The Extra Mile, July 28: The Hottest Delta SkyMiles Take, Chase’s ‘Ultimate Purchase Eraser’ & More

🔥 The Hottest Delta SkyMiles Take … of All Time?

While virtually every other airline mileage program in the country is getting worse, Delta SkyMiles are quietly becoming the best in the U.S.

Yes, I said it. And I mean every word.

They’re not at the top of the podium yet, to be clear. There’s a ways to go for SkyMiles to unseat the likes of American AAdvantage or Alaska Atmos Rewards.

But we’re more bullish on SkyMiles than we’ve been in … well, pretty much ever, because the deeply discounted deals just keep coming.

There’s the usual dirt-cheap redemptions like Mexico or the Caribbean and back from just 8,000 SkyMiles and the occasional flash sale to Europe. Delta has taken that to another level this year with some record-low pricing to Hong Kong (HKG) under 30,000 SkyMiles and roundtrips to Australia from just 25,000 SkyMiles total.

But most importantly, the deals on Delta One business class just keep coming. We’ve sent more discounted alerts to our Thrifty Traveler Premium members in the last few months than in the prior two years … combined.

This 80,000-mile ride to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) in a Delta One Suite – the lowest rate we’ve seen in more than six years – is just the tip of the iceberg.

In the last two months alone, we’ve also found:

• Delta One Suites over peak summer to Rome (FCO), Venice (VCE), Dublin (DUB), Barcelona (BCN) for as low as 97,000 SkyMiles each way
• Plus another nonstop deal to London-Heathrow (LHR) for the same rates from both Atlanta (ATL) and Salt Lake City (SLC) – two Delta hubs notorious for higher rates
• And another one to Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland this summer, again for 97,000 SkyMiles
• And then one more on the relatively new route to Naples (NAP), also for just 97,000 SkyMiles
• A nationwide flash sale to Taipei (TPE) for 170,000 SkyMiles roundtrip flying Delta One Suites
• Record-low pricing for Delta One Suites on the new route to Hong Kong (HKG) – just 85,000 SkyMiles each way

As other airlines raise award rates, fees, or both, Delta is going the opposite direction. Most of these deeply discounted Delta One redemptions were bookable nationwide – from nearly 200 airports. And Delta didn’t advertise a single one of them.

All of which begs the question: What the heck is going on down on Atlanta? Why are we suddenly singing SkyMiles praises?

I see a few explanations here:

• After a decade or more treating SkyMiles as an afterthought, Delta has realized it needs to step up. To hit its goal of making $10 billion (yes, with a B) a year from American Express, the airline needs travelers to keep opening and swiping those SkyMiles cards. And to do that, it has to convince consumers that SkyMiles are, in fact, worth earning.
• The airline has practically bragged about its plans to keep fares high even after jet fuel prices decline. But if seats are going out empty as travelers begin to balk at prices, slashing SkyMiles rates is an elegant way to fill up planes while protecting their current (higher) price points.
• There are nearly $10 billion (again, with a B) worth of unused SkyMiles floating out in the world. And while you might assume airlines would love that, it’s actually considered a liability. Solid sales like these could convince travelers to finally burn some miles.

Ultimately, the reason doesn’t really matter. Here’s the big takeaway:

Anyone still insisting Delta SkyMiles are worthless is living in 2024 … inside of an echo chamber.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to make them part of your travel strategy in 2026. If you’re writing off SkyMiles, you’re missing out on some serious value.

Read our full story here

– Kyle Potter, executive editor

🤝 Deal of the Day: A New Way to Book Biz Class to the Philippines!

Heat scale (out of 3): 🔥🔥🔥

Why we love it: There’s a new best way to book business class flights to the Philippines: Using your Alaska Atmos points!

You can book Philippine Airlines Business Class from six cities in the U.S. and Canada to Manila (MNL) for either 75k to 85k Atmos each way right now. Don’t wait, this availability is going fast!

Sign up now to get all the details on this deal & don’t miss the next flight deal alert.

Already a member? Log in to see all your deals. (Not seeing it? Remove your airport filters to see every deal.)

– Gunnar Olson, Thrifty Traveler Premium deal analyst

💰 Chase Points are the Ultimate ‘Purchase Eraser’

As the resident “credit card guy” among my friends and family, I constantly get asked which credit card is best. Lately, my answer’s been the same no matter who’s asking: The *csp* and its current 100,000-point sign-up bonus after spending $5,000 in the first three months is simply too good to ignore.

This is the biggest bonus we’ve ever seen on this card, and only the third time Chase has gone this high. But it won’t be around for long: This limited-time offer ends Thursday, July 30, at 3 p.m. ET!

Here’s the part that makes it work for everyone, traveler or not: Chase Ultimate Rewards points redeem for 1 cent apiece toward a statement credit on any purchase. Not just flights and hotels – literally, anything. That turns this bonus into a flat $1,000 you can point at gas, groceries, tuition, a medical bill, a new iPhone … you name it.

Fancy a big road trip over flying? Fill up a $100 tank of gas and erase it with 10,000 points. Book a $250 Airbnb and 25,000 points wipes it out. Need to load up on snacks before you hit the road? Chase points can help you there, too.

The Sapphire Preferred even earns 3x on gas, dining, vacation rentals, and online groceries (Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs excluded), so you’re earning bonus points before using them to offset those costs.

