Delta Air Lines SkyMiles Mileage Program, Explained

Overview

Delta Air Lines is one of the big three U.S. airlines, alongside American and United, and SkyMiles is one of the few mileage programs Canadian Amex Membership Rewards can transfer into. Delta is also a founding member of SkyTeam. Familiar SkyTeam airlines include Air France/KLM, China Airlines, China Eastern, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, and Xiamen Air.

Delta partners with WestJet, so you can redeem SkyMiles for WestJet flights. China Southern has left SkyTeam, but Delta can still redeem some China Southern domestic flights. Those are usually a worse deal than Aeroplan.

Elite status

Delta Medallion tier	Silver	Gold	Platinum	Diamond
One free checked bag	✔	✔	✔	✔
Priority check-in, standby, and seat selection	✔	✔	✔	✔
Priority boarding	✔	✔	✔	✔
Unlimited upgrades	✔	✔	✔	✔
Complimentary upgrade to First (including Aeromexico)	24 hours before departure	72 hours / 3 days before departure	120 hours / 5 days before departure	120 hours / 5 days before departure, with higher priority
Complimentary upgrade to Comfort+ (including Aeromexico)	24 hours before departure	72 hours before departure	After ticketing	After ticketing
Domestic upgrade to business class (50 U.S. states)	Same day	Same day	Same day	Same day
Companion upgrades	✔	✔	✔	✔
Same-day changes and refunds		✔	✔	✔
SkyTeam	Elite	Elite Plus	Elite Plus	Elite Plus
Annual Choice Benefits			✔	✔
Hertz rental status		Hertz Five Star	President’s Circle	President’s Circle

Delta Medallion benefits https://www.delta.com/us/en/skymiles/medallion-program/overview

Earning miles

Flying Delta and partner airlines

When a Medallion member books Main Cabin or higher on Delta metal, each US$1 spent earns:

General member: 5 miles
Silver Medallion: 7 miles
Gold Medallion: 8 miles
Platinum Medallion: 9 miles
Diamond Medallion: 11 miles

Earn rates by cabin are in the chart below:

Partner airlines: Delta’s earn rate on partners varies by airline, and each airline further splits domestic and international flying, so the chart is messy. If you have a specific flight in mind, use this page and look up the airline you are actually flying.

Credit cards and point transfers

In Canada, the most direct way into SkyMiles is an Amex Membership Rewards transfer at 1:0.75. You can also move Marriott points at 3:1, or Hilton points at 10:1.

In the United States, Delta cobrand cards from American Express earn 1x to 3x SkyMiles, and U.S. Amex Membership Rewards transfer at 1:1.

Other earning

Delta has its own shopping portal (sign-up link). Shopping through the portal earns a varying number of miles, in the same way as the Air Canada eStore or Rakuten. For more cash-back portals, see this guide.
Starbucks: US$1 = 1 mile
Lyft: at least US$1 = 1 mile, sometimes with a bonus offer
Delta’s dining program (register here)

Using miles

As with other airline programs, the question that matters is how to redeem SkyMiles for a high-value award. Other uses are generally not worth it. They are listed briefly at the end.

Award flights

SkyMiles has no fixed award chart. You have to rely on reader-reported prices to find a decent route. In broad terms, Delta is useful for economy within the United States, North America–Europe, and North America–Asia. A few examples:

🌰 North America–Asia

Los Angeles (LAX)–Tokyo Haneda (HND): 35,000 or 44,000 miles + US$6 in taxes. That is about 46,667 or 58,666 Canadian Membership Rewards points. The advantage is the low taxes.

Los Angeles (LAX)–Taipei (TPE): 48,000 miles + US$6 in taxes, operated by China Airlines.

🌰 Within the United States

New York (JFK)–Atlanta (ATL): 6,000 or 9,000 miles + US$6 in taxes.

🌰 United States–Canada

New York (JFK)–Toronto (YYZ): 7,500 or 10,500 miles + US$6 in taxes. That is about 10,000 or 14,000 Canadian Membership Rewards points.

On the same route, an Aeroplan redemption on United can be 6,000 points, but the taxes are CA$75, a bit more than US$6.

The reverse direction on Aeroplan, again on United, is 6,000 points + CA$147. Whether that is worth it depends on the trip.

🌰 Within Canada

Operated by WestJet, Toronto (YYZ)–Calgary (YYC) is a fixed 12,500 miles. Against Aeroplan’s dynamic pricing, that still has an edge.

🌰 Within East Asia

Seoul (ICN)–Hong Kong (HKG): worse than an Aeroplan award.

Busan (PUS)–Seoul Gimpo (GMP)

Nagoya (NGO)–Seoul (ICN)

Seoul (ICN)–Osaka (KIX)

Seoul (ICN)–Sapporo (CTS)

🌰 North America–Latin America

Seattle (SEA)–Cancun (CUN): 10,000 miles + US$47 in taxes.

Calgary (YYC)–Cancun (CUN): 15,000 miles + CA$118 in taxes.

🌰 Europe–Middle East

London (LHR)–Jeddah (JED)

Dubai (DXB)–Paris (CDG)

🌰 Latin America–Europe

Panama City–Paris (CDG)

🌰 Within China

Guangzhou (CAN)–Beijing (PEK)

Shanghai (SHA)–Shenzhen (SZX)

Because there is no fixed chart, SkyMiles pricing can look arbitrary. Plenty of transoceanic economy awards are extremely expensive, such as 100,000 miles for Seoul–Toronto.

A workable approach: start with Delta for North America–Latin America and for flights operated by WestJet. Inside Asia, aside from some Japan and Korea routes, partner awards are usually worse than Aeroplan, and the same is true of flights within China. For Europe, look at Air France and KLM. Some partner routes, such as Europe–Middle East, still price well.

One more thing worth knowing: taxes on Delta-operated awards are relatively low.

Award sales

Beyond the examples above, watch Delta’s SkyMiles Deals (link).

In the screenshot below, a Los Angeles–Mexico round trip is 16,000 miles:

Seats, upgrades, and taxes

SkyMiles can also pay for upgrades, seat selection, part of the taxes, and change fees. See this page.