Cancel a flight during the pandemic? Sitting on an airline credit or voucher, not sure how to put it to use? Trust us, you're not alone. Hundreds of thousands of travelers are sitting on (literally) billions of dollars in Delta eCredits.
Travelers across the country canceled trips in record numbers over the last few years as COVID-19 upended travel plans. But thanks to the unprecedented flexibility airlines offered throughout much of the pandemic with free change or cancellation on many flights, travelers didn't simply losing their money when scrapping travel. Instead, they've gotten vouchers to use towards future travel that are good for a year or much longer more. Delta has given customers even more time to use them by extending almost all eCredits to use through 2024!
But when it comes time to book a new trip using those vouchers or eCredits, it's not always so straightforward. Here's a look at how to use Delta eCredits.
Did prices drop after you booked your flight? You can easily pocket the difference as a Delta eCredit – read our guide to learn how!
How Delta's Change & Cancellation Policy Works
Delta led the way throughout much of the pandemic with flexible ticket change and cancellation policies. Whether you canceled a flight over the spring or summer or are struggling to plan a future trip amid all this uncertainty, you've got options. And that flexibility continues today.
Here's a look at Delta's change and cancellation policies, depending on what kind of ticket you have and when you purchased it:
- Tickets purchased before April 30, 2021 could be changed or canceled free, including Delta basic economy fares.
- Starting in 2022, basic economy fares get hit with a $99 to $199 penalty to get an eCredit when canceling a flight.
- Book a main cabin economy ticket or higher? You can change or cancel those Delta tickets free, no matter what, after airlines ditched change fees altogether last year.
- Going forward, most eCredits should be valid for one year from the date you originally booked your ticket.
Changing flights means you won't pay change fees if you've purchased a main cabin fare or above. If you change to a more expensive flight, you'll have to pay the difference. Change to a cheaper flight? You'll get the difference back in the form of another Delta eCredit. Cancel the flight altogether? You'll get an eCredit or voucher.
After an extension, all eCredits can be used until at least the end of 2023 … and you can even even use them for travel through late 2024! If you cancel a flight today, you'll get a Delta eCredit valid for one year from the date you booked the original flight.
But how do you find those credits, anyway? And how do you put them to use?
How to Find Your Delta eCredits & Vouchers
Luckily, finding your Delta eCredits should be a cinch.
These eCredits typically show up in your account within 24 hours of canceling a flight – but often much sooner. But keep in mind that Delta will typically issue eCredits separately to each passenger booked on the reservation, rather than issuing one large eCredit to the person who initially booked the flights. So tracking down all the eCredits from a trip may require some legwork, especially if you canceled a family trip.
If you booked your canceled flight using your Delta SkyMiles account, you're in luck. Any vouchers and eCredits will show up in your Delta profile, under “Certificates, Vouchers & eCredits.”
Log in to your Delta account, navigate to your profile, and select that field – or just follow this link to your certificates page. It's easiest to do this on a desktop or laptop, not the mobile app.
There, you should see any active Delta eCredits or vouchers in your account. They clearly display the amount of the credit, as well as the expiration date. All eCredits should be valid through at least the end of 2023.
Didn't book with your SkyMiles number? Don't worry. Just grab your 13-digit e-Ticket number from your Delta confirmation (it begins with #006) and head to Delta.com/redeem. Click the option to “Add a certificate or eCredit” and punch those numbers in. Otherwise, you can easily search for your eCredits by entering your contact info, including your phone number and last name.
Read more: How to Make Sure You're Not Missing Delta eCredits!
Got all your eCredits bundled together? Good. Now it's time to put them to use.
How to Redeem Delta eCredits and Vouchers
Redeeming Delta eCredits has gotten much, much easier in the last few years.
So long as you're logged into your SkyMiles account and your eCredits are saved there, you should be able select eCredits as a form of payment when you've picked your flights and are ready to check out. Better yet, Delta now allows you to use up to five eCredits at one time. That's up from a maximum of three, which had been the norm for years.
Just click “Use eCredits” in the payment section and it should pull up your available eCredits. Select the credit – or credits – you want to apply toward your flight and it will kick in automatically. If your flight costs more, you'll simply pay the balance. If it's less, Delta will issue you a new credit for the difference.
