Live near a Delta Air Lines hub city? Then you’ve likely heard of Delta SkyMiles, the Atlanta-based carrier’s frequent flyer program.
The Delta SkyMiles program rewards loyal travelers of Delta with miles that can be used for free flights. Delta also offers a Medallion elite status program. Elite Delta flyers can get sweet perks like waived baggage fees, seat upgrades and even the option to enjoy a Delta Sky Club lounge membership.
If you live near a Delta hub city or you frequently travel to places covered by Delta’s flight network, you should consider becoming a Delta SkyMiles member. The SkyMiles program — which is free to join — is worth it for frequent business travelers and occasional leisure travelers alike. Award flights start at just 6,000 miles one-way, making it easy to accrue enough miles for a free trip.
| Delta SkyMiles quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Airline lounges | More than 50 locations worldwide |
| Destinations served | 280 destinations on six continents |
| Hub airports (U.S.) | Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York (JFK and LaGuardia), Salt Lake City, Seattle |
| Airline alliance | SkyTeam Alliance |
| How many SkyMiles for a flight? | Starting at 6,000 miles one-way |
| Delta Air Lines miles value | 1.1 cents |
| Do Delta Air Lines miles expire? | No expiration |
Delta SkyMiles are worth an average of 1.1 cents each based on our recent valuations, which makes them less valuable than other miles we compared. For example, Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth an average of 1.4 cents each, whereas United miles are worth 1.3 cents each based on our internal analysis.
That said, the value of miles redeemed depends heavily on the itinerary you book, your travel dates and overall availability since Delta uses dynamic pricing for its rewards. Ultimately, this means you may find awards that come in at less than 1.1 cents each and others that let you get significantly more value.
Also note that Delta miles are slightly more valuable for Delta credit card customers due to the airline’s TakeOff 15 program that gives cardmembers 15% off all award flights.
Delta SkyMiles are generally valued around 1.1 cents per mile — if a flight is worth 1.1 cent per mile or somewhere in that range, then it’s likely worth it to use miles.
To calculate the value of miles, use this simple equation:
Cash price (minus taxes and fees) / Number of points needed for flight = Points value for that specific flight
The Delta SkyMiles program is worth it for anyone to join since membership is entirely free and miles you earn never expire. That said, accruing miles and pursuing elite status with Delta makes the most sense for people who live in hub cities that are dominated by Delta flights, such as Atlanta and Minneapolis.
One major benefit of the Delta SkyMiles program is the ability to earn and redeem miles with partner airlines while enjoying reciprocal benefits when you fly. You can earn miles with Delta partners by inputting your Delta frequent flyer number when you fly with partners like Air France and KLM.
You can also redeem Delta SkyMiles with partner airlines on the Delta website simply by searching for an itinerary after logging into your Delta SkyMiles account. When you search, you’ll see that some flights offered through Delta.com are offered through the airline itself, whereas others are offered through partners.
Having Delta Medallion status automatically gets you SkyTeam Elite or SkyTeam Elite Plus status with SkyTeam airline partners as well, which can help you enjoy perks like priority check-in and boarding, priority luggage handling, additional allowances for baggage, partner airport lounge access and more.
Delta works with a range of airline partners within and outside the SkyTeam alliance, including both core global airline partners and other global airline partners. Partners in the SkyTeam alliance unlock the option to fly to a total of 1,050 destinations in 166 countries around the world, and to earn and redeem Delta SkyMiles when you do. In fact, you can earn miles when you fly with Delta partners, redeem miles to fly with partners and enjoy reciprocal elite status benefits when you fly with SkyTeam partners instead of Delta.
Here’s a rundown of Delta’s main partners that are part of the SkyTeam Alliance:
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Delta also partners with additional airlines that are not part of their alliance. However, each of these partners works with Delta in a different way, so you’ll want to read over the terms, conditions and restrictions with each one.
The most common way to earn Delta SkyMiles is by flying with Delta Air Lines and its partner airlines. You can also quickly rack up miles by using a co-branded Delta credit card, transferring American Express Membership Rewards to SkyMiles and using Delta’s shopping portal. Here is a rundown on earning Delta SkyMiles:
Flying with Delta Air Lines is the most straightforward way to earn SkyMiles. Delta Air Lines offers a revenue-based system for earning SkyMiles on its flights, which means you earn miles based on how much you spend, not how far you fly. General SkyMiles members will earn 5 SkyMiles per $1 of base fare on Delta-issued tickets (excluding taxes and fees) while Delta Medallion members earn more depending on their status level.
| Status level | Miles per dollar spent on tickets |
|---|---|
| General member | 5 |
| Silver | 7 |
| Gold | 8 |
| Platinum | 9 |
| Diamond | 11 |
Note that there are some “exception fares” within the revenue-based earning structure. Exception fares include cruise fares, bulk fares, consolidator fares, vacation packages (including packages with Delta Vacations) and discount or inclusive tour packages.
