How Many Delta Skymiles For A Free Ticket?

The program is quite helpful in saving money for traveling as many people get a free flight with Delta Airlines Skymiles. However, just how many Skymiles are required to redeem that long-coveted free ticket? The number of Skymiles that is needed is determined by a few factors as follows:

First, Delta offers different options for redemption and the free tickets come with different redemption rates. On the low end, $5000 will buy you a one-way Main Cabin flight to a domestic destination. A roundtrip Main Cabin domestic ticket is often in the 10000 to 15000 SkyMiles range. For free one-way flight in Delta One or First Class domestically, it is nearer to 40000 to 60000 Skymiles.

While flying to Europe, a one-way ticket on the Main Cabin costs around 30000 Skymiles, and flying to Asia can begin from 35000 Skymiles as well. Free Business Class International flights will set you back anything between 70000 and 150000 SkyMiles per leg. First Class awards are even higher – typically more than 200000 Skymiles each way to Asia and Australia.

A second factor is the period of the season. Delta earns more miles during busy traffic periods including holidays and summer holidays just as revenue tickets’ prices go up. It may take 25000 more Skymiles to get a free Main Cabin domestic award ticket during the Thanksgiving holidays than in February. International short hauls and longer haul travel award tickets also attract peak season surcharges.

The region also has its effects on the number of SkyMiles required. That means you are likely to find cheaper flights when flying to/from a smaller airport rather than one from a large city such as New York’s JFK airport, Los Angeles's LAX airport, or Atlanta’s ATL airport. However, if you wish to travel from one small town to another, you may require a larger number of miles. For instance, a journey from Albany to Rochester may take 20000 Skymiles for the round trip while a journey from New York to LA would only be 25000 Skymiles.

The aircraft type also has a contribution to this matter. Newer aircraft such as the Airbus A220 and recently acquired Airbus A321neo have lower redemption rates than flying older McDonnell-Douglas MD80 series planes. Main Cabin tickets from Atlanta to New York are 12500 Skymiles Roundtrip on an A220 but 20000 miles for the same route on an MD88.

In general, booking in advance is also good for Skymiles as well and booking even more in advance is better. Free tickets that are grabbed close to the trip’s date are expensive like revenue fares that are demanded close to the journey. The Main Cabin flight from Detroit to Orlando can move from 12500 miles if booked six months before the travel to 20000 miles for a ticket purchased two weeks before traveling. Ease of date change is an important factor in getting the best Skymile offers.

Members holding the elite status enjoy the privilege of getting lower Skymiles rates. The elite Diamond Medallion members who must be loyal SkyMiles members get an additional low level of award ticket prices that may be up to 25 to 50 percent below the normal charges. A round trip from Los Angeles to Boston in Comfort Plus reduces from 45000 to a mere 30000 Skymiles for Diamonds. Silver and Gold Medallions also get discounts though slightly lesser to that of Diamond.

Rather than a conventional ‘free’ ticket Delta allows you to partially redeem Skymiles for a revenue fare. This option is called Pay With Miles, which entails fewer miles but one has to pay for the remaining ticket cost in cash. Domestic Main Cabin and First Class tickets can be availed starting at just 5,000 SkyMiles plus taxes and fees.

There is another type of redemption known as Miles Plus Cash. You can apply this option to purchase expensive Business Class and First Class tickets for less by a combination of Skymiles and cash. An 80000 Skymile Business Class ticket from Detroit to Shanghai would cost 40000 miles and about 500 dollars in cash. This is as good as giving up to 50 percent off the cost of the product.

Last but not least again it is the partner reward availability that contributes a large portion. Delta often provides more free award seats on partners like Air France KLM and Virgin Atlantic. not only that but thanks to the partnerships, it is way easier to get the most valuable premium cabin awards rather than on Delta’s flights. The Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic miles can also be transferred from American Express Membership Rewards at a one-to-one ratio.

Every case is unique depending on routing elite status seasonal demand and more but more flexibility means you can redeem fewer Skymiles. Thus, it is quite easy to land an award ticket, if one is ready to accept indirect routings, flying with airline partners, and the off-peak dates. In most cases when passengers adhere to Main Cabin domestic awards usually, this should only require roughly 12500 miles per leg at standard levels. It can be even lower if planning and watching the sales and transfers from Amex MR.

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