Travelers have a love-hate relationship with their Delta SkyMiles, but one thing's for sure: The airline doesn't always make it easy to use Delta SkyMiles well.

Thats what we're here for.

Understanding SkyMiles can be a chore because Delta stopped publishing an award chart years ago, so there's no longer a cheat sheet that tells you how many miles you should spend to fly from point A to point B. Instead, prices change constantly, going up and down with the cash price. 

But there are still plenty of ways to use SkyMiles wisely. From an unbelievable run of deeply discounted SkyMiles deals to some astonishingly great business class redemptions and some practical tricks to ensure you get the best deal you can, follow these tips to get maximum value from your Delta miles this year.

 

In this post

 

Watch for Unadvertised SkyMiles Flash Sales

While Delta's confusing, dynamic pricing system is frustrating, there's an enormous upside: Delta SkyMiles flash sales.

Untethered from an award chart, Delta is free to slash SkyMiles award rates as it pleases. And the result is some screaming hot deals that are easily the best way to use your Delta SkyMiles. They sometimes publish available sales on their site, but the best deals are never advertised. Either way, we're constantly searching for unpublished flash sales and sending them to our Thrifty Traveler Premium members.

It doesn't get much better than this.

 

delta skymiles flash sale to europe

 

Want more award alerts like this one? Try out Thrifty Traveler Premium!

SkyMiles can be frustrating, but this is where they shine. While most airlines charge 60,000 miles or more for roundtrip flights to Europe, Delta briefly slashed award rates under 20,000 SkyMiles! And that's just one of the stellar recent deals we've seen.

Here’s a quick recap of some of the best SkyMiles we’ve seen over the last year or so:

 

Delta One to Hong Kong flash sale from thrifty traveler premium for 94,000 skymiles

 

We could go on and on and on. There have been many of these outstanding Delta SkyMiles flash sales over the years but they've accelerated heading into 2026.

Read more: The Best Delta SkyMiles Deals … That Delta Doesn't Want You to Know About

 

Focus on Select Routes for Better Deals

Delta may slash SkyMiles rates all over the globe at random, but a handful of destinations stand out for frequent sales.

  • Domestic routes: At least once a week, we dig up unadvertised flash sales to destinations all over the U.S., with fares routinely under 10,000 SkyMiles roundtrip … and sometimes as low as just 4,000 SkyMiles total!
  • Mexico and the Caribbean routinely benefit from ultra-low SkyMiles rates, sometimes even crossing under just 10,000 SkyMiles total.
  • New routes to destinations like Taipei (TPE), Auckland (AKL), Hong Kong (HKG), Brisbane (BNE), and Marrakech (RAK): There's no safer bet than a SkyMiles flash sale on some of Delta's newest routes as a way to drum up interest. Each of these routes has been added in the last few years … and we've seen roundtrip fares in economy as low as 25,000 SkyMiles – plus a smattering of dirt-cheap Delta One deals, too!

 

Delta skymiles fare from lax to auckland for 37,400 delta skymiles

 

Speaking of dirt-cheap Delta One deals…

 

Wait for Discounted Delta One Rates

SkyMiles have been a laughingstock among travelers for years thanks to its outrageous business class award rates for 300,000 miles, 400,000 miles or even more … each way. Ouch.

That might be the norm, but the airline does occasionally cut travelers a deal on Delta One. In fact, we'd argue those deals are better – and more frequent – than they've been in nearly a decade.

Here's a short list of the Delta business class deals we've found for Thrifty Traveler Premium members in just the past few months:

  • One-ways to Europe from 97,000 SkyMiles each way – or just 170,000 SkyMiles roundtrip
  • Tokyo-Haneda (HND) from just 85,000 SkyMiles each way
  • Taipei (TPE) as low as 83,000 SkyMiles each way
  • The new route to Hong Kong (HKG) from just 94,000 SkyMiles each way
  • Brisbane (BNE) for as low as 103,000 SkyMiles each way
  • Marrakech (RAK) in Morocco for 170,000 SkyMiles roundtrip from U.S. airports nationwide

 

 

delta fare from seattle to taipei for 83,300 skymiles

 

Many of those deals aren't just “good for SkyMiles” – they're flat-out good, period. It can be tougher to find these redemptions, but you can fly like this for 100,000 SkyMiles or less.

