Ever heard that Delta SkyMiles are worthless? Purge that phrase from your memory.
We unearthed a massive, unpublished Delta SkyMiles flash sale a few weeks ago with flights to Europe through the fall and into spring 2023 for just 32,000 SkyMiles … roundtrip! Best of all, this is a nationwide sale: Whether you're flying nonstop to Europe from a major Delta hub or connecting from your small regional airport, you could score a huge deal. And you could get to most major cities in Europe at these rates, too.
Thrifty Traveler Premium+ members got this alert first, but the pricing on these routes has shot back up to 70,000 SkyMiles or more roundtrip. Deals this good never last long … so keep your fingers crossed the next one is just around the corner!
Want award alerts to use your points and miles – plus cheap domestic and international flights sent to your inbox? Try Thrifty Traveler Premium+ now!
The savings here are enormous: Delta and most airlines typically charge 30,000 miles (or much, much more) for a one-way flight in economy to Europe. Depending on where you're heading, these fares get hit with a reasonable $50 to $80 or so in taxes.
Whether you wanted to head to Rome (FCO), Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Amsterdam (AMS), London-Heathrow (LHR), or almost anywhere in Europe, here's just how few SkyMiles you might have needed…
Departure Cities
Aberdeen (ABR) – 32k
Akron (CAK) – 32k
Albany (ALB) – 32k
Albuquerque (ABQ) – 32k
Allentown (ABE) – 32k
Anchorage (ANC) – 32k
Appleton (ATW) – 32k
Asheville (AVL) – 32k
Atlanta (ATL) – 32k
Augusta (AGS) – 32k
Austin (AUS) – 32k
Baltimore (BWI) – 32k
Bemidji (BJI) – 32k
Billings (BIL) – 32k
Birmingham (BHM) – 32k
Bismarck (BIS) – 32k
Bloomington (BMI) – 32k
Boise (BOI) – 32k
Boston (BOS) – 32k*
Bozeman (BZN) – 32k
Brainerd (BRD) – 32k
Bristol (TRI) – 32k
Buffalo (BUF) – 32k
Burlington (BTV) – 32k
Cedar Rapids (CID) – 32k
Charleston (CHS) – 32k
Charlotte (CLT) – 32k
Charlottesville (CHO) – 32k
Chattanooga (CHA) – 32k
Chicago (MDW) – 32k
Chicago (ORD) – 32k
Cincinnati (CVG) – 32k
Cleveland (CLE) – 32k
Colorado Springs (COS) – 32k
Columbia (CAE) – 32k
Columbus (CMH) – 32k
Columbus (GTR) – 32k
Dallas (DAL) – 32k
Dallas (DFW) – 32k
Dayton (DAY) – 32k
Denver (DEN) – 32k
Des Moines (DSM) – 32k
Destin (VPS) – 32k
Detroit (DTW) – 32k
Dothan (DHN) – 32k
Duluth (DLH) – 32k
El Paso (ELP) – 32k
Erie (ERI) – 32k
Eugene (EUG) – 32k
Evansville (EVV) – 32k
Fargo (FAR) – 32k
Fayetteville (FAY) – 32k
Fayetteville (XNA) – 32k
Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) – 32k
Fort Myers (RSW) – 32k
Fort Wayne (FWA) – 32k
Fresno (FAT) – 32k
Gainesville (GNV) – 32k
Grand Forks (GFK) – 32k
Grand Rapids (GRR) – 32k
Green Bay (GRB) – 32k
Greensboro (GSO) – 32k
Greenville (GSP) – 32k
Gulfport (GPT) – 32k
Harrisburg (MDT) – 32k
Hartford (BDL) – 32k
Hibbing (HIB) – 32k
Houston (HOU) – 32k
Houston (IAH) – 32k
Huntsville (HSV) – 32k
Idaho Falls (IDA) – 32k
Indianapolis (IND) – 32k
International Falls (INL) – 32k
Jackson (JAN) – 32k
Jackson Hole (JAC) – 32k
Jacksonville (JAX) – 32k
Kalamazoo (AZO) – 32k
Kalispell (FCA) – 32k
Kansas City (MCI) – 32k
Key West (EYW) – 32k
Knoxville (TYS) – 32k
La Crosse (LSE) – 32k
Lansing (LAN) – 32k
Las Vegas (LAS) – 32k
Lexington (LEX) – 32k
Little Rock (LIT) – 32k
Los Angeles (LAX) – 32k
Louisville (SDF) – 32k
Madison (MSN) – 32k
Medford (MFR) – 32k
Memphis (MEM) – 32k
Miami (MIA) – 32k
Milwaukee (MKE) – 32k
Minneapolis (MSP) – 32k
Minot (MOT) – 32k
Missoula (MSO) – 32k
Mobile (MOB) – 32k
Moline (MLI) – 32k
Montgomery (MGM) – 32k
Myrtle Beach (MYR) – 32k
Nashville (BNA) – 32k
New Orleans (MSY) – 32k
New York (JFK) – 32k*
Norfolk (ORF) – 32k
Oakland (OAK) – 32k
Oklahoma City (OKC) – 32k
Omaha (OMA) – 32k
Ontario (ONT) – 32k
Orlando (MCO) – 32k
Panama City (ECP) – 32k
Pasco (PSC) – 32k
Pensacola (PNS) – 32k
Peoria (PIA) – 32k
Philadelphia (PHL) – 32k
Phoenix (PHX) – 32k
Pittsburgh (PIT) – 32k
