One of the widespread frequent flyer applications is Delta SkyMiles, the loyalty program of Delta Air Strains. TPG’s February 2025 valuations peg Delta SkyMiles at 1.2 cents apiece, and you’ll redeem them for flights, upgrades, accommodations and extra. You may sometimes get probably the most worth out of your miles for those who snag one among Delta’s frequent flash gross 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 providing large welcome provides proper now that may assist increase your SkyMiles account. Preserve studying to seek out out extra concerning the Delta SkyMiles program.
Associated: Finest Delta bank 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’ll be able to earn Delta SkyMiles via quite a lot of strategies. Some widespread ones embody flying with Delta and its companions, spending on Delta’s cobranded playing cards, transferring factors from American Categorical Membership Rewards, buying via the Delta SkyMiles Purchasing portal, eating out via the SkyMiles Eating program and partaking in numerous different promotions supplied by the airline.
You may as well earn Medallion Qualification {Dollars} that can assist you attain Delta’s 4 elite standing tiers, which offer perks like seat upgrades, precedence boarding and airport lounge entry.
Associated: The best way to preserve your factors and miles from expiring
Delta SkyMiles program companions
The members are:
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- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Aeromexico
- Air Europa
- Air France
- China Airways
- China Jap Airways
- Delta Air Strains
- 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 worldwide routes
Different companions
Delta has a number of different partnerships past SkyTeam members, supplying you with quite a few choices for incomes miles even if you aren’t flying with Delta or a SkyTeam airline. Nonalliance companions embody:
- AirBaltic
- Cape Air
- China Southern Airways
- El Al
- Hawaiian Airways
- LATAM
- WestJet
Simply notice that every partnership has particular restrictions and necessities.
Associated: One of the best web sites for looking out SkyTeam award availability
Delta SkyMiles elite standing
The SkyMiles program provides 4 elite standing 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 way in which you earn MQDs via card spending, eliminating the MQD waiver profit from eligible playing cards.
You’ll be able to earn MQDs within the following methods:
Now that it is tougher to earn Medallion standing, is it price making an attempt? Listed below are some key advantages of every of Delta’s standing tiers.
Associated: Is Delta Air Strains standing price it? What this dissatisfied 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 associate 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 offers 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 Alternative Profit
SkyMiles Diamond Medallion
Lastly, the best publicly out there tier within the SkyMiles program Diamond Medallion. Diamond members get all the pieces detailed above, plus some even higher perks:
Delta additionally has an invitation-only standing referred to as Delta 360 — however this tier stays considerably mysterious since Delta would not publish any info on its advantages or earn it.
Associated: Delta 360 standing: What it’s and earn the invite-only elite standing
The best way to earn SkyMiles
There are a number of methods to earn Delta SkyMiles. The best methods are flying Delta-operated flights, touring with a SkyTeam associate and opening a Delta cobranded bank card. You may as well earn miles via on a regular basis actions like buying and eating.
Earn SkyMiles by flying
Whenever you fly Delta on a Delta-issued ticket in the principle cabin or above (primary economic system fares do not earn miles), you may earn SkyMiles primarily based on the bottom worth of your ticket. The upper your standing tier, the quicker you may earn miles.
- Common 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 apply, because of this for those who 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 normal member. Nonetheless, you may earn 1,750 miles as a Silver Medallion and a whopping 2,750 miles for those who’re a Diamond Medallion.
One other method to earn miles is by flying Delta’s associate airways, however the way you earn these miles will depend on the way you booked the ticket. For instance, if you e book associate airline tickets on Delta’s web site, you may earn miles the identical method as you’d on a Delta-operated flight.
In the meantime, for those who e book a associate flight on the provider’s web site (for instance, Air France) and add your Delta SkyMiles quantity, you may earn miles primarily based on a proportion of the gap flown. The precise variety of SkyMiles you may obtain varies primarily based on the associate, reserving class and your elite standing.
Associated: Can I earn the miles if I purchase somebody a ticket?
