The infuriating part of Delta SkyMiles is that the airline never advertises when it suddenly charges just 85,000 SkyMiles to fly Delta One to Tokyo or only 6,800 SkyMiles to fly to Mexico roundtrip. But the best part about SkyMiles is that Delta will drop fares to those incredibly low rates — you just have to be ready to book when it does.
Delta’s rarest deals, like those fares to Tokyo and Mexico – and also to Australia, Europe and even South Africa – are why we think SkyMiles deals are criminally underrated. In fact, it might be the best time ever to have a stash of SkyMiles in your account, ready to go.
The key to snagging fares like these isn’t getting Delta’s promo emails or checking its promo fares webpage. Because Delta never advertises its rarest and best SkyMiles deals, you’d have to persistently search Delta’s website for hours every week.
Or you can outsource those searches to a flight deal alert service like Thrifty Traveler Premium. In the past 12 months, we’ve sent subscribers more than 100 alerts (117, to be exact, as of this writing) for unadvertised Delta SkyMiles flash sales – giving travelers a heads-up on the best fares without spending hours searching on their own.
Here are some of the rarest, best deals we’ve found.
Delta One to Europe from 97K SkyMiles Each Way
Delta One flights to Europe can be incredibly expensive. It’s not uncommon to search your desired route and dates and see a price close to 450,000 SkyMiles. That is not a good deal.
But a few times a year, Delta slashes SkyMiles fares on flights to Europe — and sometimes the discounts are huge.
This deal from Minneapolis (MSP) to Athens (ATH) for 97,700 SkyMiles was part of a larger alert that included dozens of U.S. cities flying Delta One across the Atlantic.
Making a seat like this your home for the journey abroad is the perfect way to start your vacation at the airport, not when you land. And for Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers, that was a reality just a few months ago.
Delta One Suites to Japan from 85K SkyMiles Each Way
Delta closely guards its nonstop flights to Japan. It seems like everyone on social media has been, is planning to go, or is in Japan right now – and that means strong demand. For the long journey to Tokyo-Haneda (HND), many travelers also want a comfortable seat. That’s why one of the rarest SkyMiles deals you can find is a cheap Delta One flight to Haneda.
It’s rare – but not impossible.
This flight deal alert to Tokyo (HND) broke our brains at Thrifty Traveler headquarters. These flights normally sell for about 400,000 SkyMiles each, but were cut to under 160,000 SkyMiles each way – and that’s before the 15% Delta SkyMiles cardholder discount. The lowest price was from San Diego (SAN) at just 85,000 miles each way and only $5 in taxes and fees.
Airports across the West Coast offered some of the best fares, including rare availability from Alaska's two largest airports!
Europe from 22K SkyMiles RT
The front of the plane – those swanky Delta One seats – gets most of the attention in the points and miles world. But the best way to use Delta SkyMiles is often in economy. That’s because SkyMiles flash sales are typically deeper and easier to book in economy.
This recent SkyMiles flash sale to Europe was a perfect example.
Flying to more than a dozen European cities, travelers could snag roundtrip fares for 26,000 SkyMiles from almost any U.S. airport served by Delta.
With the 15% credit cardholder discount, that dropped to 22,000 SkyMiles roundtrip. I’ve paid more than that to fly to Florida.
But that wasn’t all. For a few brief hours, Delta appeared to make a mistake: The airline priced basic economy and main cabin at the exact same 26,000 SkyMiles roundtrip rate.
It’s an unheard-of pricing quirk that didn’t last long, but it was an incredible opportunity for the Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers who took advantage of it.
Mexico from 7K SkyMiles Roundtrip
If you're thinking to yourself, “Man, I wish I had 85,000 SkyMiles for a Delta One flight or 22,000 for a roundtrip to Europe,” I'm here to tell you that you still might have enough miles for an international trip this year – if you strike while the deals are hot!
Go check your SkyMiles account. Even if you have just 7,000 SkyMiles, that could be enough for a trip to Mexico.
Over the past few months, Mexico SkyMiles deals have been white hot. This deal to Puerto Vallarta (PVR) and Cabo (SJD) was the perfect example, with roundtrip fares starting at just 8,000 SkyMiles. Crazy!
We found similarly amazing rates to Cancún (CUN), where fares started at just 8,000 SkyMiles roundtrip before Delta's TakeOff 15 discount for cardholders.
You don't need tons of SkyMiles to get a good deal – you just need someone searching routes like these for you!
Delta One to Australia from 102K SkyMiles Each Way
When booking a flight to Australia, you might consider something more comfortable than economy. It’s a long journey, and plenty of other travelers are thinking the same thing. That’s why lie-flat seats to Australia can be hard to find – sometimes.
Brisbane, Australia (BNE), has become a hot spot for award availability thanks to increased service from multiple airlines. It’s a trend we’ve loved – and one we hoped would extend to SkyMiles. And it did!
Brisbane for 102,000 SkyMiles each way in Delta One Suites sounds like a lovely time to me
Australia & New Zealand from 34K SkyMiles RT
If you don’t want to splurge on Delta One to Australia or New Zealand, you don’t have to. Just 60,000 SkyMiles roundtrip or less – in some cases, much less – was enough during this flash sale.
We search SkyMiles rates on these routes every day because when Delta offers fares this low, you have to book. These sales pop up only a few times a year, so it pays to stay ready if you want to fly to Melbourne (MEL) or Sydney (SYD).
The same goes for Auckland (AKL), where roundtrip flights to New Zealand were even cheaper at 58,000 SkyMiles.
South Africa from 40K SkyMiles RT
This deal might be the rarest of them all.
After launching flights to Cape Town (CPT) and Johannesburg (JNB) a few years ago, Delta has consistently charged high prices for these coveted routes. That’s why I audibly gasped when we found this deal.
Roundtrip flights to South Africa can cost more than $1,000 in basic economy – and over 100,000 SkyMiles. But during this sale, prices dropped to 48,000 SkyMiles roundtrip.
We don’t know if this deal will return, but we search every day to make sure we catch it for Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers if it does.
Bottom Line
Delta never advertises its rarest and best SkyMiles deals. The only way to catch the best fares is to constantly search – or let us do it for you.
Thrifty Traveler Premium members get more than 100 SkyMiles flight deals sent to them every year, and 2026 is shaping up to be the best yet.