These fares earn SkyMiles based on distance flown according to the following table:
| Exception Fare Class (Delta 006 Ticketed Only) | Miles |
|---|---|
| Delta One®/First Class/Delta Premium Select - J, C, D, I, Z, F, P, A, G | 150% |
| Full Fare Main Cabin/ Delta Comfort+® - Y, B, M, W | 100% |
| Main Cabin and Discounted Main Cabin - H, Q, K, L | 75% |
| Deeply Discounted Main Cabin - U, T, X, V, E | 50% |
Delta is an integral part of SkyTeam, so you can earn miles on a partner flight. While most American airlines are now on the fare-based system, Delta’s foreign airline partners still operate a distance-based system. This means that you earn a percentage of miles based on number of miles flown.
You’ll have to check out each partner chart to determine how many miles you’ll earn for your particular flight. You can also use a tool such as MileCalc.com to estimate the number of miles flown for each particular flight segment.
For a closer look at a partnering award chart, here is the current partner chart for Aeromexico that will be in force through the end of 2023:
| Class of Service | Fare Class | Base Miles | Class Bonus | Total Miles Earned | MQMs | MQDs | Medallion Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business | J | 100% | 100% | 200% | 200% | 40% | |
| Business | C, D, I | 100% | 100% | 200% | 150% | 40% | |
| Full Economy | W, Y | 100% | 25% | 125% | 150% | 25% | |
| Economy | B, M, K, H, Q, L, T, U | 100% | 100% | 100% | 20% | ||
| Discounted Economy | E, N, R | 50% | 50% | 100% | 10% | ||
| Deep Discount Economy | V | 25% | 25% | 100% | 5% |
The total miles earned column shows how many miles you’ll earn, calculated off the distance flown. However, you’ll need to also account for the Medallion Bonus (120% for Diamond members, 80% for Platinum members, 60% for Gold members and 40% for Silver members), if applicable, which only applies to the base SkyMiles earned and not the class bonus.
Only a handful of Delta’s Skyteam partners allow you to earn MQMs on their flights, which still matters when it comes to earning elite status in 2023 for the 2024 travel year. However, Delta recently announced that it is moving to a new elite status system in 2024 that only uses Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs) as a metric to earn elite status
Delta Air Lines offers a number of co-branded credit cards issued by American Express. You can earn at least 1 Delta SkyMile per $1 spent on eligible purchases with any of these cards.
The products offered vary from the $0-annual-fee Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card to the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, which is loaded with benefits.
| Card | Annual Fee | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | Other Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card | $0 | Earn 2X Miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases and at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases. | Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months. | 20% in-flight savings |
| Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card | $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. | Earn 2X Miles on Delta purchases, at U.S. Supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. | Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. | One free checked bag on Delta flights, priority boarding |
| Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card | $350 | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels. Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets and earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. | Earn 60,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. | One free checked bag on Delta flights, priority boarding, annual companion fare, MQD waiver, bonus MQMs |
| Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card | $650 | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases. Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases. | Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $5,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. | One free checked bag on Delta flights, priority boarding, annual companion fare (including for first class), MQD waiver, bonus MQMs, lounge access |
SkyMiles Shopping offers SkyMiles on purchases with 1,000-plus retailers. Some of the popular stores include Apple, Home Depot, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Office Depot and Disney. Earning rates vary between 1 and 20 miles per dollar, depending on the retailer. Some stores offer a one-time bonus for shopping or taking advantage of a specific offer.
To earn miles with SkyMiles Shopping, visit the portal page, browse the retailers and click through to be taken to the website of your selected retailer. Alternatively, you can install a browser extension that lets you earn miles without even visiting the portal page.
Delta has a dining portal that allows members to earn bonus miles when eating at partnered restaurants. All you need to do is register a credit or debit card to earn up to 5 miles per dollar spent (including taxes and tip):
| City | Number of partnered restaurants |
|---|---|
| Boston | 673 |
| Detroit | 381 |
| Los Angeles | 2,160 |
| New York | 3,380 |
| Orlando | 467 |
| San Francisco | 729 |
| Seattle | 611 |
| Washington DC | 792 |
Hotel rewards programs are an excellent source of extra SkyMiles, especially since Delta has partnerships with many major hotel brands. You can earn SkyMiles on hotels stays in place of the hotel’s membership points.
