How Delta SkyMiles Quietly Became Amex’s Best Transfer Partner

Tons of travelers prefer to send their Amex Membership Rewards points – the ones you earn from cards like the American Express® Gold Card or American Express Platinum® Card to carriers like Air France/KLM Flying Blue or ANA Mileage Club. But we believe Delta SkyMiles have quietly become one of Amex's most valuable transfer partners.

Yes, we said it.

While you may still see nasty rates, Delta's increasingly common SkyMiles Flash Sales have made them a real must-have currency in the world of points and miles. Our Thrifty Traveler Premium members have seen that firsthand with flights to Europe popping up for under 20,000 miles roundtrip in economy, Asia and back for 25,000 miles, and even discounted Delta One business class flights to Europe for under 100,000 miles each way, SkyMiles are no longer the throwaway currency many believe them to be.  

Here's why I'm earmarking more of my Amex points for transfers to Delta than ever before … and maybe you should, too. 

A Slew of Recent Delta One SkyMiles Deals

Big-time bloggers and so-called “experts” have bashed Delta (for years) for its dynamic award pricing, atrociously high rates to fly business class, and unpredictability. And while that’s frustrating, incredible SkyMiles flash sales provide big upside.

With a stash of Amex Membership Rewards points and the flexibility to take advantage of a big sale, Delta SkyMiles have become practically indispensable. In fact, I'd say we've seen some of the best SkyMiles deals ever over the last few weeks.

Some recent stunners include:

Delta One fares – available nationwide, from airports big and small – to Paris (CDG), Rome (FCO), Venice (VCE), London-Heathrow (LHR), Barcelona (BCN), and beyond in Europe from 97,400 SkyMiles each way … over the peak summer!

One of our patented Unicorn Alerts flying Delta One Suites to Tokyo, Japan (HND) from 80,000 SkyMiles each way

The brand-new route to Hong Kong (HKG) for as low as just 85,000 SkyMiles each way.

And all the way to Brisbane (BNE) in Australia from just 102,000 SkyMiles each way. 

Dirt-Cheap Economy Deals, Too!

While the recent surge in cheap Delta One redemptions has been unprecedented, Delta has continued slashing rates for travelers flying economy.

Here's a brief list of just some of the deals we've sent Thrifty Traveler Premium members lately:

• London-Heathrow (LHR) from 19,000 Delta SkyMiles roundtrip nonstop from Boston (BOS) and New York City (JFK)
• Auckland, New Zealand (AKL) from 34,000 SkyMiles roundtrip
• Brisbane, Australia (BNE) from 34,000 Delta SkyMiles roundtrip, with dozens of U.S. cities on the list under 50,000 roundtrip.
• Roundtrips to Cancún (CUN) and the Bahamas (NAS) for as low as 8,000 SkyMiles roundtrip!
• Hong Kong (HKG) from 37,000 Delta SkyMiles roundtrip – under 60,000 from all cities. 
• Marrakech, Morocco (RAK) from 27,000 SkyMiles roundtrip – under 38,000 from all cities. 
• Tokyo-Haneda (HND) from 42,000 SkyMiles roundtrip, with all cities under 68,000 SkyMiles roundtrip. 

Sometimes, Delta posts these sales publicly on its ongoing list of SkyMiles Deals page, tailored to specific departure cities. The airline will also (occasionally) email flyers with deals, too. But we find far more, better, unadvertised deals and send them to our Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers instantly.

Again, that's just the last few weeks … and virtually none of these deals were advertised by Delta itself online or via email. Unlike many flash sales that last just 48 hours or less, many of these deals remained bookable for five, six, or even seven days or more. 

& The Best SkyMiles Deals of All Time

While the recent string of deals has been unbelievably valuable and absolutely unprecedented, we've seen some even better sales over the years.  Here's just a sliver of the best Delta deals we've ever seen:

• 90,000 SkyMiles to fly Delta One to Japan … roundtrip!
• Or 98,000 SkyMiles to fly almost anywhere to Europe in business class roundtrip
• Roundtrip flights to Alaska starting at just 5,000 SkyMiles!
• A nationwide flash sale to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) from just 20,000 SkyMiles total
• Fly to London-Heathrow (LHR) and back for only 14,000 SkyMiles!
• Taipei, Taiwan (TPE) from 25,000 SkyMiles roundtrip – one of the cheapest Asia fares we've ever seen!
• Domestic flights to Los Angeles (LAX), Denver (DEN), Palm Springs (PSP), Seattle (SEA), and New York City as low as 6,000 SkyMiles roundtrip
• Jamaica for 11,000 SkyMiles roundtrip, too
• Fly from U.S. airports nationwide to Australia for just 70,000 SkyMiles roundtrip!

In every case, these flash sales are deeply, deeply discounted – and not just compared to Delta's normal rates, but also stacked against what you'd pay using other airline miles like American AAdvantage miles or United MileagePlus. So, yeah … SkyMiles are far from worthless. 

The Current State of Amex Points

What makes Delta SkyMiles stand out now isn't just how valuable they've become thanks to these deals recently – it's also that many other options are getting worse.

Again and again, we're finding Amex points harder (and more costly) to use when we actually turn to redeem them with other carriers. In just the last year, Amex has:

• Cut transfer ratios to a couple of airline partners – meaning you need to send even more hard-earned Amex points to get the miles you need
• Dropped two more altogether
• Greatly reduced the once-reliable transfer bonuses halfway through 2026 – while a few transfer bonuses have cropped up recently, they've been much weaker (or shorter-lived) than we're used to

Add it all up, and travelers with Amex points can clearly no longer bank on the same value they've gotten for years. 

As shocking as it may sound, Delta SkyMiles has been the rare bright spot in Amex's stable of transfer partners. Many travelers are quick to write SkyMiles off as worthless – or even use a derogatory term to describe them – but not us. We're finding and sending Thrifty Traveler Premium members more SkyMiles deals than ever.

Does this say more about Delta SkyMiles changing fortunes or the decreasing value of Amex points? It's unclear, but for now we're happy to have SkyMiles as a more reliable option.

How Thrifty Traveler Premium Works

So, how do we find all these deals? And, most importantly, how do we let you know about them? 

• First, our team of flight deal analysts and experts search from more than 200 U.S. and Canadian airports for the best Delta SkyMiles deals around the clock.
• Second, when we find something good, we vet the deal – making sure that it's bookable, that there's no “catch” or “trap,” and that it's a fare that we would book ourselves.
• Third, we put together a flight deal alert and send it to your inbox – and for the rarest deals, you'll get a “Unicorn Alert” text message, too! You can also log in to your account to see the deal info and any other deals we've sent. 
• Fourth: You book the deal! This is what you've been hoarding SkyMiles for – a sizzling deal worth your hard-earned miles. 

And that's it! We're not travel agents and we don't work with the airlines. We just find the deals Delta doesn't want you to know about and alert you to them so you can get maximum value out of your stash of miles. 

Plus, we offer a 100-day money-back guarantee for first-time subscribers. If you're not loving the deals you get, you can cancel for a full refund – no questions asked!

Bottom Line

It might sound absurd, but Delta SkyMiles might just be better than ever. Just ask our Thrifty Traveler Premium members, who have gotten all these alerts and dozens more.

Start getting flight deal alerts, and remember: Our 100-day money-back guarantee means you can try our alerts risk-free!

Get Thrifty Traveler Premium now!