A Complete Guide To Delta SkyMiles Loyalty Program – 2022

If you are a Delta Frequent Flyer, then you need to know about the Delta SkyMiles Loyalty Scheme. The reward scheme allows you to earn SkyMiles to spend on Delta Airline Flights to your dream destinations around the globe.

This article will tell you everything you need to know about the scheme, including how you can earn miles, how you can spend them, and the pros and cons of the membership.

What is the Delta SkyMiles Loyalty Program?

When you sign up for the Delta SkyMiles Loyalty Program, you can start to build up air miles to redeem against flights with Delta Airlines and other partner airlines which are members of the Sky Airline Alliance. This alliance is comprised of airlines flying to over 1,000 destinations across the globe and includes Air Europa, Air France, and Middle East Airlines.

You can also spend your miles on a Delta Vacation Package and enjoy membership rewards such as flight upgrades and drinks on the Delta Sky Club.

As a member of the scheme, you will be able to work your way through the different membership levels which reward Delta Frequent Flyers with more perks as they build up a higher number of SkyMiles.

What can you spend your Delta SkyMiles on?

You can use your SkyMiles to redeem against Delta Airline Flights or their partner airlines to a wide variety of dream destinations across the globe with no blocked dates for your bookings.

As well as Delta Airline Flights, you can also spend your accumulated miles in the following ways:

• Use your miles to upgrade a Delta flight during booking.
• Spend your miles on premium drinks in the Delta Sky Club.
• Your miles can be used to pay for ticket change fees and same-day confirmed fees.
• Use your miles to buy Delta Gift cards (Not Recommended)
• Spend your Miles shopping on the SkyMiles Shopping Place
• Use your miles to subscribe to magazines such as People, InStyle and Entertainment Weekly.

How do you join the Delta SkyMiles Loyalty Program?

It is completely free to join the SkyMiles Loyalty Scheme and you can do so by filling out the online form on their website. Once you join, you can begin building up your miles when you book your flights with Delta Airlines and in a variety of others ways which you will find detailed below.

What are the Membership Levels of the Delta SkyMiles Membership?

When you join the scheme, if you build up enough SkyMiles, Delta will reward you with Medallion Status Membership. When you earn Medallion Status, your travel with Delta Airlines will come with several perks, including waived fees and being moved to the front of the line when boarding!

There are four levels to the Medallion Membership which you can attain by building up the required amount of air miles with Delta.

Silver Medallion Status

To get Silver Medallion Status, you will need to earn 45,000 MQMs (Medallion Qualifying Miles) during the year. Once you reach this level, you will enjoy a host of benefits, including:

• Earning 7 miles per dollar you spend with Delta.
• Unlimited Complimentary Upgrades for you and your companion, beginning 24 hours before a flight.
• Priority check-in
• Check your bags for free
• Priority boarding
• Reduced pricing on a CLEAR membership.

Gold Medallion Status

Reaching Gold Medallion status will require you to earn 60,000 MQMs in the calendar year. The benefits of this membership stage include:

• Earning 8 miles per dollar you spend with Delta.
• Unlimited Complimentary Upgrades for you and a companion beginning 72 hours before a flight.
• Waived fees for ticket changes
• Check your bags for free
• Priority security line access
• Expedited baggage claim
• Priority boarding
• Reduced pricing on a Clear membership

Platinum Medallion Status

To reach the Platinum Medallion level, you will need to rack up 100,000 MQMs and will then be able to choose one of the following rewards:

• Four Upgrade Certificates for regional flights.
• A gift of Silver Medallion Status for one of your family or friends.
• 20,000 bonus miles
• $200 travel voucher for Delta flights or a Delta Vacation.
• You will also receive the following perks:
• 9 Miles for each dollar you spend with Delta
• VIP Phone Line Support and Service
• Priority Wait List
• Elite Status with SkyTeam Elite Airlines
• Elite Benefits with Hertz Car Rental

Diamond Medallion Status

You will need to earn 150,000 MQMs to reach Diamond Medallion Status, then you will receive the following benefits:

• 11 miles per dollar you spend with Delta
• Complimentary CLEAR membership
• Top Priority for Upgrades up to 120 hours before the flight
• Highest priority check-in
• Highest priority booking
• Unlimited complimentary upgrades
• Expedited baggage service
• Waived fees on ticket changes

How do you earn Delta Sky Miles?

