Do Delta Miles Accrue Based On Ticket Or Mileage?

What Is The Difference Between Ticket Price and Mileage for Delta Miles Earning?

When you travel with Delta Airlines and are enrolled in their SkyMiles frequent flyer program, you have the opportunity to earn miles on each Delta flight that you board. The miles earned are then used to redeem free flights and upgrade options on Delta and other affiliated airlines. This leads many Delta customers to wonder whether you get more miles depending on the price you paid for your ticket, particularly if the ticket you used was a cheaper economy ticket as compared to a higher-priced business ticket for the same flight. Or do they accumulate according to the number of miles that the customer has flown, regardless of the amount of money he has used?

The answer is that with Delta, miles are earned depending on the class of travel, the Medallion status achieved, and the flight miles, not the ticket price. This means you will get the same Medallion Qualification Miles and normal SkyMiles for a flight whether you have booked a basic economy fare at a mere $60 or if you have booked a Delta One business class at $3, 300.

Here is a breakdown of how many Delta miles you can expect to earn on paid tickets:

Main Cabin/Economy: Five miles per dollar on the basic cost plus any extra fees the airline imposes. Most economy rates fall under delta basic economy, which lets you earn only 50% of base miles.

First Class/Premium Select: 7 miles for every dollar spent on carrier-imposed fees and basic costs.

Business Class: Eight miles for every dollar paid for surcharges and basic costs.

Delta One Business Class: 9 miles for every dollar paid on base price and surcharges.

The above-indicated earning rates apply to members not part of corporate or international Sky Teams. Based on their grade, diamond, platinum, and gold medallions earn extra miles ranging from 7 to 125%. Furthermore bonus miles—that is, miles earned for the real amount of money spent—are distributed differently than the flown miles.

How Many Miles Delta Flights Provide in Regards to the Distance Covered?

On top of gaining redeemable miles in proportion to the ticket price, Delta SkyMiles also accumulate what is called Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs), which are earned based on the distance traveled regardless of fare costs. General members earn these MQM miles based on the following: General members earn these MQM miles based on the following:

Domestic Flights: Accrue 5 MQMs for each mile flown

Short Haul International Flights (under 500 miles): Count five MQMs for every mile flown.

Receive 7 MQMs for every 500-1,499-mile medium-haul international flight mile flown.

Receive eight MQMs for every mile traveled on long-haul international flights spanning more than 1,500 miles.

For instance, the trip from New York to Los Angeles is 2,475 miles. Even if one Delta customer purchased his ticket for $500 and another reserved a business class ticket for $1,500, every Delta passenger on this journey would get 12,375 MQMs.

Additionally affecting your mileage earned for mileage incentives is the cabin you travel in. The cabin you travel in might also affect your mileage flown bonus earnings.

Economy: MQMs have 100% of First Class: This indicates the firm achieved 125% of MQMs. Business Class: Of the Minimum Quality Measures (MQMs), one hundred and fifty percent Delta One: Over twice MQMs.

Consequently, if you were flying a 5,000-mile business class journey, you would accumulate 7,500 MQM miles instead of 5,000 MQM miles for a comparable travel in economy. Still, it's noteworthy that ticket pricing is not a MQM earner.

Are Flights Operated By A Partner Airline On Delta Eligible For SkyMiles?

When flying with Delta’s numerous partners, which include Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Aeromexico, and others, the earning rules are relatively the same. The exact mileage for earning Delta mileage is not used when flying with partners.

instead, a percentage of the actual miles is used to determine earnings. You can expect to earn: You can expect to earn:

Economy: The domestic airlines account for 5% of the total miles flown. First/Business: This is the reason why the company is planning to fly 10% of the total miles originally estimated. Delta One: Miles flown increased up to 125 %

Award tickets on partners also earn SkyMiles; depending on the class of service, they range between 50 and 125% of the flight distance. The only thing you should do is input your Delta SkyMiles number when you book your partner flight to have your miles and flight activity credited.

So in the shortest of terms, the ticket price does not impact how many miles you are awarded when flying with Delta Air Lines. Your redeemable and elite-qualifying mileage earnings depend solely on the fare class you purchased, your Medallion tier, and the distance traveled. The basic economy ticket yields the same amount of miles on the flight for Delta SkyMiles members instead of dollars spent for the same flight regardless of whether the passenger purchased a first-class ticket or an economy ticket.

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