with miles. This means that you forfeit value and can’t get rewards you could have gotten if you paid cash. Pay With Miles award redemptions are less than one cent per mile.
Delta Vacations
SkyMiles can be used to redeem Delta Vacations travel packages at a flat rate 1 cent per mile, similar to the Pay With Miles benefits. This option is open to all, not just Delta Amex cardholders. It is also more flexible than Pay with Miles in that you may redeem any number from 1 to 99999999 miles. However, the redemption value for this option is lower than average.
Delta Sky Club access
SkyMiles can also be used towards the cost of Delta Sky Club memberships at a flat rate (1 cent per mile). A single membership costs $545, or 54,500 Miles, while an executive membership costs $845, or 84,500 Miles. There are two options for visiting Delta’s lounges: an individual membership is $545 or 54,500 miles and an executive membership is $845 or 84,500 miles. There are better ways to gain Sky Club access.
Delta Gift Cards
SkyMiles can also be used to redeem Delta gift card vouchers in four amounts. The redemption value for each amount is below 0.9 cents. This is not a great deal but it is an acceptable price. TerribleIt provides SkyMiles with a steady floor of value. You should avoid redemptions that fall below this rate as you can redeem gift cards at the same rate.
Delta Air Lines
Shop with miles
SkyMiles can also be used to redeem for Apple products, cookware, or home exercise equipment. We recommend staying away from these items as they are often too expensive and have poor redemption values.
Other valuation factors
We use other variables to determine the value of miles and points, as well as redemption rates. Below is how Delta SkyMiles compares to other aspects of the program that we consider:
- Expiration policy (+) — Delta SkyMiles do not expire so long as your account remains open and in good standing. This means that you don’t have to redeem your Delta SkyMiles until you are ready. This is a wonderful feature for travel rewards.
- Award Availability (Neutral) — Delta long ago ditched its award chart in favor of dynamic award pricing. Although you can now redeem miles for an open seat almost all the time, award prices are tied directly to cash prices so it is not possible to book seats in high demand.
- Sharing/pooling (-) — Delta does not offer a complimentary way to share SkyMiles. Transferring increments of 1,000 miles to another member is possible at a cost per mile plus a $30 processing charge. This option is only available in limited circumstances, such as when you are able to book an award that is relatively expensive and need to transfer a few miles quickly.
- Ease of accumulation (+) — Delta offers middling earning rates for flight activity, but you can earn miles from welcome bonus offers and spending on an assortment of Delta SkyMiles credit cards. You can also Transfer pointsInstantaneously at 1:1 Amex Membership Rewards.
- Award change and cancellation policy (+) — Delta does not charge a fee to change or cancel SkyMiles awards in Main Cabin or above that originate in North America, though changing an award may cost more depending on the new itinerary. Cancellation fees and awards in Basic Economy that originate outside North America may be subject to change.
- Surcharges (Neutral) — Delta doesn’t impose its own fuel surcharges on SkyMiles awards, but it does pass on fuel surcharges added by some partner airlines. Delta also charges a mileage surcharge on partner awards that are booked close to departure. However, the exact amounts are not publicized.
- Route network and partners (+) — Delta has an extensive route network serving hundreds of destinations in dozens of countries. SkyMiles can be used to book flights with SkyTeam alliance partners such as Air France, Korean Air and Virgin Atlantic.Start in 2023), as well as non-alliance partners like Hawaiian Airlines and LATAM.
The only problem among these miscellaneous elements is the absence of a free mileage-pooling option. But Delta could increase SkyMiles’ value by eliminating the surcharge on close-in partners awards. Dynamic pricing is an inherent feature of SkyMiles and should not be considered a problem. While award pricing is subject to high variability, it can be a problem during peak demand times. However, this also allows for opportunities to save miles on cash fares.
Bottom line
Delta SkyMiles may not be the most valuable frequent flyer program but its large network of routes and partnerships with airlines, combined with the consistent value economy awards, make it extremely useful. SkyMiles can be a good alternative if you aren’t attached to flying upfront.
