Delta SkyMiles: The Ultimate Guide (2024)

Delta Air Lines started life as Huff Daland Dusters in 1925. As the first commercial agricultural flying company, its fleet of 18 planes was the largest privately owned in the world at the time. Initially focused on crop-dusting, Huff Daland Dusters subsequently expanded to international mail and passenger service in South America. In 1928, it was renamed Delta Air Service and started passenger flights in the southern U.S. combined with air mail services. It officially became Delta Air Lines in 1945, having flown more than 300 million passenger miles by this point.

In 1955, Delta pioneered the hub-and-spoke system, which involves flying passengers to a few airport locations where they connect to their intended destination.

Through mergers and acquisitions, Delta grew its operations and extended its service to trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific flights. In 1981, Delta launched its frequent flyer program, which became known as SkyMiles. With Aeromexico, Air France and Korean Air, Delta founded the SkyTeam airline alliance in 2000.

Unfortunately, rising fuel prices in 2005 led to the company filing for bankruptcy. After reorganizing and restructuring, it emerged from bankruptcy in 2007. Significantly, Delta acquired Northwest Airlines in 2008, resulting in a truly global airline network.

Currently, Delta flies to more than 290 destinations on six continents, serving more than 190 million customers a year and operates nine U.S. airport hubs:

• Atlanta (ATL)
• Boston (BOS)
• Detroit (DTW)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP)
• New York (JFK)
• New York—LaGuardia (LGA)
• Salt Lake City (SLC)
• Seattle/Tacoma (SEA)

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The first step to earning SkyMiles is to enroll in the free SkyMiles program. If you have family members under 13, a parent or guardian will have to register for them. It’s worth signing everyone in the family up since SkyMiles members receive free in-flight Wi-Fi on domestic flights. SkyMiles never expire, so even infrequent flyers can slowly work toward earning rewards.

Earn Miles by Flying Delta

The traditional way to earn SkyMiles is by flying a Delta-operated flight. You’ll earn SkyMiles mileage based on the cost of the ticket. General SkyMiles members earn 5 SkyMiles per dollar spent (before taxes and fees) on ticket purchases. Members with elite Medallion status earn up to 11 SkyMiles per dollar on the base fare, depending on their level. SkyMiles aren’t earned on Basic Economy fares, so if you want to earn SkyMiles, you’ll have to purchase Main Cabin fares or higher.

While ticket cost is the typical way to calculate earned SkyMiles, certain exception fares earn based on a percentage of distance flown. Higher fare classes earn more than economy fares. Exception fares include vacation packages, cruises and discounted tour packages.

Delta Medallion Status

Members with Delta Medallion status earn redeemable SkyMiles at a higher rate, depending on their status level, when they travel on Delta-operated flights. And, of course, Delta Medallion status provides various perks at each level, rewarding the airline’s most loyal flyers. Medallion status is determined by only one qualifier—Medallion Qualification Dollars.

As Delta eases into the new program, it has set the 2024 MQD thresholds for 2025 status as follows:

• Silver Medallion: $5,000 MQDs
• Gold Medallion: $10,000 MQDs
• Platinum Medallion: $15,000 MQDs
• Diamond Medallion: $28,000 MQDs

Members earn 1 MQD per dollar spent on the base ticket price for Delta-marketed flights operated by Delta or one of its partner airlines. Basic Economy tickets are excluded from earning MQDs.

Members can also earn MQDs by spending on Delta co-branded credit cards, earning 1 MQD per $20 of purchases (terms apply) on the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card or Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card or one MQD per $10 of purchases (terms apply) on the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card or Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card. As an added benefit, Delta SkyMiles Platinum, Platinum Business, Reserve and Reserve Business American Express cardholders receive an MQD Headstart of $2,500 MQDs per credit card for the current qualification year. Taken to an extreme, that means if you held all four credit cards, you’d start the year with $10,000 MQDs, enough for Gold Medallion status.

Delta is offering a one-time opportunity until December 31, 2024 for members to convert their Rollover balances into MQDs, miles or a combination of both. If you’ve got a large balance of over 100,000 MQMs, you’re in luck—Delta will extend your 2024 status by one year for every 100,000 in rollover MQMs.

