How To Spend Delta Air Lines SkyMiles

Spending miles on flights is the most common way to use SkyMiles – this requires some understanding and flexibility to get the best value.

Spending miles is the fun part of the program! Once you have earned sufficient SkyMiles you can spend them. Using them for flights is the obvious (and often best value) choice, but there are other uses. This article takes a look at the details of spending miles with Delta Air Lines, SkyTeam alliance airlines and other partners, along with some other popular uses. For some ideas of the best value uses of miles, see our guide to the perks of the Delta SkyMiles program.

Using miles for Delta Air Lines flights

Like the other major US airline programs, Delta Air Line’s SkyMiles has switched to dynamic award prices. Instead of having fixed price awards for any route, pricing is now variable and based on availability and underlying ticket price.

There is no set formula for these rates (although they are generally related to cash ticket price); you need to search for the flights and check the pricing. Be aware that having some flexibility in departure times and routes can make a big difference to the mileage required. Redemption rates go as low as 4,500 SkyMiles for short domestic flights. As reward pricing is generally tied to the cash price of the tickets, you should check both to ensure you are getting the value you want.

Photo: Delta Air Lines

The example below show how pricing can differ between Delta Airl Lines flights for the same route on the same day:

Using miles for partner airline flights

SkyMiles can also be used for flights on any of Delta Air Line’s partners – this includes all SkyTeam alliance airlines plus several more. Delta has also dropped fixed award rates for these flights. As with Delta flights, you need to search the variable pricing for any flight.

This certainly makes award redemption complex. Delta does not have the same ability to open up any seat on partner airlines, though, and as a result, mileage pricing is more consistent. There will likely be many routes where partner flights are not available, whereas Delta flights might just charge a very high rate.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Image: Delta Air Lines

A few important things to be aware of when redeeming miles (for both Delta and partners):

• The key to finding the best value without charts is to try several searches. Check different routes and dates, even looking further ahead to see how pricing can change.
• Delta runs regular mileage sales and promotions that can reduce rates significantly.
• Now that dynamic pricing is used throughout, there are no black-out dates or peak and off-peak periods.
• Prices usually increase within 21 days of departure (known as close-in pricing).
• Check partner flights on the same route, as these could be cheaper. Adding a partner flight to a Delta flight can sometimes reduce the mileage as well (as the pricing method changes).

Upgrading Delta Air Lines and certain partner flights

Using miles for upgrades is another popular use of miles. Since the switch to a revenue-based system, this is generally not very good value with Delta. As with flight awards, there is no fixed upgrade amount, making planning to use these upgrades difficult.

There are two main ways to upgrade:

• At the time of booking online direct with Delta Air Lines. When booking flights within the US, the option to upgrade from main cabin to domestic first class may be given. This is simply based on the cash price of the upgrade (usually offered in miles at the rate of one cent per mile).
• Using a Mileage Upgrade Award. This is a separate method to upgrade existing reservations. This is possible for Delta Air Lines, as well as some Virgin Atlantic, Air France, or KLM routes. For simple Delta Air Lines itineraries, the option to upgrade may be shown online when you manage the booking. Otherwise, you will need to call SkyMiles. The mileage required varies but is not always based on the cash price, so can be a better deal. The catch here is that only higher economy booking classes can be upgraded; cheaper tickets cannot.

Photo: Delta Air Lines

Other ways to spend miles

Flights awards and upgrades are usually been considered the best value use of miles. But there are other methods of using miles might make sense for you.

• Delta Vacations. Delta does not offer general hotel or car booking using miles (as opposed to other programs such as American Airlines AAdvantage). Instead, it has the Delta Vacations program, where miles can be used to buy packages of Delta flights, hotels, and activities. As always, check the value you are getting compared to other options. Delta Vacations options include full packages to Disney World theme parks – not something offered by all airlines.
• Magazine subscriptions. This is only a small use of miles, but with limited other options, it may be useful. If there is a publication you are interested in, this can be surprisingly good value (many subscriptions are as low as 1,000 miles for a year).
• Gifting miles. This is generally not good value, but you can gift up to 150,000 each year. There is a co-payment to do this (of one cent per mile plus a processing fee), but it could make sense if a friend or family member needs to top up to reach a certain award.

Redeeming miles for flights with Delta Air Lines or its partners remains the best value way to use miles – especially as Delta offers limited alternatives. The lack of tables or clearly defined redemption rates is sometimes challenging. The key is to be flexible and take your time to search widely. Feel free to share your experiences of redeeming miles in the comments.