Delta Airlines operates flights from eight hubs in the USA: Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Seattle-Tacoma.
The loyalty program is Delta SkyMiles. With this program, you can accumulate and book flights on Delta Airlines or SkyTeam partners.
In mid-September 2023, Delta announced major changes to its loyalty program, which clearly didn’t go down well with everyone. After much criticism, Delta’s CEO has made some adjustments, which were announced today. Here’s what’s about to change.
Please note that Medallion members with surplus MQMs can convert them into MQDs at a ratio of 10:1, or into SkyMiles at a ratio of 2:1.
The link to sign up for the Delta SkyMiles program is here. Creating an account is free of charge. Simply enter your personal information.
The Delta SkyMiles program has four levels of elite status to reward customer loyalty: Silver Medallion, Gold Medallion, Platinum Medallion and Diamond Medallion.
To obtain Medallion status with Delta SkyMiles in 2023, you must accumulate a certain number of Medallion Qualification Miles (SQM) or flight segments (SQM) and spend a certain amount of Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQD). This will change on January 1st, 2024 (see below).
So not only does he have to travel, he also has to pay a certain amount of money.
The following table shows the criteria for achieving Medallion status.
If you’re interested in U.S. credit cards, you don’t have to worry about MQDs if you carry more than US$25,000 on a card linked to Delta SkyMiles for Silver, Gold and Platinum status.
For Diamond Medallion status, you’ll need to spend over US$250,000 on an affiliated card to eliminate this qualification criterion.
Silver Medallion status is the first rung up the ladder. The one and only advantage of this status is :
Next, here are the benefits of Gold Medallion status:
In addition to the benefits of Gold Medallion status, you will receive :
In addition to the benefits of Platinum Medallion status, you will have :
This level of status is obtained only by invitation from Delta Airlines. The company bases its decisions primarily on the amount of money spent with them, although this is not the only criteria.
Delta 360° members have access to a direct line with an agent who responds almost instantaneously. What’s more, they get free membership and unlimited access to the Delta Sky Club, which they can visit with up to 2 guests.
When you travel on Delta Airlines or its SkyTeam partners, you can earn Delta SkyMiles.
The number of Delta SkyMiles accumulated with its flights will depend on the base fare and your status. So the more expensive your ticket, the more Delta SkyMiles you’ll earn on that flight.
Here’s how many Delta SkyMiles you can earn for every dollar you spend with Delta Airlines:
Delta SkyMiles miles have no expiry date and enrolment in the loyalty program is free of charge.
Delta Airlines’ SkyTeam partners are :
Delta Airlines also has “other” partners:
Since these airlines are partners of Delta Airlines, you can collect Delta SkyMiles with its flights. However, the way in which the reservation is made will determine how the rewards are calculated and how many Delta SkyMiles are awarded. Accumulation details for each partner can be found here.
If you book an Air France flight with Delta Airlines, the number of SkyMiles accumulated will be similar to that for a flight operated by Delta Airlines. However, if you make a reservation on the Air France website for the same flight and enter your SkyMiles loyalty number, the total SkyMiles received will be based on the distance flown.
In Canada, it is not possible to collect SkyMiles directly with a credit card. You will have to go through a points transfer partner.
To earn SkyMiles with a credit card, you’ll have to turn to American credit cards. Delta SkyMiles affiliated cards are American Express cards; if you have a history with American Express Canada, it will be easier to make a Global Transfer.
In Canada, there are two ways to earn Delta SkyMiles through transfer partners.
When you transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to the Delta SkyMiles program, you’ll receive a 5,000 mile bonus. So, in this situation, a redemption of 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points is equivalent to 25,000 Delta SkyMiles.
American Express points are easily transferred to your Delta SkyMiles account.
It’s the quickest and easiest way to earn miles outside the welcome bonuses of U.S. credit cards.