Having trouble selecting your eCredits to pay at checkout? Don't worry, you're not alone. And there's a good workaround.
Head back to your profile and navigate to your certificates and eCredits wallet, or just log into your account and go to Delta.com/redeem. There you'll find that familiar list of your current eCredits. Select the eCredit(s) you want to redeem, scroll down, and click “Continue.”
Looking to rebook a trip for yourself and a companion … or the whole family? These eCredits aren't transferrable, so you can't use your own eCredits on a partner or even your children. You can, however, rebook the whole family at once each using their own eCredits – keep reading to see how!
Once you click continue, you'll be brought to a familiar-looking spot: Delta's flight search engine. Except this time, it shows you that you're redeeming an eCredit – or eCredits. Just search for the flight(s) you plan to rebook as normal.
Want to make sure you get the best deal when using your Delta eCredits? Search for the best deal using Google Flights! You can easily filter your search to only display Delta flights.
The search results will neatly display not just the cost of your flights, but the amount of your eCredit as well as how much you'll owe after that credit is applied. Booking a cheaper flight? Unlike some other airlines, Delta will give you the balance back in another credit.
Proceed to checkout, and you'll see your eCredit has applied automatically. From there, just checkout as normal.
Thrifty Tip: Have unused Amex airline fee credits on cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express? You can use them in conjunction with Delta eCredits to book flights – read our guide to see how!
It's that simple.
How to Book Multiple Travelers Using Delta eCredits
Trying to rebook a trip with your loved one or the whole family using all those eCredits? Don't sweat it, it can be done. And you don't have to each book your tickets individually.
Start by heading back to delta.com/redeem and select the eCredit(s) you want to use. But when you make it to the flight search engine this time, be sure to select the number of passengers you're booking for. Trying to book a getaway with your spouse or partner? Search two passengers. Family of four? Search for four.
From there, proceed as normal to select your flights. Once you've picked your flights, enter each traveler's information – especially their SkyMiles account number. After that, scroll down to payment and select “Use eCredits.” This time, it will give you the option to apply eCredits to each traveler on the reservation.
If you're lucky, Delta will automatically pull up your companions' available eCredits. Otherwise, you'll need to manually enter the 13-digit eCredit numbers for your companions, then confirm their names. That means you'll need to pull each additional travelers' eCredits up individually and write them down or copy them beforehand. You can use up to five eCredits for each passenger.
Tap it all in, hit “add eCredit” and then apply them.
Repeat the process for all the travelers on your reservation and boom – those eCredits will kick in to cover each travelers' ticket cost. Then just checkout as normal.
It's a bit of a headache but it can be done. And it's much better than booking each ticket individually.
Best Ways To Use Delta eCredits
Now that you know how to find and use your eCredits, let's use them to take you somewhere great in 2023 or even 2024. The best way to use them is when you find a cheap flight.
Subscribers to Thrifty Traveler Premium get incredible Delta deals sent straight to their inboxes all the time. Here are a few deals we think would be a fantastic use of your eCredits, like half-off fares to Athens (ATH).
Thrifty Traveler Premium members get fares like this daily!
We sent our subscribers this great deal to Greece featuring Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and more than 100 other departure airports. No matter how many eCredits you have, you could have made a meaningful dent in this fare to make your Athens or Greek Island-hopping vacation a reality.
If you only have a few dollars in eCredits, you could probably have taken a big chunk out of these insanely cheap fares we found flying to Cancun (CUN).
This same fare was available from Boston (BOS) and Minneapolis (MSP) nonstop, too. It's a fantastic value … and with a stash of eCredits, it may not cost you a penny.
If the beach isn't quite your speed, this trip to the Rocky Mountains would probably barely make a dent in your balance of Delta eCredits!
Bottom Line
Using up Delta eCredits and vouchers can take a bit of extra legwork, but the process is quite seamless once you get the hang of it.
Check your Delta accounts and make sure you don't let a pile of eCredits go to waste, especially when there are so many great uses for them out there!
hi there
I am little confused – told yesterday by one agent @ Delta that if i cancel and thus have ecredits for our flights org for this year would have to redeem and have had the alternative flights used by Dec 22 . Today however have been advised that yes have to redeem the ecredits by Dec 2022 however this could be for travel in 2023 but booked by end of 2022 . i.e could book flights for july 2023 using ecredits when they are released which is norm 11months prior. Can you poss clarify? Many Thanks Lorraine
Question, can I use my ecredit’s going through a third party like Expedia, or Travelocity?