 

delta one suite with amenities on the seat and a menu on the console

 

Use the Price Calendar (Online, Not Via App)

Many airlines have award charts that can tell you how many miles you'll need to book any flight. Delta isn't one of them.

That means the amount of SkyMiles you need to book a flight is often unpredictable, swinging wildly day by day. So how can you ensure you're getting a good deal?

The key is to use Delta's price calendar and/or five-week search function. This allows you to look at prices for – you guessed it – five weeks' worth of flights. This option should show up after you've started your initial search. While the Fly Delta app now also features a price calendar option, it's much easier to use by searching online at Delta.com instead.

 

delta skymiles search with price calendar option selected

 

Scroll through a few months, and you'll start to get a good sense of what the normal price is. That way you can ensure you're getting the best deal possible – and not getting hosed by booking a day too early or too late. This price calendar feature is invaluable for ensuring you're not overpaying on any flight, like these roundtrip fares from New York City (JFK) to Bogota (BOG).

As you can see, shifting by just a day or two can be the difference between paying 32,000 SkyMiles and 42,000 SkyMiles – or even 52,000 or more!

 

five weeks of flights from new york city to bogota on delta.com

 

Read our guide to finding and booking the best Delta SkyMiles deals! 

 

Avoid Delta Hubs When You Can

It may seem counterintuitive, but odds are you're going to overpay if you're flying from one of Delta's hubs.

Whether you're departing from Atlanta (ATL), Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), Detroit (DTW), or Salt Lake City (SLC), you'll often miss out on the lowest rates when using your SkyMiles. We call it the Delta Hub Penalty.

Delta flyers are loyal, and Delta knows it. When they don’t have options for a flight on other airlines – as is often the case with flights from its major hubs – Delta can charge more. And that's exactly what they do.

As an example, let's look at flights from Seattle (SEA) to Salt Lake City (SLC), a Delta hub. A roundtrip award will typically clock in for at least 14,000 SkyMiles … if not much more.

 

delta flights from seattle to salt lake city for 14,000 skymiles

 

Meanwhile, the longer flight from Seattle to Denver (DEN) – a United hub – is easy to book for just 10,000 SkyMiles.

 

delta flights from seattle to denver for 10,000 skymiles

 

That's just one example, but the same principle holds up for almost any flight you book with SkyMiles – domestic or international. So what's the solution?

You can often save some serious SkyMiles by departing from another airport – especially on international flight deals. For example, on a recent SkyMiles flash sale on flights to Cancún (CUN), the best deal out of Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) was … somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 SkyMiles. But by popping over to Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), that dropped to just 18,000 SkyMiles. 

It's always worth checking out neighboring airports and hub airports from other airlines. Even after adding in a connecting flight, you may still come out ahead.

 

Save Your SkyMiles: Use Flying Blue Miles Instead

We've had a rule for years here at Thrifty Traveler: When Delta is charging a boatload of SkyMiles, use Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles instead.

Because they're partner airlines through the SkyTeam alliance, you can use Delta miles to fly Air France or KLM – or vice versa. More importantly, Air France/KLM charges a fraction of what Delta itself charges for the exact same Delta-operated flights – and with the ability to transfer credit card points from all the major banks to Flying Blue, they're even easier to earn. 

