Delta SkyMiles Award Travel Deals
Delta Airlines regularly posts award travel deals on its website for travel in the upcoming weeks and months.
These postings are typically the result of Delta checking its upcoming flight schedules, revenue management stats, and deciding which flights will have significant availability, thus allowing for the release of decently “priced” SkyMiles award deals.
A few years back, Delta, and subsequently the other major U.S. carriers, switched from a firm award travel chart from which award travel pricing could easily be known, to a more dynamic award pricing model based on a number of factors, many of which are opaque to the average consumer.
That said, typically a low-level saver award domestic roundtrip economy class flight would price at 25,000 SkyMiles.
A low-level saver award economy class roundtrip flight from the U.S. to Northern Asia (China) would price at 70,000 SkyMiles.
These used-to-be-typical award prices are provided to give a little perspective to the deals below.
Current Delta Award Deals
These award travel deals are for select departure and destination points only.
Domestic Deals
Domestic Fine Print
- Roundtrip purchase required
- Must purchase by October 18, 2018
- Travel Period – November 7, 2018 – March 7, 2019
- Advanced Purchase – 21 days
- Minimum Stay – Friday
- Baggage Charges – $30 for 1 checked bag, $40 for second checked bag
Asia Deals
Asia Fine Print
- Roundtrip purchase required
- Purchase by October 18, 2018
- Travel Period – October 19, 2018 – December 9, 2018
- Advanced Purchase – none
- Minimum Stay – none
- Baggage Charges – no fee for first or second checked bag
Award Travel Changes/Refunds
While these award prices are fairly good, keep in mind Delta has some of the more restrictive award change rules and fees.
If there’s a chance you won’t be able to travel after booking these awards, be prepared to pay up to get your miles back.
Delta’s current award change policy is:
“Award Ticket changes must be made at least 72 hours prior to the departure time of the flight being changed. Award Tickets booked within 72 hours of departure are nonrefundable and cannot be redeposited or reissued unless prohibited by local law or within the risk-free cancellation period. No changes will be permitted to the originating flight of Award Tickets booked within 72 hours, however changes to the return are permitted if the return flight is not within 72 hours and the change is made at least 72 hours prior to flight departure.”
To put it simply, if you have to change your award ticket within 72 hours of departure, it’s likely you will lose all SkyMiles associated with that award ticket. There have been some reports of Delta waiving that restriction and allowing changes within the 72-hour window, but, that’s not an outcome on which I would count.
And if you need to make a change/cancel your award ticket outside of that 72-hour window, you’ll have to pay an award redeposit fee.
Award Redeposit Fee: $150 per ticket (waived for Platinum Medallion and Diamond Medallion members)
As you can see, there are some downsides to booking one of these deals if you’re not absolutely sure you’ll be able to make the trip.
On the other hand, many of these award prices are low enough that losing the SkyMiles might not be that big of a deal if your plans change.
You can view/book the above deals, and see additional terms and conditions of these deals at the link below. You can also check for additional Delta award deals each week at the link. Might be a good page to bookmark if getting a SkyMiles deal is of interest to you.
Need More Delta SkyMiles?
The quickest way to add to your Delta SkyMiles balance is through credit card sign-up bonuses or via the transfer of American Express Membership Rewards points.
Here are the current Delta credit card offers.
The card links below are referral links from which we will receive a points bonus when applications are approved. You don’t have to use our links – they may, or may not, provide better sign-up bonuses – but we appreciate when you do.
Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card – Earn 60,000 SkyMiles after spending $3,000 in the first 4 months from card approval. The annual fee is waived the first year of card membership, then $95 per year each subsequent year. First checked bag is free for primary cardholder and up to 9 passengers traveling in the same reservation. Additional card benefits can be viewed at the Gold Delta card link above.
Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card – Earn 70,000 SkyMiles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months from card approval. Annual Fee: $195. Also earn 10,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) toward status with Delta Airlines (these are not redeemable miles, only good when trying to earn status) after minimum spend is met. First checked bag fee benefit the same as on the Gold Delta card. Receive a domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of this card. Additional benefit information can be viewed at the Platinum Delta card link above.
Delta Reserve Credit Card – Earn 40,000 SkyMiles (and 10,000 MQMs) after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months from card approval. Annual Fee: $450. Enjoy complimentary Delta SkyClub access as well as a domestic First Class, Delta Comfort+® or Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of this card. Checked bag fee waiver. You can read all the benefits associated with this card at the Delta Reserve card link above.
Blue Delta SkyMiles Credit Card – Earn 10,000 SkyMiles after spending $500 in the first 3 months from card approval. No annual fee. Earn 2 miles/dollar spent at U.S. restaurants and on Delta purchases. No check bag fee waiver on this card. You can read more about the Blue Delta card and its benefits at the link above.
The Gold, Platinum and Reserve sign-up bonuses noted above are for a limited time only and will expire on 11/7/2018.
Delta/American Express Credit Card Tips:
You can hold more than one Delta credit card at a time. For example, if you currently have the Gold Delta card, but want to apply for the Platinum Delta card, that can be done.
Each Delta card, excluding the Blue, has a business version in addition to the personal versions listed above. If you have a business (of any kind – selling on eBay, driving for Uber, reselling, etc.), you can apply and be approved for business credit cards. And you can hold both the personal and business version of the same Delta card at the same time. Business card links can be found at the bottom of the personal card pages linked above under the link “Looking for a Business Card?”.
Sign-up bonuses for any American Express card are now limited to once-per-applicant-lifetime. For example, if you applied for the Gold Delta card 4 years ago, received the sign-up bonus at that time but canceled the card a few years later, you can apply and get approved for the Gold Delta card now but you will not receive any associated sign-up bonus.
Wrap Up
Delta SkyMiles award deals are a great way to save on the amount of SkyMiles you use.
Each week, new SkyMiles award deals are posted with a variety of departure/destination points from which to choose.
If your home airport isn’t listed for a specific week’s domestic deals, it rarely will make sense to try and “fit” the deal into your travel plans.
However, for some international SkyMiles deals, finding an inexpensive positioning flight just might make sense. Read our piece “Take Advantage of Travel Deals No Matter the Departure Airport” for details.
And, if you’re short on SkyMiles, but want to be ready for when a great deal pops up, check our list of Delta credit cards above as a way to add to your SkyMiles balance.
