Delta SkyMiles

SkyMiles gets you on Delta and its partner airlines, so one balance can book Air France, KLM, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, LATAM, and Aeromexico awards. Delta's own awards run on no fixed chart, so what a seat costs in miles moves with the date, route, demand, and cash fare, and it can swing hard from one day to the next. Pull up the award calendar and compare a few dates before you commit any miles.

The real value usually sits on partner metal rather than Delta's own flights, so price the same trip on a partner before you book. Medallion status now runs on spending (Medallion Qualification Dollars), not miles flown, Sky Club access has tightened, and Basic Economy is shut out of the lounges entirely. Your miles do not expire, which is genuinely rare.

Program background: Delta is the senior US member of SkyTeam and runs revenue sharing joint ventures across the major travel corridors, which is why its partner award list runs so deep. This page is the carrier overview; the alliance wide Sky Club rules and SkyTeam Elite crossover live on the SkyTeam page.

SkyMiles is not where you go for cheap awards on Delta metal. The value lives on partner flights and in a few US levers, so price the same trip a few ways before you spend anything.

Best US value

• TakeOff 15 is the headline domestic lever. Eligible Delta card members, meaning Gold, Gold Business, Platinum, Platinum Business, Reserve, and Reserve Business Basic Card Members, get at least 15% off the mileage price of award tickets on Delta and Delta Connection operated flights booked at delta.com or in the Fly Delta app. It does not apply to partner flights, taxes, or fees, and Blue card members and additional cards do not qualify. If you hold one of these cards, this is the closest thing Delta has to a standing discount.
• Pay With Miles for domestic flexibility, if you carry an eligible Delta Amex. Eligible Basic Card Members redeem in 5,000 mile increments, minimum 5,000 per passenger, a fixed floor value and sometimes less, on Delta and Delta Connection flights operated and ticketed by Delta at delta.com. Treat it as a floor that keeps your miles from devaluing to zero, not as your main play.
• Quiet dates can price low, but pricing is dynamic. Short haul domestic awards occasionally come in cheap on off peak dates, but the number moves constantly. Compare the mileage price against the cash fare every single time before you decide.
• Aeromexico to Mexico is a short haul leisure option from the US. Pricing and availability vary, so check the SkyMiles price against Aeromexico Rewards and against cash before booking.

Be honest with yourself here. Delta's own domestic awards are dynamically priced and often not a bargain. The real US wins are TakeOff 15, flash sales, and Pay With Miles.

Best partner value: where SkyMiles stretch furthest, on partner premium cabins

This is the value play: spending your SkyMiles on a partner's premium cabin, which is usually where they go furthest. It is a separate move from booking a Delta operated flight through a partner program, which can sometimes price a Delta seat lower and is worth checking on its own.

• Virgin Atlantic Upper Class across the Atlantic, bookable as a Delta partner award, occasionally surfaces at notably lower prices each way on off peak dates under dynamic pricing. Check current pricing, since dynamic awards move. Rare, not reliable.
• Korean Air Business Class to Asia through SkyMiles, with solid availability because Delta is a Korean joint venture partner. First Class through SkyMiles exists but availability is inconsistent, so book through SKYPASS direct or AAdvantage if you can find the space.
• Air France and KLM partner awards through SkyMiles for off peak transatlantic trips, useful when Delta's own pricing spikes.

The pattern is simple. The stronger move is usually to earn SkyMiles through an Amex transfer bonus and burn them on partners, or to lean on the US levers above, rather than paying Delta's dynamic price on its own metal, which runs expensive on long haul business outside a sale.

Redeeming and surcharges

• Delta SkyMiles do not expire. The only way to lose them without redeeming is account closure, for example for fraud or a rules violation. Permanent flexibility is genuinely rare, but dynamic award pricing means hoarding still carries devaluation risk.
• Sky Club access on status is cabin based for international trips. Basic Economy never gets Sky Club access, full stop. Diamond, Platinum, and Gold Medallion members flying international Main Cabin or Delta Comfort+ do not get complimentary Sky Club access on status alone. You need a Premium Select or Delta One ticket, or Delta First to Mexico, Canada, or Central America, to qualify on status. Status still admits you to partner and SkyTeam branded lounges in any cabin. Elite Plus members from other SkyTeam programs are not affected by this Delta carve out.
• You can enter a Sky Club within 3 hours of scheduled departure. Connecting customers are exempt at the connection airport, and Delta 360 and Lifetime members are exempt from the window.
• Delta One Lounges are a separate product from Sky Club, and access is based on your cabin, not on how you paid. A same day Delta One ticket gets you in, including when your Delta One seat came from a complimentary upgrade or an award ticket, as long as it is confirmed at check in. Select partner premium cabins also qualify: Air France La Premiere and long haul Business, KLM Business, Korean Air First and Prestige, Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, and LATAM Premium Business. Delta 360 members in Delta First qualify too, except on First Basic. Sky Club membership and Delta credit cards do not grant access.
• Joint ventures. Delta runs revenue sharing joint ventures with Air France KLM and Virgin Atlantic across the Atlantic, Korean Air across the Pacific, and LATAM in Latin America. Virgin Australia is a strategic partnership, not a full joint venture. On joint venture routes Delta shares profit and loss with the partner, which shapes award availability and codeshare flights.
• No Hawaiian on Hawaiian metal Sky Club access. When you fly Hawaiian metal under the Alaska and Atmos crossover, Sky Club access applies only on Delta marketed flights, not Hawaiian marketed ones.
• Pay With Miles is a floor, not a jackpot, and it is only for eligible cardholders. Eligible Delta Amex Basic Card Members can redeem SkyMiles in 5,000 mile increments, minimum 5,000 per passenger, a fixed floor value and sometimes less, on Delta and Delta Connection flights that are both operated and ticketed by Delta and booked at delta.com. It is a useful hedge that keeps your miles from devaluing to zero, but it is not where the big value lives.
• Delta Reserve Sky Club access. 15 Sky Club visits per card per year, and $75,000 in eligible card spend per calendar year unlocks unlimited visits.

Earning and status

• Status runs on Medallion Qualification Dollars only. Since the 2024 Medallion Year, status is earned through MQDs alone, with no qualifying miles or segments, and your MQDs reset each calendar year. The thresholds are $5,000 for Silver, $10,000 for Gold, $15,000 for Platinum, and $28,000 for Diamond. Those same numbers apply for 2027, earned through 2026 spend, so confirm at delta.com/medallion as the qualification year runs. When Delta first floated much steeper thresholds in 2023 the backlash was loud enough that it partially walked them back.
• MQD Boost via Delta Amex. The Platinum and Platinum Business cards earn $1 MQD per $20 spent, and the Reserve and Reserve Business cards earn $1 MQD per $10, plus a $2,500 MQD Headstart on Platinum and Reserve cards each Medallion Year. For a lot of people that turns status into something you buy rather than fly.
• Award tickets can earn MQDs toward status. Award tickets operated by Delta partners, in Main Cabin or above and booked through a direct Delta channel, earn MQDs at roughly 1 MQD per 100 miles redeemed. So a partner award can still nudge you toward next year's status.
• Delta Vacations packages earn MQDs too. You earn 1 MQD per $1 of the Total Package Price on a completed Delta Vacations package, not counting taxes, fees, insurance, or anything reduced by vouchers or discount codes.
• Reclaim My Status. Current and former Medallion members can apply for 3 months of complimentary status at their previous tier and earn it back during that window.
• Million Miler program. Based on lifetime flight miles, with award travel and qualifying partner flights counting and Basic Economy excluded. Each milestone grants complimentary Medallion status for the Medallion Year rather than a permanent lifetime lock. Delta does not publish which milestone maps to which tier. The 5 million mile milestone earns an annual complimentary invitation to Delta 360.
• Extra fare experiences. SkyMiles members earn 5 miles per $1 on Classic and Refundable fares and 7 miles per $1 on Extra fares. Extra fares carry higher upgrade priority, and Classic, Extra, and Refundable tickets all qualify for no change fees within the US, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
• Starbucks earning changed (August 5, 2026). You now earn 1 SkyMile per $1 spent at Starbucks, but only if you have flown Delta in the past 12 months. This replaces the old method of earning miles by reloading a Starbucks gift card (reloads no longer earn). Members linked before the change get a grace period through October 5, 2026, after which the flight requirement applies.
• Aeromexico earning changed (September 10, 2026). Flying Aeromexico on a Delta ticket issued on or after September 10, 2026 now earns SkyMiles by distance flown and fare class, not by ticket price. Business fares earn 200% of distance and the cheapest V fares earn 25%.
• Delta Business Traveler is a free add-on for SkyMiles members. US residents 18 or older who travel for work, including the self-employed, can enroll at delta.com/deltabusinesstraveler and get partner offers such as 30 miles per $1 on Airalo eSIMs and six months of Hertz Five Star status, with a fast-track challenge to extend it or reach President's Circle.