First, some basics. While Delta's pricing jumps all over the place based largely on the cash price, Air France/KLM Flying Blue award rates are much more stable for booking Delta flights. Generally speaking, the longer your Delta flight, the more Flying Blue miles you'll need to book it:

  • Short one-way Delta domestic flights will cost you as low as 5,000 miles – though sometimes, closer to 15,000 miles each way. 
  • Flights to Hawaii and back start at roughly 37,000 miles roundtrip from the West Coast to 50,000 miles or so roundtrip from the Midwest and East Coast
  • Trips to Mexico and the Caribbean with Delta will typically cost you 30,000 to 40,000 miles roundtrip
  • Flying Blue is now the best way to book Delta One business class to Europe (at least when you can find the award space to actually book it) with rates starting from roughly 59,000 miles and just $10 or so in taxes and fees

 

use delta skymiles

 

Read more: Save Your SkyMiles, Book Delta Flights with this Workaround for Fewer Points!

Let's look at an example of just how powerful this workaround is. 

For a roundtrip flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Honolulu (HNL) this winter, you'd need to fork over 130,000 SkyMiles. And that's for a basic economy award ticket, too. Ouch. 

But by searching and booking through Flying Blue instead, you can book those exact same flights to Hawaii for as low as 58,000 Flying Blue miles roundtrip and about $60 in taxes and fees. That's right: The same trip for less than half the points!

 

 

 

minneapolis to honolulu flights bookable for 51,000 miles

 

 

 

Once a sweet spot for booking Delta One for fewer points, Virgin Atlantic recently raised award rates and added a cash surcharge of more than $1,000 on each and every Delta business class redemption to Europe. Air France/KLM Flying Blue, meanwhile, still charges low cash fees on top of your miles.

While finding availability on any of Delta's nonstop routes from Europe can be a challenge, that has changed recently. For example, we recently sent our Thrifty Traveler Premium members multiple deals flying Delta One over to Europe for as low as 60,000 miles – and sometimes even less!

 

delta one flight from boston to edinburgh for 60,000 miles

 

That's right: Taxes and fees are just $10 to $30 one-way or around $333 roundtrip – drastically lower than the $1,000-plus in fees you'd pay to fly Delta One to Europe each way using Virgin points. And you'll pay even lower fees when flying to other cities in Europe, like Amsterdam or Dublin. Other routes to Europe may cost closer to 80,000 miles each way or more – still a fraction of what Delta itself charges.

 

thrifty traveler premium alert to london in business class

 

Read next: The Best Ways to Book Delta One Business Class for Fewer Points

You can't transfer your Delta SkyMiles over to an Air France/KLM account, unfortunately. But it's easy to get the Flying Blue miles you need: They partner with Chase, American Express, Capital One, Citi, and even Bilt and Wells Fargo, too. That means you can instantly transfer points from cards like the *chase sapphire preferred*, the *amex gold*, or the *venture x* straight to a Flying Blue account to get the points you need to book.

It turns out, sometimes the most valuable way to use your SkyMiles is to not use them at all.

 

Set a Price Alert, Then Be Patient

Not liking what you see for SkyMiles rates? You might just need to wait a bit longer…

We've noticed an undeniable pattern with how SkyMiles rates fluctuate over the last year or so: First, Delta slashes cash prices on a flight you've been eyeing – or maybe already have booked. Then, 12 or so hours (and sometimes 24 hours) later, SkyMiles rates eventually fall to reflect that earlier price cut. 

We've noticed that lag again and again and again, whether through setting a Google Flights price alert or some dirt-cheap price drops on Delta flights flagged from our Thrifty Traveler Premium deals. It means that the key to booking many Delta flights for as few SkyMiles as possible is to watch for a price drop … then wait a while to actually book with SkyMiles. 

For example, I got a heads up a while back from Google that my upcoming flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) dropped from more than $110 each way down to just $46 apiece. Yet when I checked at Delta for the SkyMiles rates, the airline was still charging 11,500 SkyMiles. Something wasn't right, so I waited…

… until about 12 hours later, when lo and behold: The SkyMiles rate for that flight dropped to just 3,800 miles!

 
minneapolis to chicago flights for 3,800 skymiles

 

The result: We saved 12,000 SkyMiles – all because we kept watching flight prices, hoping and waiting for them to drop … and then waiting a little bit longer for the SkyMiles rates to fall accordingly.

