5 things you need to know about Delta SkyMiles

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Using Delta SkyMiles can be complex and frustrating due to frequent changes and a lack of award charts. However, once you accumulate enough miles and gain the necessary knowledge to navigate the program, you can extract significant value from them.

Historically, Delta has offered flash sales where round-trip tickets cost as little as 5,000 SkyMiles. They’ve also run flash sales for flights to Europe, including economy round-trip flights for 32,000 SkyMiles.

While it requires effort to understand and utilize SkyMiles effectively, many consider Delta’s inflight experience to be the best among domestic carriers — as does the data powering TPG’s own annual report on the best U.S. airlines (Delta took the top spot for the fifth straight year in 2023).

Today, we will explore five key things you need to know about Delta SkyMiles to maximize their value.

There’s no published award chart

Delta removed award charts from its website in 2015. If you want to save miles for a future award flight, you must search for your desired route on different dates to get an idea of the approximate number of miles required. However, it’s important to note that this range can change unexpectedly.

Another aspect to consider is the wide range of SkyMiles needed for the same route. For example, a domestic flight that costs 10,000 miles one day could be half that price just a few days later. To illustrate this, let’s look at the varying prices over one week for a short flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD).

The variance can be even more significant when it comes to international routes, especially in premium cabins. Within a week one-way, business-class flights from JFK to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) range between 237,500 and 480,000 SkyMiles.

Availability with award programs is always a challenge. Still, without set prices, these significant variances force you to plan your trip schedule around availability rather than SkyMiles rewarding you with your desired schedule.

Finally, with no fixed prices, last-minute SkyMiles award tickets function like revenue tickets: They tend to be significantly more expensive.

This is a major drawback to collecting SkyMiles compared to other legacy carrier miles. In this Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to Cancun International Airport (CUN) example, close-in award tickets are roughly double than tickets a week or more out:

That said, it’s worth noting that you can reticket most Delta award flights (excluding basic economy) when the price drops. Many times, this can be accomplished right in the Delta app.

TPG director of content Nick Ewen did this twice on a one-way award ticket from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) for him and his family earlier this year. He initially booked three tickets at 25,000 miles apiece, but the price dropped to 20,500 miles and then 19,500 miles. Both times he was able to rebook his flight, ultimately putting 16,500 miles back in his SkyMiles account.

Related: Complete guide to changing and canceling award tickets

Surprisingly, longer flights can sometimes result in lower award rates for a Delta award ticket. Delta tends to have limited competition on routes originating from its main hubs.

As an example, here’s a search from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in economy class:

When you shift your origin to JFK, which is served by more carriers, the prices drop significantly — with many itineraries on these days connecting in Detroit:

Related: How to redeem Delta SkyMiles for maximum value

Partner award prices are now higher

In late 2022, award rates skyrocketed on partner flights booked through SkyMiles, as pricing was largely brought in line with itineraries entirely operated by Delta.

In short, it now costs a lot more to fly with partner airlines on flights to and from the U.S. — especially for business-class awards.

For example, Virgin Atlantic flights to and from the U.S. now cost around 210,000 miles when there’s award space — instead of the previous 86,000-mile price.

For reference, you can typically book this same business-class award for 47,500 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points plus $926.70 — though it’s even cheaper (33,200 points) through Sept. 30 thanks to Virgin’s 30% discount on award redemptions this summer.

You’ll see similar increases on Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, China Airlines, China Eastern and Korean Airlines flights originating from the U.S.

Related: Leisurely luxury: A review of Virgin Atlantic’s A350 leisure configuration in Upper Class from Manchester to Orlando

Keep an eye on SkyMiles sales

Delta routinely offers SkyMiles sales. One of its most recent was round-trip airfare to Auckland Airport (AKL) from most major U.S. airports for just 37,400 SkyMiles round-trip. Last year, the airline offered round-trip awards from JFK to various gateways in the Caribbean and the Bahamas for just 8,000 miles round-trip.

We even saw select flights from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to beach destinations at just 2,500 miles each way back in Feb. 2021.

Keep an eye on Delta’s SkyMiles sales page to find these deals.

Related: The ultimate guide to Delta One Suites

You can earn elite status without ever flying

Delta SkyMiles lets you earn Medallion status without flying.

If you have both of the Delta cobranded cards issued by American Express that earn Medallion Qualification Miles (either the consumer or business versions of each card), you could spend your way to upper-level Platinum Medallion status without ever setting foot on a Delta plane.

Here are the four cards and the Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) they allow you to earn:

If you hold the Delta Platinum Amex and the Delta Reserve Amex and can put $50,000 and $120,000 in spend on them (respectively), you’ll reach Platinum status. That’s because you’ll have 80,000 MQMs (just ahead of the required threshold of 75,000) and will waive the Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) requirement for Silver, Gold and Platinum Medallion status.

While not Delta’s top tier, Platinum Medallion still comes with unlimited upgrades and a selection of Choice Benefits that can improve your flying experience.

For reference, the Diamond MQD waiver only kicks in once you’ve spent $250,000 on eligible purchases across your Delta cobranded American Express credit cards.

Note that all four of these cards also include a 15% discount on Delta-operated award flights when you redeem your SkyMiles and pay the taxes and fees with the card. This doesn’t apply to partner tickets.

Related: Best Delta credit cards

Bottom line

Delta SkyMiles remains a solid choice for Delta travelers. I continue to find great value in using SkyMiles for domestic flights for me and my family, and I find equal value in holding Delta Platinum Medallion status. However, SkyMiles isn’t the currency to hold if you’re looking for aspirational or long-haul premium cabin awards.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex Card, please click here. For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Amex Card, please click here.  For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Amex Card, please click here.  For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Amex Card, please click here. 

Additional reporting by Ryan Smith, Nick Ellis and Richard Kerr.