Delta Airlines is a member of the SkyTeam alliance. SkyMiles can therefore be used on flights operated by Delta Airlines as well as a large number of partners such as Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Kenya Airways, Aeromexico, etc.
Canadians will be pleased to know that WestJet is also a partner of Delta Airlines, even though WestJet is not a member of SkyTeam.
Delta Airlines is one of the first airlines to switch to dynamic pricing of award tickets. So you’ll need to research Delta’s website to determine the number of SkyMiles required for your project, as Delta Airlines does not publish a fare list.
Fortunately, the Delta SkyMiles search engine is easy to use and displays the various prices on a calendar to help you visualize your options.
SkyMiles can also be used to upgrade to Comfort+ or Delta One class.
On the other hand, the process is not as transparent as we’d like; availability and the number of Delta SkyMiles required are not easy to find.
There are several types of upgrades at Delta Airlines
SkyMiles are a rarer commodity than Aeroplan points and Avios miles in Canada. So why dwell on this program?
Since Membership Rewards points are easily accumulated, we can easily study all our options before booking a flight.
The points value calculation is often used to determine whether you should pay in points or in cash.
However, it is just as advisable to compare prices in various programs(Aeroplan, Avios, Asia Miles, etc.) and then choose the best one for a given situation.
What’s more, when I pay cash for a ticket, I’m always collecting points somewhere, because I’m a member of Aeroplan (Star Alliance), Avios (OneWorld) and SkyMiles (SkyTeam). So I don’t have to limit myself in terms of program and can simply choose the flight that suits me or the least expensive flight.
These are my main loyalty programs, where I credit the points accumulated on airline tickets paid for in cash. Why these ones? It’s simply a personal preference on the side of management and use according to my needs.
However, I also have accounts with several other programs such as Asia Miles, Flying Blue, JAL Mileage Bank, Krisflyer, etc. where I transfer points in order to book a specific ticket. I exploit the sweetspots of all the programs.
Delta Airlines frequently offers flash sales on award tickets in North America and to certain international destinations in the Caribbean, Europe and Asia!
In the past, I was able to book a Montreal-Atlanta-Sacramento round trip for just 13,000 SkyMiles, whereas the cost of a Star Alliance flight was 25,000 Aeroplan points under the old program. Likewise, I’ve already snagged a Montreal-Atlanta-Tokyo round trip for 48,000 SkyMiles.
These were situations where it was more advantageous to transfer my privilege points to SkyMiles than to Aeroplan.
Since WestJet is a Delta SkyMiles partner, we have one more option when it comes to choosing our North American award tickets!
For example, for a trip to Western Canada, the cost of award tickets with Aeroplan can be much more expensive than with SkyMiles. So don’t neglect this program, especially if you have vacation dates in a busy, inflexible period.
Since May 1, 2020, LATAM has left Oneworld for a partnership with Delta Airlines, and Aerolíneas Argentinas is a member of SkyTeam. As a result, bargains to and within South America are a regular occurrence!
One-way flights to South America can be found for as little as 25,000 SkyMiles on LATAM, compared with 40,000 Aeroplan points.
What’s more, LATAM is the only airline serving Easter Island. Although it’s difficult to find availability on this Delta SkyMiles partner flight, it is possible. The flight from Santiago to Hanga Roa can be very expensive, so SkyMiles could help you save money on this trip.
Let me remind you that LATAM is a partner of Delta Airlines, not of the Air France/KLM group. So Flying Blue miles won’t get you to the island.
Finally, short-haul flights on LATAM and Aerolíneas Argentinas can be booked with SkyMiles. So you can visit the whole continent from the Amazon to Antarctica and Patagonia!
Cruises to Antarctica start from Ushuaia in Argentina and Punta Arenas in Chile. These cities can be reached with Delta SkyMiles.
There are as many frequent flyer programs as there are airlines, so the more you know about how to use your points, the more you’ll be able to optimize them.
We don’t always think of Delta SkyMiles, but this program can save you money if you exploit sweetspots.
Savings are here:
