Skymiles how many miles

For example, your Medallion status for is based on your activity in and will last until Jan. MQMs roll over from one year to the next. Say you earned 65, MQMs in The "unused" 15, extra MQMs roll over to to give you a head start on your next year's earning. Delta also offers to match your status in another airline loyalty program. You must have current elite status with a qualifying airline, and you cannot have used the match in the previous three years.

To keep it for the rest of the year, you need to earn it during those three months:. Delta is one of 20 airlines in the international SkyTeam alliance, which allows you to earn and use SkyMiles on flights aboard carriers other than Delta.

As of January , Delta also had partnerships with these non-SkyTeam airlines:. Delta's credit cards are issued by American Express. All of the cards offer different spending rewards. Earn 2 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. Earn 3 Miles on every dollar spend on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and on every eligible dollar spent on purchases made directly with hotels.

Earn 1. Earn 3 miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases. Earn 1 mile per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. To determine the value of reward miles, we compared cash prices and reward redemptions for economy roundtrip routes across several destinations and dates. Read more about how we arrived at these figures. This is therefore a baseline value for Delta miles, based on real-world data collected from hundreds of economy routes, not a maximized value.

In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 1. We've covered all the basic details of the Delta SkyMiles program. But if you still aren't sure whether a frequent flyer program is worth the effort, see our absolute beginner's guide to frequent flyer programs.

Delta SkyMiles do not expire, but they might lose value over time. Delta SkyMiles cost 3. That is to say: Buying Delta miles is generally not a good move. MQMs differ from standard SkyMiles in that they cannot be used to book flights, yet both MQMs and SkyMiles can be earned by either flying on Delta and its partners or using a Delta co-branded credit card.

Generally, you cannot buy Medallion Qualification Miles directly; however, Delta occasionally runs promotions that let you pay to upgrade your existing Medallion status tier.

Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of , including those best for:. How to redeem Delta SkyMiles. Delta SkyMiles Medallion status. Delta's airline partners. Credit cards that earn Delta SkyMiles. How much are Delta Air Lines miles worth? Show More. How to earn Delta SkyMiles. The list is here. All backed by tons of nerdy research. View the winners. When you fly. Rewards earned.

Basic SkyMiles membership. Silver Medallion. Gold Medallion. Platinum Medallion. Diamond Medallion. When you spend on a credit card. Nerdy tip: Delta and American Express have made major changes to their lineup of co-branded credit cards, which took effect January 30, Read about the changes here.

Other ways to earn Delta SkyMiles. Buying SkyMiles. Back to top. Good redemption options. About Delta fare classes. Bad redemption options. Nerdy tip: Because Delta ties the cost of award flights very closely to the cash price, you might see some very high award prices when cash prices are high.

Changes for SkyMiles Medallion program levels and benefits. SkyMiles earned per dollar spent. Fee benefits. Elite Plus. For Platinum and Diamond statuses only: Choice benefits. See Delta Choice benefit options. How to earn SkyMiles Medallion status. Delta also does not publish an award chart with fixed prices in miles. Flying when demand is high will cost you more. Unlike credit card points such as American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards , airline miles are typically only usable for flying on that airline or its partners, whereas credit card points can be used on many different airlines as well as for offsetting purchases via a statement credit.

Because of this flexibility and higher usability, credit card points are much more valuable. That can cost many thousands of dollars, but by using your miles, you can fly in style for free. We arrived at that number by looking at the cash prices of flights and upgrades on popular routes at popular times, in cash and miles, then comparing the two. We also accounted for the possibility that the airline might make traveling with miles more expensive, reducing their value.

Delta competes on it against several other airlines. We then calculated the value of a mile at these fares, by dividing the cash price by the miles price: Basic: 1. We then considered the costs of a weeklong trip from Cincinnati to Minneapolis, two airports with a large Delta presence.

In this case, the average value of a mile is 1. This may be due to the fact that Delta has more control over prices here, since it has a larger share of traffic between Cincinnati and Minneapolis than between New York and Los Angeles, where there is a lot more competition. New York to Paris for a Weeklong Trip in October Delta is a massive airline with a large international route network as well, and many travelers use their miles for international trips.

What about autumn in Paris, a classic? The average value of a mile here is 1. Consider this upgrade offer from economy to business class on a one-way flight from New York to Seattle in April:. You would get a much better value out of your miles by redeeming them for the higher class in the first place, rather than using them to upgrade. There are several ways to earn Delta SkyMiles. If you can take advantage of welcome offers and frequently spend in the eligible bonus categories, using a Delta SkyMiles co-branded credit card can net you a lot of SkyMiles.

This can help offset the cost of the fee, although we would still recommend this card only for frequent Delta flyers. It also offers a companion certificate on your cardmember anniversary. With this, you can bring anyone with you on a round-trip domestic flight in coach, essentially getting two tickets for the price of one.

The Medallion Qualification Miles can help you reach elite status on Delta, which can lead to benefits including free upgrades. Delta SkyMiles can be a valuable currency to help you save money on travel, whether domestic or abroad, on Delta or one of its many partners. Having a sense of what your miles are worth can help you determine if you are getting a good value out of them, and if redeeming them for a given flight is a good return.

We will touch on them at a high level but encourage reading our reviews if one is enticing to you. Delta offers four co-branded personal credit cards attracting the full range of flyers from once a year to once a week.

All also come with no foreign transaction fees, making them a viable international card option along with priority boarding on the cards that charge an annual fee. A brief listing of the offering and the annual fee will be covered. Delta has multiple transfer partners for boosting up your SkyMiles balance. The most accessible is Membership Rewards , which is the currency for American Express credit and charge cards.

Membership Rewards points can be transferred to Delta SkyMiles as long as the card account allows transfers to airline partners. Points transfer at a ratio in increments of 1, points. Delta also has partnerships with both hotel and car rental companies where you can transfer points into Delta SkyMiles at varying transfer rates.

One of interest is Marriott. For every 60, Bonvoy points transfer, a bonus 5, SkyMiles will be added. Earning SkyMiles extends well beyond what has been covered. Delta carries partnerships with Lyft, Airbnb and a slew of hotel and car rental companies which include some names such as Marriott, Hertz, National and more. Delta also has its own shopping portal. By using its shopping portal, users can earn SkyMiles while shopping online. While you can use any form of payment, pairing it with a SkyMiles-earning credit card will boost your balance even more.

Finally, you can purchase SkyMiles directly from Delta. Generally, SkyMiles are worth around 1. Purchasing directly from Delta costs 3. Delta utilizes a dynamic pricing for its award redemption flights, meaning that award redemption prices are somewhat tied to cash prices.

Delta uses factors such as the equivalent cash price, demand, and location being traveled to and from to formulate a mileage cost for a trip. That said, there are no blackout dates, so as long as there is an operating flight for that day with seats available, it can be booked with SkyMiles. While there is no official award chart, with enough research, you can start to see a baseline in what a flight may cost. For example, searching New York to Paris reveals that the minimum amount of SkyMiles needed for an award flight in economy could be 40, SkyMiles plus taxes and fees roundtrip in coach.

For this specific search, prices are as high as 68, SkyMiles, though can go for more on peak dates. Being as flexible as much as you can with award booking dates can save you thousands of SkyMiles.

One thing that makes SkyMiles versatile is the ability to book more than just Delta-operated flights. If there is saver-level available award space on a SkyTeam Alliance member or a non-alliance partner airline, it can be booked using SkyMiles. Most award space can be viewed online, but for some, calling Delta to book the flight may be required. In the search results on a specific day, you can see which airline operates the route on award space.

With these, Delta offers a discounted rate when using your SkyMiles to pay for the trip. For example, in late February , Delta was offering trips as low as 5, SkyMiles in basic economy and 20, in first class on specific routes. A sample routing that was offered during this deal was Seattle to Cancun, which is quite the distance for so few miles.

These deals come up without much notice, so act fast if it is a deal you can leverage. SkyMiles can be used for more than just award flights. SkyMiles can be used to offset the price of a cash ticket purchase or even upgrading your seat class of service where applicable.