Alternatively, you can transfer your hotel points to SkyMiles directly with some of the partners. Here’s an overview of some of the available partners and how earning and transferring works.
| Hotel | Mile earning rate | Hotel points:miles |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | 1 miles/$ | N/A |
| Langham Hospitality Group | Depending on the hotel: Up to 500 miles/night, max 1,500 per stay | N/A |
| Le Club Accor Hotels | 2.5 miles/10€ to 12.5 miles/10€, depending on the hotel | 4:2 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1 miles/$ to 2 miles/$ depending on the hotel | 3:1 |
| Shangri-La | 500 miles per stay | N/A |
| World of Hyatt | 500 miles per stay | N/A |
With Delta vacation packages, you can save money on travel and earn up to 10,000 bonus SkyMiles for bookings that cost $10,000 or more. You can book packages with a select set of Delta partners, including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Aeromexico, Air France and Alitalia. If you use a co-branded Delta American Express card to pay for your vacation package, you can earn miles even faster.
Delta car rental partners let you earn bonus miles when you rent a car. In the case of Hertz, Platinum and Diamond status members can earn as many as 8 miles per dollar spent. You must visit Delta’s site and book your car rental through their portal in order to get the miles.
Here are some of the available car rental partners with their earning rates:
| Service | Miles per rental |
|---|---|
| Alamo | 500 |
| Dollar Car Rental | 4 miles/$ |
| Hertz | 4 miles/$1 to 8 miles/$ |
| Enterprise | 2 miles/$1 |
| National | 500 |
| Thrifty Car Rental | 500 |
You can earn additional bonus SkyMiles by booking a cruise through Delta SkyMiles Cruises. The exact number of miles depends on the cruise line and length of cruise, among other factors. Major cruise lines, including Norwegian, Carnival and Royal Caribbean, let you earn points when booking through the Delta SkyMiles Cruises portal.
Delta is one of many airline transfer partners available through American Express Membership Rewards. The transfer rate is 1,000 Membership Rewards points to 1,000 SkyMiles.
If you often fly with Delta and don’t currently own an American Express Membership Rewards card, you should consider signing up for one, as some cards offer special benefits with Delta in addition to points.
Delta sells SkyMiles directly to members at a cost of $70 per 2,000 miles (3.5 cents per mile) for a maximum of 60,000 SkyMiles per calendar year — but at this price, purchasing SkyMiles is rarely worth it.
Buying miles should only be an option when you’re either getting more than 3.5 cents per mile in value from the award booking, or when you need to top off your account with a few miles for an award. Even then, transferring Membership Rewards points to Delta SkyMiles is a better strategy.
Considering that Delta award flights start at around 6,000 miles, you don’t need to accumulate many SkyMiles to be able to fly for free. In addition to free flights on Delta Air Lines and its partners, you can use SkyMiles for seat upgrades and Delta Vacations packages.
The easiest way to redeem your SkyMiles is to use them to book a flight with Delta. You can easily search for award flights at Delta.com. Because Delta doesn’t publish an award chart, prices depend entirely on your origin, destination and travel dates.
Here are some sample one-way prices for various cabins to sample destinations:
| Cabin | Sample routes and pricing |
|---|---|
| Main cabin (Domestic only) |
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| Business or first (Domestic only) |
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| Main cabin (International) |
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| Business or First (International) |
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Domestic itineraries booked with Delta SkyMiles typically start at around 6,000 miles one-way in economy. However, domestic flights can cost dramatically more due to Delta’s dynamic pricing model, which is based on demand. International flights can cost less than 10,000 miles one-way depending on the itinerary, but they tend to cost more for longer haul flights.
If you want to fly Delta One business class with rewards, you may have to fork over hundreds of thousands of miles for a flight. In fact, it’s not uncommon for international Delta One awards to go for 300,000 miles or more, plus airline taxes and fees.
You can use Delta SkyMiles with SkyTeam partners by searching for flight options through Delta.com. You can find manySkyTeam partner flights on the Delta website alongside flights offered by Delta itself, making it easy to book flights directly with your miles.
To get started, simply head to Delta.com and select “book” or do a search for flights in the Delta app. From there, you’ll select “Shop with miles” and begin searching for flights with Delta and partners.
Delta routinely offers SkyMiles Flash Deals to destinations all over the world. Flash Deals are limited-time promotions where Delta offers flights between select origins and destinations for a discount.
SkyMiles Flash Deals can be excellent value. For example, in the past, Delta has offered:
These prices are much better than what’s offered by major competitors that operate a region-based award chart. For instance, American Airlines charges a minimum of 25,000 miles for a one-way economy ticket to Europe during off-peak dates.
Note, however, that without an award chart to compare prices, it’s hard to tell how great of a deal you’re getting. It’s a good idea to compare award prices to cash fares to determine the redemption value in each case.
Delta also gives SkyMiles members the ability to use its miles for cabin upgrades. You can upgrade with miles either at time of booking or after you purchase your ticket. Tickets eligible to upgrade with miles at time of booking will show it as an option on the Trip Summary page. This is the easiest and most seamless way to upgrade with miles.
After booking, you may be presented with the option to upgrade with miles at Delta.com or through the Fly Delta app. You can check your reservation at any time to see if this is an option. Alternatively, you can contact a Delta representative to upgrade with miles.