 

But Avoid Booking Last Minute

Without an award chart, Delta SkyMiles function much like cash prices for a flight. And much like when you're using cash, rates can skyrocket in the final two or three weeks before departure.

Look at the next month's worth of flights from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Las Vegas (LAS), and that much is clear. In this case, booking at least a few weeks in advance could be the difference between using just over 21,000 SkyMiles each way … or nearly double that amount.

 

calendar of delta skymiles rates from minneapolis to las vegas

 

Lesson learned: It pays to plan ahead when using your SkyMiles.

 

Get a Delta Credit Card

These days, having a Delta credit card in your wallet is less about earning SkyMiles and more about unlocking benefits when you fly Delta: free checked bags, Delta companion certificates, and Delta Sky Club access.

But one cardholder benefit is key to book Delta flights for fewer SkyMiles. It's called TakeOff 15, a relatively new perk introduced for most SkyMiles credit cardholders back in early 2023. It provides an automatic 15% discount on award tickets when redeeming SkyMiles for any and all Delta-operated award flights. And Delta cardholders can get that discount an unlimited amount of times.

 

Delta One DTW AMS skymiles take off 15 example

 

This benefit couldn't be any simpler: You'll see the discounted price automatically applied when logged into your SkyMiles account and searching for award flights. The discount even applies to additional passengers in your travel party, meaning the savings can add up in a hurry if you're using your SkyMiles to book flights for a group. Unfortunately, this discount is only available to the primary cardholder – authorized users on your card won't get a 15% discount of their own.

To get the discount, you'll just need to have a Delta credit card open and attached to your account. From the *delta skymiles gold card* to the *delta skymiles platinum card* to the top-tier *delta reserve card*, almost any card will do – only the bottom wrung *delta blue* misses the cut.

But if getting the most out of your SkyMiles is your top priority, getting that 15% discount every time you book a Delta flight is key.

 

But Earn Other Amex Points Instead

If you're a diehard Delta flyer, having a SkyMiles Amex card is well worth it for that discount, free bags, and other benefits. 

But that doesn't mean you'll want to swipe that card and earn SkyMiles everywhere you go. In fact, we think the best credit card for earning Delta SkyMiles isn't even a Delta card at all.

You're much better off turning to a (non-Delta) American Express Membership Rewards card like the American Express® Gold Card, which will allow you to rack up flexible points even faster. And since Delta is an Amex transfer partner, you can still send your points to Delta if a fantastic SkyMiles deal pops up … or move them to nearly 20 other airlines for even more options.

You can send points from Amex directly to your Delta SkyMiles account on a 1:1 basis – 1,000 points = 1,000 Delta SkyMiles. And thanks to some excellent bonus categories, you can earn even more SkyMiles than by using one of Delta's co-branded cards in certain spending categories.

And you can earn a lot of them – many more than with a Delta card, in fact.

To start with, you'll earn 4x Amex points for every dollar you spend at restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 each year, then 1x). You'll also earn 4x points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 of spending each calendar year (then 1x). Delta SkyMiles Gold and Platinum Cards earn only 2x Delta SkyMiles at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets. Heck, the top-dollar Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card only earns 1x point per dollar spent in this category.

 

Two Amex Gold Card designs on top of table with an open passport, a pen, binder clip, glasses, and a cup of coffee

 

So, just by using the Amex Gold Card for these purchases instead of your co-branded Delta Amex Card, you'll earn at least twice as many points for the same amount of spending. Compared to the Delta Reserve Card, you'll earn quadruple the points.

Another option is the American Express Platinum® Card, which earns 5x Amex Membership Rewards points for every dollar spent directly with any airline or through the American Express Travel® portal at amextravel.com (up to $500,000 spent each year) – again, more than what you'd earn booking Delta flights on your SkyMiles Card. Plus, you can get a welcome bonus of as high as 175,000 points after spending $8,000 in six months. That's a far bigger bonus than we've ever seen on Delta's top credit cards.

 

Bottom Line

Delta SkyMiles are easy to use, but harder to use well. Follow these tips and you'll be traveling like a pro in no time.