After disappearing over the last year (and leading us to question whether SkyMiles were worth the trouble anymore…), super cheap Delta SkyMiles flash sales seem to be making a comeback. And the latest one could put you on the beaches of Cancún this summer, fall, or winter for just a few thousand SkyMiles.
We recently unearthed this unadvertised Delta SkyMiles flash sale with flights to Cancún (CUN) as low as just 9,200 SkyMiles roundtrip – and rates below 20,000 SkyMiles from a dozens of airports! This is your chance to fly down south to Mexico for a fraction of what other airlines charge – and heck, it's fewer miles than most domestic trips! You can book these flights through the winter and even into spring of 2024.
Thrifty Traveler Premium+ subscribers got this deal sent to their inbox earlier this week as soon as we found it, so some of the cheapest availability has been snapped up already. Still, you can find some great deals, give or take a few thousand SkyMiles – especially late this summer and into the fall. Travelers with a co-branded Amex card will see the lowest rates thanks to the automatic 15% discount on Delta award tickets.
We search for the best ways to use your Delta SkyMiles (and other points and miles!) with Thrifty Traveler Premium+!
You can find cheap award flights down to Mexico from August all the way through March 2024 thanks to this deal. Although the best availability runs through the fall, you can work out a winter trip at ultra-low rates if you're flexible with your dates. And while all award flights down to Cancún (or anywhere in Mexico) get hit with $100 or so in taxes and fees, that's a small price to pay on an otherwise great and cheap winter escape.
You'll see that lowest rates are for Delta basic economy award tickets, which don't come with free seat assignment and get hit with a 9,900-SkyMile penalty if you want to cancel to get the rest of your miles back. These fares also don't count toward Delta Medallion Status, unlike most award fares booked with SkyMiles.
So it could easily be worth spending a few thousand extra SkyMiles for a main cabin economy fare, as those tickets are fully refundable: Get your miles and taxes and fees back for free! It varies by route, but you can generally expect to pay another 3,000 to 8,000 SkyMiles for a main cabin fare.
Unfortunately, some (though not all) Delta hubs like Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and Salt Lake City (SLC) miss out on these low rates thanks to the Delta hub penalty. But there are plenty of deals to be had around the country, whether you're flying nonstop from Atlanta (ATL), New York City (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), Boston (BOS), and Seattle (SEA) or connecting from airports big and small nationwide. Keep reading for the full list of cities!
Even small towns like Providence (PVD) can get all the way down to Cancún and back for just over 10,000 SkyMiles.
Thrifty Tip #1: When booking with SkyMiles, make sure to select “Flexible Dates” and “Price Calendar” to maximize the dates viewable and pinpoint the best deal.
Thrifty Tip #2: Have The Platinum Card® from American Express? 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.
Delta SkyMiles Flash Sale Availability
- Travel from August through March 2024, depending on your departure city. Best availability this summer and fall.
- To book these fares, visit Delta.com and search from your airport
- Get 15% award rates with a co-branded Delta Amex card in your wallet thanks to the TakeOff 15 benefit
To begin, 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, just choose the dates with the lowest SkyMiles fares and book!
We recommend upgrading to Main Cabin to include advanced seat assignment and to have the ability to cancel online for a full refund of your SkyMiles and fees. That's easily worth paying an additional 3,000 to 8,000 SkyMiles per ticket.
Departure Cities
All these rates listed are for basic economy roundtrip fares before any cardholder discount.