Delta also lets members pay for bookings with a combination of miles and cash, which theoretically makes sense for people who are short miles for a redemption they want. However, booking this way won’t get you outsized value for your rewards. For example, a one-way flight from New York City (JFK) to San Juan, Puerto Rico can cost 17,000 miles plus $6 on a random travel date we searched.
In the meantime, the miles and cash option for the same flight comes in at 12,000 miles plus $146. This means you would effectively be paying $140 to save 5,000 miles. That’s a cost of 2.8 cents per mile, more than double our estimated value of 1.1 cents per mile.
Other uses for Delta miles include magazine subscriptions, SkyMiles Experiences (unique experiences for miles), Delta Sky Club membership, payment for checked baggage fees and more.
Delta announced some major changes to the SkyMiles program for 2024 and 2025. Changes include an end to the use of Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) and Medallion Qualification Segments (MQMs) with members earning status entirely though Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs). However, Delta’s CEO has signaled that these changes may have been too much, and that more changes may be on the way in 2024 for earning status for 2025.
As it stands now, however, earning status with Delta in 2024 will be based on spending with Delta and partners only. In fact, you’ll be able to earn MQDs with the following options:
Generally speaking, paid flights with Delta and partners that are marketed by Delta will earn 1 MQD per dollar spent. Having a co-branded Delta credit card can also help you earn a MQD status boost. For example, Delta SkyMiles Platinum and Platinum Business American Express Cards give you 1 MQD per $20 spent and Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Reserve Business American Express Cards give you 1 MQD per $1 spent.
Earning status in 2024 will also require more spending overall, as you can see in the Delta Medallion qualification graphic below:
Here’s a rundown of how earning Delta Medallion status still works in 2023:
Delta rewards its most loyal members with special airline perks through its Medallion status program. Benefits include free checked bags, waived fees, bonus SkyMiles, complimentary upgrades and more. The perks get better as your Medallion status level increases.
To qualify for Delta Medallion status, you’ll need to meet requirements for both Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) or Medallion Qualifying Segments (MQSs) and Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs).
To qualify for Delta Medallion status in 2023, you must meet the requirements given in the following chart.
You can see the number of MQMs and MQDs you’ll earn on the Trip Summary page when booking a ticket through Delta.com. The number of MQMs earned is based on the distance flown and the fare class, excluding Basic Economy.
The perks you enjoy as a Delta Medallion member increase as you rise through the tiers, with Delta Diamond Medallion members enjoying the richest benefits. Delta is unique in offering rollover MQMs — this means that any MQMs in excess of your Medallion level earned will roll over to the following year.
| Silver Medallion | Gold Medallion | Platinum Medallion | Diamond Medallion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyMiles earned | 7/$1 (40% bonus) | 8/$1 (60% bonus) | 9/$1 (80% bonus) | 11/$1(120% bonus) |
| Unlimited First Class and Comfort+ upgrades | 24-hour window | 72-hour window | 120-hour window | 120-hour window, with priority |
| Free checked bag (up to eight companions) | ||||
| Priority check-in and boarding | ||||
| Complimentary preferred seats | ||||
| SkyTeam Elite status | ||||
| Hertz Elite status | Five Star status | Five Star status | President's Circle status | President's Circle status |
| Choice Benefit | 1 Choice Benefit | 3 Choice Benefits | ||
| Complimentary CLEAR membership |
Depending on how much you fly, it may or may not be worth targeting Delta Medallion status, especially the lowest status tier.
Delta SkyMiles never expire. However, Delta does reserve the right to close an account in a variety of unusual circumstances.
Yes, Delta SkyMiles is free to join.
Delta SkyMiles is a frequent flyer program that allows you to earn miles through a variety of methods and lets you redeem them for free flights as well as other uses.
Log into your Delta account at Delta.com or through the Delta mobile app.
You can find your Delta SkyMiles number online at Delta.com by logging in to your Delta account and navigating to your profile. You can also find your SkyMiles number in the initial email communication you receive from Delta.
Because we value Delta SkyMiles at 1.1 cents each, 50,000 Delta SkyMiles would be worth around $550.
No, you cannot transfer Delta SkyMiles to Marriott points. However, you can do the reverse and convert Marriott points to Delta SkyMiles at a 3:1 ratio.
Yes, you can use Delta SkyMiles to book flights on any of its partner airlines, including Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Korean Airlines and LATAM, all of which are bookable online at Delta.com.
There are a number of ways to earn Delta SkyMiles, including flying on Delta airlines and their partners, shopping through the Delta portal and using a co-branded Delta credit card.
You can easily sign up for Delta SkyMiles online at Delta.com. See the “Sign Up” button in the upper right corner of the screen — you’ll be required to provide personal information.
Delta Air Lines does not offer a status match program.
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