No, you will have to book directly through Delta.
If you book your new (2nd) flight using the Delta ecredits from the 1st canceled flight, but then need to cancel the new flight for some reason (i.e. CDC travel warning, etc.), will Delta wave the $200 change fee again?
According to the terms of the waiver, no. But in practice, we’ve heard Delta will waive the change fee again in these situations. YMMV!
Can I use credit on other people flying with me also.
You can only use your own eCredit to book travel for yourself – it won’t apply to others.
“you can use your own eCredit to book flights for two or more passengers at once.”
Are you sure this is correct? I have multiple eCredits, but when trying to book for myself plus other people the credits are only applied to the cost of my tickets, not any of the other passengers.
You are correct. We had done this before but didn’t realize that, as you experienced, the credit will only apply to your own ticket. We’ve fixed the story.
Hey, its listed as non transferable. Does this mean I can’t use the ecredit to fly my mother somewhere for mothers day?
Unfortunately, no – that won’t work.
A bit confused. My wife cancel a flight but delta website will not let her having the refund on her credit card ! So she went for ecredit. Can she rebook for 2 people using her ecredit and pay the difference if price higher than ecredit.? Thanks
You can’t cancel for a refund but would get an eCredit, so your wife made the correct choice. But an eCredit can only be used for the traveler it belongs to – not for two (or more) other travelers.
Can I pick seats when I use my ecredits or are the seats the same as originally picked?
So long as you buy a main cabin economy fare (not basic), you can pick any seat that’s available in the main cabin when booking with your eCredit.
What if I have no box next to my ecredit? Does that mean I have to call Delta? That’s not convenient!
My eCredit expiration date is June 1, 2021. Do I have to book and fly by June 1 or can I book a flight by June 1 for a flight departing after June 1?
According to Delta’s terms, you have to actually travel before that expiration date.
We got only 6 months to use ours? Can we extend the date? Delta isn’t playing fair.
So does the rescheduled flight have to occur before the expiration of the eCredit?
Correct.
If I want to book two tickets could I use the ecredit for one ticket and then buy a nother one in a separate transaction for the other person. It says I don’t have to use the credit for myself?
Generally, eCredits can only be used to buy tickets for the person they were issued to.
Can I use my unused eticket towards a trip I already booked?
No, unfortunately. You could, however, cancel your current trip, then rebook it using the ticket you already have plus the one you’ll get from canceling. But you’d have to do the math to see if you’ll come out ahead doing that.
Do I have to book the same flight with my eCredits? Say my original trip to Virginia was cancelled due to COVID. But now instead I want to go to South Carolina? Can I do that?
Absolutely, no need to rebook the exact same flights.
Delta has been flexible about the e-credits. One thing to know is that companion e-certificates from the Delta Skymiles American Express card can’t be redeemed in combination with e-credits.
I have eCredits from a cancelled flight on a partner airline (Air France). Can I use those to re-book a flight on any other Delta flight (i.e., not Air France)?
Great article and awesome advice! I booked flights to Europe in 2020 with my family of 4 and now have 4 separate e-credits on Delta. I’d love it if Delta allowed me to utilize my families e-credits for myself, as I fly often for work and could use that credit up on in a single calendar year. But sounds like that’s not possible. Is there any way to force Delta to offer a true refund, as in money back to my AmEx Delta credit card account?
The ecredit number works, my name is recognized, the ecredit date and personal information displayed is correct, but it says “Oops! We are not able to determine the ecredit at this time.” I’ve been on hold for the past two days using the number they suggest to call. Each phone call is at least 2 hours on hold. How is this possible?
Hi ETC! I am having the same issue now as you did back in April. Hold time is 2-3 hours. Mind sharing if yours got resolved and how it went? Thank you.
If I paid for both tickets that were canceled, why would I not be able to use those credits as I wish? I paid for me and a friend to fly to Texas now I can only use my own ecredit tickets for him? how is this a fair for the customer? if I paid for them i should be able to transfer if his bank was not used.
I used some of my ecredits in April but still had a balance. I want to use the rest to book another flight but they are not showing up through the original ecredit number or the new flight number. Any suggestons?