Aberdeen (ABR) – 16k
Albany (ALB) – 16k
Albuquerque (ABQ) – 20k
Allentown (ABE) – 16k
Asheville (AVL) – 16k
Atlanta (ATL) – 22k*
Austin (AUS) – 11k
Baltimore (BWI) – 11k
Bangor (BGR) – 16k
Billings (BIL) – 16k
Bismarck (BIS) – 16k
Bloomington (BMI) – 16k
Boise (BOI) – 24k
Boston (BOS) – 20k*
Bozeman (BZN) – 16k
Buffalo (BUF) – 11k
Burlington (BTV) – 16k
Butte (BTM) – 16k
Calgary (YYC) – 28k*
Cedar Rapids (CID) – 26k
Charleston (CHS) – 12k
Charleston (CRW) – 16k
Charlotte (CLT) – 22k
Charlottesville (CHO) – 16k
Chicago (MDW) – 18k
Chicago (ORD) – 18k
Cincinnati (CVG) – 20k
Cleveland (CLE) – 21k
Colorado Springs (COS) – 20k
Columbus (CMH) – 24k
Dallas (DAL) – 18k
Dallas (DFW) – 18k
Denver (DEN) – 11k
Des Moines (DSM) – 20k
Detroit (DTW) – 24k*
Duluth (DLH) – 19k
El Paso (ELP) – 26k
Eugene (EUG) – 16k
Evansville (EVV) – 16k
Fargo (FAR) – 26k
Fayetteville (XNA) – 26k
Fort Lauderdale (FLL) – 18k
Fort Wayne (FWA) – 16k
Grand Forks (GFK) – 16k
Grand Rapids (GRR) – 18k
Green Bay (GRB) – 16k
Greensboro (GSO) – 16k
Greenville (GSP) – 20k
Harrisburg (MDT) – 16k
Hartford (BDL) – 16k
Houston (HOU) – 11k
Houston (IAH) – 11k
Idaho Falls (IDA) – 16k
Indianapolis (IND) – 18k
Jackson Hole (JAC) – 16k
Jacksonville (JAX) – 11k
Kalamazoo (AZO) – 16k
Kalispell (FCA) – 16k
Kansas City (MCI) – 18k
Lafayette (LFT) – 26k
Las Vegas (LAS) – 11k
Little Rock (LIT) – 20k
Los Angeles (LAX) – 11k*
Louisville (SDF) – 20k
Madison (MSN) – 26k
Medford (MFR) – 16k
Memphis (MEM) – 20k
Miami (MIA) – 18k
Milwaukee (MKE) – 12k
Minot (MOT) – 16k
Missoula (MSO) – 16k
Moline (MLI) – 16k
Montreal (YUL) – 20k
Nashville (BNA) – 11k
New Orleans (MSY) – 11k
New York (JFK) – 11k*
Norfolk (ORF) – 20k
Oklahoma City (OKC) – 26k
Omaha (OMA) – 16k
Orlando (MCO) – 12k
Pasco (PSC) – 26k
Peoria (PIA) – 16k
Philadelphia (PHL) – 12k
Phoenix (PHX) – 28k
Pittsburgh (PIT) – 14k
Pocatello (PIH) – 16k
Portland (PDX) – 16k
Portland (PWM) – 16k
Providence (PVD) – 11k
Raleigh (RDU) – 18k
Rapid City (RAP) – 24k
Redmond (RDM) – 16k
Regina (YQR) – 28k
Rhinelander (RHI) – 16k
Richmond (RIC) – 16k
Rochester (ROC) – 16k
Rochester (RST) – 16k
Sacramento (SMF) – 22k
San Antonio (SAT) – 14k
San Diego (SAN) – 11k
San Francisco (SFO) – 24k
San Jose (SJC) – 14k
San Juan (SJU) – 22k
Seattle (SEA) – 18k*
Shreveport (SHV) – 26k
Sioux Falls (FSD) – 26k
South Bend (SBN) – 16k
Spokane (GEG) – 16k
Springfield (SGF) – 16k
St. Louis (STL) – 18k
Syracuse (SYR) – 16k
Tampa (TPA) – 12k
Thunder Bay (YQT) – 28k
Toronto (YYZ) – 20k
Traverse City (TVC) – 16k
Tucson (TUS) – 20k
Vancouver (YVR) – 28k*
Washington, D.C. (DCA) – 12k
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – 12k
Wausau (CWA) – 16k
Westchester County (HPN) – 16k
Williston (XWA) – 16k
*=nonstop
Bottom Line
Don't let those Delta SkyMiles collect dust – especially when we're finding deals like this one!
Thrifty Traveler Premium+ members got the first kick at the bucket for this fantastic award sale from Delta earlier this week. But even as some fares have increased in price, this is still a great deal with plenty of availability if you're flexible with your travel dates. While Delta SkyMiles have taken some hits lately, deals like this one are proof that there's still value – most airlines charge at least 30,000 miles for flights to Mexico and back.
With a recent resurgence of SkyMiles, we're searching harder than ever to find the next amazing deal like this one for our Thrifty Traveler Premium+ members.
Great sale and thanks for posting when these surface but perhaps state early in your reporting when these sales exclude the primary Delta hubs of MSP, ATL, SLC. Saves all of us in those cities (who I have to think are the majority of your readers) some time.