Delta SkyMiles: Ultimate Guide

The loyalty program is Delta SkyMiles. With this program, you can accumulate and book flights on Delta Airlines or SkyTeam partners.

Delta SkyMiles – Program Overhaul

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.

• Spend-based status qualification: Unlike the previous system, status will be based solely on Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQD) starting January 1, 2024. Here’s how the MQDs will be allocated:

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.

• Changes to Choice Benefits for Platinum and Diamond members: a Delta Sky Club membership (worth two benefit choices), an MQD accelerator for next year’s status qualification ($1,000 USD for Platinum and $2,000 USD for Diamond), a SkyMiles bonus of 30,000 for Platinum members and 35,000 for Diamond members, a Delta travel credit of $300 USD for Platinum and $350 USD for Diamond, and a Wheels Up flight credit.
• Status levels and qualification thresholds: To earn Delta SkyMiles Medallion status, you need to spend 5,000 MQD for Silver, 10,000 for Gold, 15,000 for Platinum, and 28,000 MQD for Diamond. These thresholds, in effect since 2024, remain unchanged for 2026 (status earned in 2027). *If you fly frequently with WestJet, it may be better to credit your flights to WestJet Rewards to achieve better status than with Delta SkyMiles.
• Sky Club Lounge access: Major changes are also underway for Delta Sky Club lounge access, particularly for many U.S.-issued credit cards. Starting February 1, 2025, U.S.-issued American Express Platinum Card holders will be limited to 10 visits per year. These same members can enjoy unlimited access if they spend $75,000 or more each year on their card. It remains to be confirmed whether this rule will also apply to the American Express Platinum Card^® and the Business Platinum Card^® from American Express issued in Canada. Only one visit to a Sky Club per 24 hours is counted, so it is possible to visit several in the same 24-hour period, and this will count as one visit only.
• Additional Sky Club access restrictions: If you’re traveling with Delta on a Basic Economy ticket or an equivalent ticket from a partner airline and you have an American Express card with lounge access, you will not receive Delta Sky Club access starting January 1, 2024.

How do I create a Delta SkyMiles account?

The link to sign up for the Delta SkyMiles program is here. Creating an account is free of charge. Simply enter your personal information.

What are the Delta SkyMiles elite statuses?

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.

Delta SkyMiles Silver Medallion

Silver Medallion status is the first rung up the ladder. The one and only advantage of this status is :

• upgrade to Comfort+ and first class on domestic and short-haul flights to Canada, the Caribbean and Central America (confirmed 24 hours before departure)

Delta SkyMiles Gold Medallion

Next, here are the benefits of Gold Medallion status:

• upgrade to first class on domestic flights and short-haul international flights (confirmed 3 days before departure)
• Comfort+ upgrade on all flights
• same-day hold fees waived
• baggage fees waived

Delta SkyMiles Platinum Medallion

In addition to the benefits of Gold Medallion status, you will receive :

• upgrades (confirmed 5 days before departure)
• fee waiver for premium ticket reservations
• one choice benefit from: four regional upgrade certificates, a $100 USD credit for Global Entry, 20,000 SkyMiles, a travel credit or gift card of $200 USD, or gifting Silver Medallion status to another person

Delta SkyMiles Diamond Medallion

In addition to the benefits of Platinum Medallion status, you will have :

• three choice benefits from: a Delta Sky Club membership, upgrade certificates, two $100 USD credits for Global Entry, 25,000 SkyMiles, a travel credit or gift card of $200 USD, or gifting Gold Medallion status to another person
• CLEAR subscription

Delta 360°

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.

How do I collect Delta SkyMiles?

Earn SkyMiles on Delta Airlines flights

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:

Earn SkyMiles on partner flights

Delta Airlines’ SkyTeam partners are :

• Aerolineas Argentinas
• Aeromexico
• Air Europa
• Air France
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
• Cape Air
• China Airlines
• China Southern
• Czech Airlines
• Garuda Indonesia
• Kenya Airways
• ITA Airways
• Korean Air
• Middle East Airlines
• Saudia
• TAROM
• Vietnam Airlines
• Xiamen

Delta Airlines also has « other » partners:

• Hawaiian Airlines
• LATAM
• Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin Australia
• WestJet

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.

Collect SkyMiles with a credit card

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.

• Delta SkyMiles^® Gold American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles^® Platinum American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles^® Prestige American Express Card
• American Express Delta SkyMiles^® Gold Corporate Card
• American Express Delta SkyMiles^® Corporate Platinum Card
• American Express Delta SkyMiles^® Prestige Corporate Card

Earn SkyMiles with points transfers

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.

Earning SkyMiles Through Other Methods

• Hotel and AirBnB reservations
• Rental Cars
• Car rental with Turo
• Lyft application
• SkyMiles Dining
• SkyMiles purchase portal

How can I use Delta SkyMiles?

Delta Airlines and partner airlines

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.

Book a flight with SkyMiles

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.

Using SkyMiles for an upgrade

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

• Free upgrade: on most domestic flights, for Medallion elite members
• Global upgrade certificate: on all Delta Airlines flights and selected partners, for Diamond Medallion members
• Regional upgrade certificate: on Delta Airlines domestic flights, for Platinum and Diamond Medallion members
• Upgrade with SkyMiles: on Delta Airlines domestic flights at the time of booking and on certain international flights in fare classes Y, B, M, H, Q, or K.
• Companion upgrade: for passengers travelling on the same reservation as a Medallion elite member
• Standby upgrade: available for all passages at a cost and subject to availability.

Why Use Delta SkyMiles in Canada?

It’s clear that SkyMiles are harder to come by than Aeroplan points and Avios miles in Canada. So why dwell on this program?

• Points portfolio diversification
• Delta SkyMiles sweetspots

Diversifying your points portfolio

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 SkyMiles sweetspots

Delta Airlines’ Flash sales

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.

Flights in North America

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.

Flights in South America

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!

Conclusion

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.