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Delta Airlines operates flights from eight hubs in the United States: 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 2023, Delta announced a major overhaul of its loyalty program, which was not universally well-received. After considerable criticism, management made adjustments. These changes are now in effect. Here’s what you need to know.
Note that Medallion members with excess SQM can convert them to MQD at a 10:1 ratio, or to SkyMiles at a 2:1 ratio.
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 elite status tiers to reward customer loyalty: Silver Medallion, Gold Medallion, Platinum Medallion, and Diamond Medallion.
To earn Medallion status with Delta SkyMiles, you must accumulate a certain number of Medallion Qualification Miles (MQM) or flight segments (SQM) in addition to spending a certain amount of Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQD).
So not only does he have to travel, he also has to pay a certain amount of money.
The following table shows the criteria to meet for 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 will need to spend over $250,000 USD on an affiliated card to waive this qualification requirement.
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 status level is obtained by invitation from Delta Airlines only. 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. Additionally, they have a complimentary 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. Therefore, the more expensive your plane ticket, the more Delta SkyMiles you will earn from that flight.
Here’s how many Delta SkyMiles you can earn for every dollar you spend with Delta Airlines:
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.
Indeed, if you make a reservation with Delta Airlines for an Air France flight, the number of SkyMiles earned will be similar to 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 will need to turn to U.S. credit cards. Cards affiliated with Delta SkyMiles are American Express cards; if you have a history with American Express Canada, it will be easier to complete a Global Transfer process.
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. Therefore, in this situation, an exchange of 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points equals 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. Therefore, you will need to search the Delta website to determine the number of SkyMiles required for your trip, as Delta Airlines does not publish an award chart.
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.
However, the process is not as transparent as one would hope; availability and the number of Delta SkyMiles required are not easy to find.
There are several types of upgrades with Delta Airlines
It’s clear that SkyMiles are harder to come by 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 equally recommended to compare prices across various programs (Aeroplan, Avios, Asia Miles, etc.) and choose the best option 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). Therefore, I don’t have to limit myself to one program and can simply choose the flight that suits me or the least expensive flight.
However, I also hold accounts with several other programs such as Asia Miles, Flying Blue, JAL Mileage Bank, Krisflyer, etc., where I transfer points to book specific tickets. I exploit the sweetspots of all the programs.
Delta Airlines frequently offers flash sales on award tickets in North America as well as to certain international destinations in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia!
In the past, I was able to book a round-trip Montreal-Atlanta-Sacramento for only 13,000 SkyMiles when the cost for a Star Alliance flight was 25,000 Aeroplan points under the old program. Similarly, I once found a round-trip Montreal-Atlanta-Tokyo 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. Therefore, this program should not be overlooked, especially if you have vacation dates during a busy period and are not flexible.
Since May 1, 2020, LATAM has left Oneworld for a partnership with Delta Airlines, and Aerolíneas Argentinas is a member of SkyTeam. Consequently, deals to South America and within the continent are frequent!
Indeed, you can find one-way flights for as little as 25,000 SkyMiles on LATAM compared to 40,000 Aeroplan points to get to South America.
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!
There are as many loyalty programs as there are airlines; the more you master the different ways to use your points, the more you can optimize them.
We don’t always think of Delta SkyMiles, but this program can save you money if you exploit sweetspots.
Savings this way:
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