How to earn, redeem, and maximize Delta SkyMiles — even if you never fly the airline

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Delta Air Lines

• Delta SkyMiles are easy to earn by flying, with co-branded credit cards, or by transferring Amex points.
• You can use Delta miles for flights on Delta or its partners, including Air France and KLM.
• The best deals are often through Delta's award sales.
• Read Insider's guide to the best Delta credit cards.

Delta is one of the world's largest airlines. If you live in a hub city like Atlanta, New York, or Seattle, it may be your carrier of choice. Amex is an Insider partner.

Because Delta's route network is so ubiquitous within the US — and because Delta SkyMiles are (relatively) easy to get — there are many different options for redeeming your miles with Delta and its partners in the SkyTeam alliance — though not all of them offer a good value.

In this article, we'll take a quick look at how to earn and redeem Delta SkyMiles.

Delta Sky Miles Guide 2023

To find out how much Delta miles are worth (along with 29 other airline, hotel, and bank programs), check out Insider's guide to points and miles valuations for 2023.

How to Earn Delta Sky Miles

Earn Delta miles by flying Delta and its partners

The most obvious way to earn Delta SkyMiles is to fly on Delta. Within the past several years, Delta has changed its earning structure, so the number of redeemable miles that you earn on most Delta flights is calculated by your elite status and the total cost of the fare, as follows:

• General SkyMiles Members: 5 miles per dollar
• Silver Members: 7 miles per dollar
• Gold Members: 8 miles per dollar
• Platinum Members: 9 miles per dollar
• Diamond Members: 11 miles per dollar

Delta has more than 20 airline partners both in the SkyTeam airline alliance and non-alliance partners. You can choose to credit flights on these partner airlines to Delta by putting your SkyMiles membership information into your flight itinerary. The number of SkyMiles that you will earn depends on your route and the fare class of the ticket that you've purchased, and vary by partner.

Earn miles with American Express Delta and Membership Rewards credit cards

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

Another way to earn a lot of Delta SkyMiles in a short amount of time is with the welcome offers on American Express co-branded Delta credit cards. 

Delta offers the following personal credit cards:

Delta SkyMiles Gold

If you fly Delta occasionally, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is a great choice.

You'll earn 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new card in the first six months from account opening, and receive a free first checked bag on Delta flights for yourself and up to eight companions on the same reservation (worth $30 per bag), priority boarding, a 20% discount on inflight purchases, 15% off award flights on Delta, and a $100 Delta flight credit after you spend $10,000 on the card in a calendar year. There's an annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, then $99.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card offers a bonus of 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card in the first six months from account opening, and cardholders receive the same checked bag, priority boarding, award flight discount, and inflight discounts as the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card.

The card also comes with an annual companion certificate each card anniversary, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit of up to $100 after you apply through any authorized enrollment provider, and discounted access to Sky Club lounges. There's a $250 annual fee.

Delta SkyMiles Reserve

The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card offers 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new card in the first six months from account opening. It comes with a $550 annual fee, but it's worth it if you fly Delta often.

You'll receive access to Delta Sky Club airport lounges when flying Delta, and access to Amex Centurion Lounges when you fly Delta and use your card to book the ticket. You'll also get two Delta Sky Club one-time guest passes each year, up to $100 for a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit after you apply through any authorized enrollment provider, and access to complimentary upgrades for non-elite Delta members.

Delta SkyMiles Blue

The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card has a $0 annual fee and comes with a welcome bonus offer of 10,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 in purchases on your new card in the first 6 months from account opening. 

It doesn't offer much in the way of extra perks, but cardholders earn 2x miles on Delta and restaurant purchases and 1x miles on everything else. You'll also get 20% back on inflight purchases of food, beverages, and audio headsets as a statement credit, and the ability to Pay with Miles when booking on Delta.com.

If you qualify for a small-business credit card — either by running your own business or by doing some freelance work  — you could be eligible for one of Delta's three business credit cards:

Delta SkyMiles Gold Business

Small-business owners who fly Delta occasionally should consider the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, with a welcome bonus offer of 50,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 in purchases on your new card in the first three months of card membership.

This card comes with most of the same perks as the personal Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, including a free checked bag, priority boarding, Delta award flight discount, and inflight discounts on Delta flights, as well as a $100 Delta flight credit after you spend $10,000 on the card in a calendar year. There's an annual fee of $99 (with a $0 intro for the first year).

Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card is offering 60,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in purchases on your new card in the first three months of card membership, and cardholders receive the same perks as the personal version of the card, including a free checked bag, priority boarding, discount on Delta flights, and inflight discounts on Delta, and an annual companion certificate. There's a $250 annual fee.