Here’s a summary of the perks and benefits offered by each tier level:

* Platinum may select one Choice Benefit.
** Diamond may select three Choice Benefits.

Choice Benefits were recently enhanced due to the 2024 program changes. The following options have been added to the existing selection of Choice Benefits:

• MQD accelerators for future Medallion qualification: Diamond members receive $2,000 in MQD; Platinum gets $1,000
• Bonus SkyMiles: 35,000 for Diamond; 30,000 for Platinum. Bonus miles can be gifted to another SkyMiles member, donated to a SkyWish charity or added to the member account
• Delta travel vouchers: $350 for Diamond; $300 for Platinum
• Wheels Up: Flight credit for the Wheels Up private jet program
• Delta Sky Club individual membership: Available for Diamond members only and requires two Choice Benefit selections

Since Delta is a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance, SkyMiles members can earn SkyMiles with any SkyTeam airline.

SkyTeam airlines include:

• Aeroflot (SU) (membership temporarily suspended)
• Aerolineas Argentinas (AR)
• Aeromexico (AM)
• Air Europa (UX)
• Air France (AF)
• China Airlines (CI)
• China Eastern (MU)
• Czech Airlines (OK)
• Delta Air Lines (DL)
• Garuda Indonesia (GA)
• ITA Airways (AZ)
• Kenya Airways (KQ)
• KLM (KL)
• Korean Air (KE)
• Middle East Airlines (ME)
• Saudia (SV)
• TAROM (RO)
• Vietnam Airlines (VN)
• Virgin Atlantic (VS)
• XiamenAir (MF)

Outside of SkyTeam, Delta also partners with:

• Cape Air
• China Southern Airlines
• LATAM Airlines
• Westjet

Only select flights on these four airline partners may be eligible for mileage accrual.

The number of miles and MQDs earned is determined by each partner airline. Usually mileage is calculated as a percentage of distance flown as determined by the ticket fare class.

Let’s take the example of a round-trip, business-class Air France flight from New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG) in fare class J. Here’s the earning chart for Air France for international flights:

The number of flown miles between JFK and CDG return is 7,269 miles. If the Air France flight is credited to your Delta SkyMiles account, the number of redeemable miles earned would be 200% of the actual miles flown for 14,538 SkyMiles. MQDs earned would be 40% of the flown miles or 2,908 MQDs. If you have Delta Medallion status, the Medallion Mileage Bonus is applied to these earnings at the following rates:

• Diamond: 120%
• Platinum: 80%
• Gold: 60%
• Silver: 40%

Mileage earning charts for each partner airline can be found here.

Credit Card Spending

Delta’s co-branded personal and business credit cards allow you to earn status and unlimited redeemable SkyMiles through everyday purchases. Spending on your Delta credit card is an easy way to build your SkyMiles balance without flying.

No Delta co-branded card charges foreign transaction fees, making them a viable international card option. With the exception of the no annual fee Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card (Terms apply, see rates & fees), Delta credit cards offer many perks such as priority boarding and a free first checked bag, which is useful for travelers who don’t have Delta elite status.

The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card offer the TakeOff 15 feature which discounts award travel on Delta flights by 15% (terms apply). If you frequently redeem Delta flights, this discount can save you a sizable amount of miles over the course of a year.

Some Delta cards also offer other perks, such as statement credits on rideshare service purchases and prepaid hotels or vacation rentals booked through Delta.com. The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card also offer a $200 credit toward Delta flights when you spend $10,000 in a calendar year.

Personal Delta Credit Cards

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card

• Welcome offer: Earn 10,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 in purchases on the card in the first 6 months.
• Rewards: Earn 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide, and takeout and delivery in the U.S. and 1 mile per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
• Annual fee: $0
• Terms Apply, see rates & fees

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

• Welcome offer: Earn 40,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 in eligible purchases in the first six months of card membership.
• Rewards: Earn 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases, at U.S. supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. and 1 mile per dollar on other eligible purchases.
• Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150
• Terms Apply, see rates & fees

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

• Welcome offer: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in eligible purchases in the first six months of card membership.
• Rewards: Earn 3 miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2 miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets and 1 mile per dollar on other eligible purchases.
• Annual fee: $350
• Terms Apply, see rates & fees