Try the original 13-digit eticket number from your initial flight that was canceled. Otherwise, log into your Delta account and navigate to your profile and find ecredits and certificates – it should live there. Otherwise, you may need to contact Delta.
I had an e-credit that expired at the end of December 2020, which I didn’t use because of COVID. Is there any way to have that credit reinstated through the extensions that were announced earlier this year?
I have eGift number but delta website is asking me for redemption code. Where to find it. Both Amex and Delta says they dont have it
Just wanted to confirm this before I use my eCredit. If the ticket I am about to buy costs less than my eCredit, I should have a balance in my eCredit after purchasing my ticket. Is that correct?
Correct!
Hi Malisa, did you get a balance on ecredit after you buy a cost less ticket purchase?
I selected to use my ecredit to pay for part of my flight, but the webpage wouldn’t accept any of my payment cards for the rest of the payment so I couldn’t book the flight. Now my ecredits have disappeared as if they’ve been used, even though I was never able to book my flight. Has anyone else experienced this?
I’m running into an issue which is that on my initial (cancelled) flight I’d put in my Alaska miles #, and now Delta is not accepting the e-Credit because it says the miles # associated with my original ticket doesn’t match my Delta miles #, and it won’t let me in the field to change it. Grrr. Has anyone else experienced this? It pulls up the ticket just fine, but it won’t let me check out without changing the miles number, but it won’t actually let me change the miles #.
I had to cancel my trip to Argentina due to Covid-19. Delta issued an eCredit. When I try to redeem the ecredit at time of booking, the website says Oops! No value remaining. 2 hours on the phone and I’m still waiting. How do I get this fixed?
Can you use the e-credit to book a flight to a different destination than previously?
You absolutely can book a flight to a different destination!
Hi Kyle – thanks for this. I’ve been on hold for hours with Delta. I have a question: do you know if I can use ecredits to book a different origin, different destination, and different date from the original flight (i.e., entirely new route)? Thanks!
There’s absolutely no problem with booking a completely different trip with your Delta eCredits. Think of it as a Delta gift card with an expiration date – and one that only you can use.
How many times can I use an e-credit? For example, if I have an e-credit for $1,500 and then book a ticket for $400, I will have $1,100 left on the original e-credit. If a purchase another ticket a month later for $300, I should then have $800 left, correct? Can I keep on using this e-credit an unlimited number of times until it is gone, or is there a limit on how many times I can use it? I cannot find this information on delta’s website.
You can continue using an eCredit until the balance is gone … so long as it doesn’t expire! Keep tabs on the expiration date as you keep using the rest of that credit amount.
Hi Kyle,
Logged in to my Skymiles and found my ecredit, then tried to book a new flight using credit, after completing the new reservation I’m getting message “Oh no! We’re sorry, but there was a problem processing your request. Please try again, if you continue to experience problems, please call Delta Reservation Sales for assistance”. Which I did and quoted wait time was 6 hours. Any suggestions?
Oh no! We’re sorry, Oystein, but there was a problem… same message all the time and waiting 5 hrs for chat, phone is impossible as I call from overseas (Norway), poor poor service from Delta.
I tried book flights using ecredit. But it was failed, i got a message. “The fare for the flights you selected is no longer available. Please search again to view and select alternate flights~~” So i tried again, but same situation.. do you know why??
Do you earn miles if you book a flight using an eCredit?
Yes you will. Delta treats these the same as a regular cash booking.
No this absolutely does not work. If you add two passengers and try to add ecredit it will only work for one passenger, the one with the credit. When it comes time to pay, no there is no use ecredits option box.
I redeemed ecredit today and was charged 50.00 for each ticket – I was told that this is because I purchased the tickets through a third party. I can’t find that policy anywhere. Anyone else had this problem?
I recently purchased a ticket through Delta and used my E-credit. I need to cancel this trip and book at a further date. Will I lose my E-credit for will it be there for me the next time I book a flight?
Thank you for the great information! If I book a trip with Ecredit and decided to cancel that flight are there any fees for cancellation? Will they re-deposit the Ecredit balance in the form of another Ecredit voucher in my account?
Thanks, this was helpful for applying eCredits for multiple family members.