But the real appeal is how far this bonus goes beyond just travel. Got hit with an unexpected medical bill? “Erase” it with points. Heading back to school and staring down a tuition payment (or an overpriced textbook)? Same deal. Want to treat yourself to something nice – a new phone or designer purse – charge it, then wipe it out at 1 cent per point.

If you’d rather skip the spending altogether, you can even transfer the full 100,000 points straight to a Chase bank account and pocket the $1,000 in cash. Better yet, invest that bonus instead, and it could grow into something a lot bigger down the road.

Could you get more value by transferring points to an airline or hotel partner, or snagging a Points Boost redemption? Sure. But not everyone wants that, and this flexibility isn’t something traditional airline miles or hotel points offer.

Simply put: Even if you never board a plane or book a hotel, this is a bonus offer worth chasing. See what I did there?

Read more about Chase’s “Ultimate Purchase Eraser” and get the full scoop on how to turn this big bonus into $1,000 in cold, hard cash!

– Jackson Newman, senior editor

💺 JetBlue Jumps on the Basic Bandwagon

JetBlue is redoing how you shop for flights – and it’s the same trick Delta and United have already pulled. While the New York-based airline is framing it as “simple” and “intuitive,” I’d call it something else: a price hike in disguise.

In the coming days, JetBlue will ask you to pick from four onboard experiences – Main, EvenMore, the not-yet-launched BlueFirst, or Mint – before choosing one of up to three fare tiers within each:

• Base: The cheapest fare, and it shows. No seat selection – you’re at the mercy of the assignment algorithm. Cancel, and you get travel credit minus a fee, not cash back. (Base fares won’t apply to Mint yet, but don’t be on that lasting.)
• Standard: What most of these fares used to include by default. You get to pick your seat, changes are free, and cancellations still land you travel credit rather than a refund.
• Flex: The only tier where canceling actually gets you your money back, on top of seat selection and free changes.

Base fares strip out seat selection and charge a fee on cancellations (you’ll get travel credit, minus whatever JetBlue decides to keep). Standard adds seat selection and fee-free changes and Flex gets you a real refund.

The airline isn’t lowering what EvenMore or the eventual BlueFirst fares cost – it’s carving out a stripped-down Base tier at the old price point while pushing everyone who wants what they used to get by default (a seat assignment and a full flight credit) into a pricier fare.

Sound familiar? Delta did this first, rolling out basic fares across most cabins, then went a step further by bringing basic fares to Delta One business class. And United actually beat Delta to the punch with its own basic business class fares earlier this year.

We’ve been skeptical from the start that any of this actually leads to lower fares – and JetBlue’s version doesn’t change that math.

The one genuinely good piece of news buried in here: BlueFirst, JetBlue’s first stab at a domestic first-class product, is coming to non-Mint planes later this year. These bigger recliner seats should be an upgrade at the front of the plane and help JetBlue better compete against the likes of Delta, United, and American for domestic business travelers.

What do you make of these changes, travelers? Are basic fares really more “simple” and “intuitive” as JetBlue promises? Or really just a price increase, hidden in fancy marketing?

– Jackson Newman, senior editor

🎥 How To Book Award Flights Using Japan Airlines Mileage Bank

🇯🇵 We’ve sung JAL Mileage Bank’s praises more than ever in 2026, now that transfer partners like Bilt and Capital One have made the program more accessible.

In this video, we walk through how to use your miles to book Japan Airlines & its partners with some staggering redemptions.

👀 Watch it now on YouTube for our full guide!

🎙️ On the Pod: All Things Google Flights

✈️ Booking cheap travel starts and ends with Google Flights, which is why we devoted a full episode of the podcast to how to use our favorite website – including some of the advanced features that can help you book like a pro.

Tune in now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

💳 Don’t Let Your July Credits Go to Waste

We’re closing in on the end of July, which means it’s time for the most important five minutes of your month: logging into our free Credit Card Benefits Tracker to make sure you’ve actually used what you’re paying for.

Got a monthly dining credit, Uber credit, or streaming credit sitting on one of your cards? Check it off if you’ve used it – or better yet, use it before this Friday, July 31, if you haven’t. The tracker flags anything within 30 days of resetting in orange, so if you see red, you’re almost out of time.

While you’re in there, update your points and miles balances too. It only takes a few minutes and brings all of your points & miles balances into one clean dashboard view.

Not using our credit card benefit tracker yet? Now’s the time. It’s completely free, takes about 5 minutes to set up, and covers more than 120 travel cards. No bank logins, credit card numbers, or any other sensitive information required.

Set up your free tracker or log in here.

– Nick Serati, Thrifty Traveler co-founder

✈️ Other Travel Tidbits

• 🔍 Seats.aero now shows cardholder-exclusive award pricing right in search results for Pro subscribers. You can toggle on discounts for Delta SkyMiles (15% off with an eligible co-branded card) and United MileagePlus (at least 10% off), so the discounted price appears automatically. (Upgraded Points)
• 🇮🇸 Air China will launch a fifth-freedom route connecting Copenhagen to Reykjavik, Iceland, starting October 26. It will fly with lay-flat business class seats on an Airbus A330, making it the only year-round lay-flat service to Iceland. (One Mile at a Time)
• 🏰 Priceline is offering up to 40% off Disney Resorts Collection hotels at Walt Disney World through August 2, tied to the resort’s “Cool Kids’ Summer” promotion. (Priceline)
• 🏨 Amex Membership Rewards has a new luxury hotel transfer partner: Leading Hotels of the World’s Leaders Club. Points transfer at a 4:1 ratio. (Award Wallet)