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

• Welcome offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in eligible purchases in the first 6 months of card membership.
• Rewards: Earn 3 miles per dollar on Delta purchases and 1 mile per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
• Annual fee: $650
• Terms Apply, see rates & fees

Delta Business Credit Cards

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

• Welcome offer: Earn 55,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases in the first 6 months of card membership.
• Rewards: Earn 2 miles per dollar on eligible purchases with U.S. shipping providers and U.S. advertising in select media up to $50,000 per category per year, 2 miles per dollar on purchases directly with Delta and at restaurants and 1 mile per dollar on other purchases.
• Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150
• Terms Apply, see rates & fees

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card

• Welcome offer: Earn 65,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 in purchases in the first 6 months of card membership.
• Rewards: Earn 3 miles per dollar on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and hotels, 1.5 miles per dollar on eligible transit, U.S. shipping & individual purchases of $5,000 or more (up to $100,000 per calendar year), and 1 mile per dollar on other purchases.
• Annual fee: $350
• Terms Apply, see rates & fees

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card

• Welcome offer: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 in purchases in the first 6 months of card membership.
• Rewards: Earn 3 miles per dollar on eligible purchases made directly with Delta, 1.5 miles per dollar on eligible transit, U.S. shipping and U.S. office supply store purchases and 1 mile per dollar on all other eligible purchases. After spending $150,000 in a calendar year, earn 1.5 miles per dollar on eligible purchases the rest of the year.
• Annual fee: $650
• Terms Apply, see rates & fees

Transfer Partners

Delta partners with several transferable points programs, which makes it easier to boost your SkyMiles balance. The most significant is Membership Rewards®, the flexible point currency for American Express credit cards. Membership Rewards points can be transferred to Delta SkyMiles at a 1:1 ratio in increments of 1,000 points. There’s a transfer fee of $0.6 per 1,000 Membership Rewards with a maximum of $99.

Delta also has partnerships with hotel and car rental companies that allow the conversion of their points to Delta SkyMiles at varying rates. Partners and their respective transfer ratios include:

• ALL-Accor Live Limitless: 4,000:2,000
• Radisson Rewards: 2,000:200
• Marriott Bonvoy: 3:1 with an additional 5,000 miles for every 60,000 Bonvoy points transferred
• Hilton Honors: 10,000:1,000
• IHG One Rewards: 10,000:2,000
• Hertz Gold Plus Rewards: Call 888-999-4900

While these transfer rates generally aren’t advantageous, it could make sense if you need to top off your SkyMiles balance to clinch an award flight.

Shopping Portal

Like many other airlines, Delta has a shopping portal where users can earn SkyMiles. To use the portal, sign up for a SkyMiles shopping account separate from your SkyMiles loyalty account. Each time you shop, click through your desired retailer before making a purchase. While you can use any form of payment, pairing it with a SkyMiles-earning credit card will boost your balance even faster.

From time to time, SkyMiles shopping offers promotions where you can earn extra miles by spending a certain number of dollars across their retailers or by shopping at a specific retailer.

Buying SkyMiles

Delta offers the option to purchase miles at 3.5 cents per SkyMiles plus tax. There’s a minimum of 2,000 and a maximum of 60,000 SkyMiles per transaction.

In general, we don’t recommend purchasing SkyMiles. The only exception is when only a few miles are needed to complete an award redemption. Otherwise, the pricing is too high to justify.

Other Ways To Earn SkyMiles

• Starbucks: Link your Delta SkyMiles and Starbucks Rewards accounts and load at least $25 to your Starbucks card to earn 25 miles or more. The more cash you add to your Starbucks card, the more miles you can earn.
• Lyft: Link your SkyMiles and Lyft accounts to earn 1 mile per dollar spent on Lyft rides within the U.S.
• Delta Vacations: Earn 1 MQD per $1 spent on the total package price in addition to the MQDs earned on the flight portion of the package. Earn up to 10,000 bonus SkyMiles depending on the total package price in addition to miles earned for the included package flight.
• Ticketmaster: Enter your SkyMiles info here and make your Ticketmaster purchase to earn 1 mile per $1 on eligible purchases for events in the U.S. and Canada.
• Hotel partners: You can earn miles on stays with some hotels, including Marriott Bonvoy, IHG, World of Hyatt, and more, as well as qualifying Airbnb stays. Your earnings will vary based on where you stay, with reward rates ranging from 1 mile per point to a flat award per stay.
• Car rental partners: Earn miles when renting cars from partners such as Hertz, Dollar Car Rental, Thrifty, Alamo, and more. Reward rates range from 2 miles per dollar to 8 miles per dollar depending on the company you book with and your SkyMiles status.