Can I use e credit of Delta to purchase ticket at Air France web page or KLM)
The flight will need to be bookable on Delta’s website.
Can my ecredit be used by someone else to purchase a ticket?
Unfortunately, it can only be used by you.
I have quite a few Delta eCredits. Some with reference code DTV, some with ETK. All expire on 12/31/23. Is it possible to call in and get Delta to combine these into fewer eCredits?
Thank you.
Kevin
Thank you! I’ve been slowly whittling down my pile of e-credits over the past year. But that did nothing to put my husband’s credits to use and, since I’m gold and he’s not, I wanted to access them even if I made the booking. I tried a couple of times and could not figure out how to do that. Your directions are perfect!!! Except, of course, the Delta website ID’d a credit that wasn’t eligible without indicating that and locked the booking page. (Delta’s website is so glitchy.) But at that point it took no time at all to call Delta, recite the booking info from the screen, have her pull up the credits and book it. That took care of our 4 remaining credits and reduced the new charges for our flights from about $1400 to $270. Thanks for explaining the secret step for adding credits from other fliers in the booking process!
Thanks for this article! Like so many, figuring out how to book travel for both myself AND my wife in a single booking, and using each of our respective eCredits, was a lifesaver. Your expertise is very appreciated.
I wish someone would explain why some etickets require an agent and some don’t.
Ecredits are a terrible alternative to getting a refund to “original form of payment”. I bought two refundable Delta tickets, saw that the price had dropped $150, and decided to cancel those flights and rebook. Choosing ecredits was a horrible mistake. First of all the ecredits are not usable immediately. It may take 24 hours, so if you are trying to rebook for a lower fare, it may take 24 hours.
Second, half the ecredits go to the other traveller. Now, to rebook you must rebook two separate flights, choose seats separately and try to sit together, its much more complicated to rebook.
Third, ecredits EXPIRE. Why doesn’t Delta issue skymiles that don’t expire? A refund to original form of payment may take 7 days, but at least you get your cash back.
Fourth, there is a two hour wait to get Delta help on the phone, and a 46 minute wait to get help in chat. The chat rep actually couldn’t help and was going to connect me to an agent, but the chat disconnected. So it was a 46 minute wait to get no help. So I have been trying to rebook this flight for three hours now.
Can I use my ecredit using Delta Vacations? Also it is possible to use one of Delta’s partners like Globus and redeem your ecredit.
Thank you! I was having trouble figuring out how to book multiple travelers using eCredits and this was very helpful!
Am I able to use both ecredits and Skymiles for my ticket and if so how do I do that?
I have eCredit/Unused eTickets expiring Dec 31. I want to use them, but without firm travel plans I don’t want to lose that value if I have to cancel again next year. I called Delta and got their answer to this question — is in line with what you or others understand as well?
Per Delta agent: tickets purchased with eCredits expiring Dec 31 will NOT be reissued as eCredits if cancelled again AFTER Dec 31 (except for the value in excess of the eCredit value) and would be lost. I can’t find this documented externally, but verbatim from their internal documentation: “The expiration date of the original eCredit will apply to any residual value eCredit that is issued.”
However, the Delta agent did say if you book a refundable ticket with expiring eCredits you can still CHANGE that ticket as normal (i.e. dates and/or destination, with no change fee) AFTER the expiration date. You of course have to pay the difference in fare, and provided the fare is equal or greater than the original eCredit value, you won’t lose it (because you won’t(?) be issued the fare difference as an eCredit). This SHOULD mean you can indefinitely(?) daisy-change refundable tickets purchased with an expired eCredit (the agent confirmed this is true).
I do see some Reddit posts that suggest there may be ways to book a new ticket with eCredits and then cancel and receive a new eCredit with a new expiration date (one year out), but it seems unclear if and when that would actually work (can anyone confirm?). Overall I’d love to know if there are approaches that would get around this.
Regardless, while there may be other undocumented loopholes, it’s clear what Delta’s intention is, so it seems the safest approach is to just book a few modest trips with your residual expiring eCredit balance, and then if you need to cancel one, it shouldn’t be hard to find another trip at a fare with equal or greater value.
Can I use an ecredit and pay balance with skymiles?
I think you can only do this if you use the Delta Pay with Miles feature.
https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/points/delta-pay-with-miles/