While SkyMiles deals to put you in a business class seat have been better than ever lately, exorbitant rates of 400,000 SkyMiles or more each way are still the norm with Delta.
Years after Delta killed it off, a sneaky workaround to book for as low as 89,000 SkyMiles and change has quietly made a comeback. If you start your search from – or return to – Mexico City (MEX), Cancún (CUN), Puerto Vallarta (PVR), or really anywhere in Central America, you can book Delta One flights for a fraction of what the airline charges for a flight to or from the States.
So while Delta is charging 340,000 SkyMiles to book a Delta One Suite all the way from Los Angeles (LAX) to Melbourne (MEL) down in Australia – or even more if you don't have a Delta co-branded card for the automatic 15% discount on award tickets …
Start that trip in Puerto Vallarta (PVR) instead, and that fare drops … not by a little, but by a lot: Just 102,000 SkyMiles!
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It works the opposite way, too – you can fly from Australia back to the States and onward down to Mexico for significantly fewer SkyMiles. And while it can be tricky to find dates that work, the same trick works whether you're flying to or from Europe, Asia, Australia, and beyond.
Heck, it even works on the ultra-long (and notoriously expensive) flights to South Africa and back. Forget paying almost 500,000 SkyMiles each way: You can book for under 100,000 SkyMiles with this tactic.
But let this be a warning to you: This likely won't last long. Renewed attention here (and bookings from our Thrifty Traveler Premium members who got first wind of these amazing deals) could make this a short-lived opportunity. The past few years have shown us that Delta loves nothing more than killing off any sweet spots to redeem SkyMiles for outsized value.
Take advantage while you can, travelers!
You won't see these far lower rates every single day you search but they're out there, and they're fairly easy to find. Just search on Delta.com to or from Mexico, use Delta's handy price calendar option to pull up five week's worth of flights, and you're on your way to a deeply discounted Delta One award ticket. To get the lowest rates, avoid routes to or from Mexico operated by Aeromexico – those won't be eligible for the TakeOff 15 discount.
Here's another crazy example. Delta diehards based in Atlanta (ATL) see some of the most egregious prices, like this one way from Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) back home for
But search from Paris to Mexico City instead, and you can book for under 90,000 SkyMiles – less than a quarter of the miles for that exact same business class flight from Paris to Atlanta!
Thrifty Tip: Look good to you but don't have the SkyMiles? You can transfer points to your Delta account from cards like the American Express® Gold Card and American Express Platinum Card®.
Aside from the occasional Delta SkyMiles flash sale with dirt-cheap business class rates – which we've been finding more and more of lately – this is far and away the cheapest way to book a long-haul flight in business class using your SkyMiles. If you've got or an appetite for a quick detour (and a positioning flight) down to Mexico – or can stand a bit of risk by “skiplagging” and skipping the last leg of a return trip – it could be well worth the savings.
This workaround was a godsend when it first cropped up a few years ago, and now it's back. While rates are a bit higher than they were three years ago, there are still phenomenal deals to be had by starting (or ending) your trip in Mexico.
Will publishing this story hasten the end of this back-from-the-dead SkyMiles sweet spot? To be honest, probably.
But we'd much rather help a few more readers take the trip of a lifetime than preserve this for ourselves and a select few, in-the-know experts – many of whom have more points than they know what to do with. And that's our mission: To help others travel more (and maybe more comfortably) for less.
So again: Book ASAP.
Bottom Line
Against all odds, one of the best ways to book a Delta One seat abroad for fewer points has made a comeback.
By starting or ending your trip in Mexico or elsewhere in Central America, you can book long-haul Delta One flights to Europe, Australia, Asia, and even South Africa for a fraction of what Delta normally charges. It's one of the best SkyMiles redemptions available today, period.
Use Delta's price calendar to pinpoint dates with Delta One flights bookable for around 100,000 SkyMiles or less. Avoid routes to and from Mexico operated by Aeromexico to ensure you can get the lowest rate with the TakeOff 15 cardholder benefit.
And above all, book ASAP. If the past has proven anything, it's that Delta won't let these deals linger for long.