Delta Air Lines Award Flights

Delta utilizes dynamic pricing for its award flights, meaning that award redemption prices fluctuate with cash prices, reflecting demand and seasonality. Typically, expensive flights require a high number of miles, while more affordable flights are priced at a lower number of miles. Dynamic pricing can make it challenging to save for a specific award redemption since it’s difficult to predict how many miles you’ll need.

One strategy is to use Delta’s price calendar feature. Enter your departure and arrival airports into the flight search page, and check the “Shop with Miles” and “My dates are flexible” boxes.

The results will give you one week of availability and pricing. Click on “Price Calendar” to get a full month of prices.

That will give you the range of SkyMiles your trip may cost. There are no blackout dates, so as long as there’s an operating flight for that day with seats available, you can book it with SkyMiles, although sometimes at astronomical prices.

In our example above, searching New York to Paris reveals that award flights may be available for as low as 34,000 SkyMiles (plus taxes and fees) one-way in Main Cabin during off-peak February, with prices climbing much higher in March as warmer weather sets in.

Being flexible with award booking dates can save you thousands of SkyMiles.

Partner Airline Award Flights

SkyMiles can be used to book flight awards on any the SkyTeam alliance member airline and with Delta’s nonalliance partners as long as there’s saver-level available award space. Delta also uses dynamic pricing for its partner awards.

Most partner award space can be viewed online, but for Air Europa, Air Tahiti Nui, Czech Airlines and Kenya Airways, you’ll have to call Delta to check for availability and book an award flight.

How To Book a Delta Flight Award

Searching for a Delta flight award is straightforward since it’s exactly like searching for a paid flight. The only difference is that you’ll need to check the “Shop with Miles” box to search for awards. The process is identical whether you’re searching for Delta or partner awards.

Sweet Spots

Delta is known for expensive award pricing, particularly on international and premium cabin redemptions. Nevertheless, there are some sweet spots to be found. If you have the TakeOff 15 benefit on your Delta credit card, the extra 15% in SkyMiles savings makes it even sweeter.

SkyMiles Award Deals

Delta’s extensive domestic network can offer reasonable pricing for flying within the U.S., especially if you take advantage of SkyMiles Award Deals. Enter your destination airport to see what deals are currently being offered. These specials are in Main Cabin and Delta Comfort+, which means they can be canceled at no charge and your miles redeposited. Here’s an example of offers available from Washington, D.C.

Delta’s best values come in the form of flash sales that periodically occur throughout the year. Flash sales offer discounted award pricing on featured routes. Here’s an example of a flash sale round-trip fare from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Amsterdam (AMS) for 64,000 SkyMiles plus $89 in Main Cabin.

Flash sales happen without much notice and don’t last long, so act fast if it’s a destination you want to visit. Award tickets in Main Cabin and higher are cancellable for free, so this is one of those situations in which it’s best to book first and decide later.

Short Haul Flights on Korean Airlines

If you’re hopping around Asia, consider SkyMiles for your short-haul flights on Korean Airlines. Flying from Tokyo (HND) to Seoul (GMP) on Korean Airlines in economy costs 7,500 SkyMiles plus 4,090 Korean won (approx. $3 U.S.) one way.

The lowest cash price for the same date is $212, so this award represents great value.

Flights Within Canada on Westjet

Delta offers some good value redemptions on its partner, Westjet, for cross-Canada flights. A one-way, non-stop economy flight from Calgary (YYC) to St. John’s (YYT) is 12,500 SkyMiles plus $47 Canadian dollars (approx. $34 U.S.). Purchasing the identical flight would cost $309.

