How Many Delta Miles For A Free Ticket?
Especially, getting a free Delta Airlines Ticket with Delta SkyMiles is one of the ways people can save money while traveling. But just how many Delta miles are required for you to be able to get a free ticket? This leads to the following answer, which is dependent on several factors.
First, Delta distinguishes between different levels of elite status, which entails different SkyMiles balances. Even at the Silver Medallion level, you will need 25,000 MQMs or 30 MQSs plus $3,000 MQDs at the lowest tier. Other tiers, such as Gold, Platinum, and Diamond, need a higher number of miles and dollars. Elite status also comes with added privileges such as free check-in baggage, priority in boarding, and many more upgrades.
In terms of being able to use the miles for a literal free ticket, Delta has since introduced a dynamic award pricing model. In particular, this means that the number of miles required for a free flight can increase and decrease depending on the demand, date, destination, etc. Usually, though, if you spread your travel during less-centralized days, the price per mile is cheaper.
For Main Cabin service for flights originating in the 48 states, a free ticket normally costs about 10,000 SkyMiles, each way. So just the basic roundtrip free flight would be around ten thousand and twenty thousand miles. There is also the option to add a stopover, increasing the overall distance by 5,000 more miles. As much as DeltaOne is cheaper as compared to DeltaOne business class tickets cost more miles, often beginning at 50,000 miles per leg domestically.
On international long-haul routes, the Main Cabin free ticket can vary from 35,000 to 70,000 miles each way concerning the region. DeltaOne business class awards on long-haul routes often begin at 80,000 to 150,000 miles per direction. Specific examples include:
- Atlanta to London in Main Cabin: This is equivalent to 35,000 miles in one direction and 35,000 miles in the other.
- New York to Tokyo in DeltaOne: 95,000 for both ways.
Rather, if you need to find the cheapest award tickets that require the least amount of miles, you should book in advance, fly during off-peak times, and prefer economy class. It is also possible to use the miles to upgrade from the Main Cabin to the Comfort Plus or First Class, which will require fewer miles than if you were to avail of a free ticket.
The only way that can significantly lower the required miles for an award ticket is by using the flash award sales available on Delta. I have seen them priced at very low levels, down to 5k or 10k miles each way for domestic routes with certain dates. However, the catch is that the number of award seats available is usually quite low when such sales are going on. So if you can get one, it's a great bargain. Subscribing to the newsletters of the airlines that are involved in your mileage program is a good way of getting to know when the award sale has been released.
How to Earn Delta Miles Fast Delta has numerous ways to amass all those miles for free tickets through flights, credit cards, hotels, Lyft rides, online shopping portals, and many more. Here are some of the fastest ways to earn Delta SkyMiles: Here are some of the fastest ways to earn Delta SkyMiles:
Fly Frequently This is a no-brainer but clocking up lots of flights with Delta will soon see your account balances rise. Fares classes do matter as well; buying first-class, business-class or full-price economy tickets earns 100 or 150% of the flight’s miles, while discounted Economy tickets get only 50–75% of the miles. Just possessing one of Delta’s co-branded credit cards also increases the airfare earnings. Of course, having one of Delta’s co-branded credit cards multiplies airfare earnings as well.
Apply for Amex Credit Card Delta SkyMiles Talking about the co-branded credit cards, Delta has four American Express cards available. The miles accumulated from your first charges will get you a free flight within the first month or so. For example, the Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card offers a 70,000 bonus mile sign-up incentive for the first three purchases totaling $2,000. Spending $5,000 on purchases on your new card in the first three months of membership will award 10,000 MQMs and 100,000 bonus miles to new cardholders.
You will then keep earning the miles with an opportunity to earn 2-3 miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases. Additional category bonuses also assist, such as 2 miles per dollar spent at restaurants globally and US supermarkets. The only thing you should ensure is that you do not carry forward your statement balance to the next month.
Take advantage of a status match with Delta If you already have elite status with a competing airline, apply to be status-matched to one of Delta’s Medallion levels. Features such as bonus miles can help when it comes to the number of miles you can earn. For instance, passengers with Diamond Medallions receive a bonus of 80–100% above actual flight miles.
Match statuses similar to those of United Airlines, American Airlines, and even hotels. The matched status is usually valid for 90 days and can be similarly maintained for a longer period by achieving more miles and segments.
Shop Online Delta links to several online shopping sites and one can earn points while purchasing products from Nike, Macy’s, Best Buy, Starbucks, and so on. Sometimes there are bonuses or special offers for flights, where airlines offer to increase the number of flying miles two or three times and this will help your balance to grow very quickly.
Book Partner Hotels When planning a trip, instead of booking directly with a hotel, using Delta’s hotel portal also earns the miles. Currently, there are more than 700 affiliated hotels in the global network. Some of the well-known brands are Marriott, Hilton, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt, and others. Check the partner earnings levels, as some hotels offer more miles per dollar than others.
Rent Cars In need of some wheels for your trip? SkyMiles can be earned when renting cars from partners including Avis, Hertz, and Alamo. The only thing that needs to be done is to connect your Delta and your rental car loyalty accounts. That said, rates and mile earnings are not identical between companies and status levels, though.
Refer Friends To register for the refer-a-friend bonus, you need to convince your friends and family to open their own Delta SkyMiles charge cards. It can be up to 30,000 when you refer someone to be approved for The Platinum Card. Plus, when a referral purchases a new card, your account will be awarded 15,000 bonus miles.
The best part starts when you have to cash in your saved-up miles. All you need to do is take a glance at the award travel calendar on the Delta website and have some dream travel destinations specified. Apart from flying Delta, utilizing the miles-earning credit cards and even making the best out of partner bonuses, you will be traveling in style within no time.
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