Earn SkyMiles via 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 Categorical Card provide the next perks:
Every card provides some extra perks for vacationers. Here is a take a look at among the finest Delta SkyMiles bank cards from American Categorical. (Phrases apply.)
| Bank card | Annual price | Welcome bonus | TPG’s valuation (as of February 2025) | Notable perks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Categorical Card | $0 introductory annual price for the primary 12 months, then $150 (see charges and charges) | Earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in eligible purchases throughout the first six months of card membership. | $960 |
|
| Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Categorical Card | $350 (see charges and charges) | 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 Categorical Card | $650 (see charges and charges) | 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 Enterprise American Categorical Card | $0 introductory annual price for the primary 12 months, then $150 (see charges and charges) |
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 Enterprise American Categorical Card | $350 (see charges and charges) | 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 Enterprise American Categorical Card | $650 (see charges and charges) |
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 issues that you must learn about Delta SkyMiles
Earn SkyMiles via buying portals
One of many best methods to earn SkyMiles is thru Delta’s on-line buying portal, Delta SkyMiles Purchasing. You’ll be able to earn miles for purchases you’d ordinarily make with over a thousand retailers on-line.
If you happen to do not have already got an account, you will 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 evaluate costs and mileage charges at completely different retailers. You may as well favourite shops, so you may be notified when these shops provide bonus miles.
After choosing your service provider, click on on the shop, product or provide, and you will be taken to the shop’s web site to buy and take a look at. The shop will alert the portal if you’ve made a purchase order, and the miles you earned will likely be added to your SkyMiles account. You may obtain a affirmation electronic mail when your miles have been posted — that is sometimes inside three to 5 days, however it may well take as much as 15 days.
Nearly each main airline has a buying portal, so use a buying portal aggregator to make sure you get one of the best deal if you store on-line.
Associated: Your information to maximizing buying portals in your on-line purchases
Switch Amex factors to Delta
Lastly, you possibly can switch American Categorical Membership Rewards factors to your Delta SkyMiles account at a 1:1 ratio. We do not normally suggest 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 troublesome to get the next worth from Delta, due to dynamic pricing. You may additionally should pay an excise tax offset price when transferring Amex factors to Delta (and different home frequent flyer applications).
Associated: American Categorical Membership Rewards switch companions: Maximize your factors
The best way 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. Because of this, you have to to look 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 simple to navigate, and its helpful calendar characteristic might help you discover the bottom costs in your subsequent redemption.
We have usually 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 possibly can generally e book short-haul flights for below 4,000 SkyMiles one-way. That stated, costs will differ by day, route and cabin class.
Observe that Delta award tickets are totally refundable (on flights originating within the U.S. and Canada excluding primary economic system fares), so in case your plans change, you possibly can redeposit the miles and get a refund for the taxes and charges you paid. This additionally lets you rebook award tickets when the mileage worth drops, securing a refund of the distinction in miles.
Moreover, you should utilize your SkyMiles to e book associate 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 associate awards, particularly in premium cabins.
Associated: The best way to redeem Delta SkyMiles for optimum worth
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. Nonetheless, there are just a few good choices on the market.
Delta flash gross sales
Delta steadily 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 firstclass. Previous offers embody round-trip flights to Europe for simply 33,000 miles and fares to Tahiti beginning at 60,000 miles.
After all, these low-cost tickets aren’t at all times nicely marketed, so it pays to examine availability usually. Delta usually costs short- and mid-haul award tickets nicely below what different airways would cost for related flights. You may usually discover one of the best offers when reserving prematurely and touring on off-peak dates.
Delta and LATAM economic 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 affordable costs, and it is one of many higher methods to make use of SkyMiles. For instance, 66,000 SkyMiles can usually get you a round-trip itinerary from JFK to Sao Paulo-Guarulhos Worldwide Airport (GRU), and plenty of of those flights are nonstop.
Associated: The best way to get worth from 5,000 or fewer Delta SkyMiles
Backside line
With its operational efficiency, huge route community and quite a few associate airways, Delta is usually touted by some as one of the best home airline. Actually, the provider has taken the highest spot in TPG’s evaluation of the finest airways within the U.S. for the final 5 years. Though current adjustments to award pricing and elite standing necessities have dissatisfied many Delta loyalists, there’s nonetheless loads to love concerning 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 in your subsequent redemption.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Gold Card, click on right here.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card, click on right here.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card, click on right here.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Gold Enterprise Card, click on right here.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Enterprise Card, click on right here.
For charges and charges of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Enterprise Card, click on right here.