Pocatello (PIH) – 32k
Portland (PDX) – 32k
Portland (PWM) – 32k
Providence (PVD) – 32k
Raleigh (RDU) – 32k
Rapid City (RAP) – 32k
Redmond (RDM) – 32k
Reno (RNO) – 32k
Rhinelander (RHI) – 32k
Richmond (RIC) – 32k
Roanoke (ROA) – 32k
Rochester (ROC) – 32k
Rochester (RST) – 32k
Sacramento (SMF) – 32k
Salt Lake City (SLC) – 32k
San Antonio (SAT) – 32k
San Diego (SAN) – 32k
San Francisco (SFO) – 32k
San Jose (SJC) – 32k
San Juan (SJU) – 32k
Santa Ana (SNA) – 32k
Santa Barbara (SBA) – 32k
Sarasota (SRQ) – 32k
Savannah (SAV) – 32k
Seattle (SEA) – 32k
Sioux Falls (FSD) – 32k
South Bend (SBN) – 32k
Spokane (GEG) – 32k
Springfield (SGF) – 32k
St. Louis (STL) – 32k
St. Thomas (STT) – 32k
Syracuse (SYR) – 32k
Tampa (TPA) – 32k
Toronto (YYZ) – 32k
Traverse City (TVC) – 32k
Tucson (TUS) – 32k
Tulsa (TUL) – 32k
Washington, D.C. (DCA) – 32k
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – 32k
Wausau (CWA) – 32k
West Palm Beach (PBI) – 32k
Westchester County (HPN) – 32k
Wichita (ICT) – 32k
Williston (XWA) – 32k
Wilmington (ILM) – 32k
These ultra-low award rates are gone now – get the next insane deal in your inbox with Thrifty Traveler Premium+!
How to Earn Delta SkyMiles
Unless you’ve already got SkyMiles burning a hole in your pocket, it’s probably too late to earn the miles you need to book this sale. But it’s never too late to earn more SkyMiles for the next great flash sale around the corner.
From the entry-level Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card to the top-tier Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, Delta’s suite of co-branded Amex cards allows you to earn a ton of SkyMiles (terms apply).
Instead, look to the non-Delta Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards Points. You can easily transfer Amex points from the The Platinum Card® from American Express or the American Express® Gold Card straight to your Delta SkyMiles account. You can earn at least 80,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first six months on the Amex Platinum … but check to see if you're targeted for a whopping 150,000-point bonus via CardMatch!
Read up on more ways to earn Delta SkyMiles!
Bottom Line
Delta SkyMiles flash sales have been incredible lately, but this one might just take the cake.
Getting to Europe and back for half the miles other airlines charge is a steal. But the fact that this sale included almost every airport in the country, big and small? That's unbeatable.
These sales are one of the main reasons why we value SkyMiles more than most. They're truly the best way to use your SkyMiles. And the fact that you can lock in a trip to Europe for as low as 32,000 SkyMiles, then cancel it and get your miles back for free if necessary? You cannot beat that.
Lead photo courtesy of Chris Lundberg via Flickr
I can’t seem to find out how to search flexible dates. I never see that box to check. I even searched by money not miles as well.
First, make sure you’re using the desktop site and not via mobile. As you’re selecting your dates from the homepage for your search, look for a small box labeled “Flexible Dates” — tick it and it should pull up some flexible options.
The fights from BOS-LHR are such a find at 20k miles but require long (7 hour???) layovers at JFK or DTW. How do you make that layover worth it?
Try other dates or scroll farther down past the initial options. There are tons of BOS-LHR fares with quick connections or nonstop. I checked one date (Nov 13th) and found tons of options.
I am looking to travel to Rome (FCO) from Columbus (CMH) in April or May. The cheapest that I am finding is 62,000 points. Is that a pretty standard amount for a smaller airport like Columbus?
Are these special fares good for one-way flights from Europe, Paris or London back to the US? Seems if you want to use Points to book the flight the cheapest airfare and points is to utilize a Delta partner like KLM or Virgin Atlantic