Taipei may not be at the top of many travelers' wishlists, but if you've got a stash of Delta SkyMiles and designs on getting to Asia for less this year or next, you'd be wise to pay attention to this latest sale.
Delta slashed award fares on its new route to Taipei (TPE) this week as low as 34,000 SkyMiles roundtrip. The lowest fares are on the nonstop flights from Seattle (SEA), but travelers all over the U.S. could book one or two-stop flights to Taiwan through next spring for less than 54,000 SkyMiles roundtrip!
Travelers with a co-branded Amex card will see the lowest rates thanks to the automatic 15% discount on Delta award tickets.
Delta launched daily flights to Taipei in June, the airline's first nonstop between the U.S. and Taiwan. But Delta has plenty of competition on the route, with EVA Air and China Airlines both flying nonstop from Seattle, too. These are the lowest SkyMiles fares we've seen on the route since it launched, and Delta is likely looking to fill some empty seats flying across the Pacific Ocean.
Delta rarely advertises its best sales, but we find them anyways and send them straight to our Thrifty Traveler Premium members' inboxes. Over 150 airports, big and small, across the country got in on this latest SkyMiles deal, including major Delta hubs like Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), Atlanta (ATL), and Detroit (DTW) – no Delta hub penalty here!
Get more Delta SkyMiles deals like this in your inbox with Thrifty Traveler Premium!
Most of these fares were still kicking as of Thursday afternoon, too.
You'll see the lowest rates are for Delta basic economy award tickets, which don't come with free seat assignment … and and get hit with a 19,000-SkyMile penalty if you want to cancel to get the rest of your miles back. These basic economy fares also don't count toward Delta Medallion Status, unlike most award fares booked with SkyMiles. You can't even head to the Delta Sky Club before your flight, either.
You can upgrade to a main cabin economy fare for another 20,000 miles or so to get free seat assignment, a free checked bag, and the ability to cancel and get your miles and taxes and fees back for free. But it varies but route, and you may see much higher rates for Main Cabin upgrades from some cities.
There are few cheaper ways to fly to Asia right now than using SkyMiles. Even if Taiwan isn't high on your list of destinations to visit, it could be worth booking one of these fares and then booking a separate flight from Taipei onward to destinations like Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and more.
Better yet, these fares could be booked for one-way for half price of a roundtrip – a rarity when booking with SkyMiles. So if you've already got a one-way flight booked and are looking for a way home (or vice versa), booking one of these fares in or out of Taipei would be a great way to complete your itinerary.
Don't have the SkyMiles you need to book these flights? You might: Delta is an Amex transfer partner, so you can send points to your SkyMiles account from cards like *amex platinum* or the *amex gold* instantly to your Delta account and book minutes later.
Thrifty Tip: Have *amex platinum*? Use the $200 airline fee credit to cover the taxes and fees for this Delta SkyMiles deal. This works as long as you have Delta selected as your preferred airline.
This isn't the first Delta flash sale we've seen to Taiwan in the last few months. Delta recently cut award rates flying its Delta One business class suites to Taipei as low as 83,000 SkyMiles one-way – or 102,000 roundtrip with the TakeOff15 discount. It was one of the cheapest Delta One deals we've come across in years!
Read more: Delta One Business Class Deals are Back (… But Still Not Great)
How to Book Delta SkyMiles Deals to Taipei
To book these fares, do a normal search for flights at Delta.com and be sure to check the box that says “Shop with Miles”.
On the next page, you'll see a grid full of fares, but click the “Price Calendar” button to get the clearest view of what's available. From there, choose the dates with the lowest SkyMiles fares and book!
We typically recommend upgrading to Main Cabin to include advanced seat assignment, a free checked bag, and to have the ability to cancel online for a full refund of your SkyMiles and fees, but with higher rates for Main Cabin upgrades, you may want to do the math to decide whether it's worth it.
Read next: How to Find & Book the Best Delta SkyMiles Deals
Bottom Line
Don't let those Delta SkyMiles collect dust – especially when there are deals out there like these ones!
Delta is out with a massive award sale this week for its new route to Taipei (TPE) that could help you pull off a trip to Asia this year or next using SkyMiles.