Transfers and sharing

• Amex is the only bank currency that reaches SkyMiles. Among the flexible bank points, only American Express Membership Rewards transfers in, at 1 to 1. Amex adds an excise tax offset fee of $0.0006 per point, capped at $99, on transfers to Delta, and those transfers are final and cannot be reversed. Chase, Capital One, Citi, and Bilt do not transfer to Delta at all, which narrows the playbook for anyone without Amex.
• Hotel points can transfer in, usually at rough rates. Marriott Bonvoy converts at 3 to 1, so 60,000 Bonvoy becomes 20,000 SkyMiles. Hilton at 10 to 1, IHG at 5 to 1, Accor at 2 to 1, and Hyatt at 5 to 2 also convert but are steep. Shangri-La's 1 to 1 conversion ended September 30, 2026. Outside a specific need, hotel to airline is a last resort, not a plan.

Program history

• Single Visit Passes discontinued. The sale of new passes ended. Existing passes stay valid through their printed expiration. Basic Economy is ineligible regardless.
• Uber earning link. SkyMiles members who link their account to Uber earn 1 mile per $1 on Uber Eats orders over $40, and 1 to 3 miles per $1 on rides by service type (US only; excludes taxes, fees, tips, and non food charges). Miles post within about 10 business days.
• Free drink for T-Mobile customers. T-Mobile customers get one free premium drink (beer, wine, or spirits) on qualifying Delta flights over 350 miles, a permanent year round perk. Link your T-Mobile and SkyMiles accounts in the T-Life app at least 24 hours before you fly. Through October 31, 2026, Delta SkyMiles credit card holders also get a free premium snack.
• Starbucks partnership. Link your Starbucks Rewards and SkyMiles accounts at deltastarbucks.com to earn 1 SkyMile per dollar at Starbucks (excluding taxes, tips, gift cards, and alcohol), as long as you have flown Delta in the past year. On days you have a Delta flight booked, you also earn double Starbucks Stars.
• A World of Hyatt collaboration is coming (announced September 9, 2026). Delta and Hyatt have announced a long term strategic loyalty collaboration. When it launches, SkyMiles Medallion members will be eligible to earn miles for qualifying stays at participating Hyatt properties, and World of Hyatt elite members will earn Hyatt points on qualifying Delta airfare within qualifying fare classes. Hyatt is ending its enhanced American Airlines relationship at the same time. Enrollment, eligibility, earning rates, and the launch date have not been published by either program yet, so treat this as confirmed but not yet usable.
• Delta has announced a redesigned Delta One suite for its new Airbus A350-1000, arriving in early 2027, and a new Delta One menu that starts this fall on transoceanic flights leaving Los Angeles, with the rest of the network following in 2027.