On Thursday, Delta and American Express officially launched TakeOff 15 – a splashy benefit for both new and existing Delta SkyMiles American Express credit cardholders that gets you at least a 15% discount on SkyMiles award tickets booked through Delta.
News of this new benefit inadvertently broke last month when American Express quietly updated some of the terms of its official application page for the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. At the time, the benefit was believed to only be for Reserve cardholders.
Then earlier this week, a new post surfaced on the Delta Air Lines subreddit showing marketing materials hitting mailboxes advertising TakeOff 15, a 15% discount for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card.
Additionally, the fine print posted along with the mailer suggested that this new TakeOff 15 benefit will be available for both consumer and business versions of Delta Gold, Platinum, and Reserve cards – not just the Reserve card as we originally reported.
Today, the benefit is official and already active for SkyMiles bookings for most Delta credit card holders.
Here is everything you need to know about Delta and American Express's new TakeOff 15 benefit for SkyMiles cardholders.
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What is the TakeOff 15 Benefit?
TakeOff 15 is a new benefit for Delta SkyMiles American Express cardholders that provides at least a 15% mileage discount when redeeming SkyMiles for Delta-operated award flights.
It's available on both consumer and business versions of the Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum, and Reserve credit cards. Only the no-annual fee Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card won't have access to the new benefit.
- The TakeOff 15 discount will be automatically applied at checkout when you are booking with SkyMiles as long as you are logged into a Delta account associated with a SkyMiles credit card.
- The TakeOff 15 discount will only apply to Delta and Delta Connection-operated flights. It won't be available on flights operated by other carriers like Air France, KLM, and other SkyTeam alliance partners.
- There is no limit to the number of times the TakeOff 15 benefit can be used.
- The TakeOff 15 discount doesn't appear to be available when trying to change an existing SkyMiles booking. You'll need to cancel for refund of miles and rebook to get the TakeOff 15 discount.
- The TakeOff 15 discount does not apply to any taxes and fees associated with the award booking. Per the terms and conditions, you must use your eligible Delta credit card to pay those taxes and fees.
- The discount is only available to the primary cardholder. Authorized users won't see the 15% discount reflected.
- You must be logged into your SkyMiles account and book through either delta.com or the Delta mobile app for the discount to apply.
- The benefit will not apply to Pay with Miles or Miles + Cash bookings.
- The benefit will not apply to seat upgrades made with SkyMiles after the purchase of your original flight. It also won't apply to other Delta products or services.
What Delta Cards are Eligible for the TakeOff 15 Benefit?
If you have one of the following Delta credit cards, you are eligible for 15% award tickets booked with SkyMiles on flights operated by Delta or Delta-Connection.
- Delta SkyMiles Gold® American Express Credit Card
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum® American Express Credit Card
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve® American Express Credit Card
- Delta SkyMiles Gold® Business American Express Credit Card
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum® Business American Express Credit Card
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve® Business American Express Credit Card
How Does the TakeOff 15 Benefit Work?
As long as you hold one of the cards above and you are logged into a SkyMiles account, you should already see the TakeOff 15 benefit reflected.
TakeOff 15 isn't a points rebate that gets credited at a later time, but rather an instant discount to award tickets booked with Delta.
For example, I hold the SkyMiles Platinum card and after doing a quick search on Delta's website from my home airport of Minneapolis – St. Paul (MSP) to Cancún (CUN) later this year, I see the following results.
You'll see the original mileage price listed and crossed out with the new TakeOff 15 pricing which reflects the 15% discount. You'll also see a small image of your card with the text “15% Card Member Discount Applied.”
I ran the same search in the Delta mobile app and the same pricing is displayed.
You should also see the TakeOff 15 pricing reflected when you search via Delta's calendar tool as well.
The TakeOff 15 benefit also appears to be available for all booking classes. That means whether you are booking a basic economy ticket or all the way up to a Delta One business class ticket, you should see the 15% discount applied.
While the terms and conditions of this new benefit specifically state that the benefit allows you to get “at least a 15% discount on SkyMiles award tickets booked through Delta,” we are not seeing any examples where the discount prices out at more than 15%. Though the way it is worded in the benefit terms and conditions, that may be something we see at a later date.
After running a number of searches on Delta's website and in the mobile app there doesn't appear to be any signs of a substantial SkyMiles devaluation rolled out with this new benefit either. However, with Delta's dynamic award pricing, the door is wide open for that to potentially happen at some point.
For now, this looks like a great new benefit that makes holding a Delta credit card even more valuable.
Related Reading: How Much are Delta SkyMiles Really Worth?
Bottom Line
Delta and American Express have officially launched the TakeOff 15 benefit allowing both new and existing Delta SkyMiles credit cardholders to get an automatic 15% discount on SkyMiles award tickets on Delta-operated flights.
The new benefit is already live on both Delta's website and through the mobile app. The discounted pricing should be reflected at checkout as long as you are logged into a Delta account associated with one of the SkyMiles credit cards.
Does the TakeOff15 benefit only apply to tickets that are paid in IN FULL with SkyMiles?
Correct. You won’t be able to use it on the Cash + Points option or the Delta Pay with Miles option.
Can you buy a flight for someone else and still get this offer?
Yes, that shouldn’t be an issue. It just needs to be booked from the primary cardholder’s Delta account.
There have been people saying it’s a gimmick. That the miles before logging in were the same as the discounted miles after logging into the skymiles account. Have you seen anything in regards to these rumors?
We’ve seen a few different bugs that Delta appears to be working through. I haven’t seen this specific one though.
Do you know how long it takes for skymiles to be returned to your account if you were to cancel and rebook to take advantage of this offer?
They should go back in your account instantly.
When does this offer end?
This benefit is permanent.
I hope you go to Cancun 14-23. That one-day shift left is worth another ticket!
Ok, I have tried to use this a few times and it shows the discount award miles – but when you try to book it – it ALWAYS fails (I have tried it at least 5 times). It asks you to then reach out to a customer service representative. And when you talk to a representative they say that they can not offer the 15%off as it is only for self serve users.
Don’t know if its temporary issue that will get resolved OR the benefit is presented to everyone but made available only in cases where there is really low load factor on the flights.
Hi Nick. Great article. Do you know if this discount works for the Delta Sky Miles Flash Sales?
Hi Jocelyn, yes. It works on any flight you are booking with SkyMiles that is actually flying on a Delta plane.
Hi there– appreciate your posting this clear information!
Curious: If I’m buying tickets for me and my family (e.g. 3 award flights, same itinerary from my main cardholder account), will the discount apply to all of the fares?
Thanks!
-Jo
Hi Jo. Yes as long as all of the flights are booked on the same reservation by the primary cardholder, the discount will apply to all three flights.