Miles and Cash

If you’re short on SkyMiles, you can use the Miles+Cash option for an award redemption. Essentially, you’re buying the additional SkyMiles needed for the redemption. The cost per mile works out to approximately 1.8 cents, depending on the route. This New York (JFK) to Seattle (SEA) route costs 15,000 SkyMiles.

If you use the Miles+Cash option, the flight costs 10,000 SkyMiles plus $96. That means you are paying $90 (minus taxes) for 5,000 SkyMiles, which works out to 1.8 cents per mile.

This is cheaper than buying miles outright for 3.5 cents per mile, but if you need the extra miles to redeem for the award flight, then it could make sense.

Other Ways To Use Miles

There are multiple ways to use your SkyMiles. They can be redeemed for Delta gift cards, merchandise, magazine subscriptions and even premium drinks in the SkyClub. Generally, these redemptions don’t represent great value for your SkyMiles, but if you’re sitting on a large miles balance or have orphan miles you want to use up, these options could be appealing.

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Upgrading Your Flight

You can upgrade your flight with miles during or after the booking process.

When booking a paid or award flight, you’ll see the option to upgrade before completing your purchase, if eligible.

If you’ve already booked your ticket, access your reservation through “My Trips,” and you’ll often get an offer to upgrade using money or miles. It may or may not be more expensive than if you’d booked the upgraded flight to start with.

Pay With Miles

Delta SkyMiles credit cardholders can use their miles to discount the price of Delta tickets by $50 for every 5,000 SkyMiles.

Delta Product Services

Seat selection, ticket change and same-day confirmed fees can be paid for with SkyMiles by contacting Delta Reservations.

Delta SkyClub Membership

A one-year individual membership costs $695 or 69,500 SkyMiles and is available to Medallion members only.

Delta Vacations

SkyMiles can be used to pay for Delta Vacation packages with a value of at least 1.15 cents per mile.

SkyMiles Experiences

SkyMiles Experiences offers a wide range of unique events available for purchase or auction using your SkyMiles. Experiences can include sporting events, concerts and culinary events.

Donate Your Miles

Delta’s SkyWish program partners with many charitable organizations around the world. Charitable organizations then use miles to provide services like transporting children with life threatening illnesses to optimal medical facilities.

Award Cancellation and Change Fees

Delta gives you the ultimate in flexibility as they don’t charge cancellation or change fees on most award flights. There is one caveat—Basic Economy tickets cannot be changed, but they can be canceled for a fee, which is assessed in miles with the remainder redeposited into your account.

Infant Fees

Children up to age 2 may travel for free as a lap infant within the U.S. or at a reduced rate internationally, usually 10% of the adult fare, depending on the countries you’re traveling between. For example, if your international ticket has a $200 base fare with an additional $30 in taxes and fees, for a lap child, you’d pay $20 in base fare and $30 in taxes for a total cost of $50.

It’s important to note that a lap infant requires their own ticket. This can be done online for domestic trips in the Special Services Requests section under “My Trips.” You’ll likely need to call to have your child ticketed for international trips and pay any applicable fees.

Carrier-Imposed Award Surcharges

Carrier-imposed surcharges are additional charges levied by airlines beyond mandatory government and airport taxes. Delta doesn’t charge carrier-imposed charges when flying within the U.S. or from the U.S. to another country. However, on one-way flights or round-trip flights beginning in another country, Delta typically tacks on a “carrier-imposed international surcharge.”

Carrier-imposed charges are especially expensive when flying from Europe and can cost hundreds of dollars when flying in Delta One or other premium cabins.

Delta doesn’t offer a family pooling program. Instead, you can transfer SkyMiles to family and friends for 1 cent per mile plus a transaction fee of $30. This can get expensive very quickly. Instead, we recommend booking an award ticket for your friend or family member from your account.

Between Delta’s co-branded credit cards and its transfer relationship with American Express Membership Rewards, it’s easy to quickly accumulate SkyMiles. However, getting good value from SkyMiles can be a challenge with Delta’s expensive award pricing. The best values result from taking advantage of its flash sales and SkyMiles Award Deals, especially paired with a Delta credit card with the TakeOff 15 benefit.

Forbes Advisor Credit Cards Writer Barbara King contributed to this article.

To view rates and fees for Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card please visit this page.