One additional benefit is the ability to earn 1.5x miles on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (up to 50,000 additional miles per calendar year). Cardholders also earn 3x miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.

Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business

The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card comes with a bonus of 70,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases on your new card in the first three months of card membership.

Like the personal version, you'll get access to Delta Sky Club airport lounges when flying Delta, and access to Amex Centurion Lounges when you fly Delta and use your card to book the ticket. The card has a $550 annual fee.

Having an airline credit card can get you additional perks when you fly. In addition to all of the bonus SkyMiles, most of these Delta credit cards come with benefits including free checked bags and priority boarding on Delta flights.

If you prefer earning transferable points instead of locking yourself into Delta SkyMiles, consider a card that earns American Express Membership Rewards points. Membership Rewards points transfer 1:1 to Delta SkyMiles. That means you can earn Amex points and have the flexibility to transfer to Delta or use them however you see fit.

Here are a few of the best American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards points that you can transfer to Delta SkyMiles:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express: 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership
• American Express® Gold Card: 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $4,000 on purchases on the card in the first six months of card membership
• American Express® Green Card : 60,000 points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership and earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases, up to a total of $200 back, made during your first six months of card membership
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases with your card within the first three months of card membership
• American Express® Business Gold Card : 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of card membership
• Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card : 15,000 points after you spend $2,000 on purchases in the first six months of account opening
• Amex EveryDay® Credit Card : 10,000 Membership Rewards® Points when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months.

Earn Delta miles through shopping and dining rewards

There are also a few other ways to earn Delta SkyMiles without flying or spending on credit cards. Delta has an online shopping portal where you can earn SkyMiles based on making online purchases at thousands of different stores. If you're making any online purchases, you should be using a shopping portal first — if not, you're missing out on thousands of miles or more per year.

Delta also has a SkyMiles dining program, which allows you to get extra miles by eating out at restaurants. You link your credit cards via the SkyMiles dining website, and then when you use a linked credit card at a participating restaurant, you will earn bonus miles. These miles are in addition to the miles that you earn from the actual purchase itself.

How to Use Delta SkyMiles

Use miles to fly Delta

It may not be the most glamorous redemption, but one of the best uses of your SkyMiles can be to just fly you domestically with Delta where you want to go, when you want to get there. This holds especially true if you live at or near a Delta hub or focus city. 

If you're an eligible American Express Delta cardholder, you have the option to either pay for your ticket directly with SkyMiles or to use Delta's Pay With Miles feature. With Pay With Miles, you can lower the cost of your ticket by $50 for 5,000 miles, $100 for 10,000 miles, and so on. Indeed, you can often get better than 1 cent per mile value from your SkyMiles, but this serves as a good minimum value redemption for SkyMiles.

Delta also added a benefit to most of its co-branded credit cards called TakeOff 15, which gets you a 15% discount on award flight prices when you use miles to book a Delta itinerary. If you have an eligible card, this is an easy way to make your miles go further—just note that you need to be signed in to your Delta account to take advantage, and you can't combine this discount with certificates, gift cards, or Pay With Miles.

Remember too that if you're short on Delta SkyMiles, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points 1:1 to Delta to top off your account.

Delta award sales

Several years ago, Delta was the first airline to remove its award chart. Now, the price of a flight in SkyMiles varies based on the route, the date, the time, the number of stops, and anything else that Delta decides. Oftentimes the price in SkyMiles correlates to the cash price of a flight, though not always.

Delta does release sales now and again (often unadvertised, unfortunately), with which you can find some pretty great deals on redemptions for both domestic and international awards.

Use miles to fly on partners

Because Delta is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, you can use your Delta miles to fly on Delta's alliance and other partners such as Air France, China Eastern, Air Tahiti Nui, and Korean Air.

Other Ways to Use Delta Miles

In addition to redeeming Delta SkyMiles for flights on Delta and its partners, there are also a few other ways to use them. You can use your miles for magazines, gift cards, upgrading your seat, and even other experiences. These are almost always a worse value than using your miles to fly on Delta or partner airlines, and are not recommended.

Delta SkyMiles Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Dan Miller

Dan Miller is a freelance writer and founder of PointsWithACrew.com, a site that helps families to travel for free/cheap. His home base is in Cincinnati, but he tries to travel the world as much as possible with his wife and six kids

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Joseph Hostetler, CEPF

Credit cards reporter

Joseph Hostetler was a credit cards reporter for Insider who also covered helpful miles and points tricks. He is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF). Joseph has more than six years of experience writing professionally about credit cards, previously authoring and editing for The Points Guy and Million Mile Secrets. 

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