The primary way to earn SkyMiles for your membership is by purchasing flights from Delta and Delta Partner Airlines using your membership number. When you start your membership, you will earn 5 miles per $1 you spend. The miles per dollar will increase as you attain different membership levels.

Buy SkyMiles from Delta

You can top up your Delta Miles or gift some miles to a friend by purchasing miles directly from the airline.

Earn Miles by Making Purchases from SkyMiles Partners

• Accrue more miles as you shop and dine with Delta partners such as Interflora and Energy Plus.
• Link your SkyMiles Account to your Instacart and earn miles when you pay for your groceries.
• Earn 1 mile per dollar you spend on Lyft rides in the US.
• Gain more miles when you book with Airbnb.
• Increase your SkyMiles when you book a car rental with Delta's Car Partners.
• When you book with SkyMiles partner hotels like Marriot and Hyatt, you will be able to top-up your miles during your stay.

Do your Online Shopping with SkyMiles Shopping

Do your online shopping after signing into SkyMiles Shopping and your browser will immediately highlight opportunities to gain miles with thousands of online partners. It will also make you aware of any offers open to you as a SkyMiles member.

Use a Delta SkyMiles® American Express Card

You can also earn miles by making purchases with a Delta SkyMiles American Express Credit Card. The number of miles you will earn depends upon the card you choose.

DELTA SKYMILES® BLUE AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD

• $0 annual fee.
• 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $500 using your card.
• Reduce the cost of Delta purchases online.
• Earn 2 miles per dollar spent with the card on Delta purchases.
• Earn 2 miles per dollar spent in restaurants.

DELTA SKYMILES® GOLD AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD

• Annual fee waived for the first year then $99 annually.
• 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 within the first three months.
• 2 miles per dollar spent at restaurants.
• 2 miles per dollar spent at supermarkets.
• 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases.
• Free check-in on your first bag on Delta Flights.
• Priority boarding

DELTA SKYMILES® PLATINUM AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD

• $250 annual fee.
• 50,000 bonus miles and 5,000 MQMs after you spend $2,000 within the first three months.
• 3 miles per dollar spent at hotels.
• 2 miles per dollar spent in restaurants.
• 3 miles per dollar spent in supermarkets.
• Free credit for Pre-TSA or Global Entry.
• Membership Status Boost to get you closer to a Medallion Status.

DELTA SKYMILES® RESERVE AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD

• $550 annual fee.
• 50,000 bonus miles and 10,000 MQMs after you spend $3000 within the first three months.
• Access to the Delta Sky Club.
• 2 guest passes for the Delta Sky Club.
• 3 miles per dollar on Delta purchases.
• Credit For Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check.
• Complimentary upgrades.

What are the Pros and Cons of the Delta SkyMiles Loyalty Program?

Pros

• It's free to join the membership, so if you are a frequent Delta flyer, you are only benefitting from what you would be doing anyway.
• You can easily earn a good number of miles when you use the Delta American Express Cards.
• You can redeem your miles against flights to over 1,000 worldwide destinations.
• If you check for flash deals, you can bag flights to faraway destinations by paying as low as 5000 SkyMiles for one-way trips to places as far afield as Australia!
• Delta SkyMiles work out at 1.3 cents per mile, giving them above average mile value amongst competing US airlines.

Cons

• There are no set amounts for the miles you will need to accrue for certain flights; instead, the amount will be constantly fluctuating according to flight demand. This can make it difficult to plan ahead if you are saving up for a certain destination.
• The top tier medallion status where you will get large bonus miles rewards and earn 11 miles per dollar you spend with Delta is hard to reach due to the required MQM limits.

Summary of A Complete Guide to Delta SkyMiles Loyalty Program – 2022

Delta SkyMiles is a great option if you are already a Delta Frequent Flyer with the airline as the membership is free and comes with lots of attractive benefits as you rise through the membership levels.

But if you do not travel frequently for business and only use them for vacations, it can be hard to attain the medallion level statuses. You can, however, work to build up miles by using Delta Credit cards and shopping using the SkyMiles browser.

The flash sales on flights are a very attractive aspect of the membership. If you are savvy and keep on top of the offers, you can find yourself bagging some extremely beneficial bargains with your miles. However, if you have your heart set on a certain destination, it can be difficult to plan your journey due to the fluctuating value of the miles when trying to redeem them against flights.

Whether the membership is a worthwhile option for you will depend upon how often you book flights with Delta Airlines and whether you are willing to be flexible in terms of your destination to take advantage of very beneficial flash discounts.