If you’ve been earning Delta SkyMiles for some time now, you might find yourself asking, “How many Delta SkyMiles do I need for a free flight?” With Delta’s dynamic award pricing model and lack of award charts, determining how many SkyMiles you need for an award flight can be a challenge.
Understanding the number of SkyMiles you’ll need is crucial to maximizing the value of the SkyMiles program and your hard-earned miles. It’s no secret that Delta makes this no easy task.
So, whether you’re a seasoned Delta Medallion or new points and miles, knowing the requirements for award flights is essential in getting the most out of the SkyMiles frequent flyer program. In this post, we’ll explore how many SkyMiles you need for a flight with Delta and share tips on how to maximize the value you get from your SkyMiles.
How Many Delta SkyMiles Do You Need to Book a Flight?
A number of years ago, Delta Air Lines became the first major U.S. airline to cut away at the concept of award charts. Delta moved its SkyMiles program away from fixed pricing to dynamic pricing. Unlike airlines like JetBlue and Southwest, Delta’s dynamic award pricing is not necessarily tied to the cash fare of a specific flight. This makes determining just how many SkyMiles you need for a flight somewhat of a challenge. Without fixed award pricing, there’s really no straightforward answer.
So, while Delta doesn’t have a fixed minimum number of miles needed for an award flight, you will need a minimum of 4,500 SkyMiles to book a flight. This is on the low end of the spectrum with most flights priced significantly higher. For 4,500 SkyMiles, you can book a relatively short domestic flight in basic economy.
If you, for example, want to fly from the United States to Paris, France in Delta One, you will need a minimum of 225,000 SkyMiles. That’s quite the difference.
Related: How Many American Airlines Miles Do You Need for an Award Flight?
Does Delta Air Lines Have an Award Chart?
Unlike American Airlines and United, Delta Air Lines does not publish award charts. The airline did away with award charts almost 10 years ago to the dismay of its most loyal frequent flyers.
However, there are plenty of travel writers and publications that have worked to replicate Delta’s award flight pricing. For example, AwardWallet has a very extensive unofficial Delta Air Lines award chart that can be quite helpful when searching for an award flight. Unfortuantely, as these are unofficial charts from third parties, they do not take into consideration any unannounced devaluations.
How Does Delta Price Award Flights?
Delta uses a dynamic pricing structure for its award flights. But, unlike some other airlines with dynamic pricing, Delta’s award pricing isn’t tied directly to cash fares. Nevertheless, Delta award flights are very closely linked to the cash fare. As a reminder, the price of a flight is influenced by several factors including, demand, availability, and date of departure. This means that when flights are more expensive, like during the summer months, award flights will also be priced higher.
Conversely, when cash fares are lower like during off-peak travel periods, the number of miles needed for a flight will be lower than during peak travel periods.
Though the price of an award flight isn’t directly linked to the cash fare, we can still approximate the value of Delta SkyMiles based on published fares. Here’s a breakdown of how much you can expect to get from your SkyMiles when redeeming for flights on Delta Air Lines and its SkyTeam partners:
| Assigned Value per SkyMile | Cents per SkyMile |
|---|---|
| Low Value | 1.15 |
| Average Value | 1.22 |
| High Value | 1.29 |
In short, each SkyMile is worth around 1.22 cents each. SkyMiles is one of the lowest-valued frequent flyer program currencies as of June 2024 according to AwardWallet. TravelUpdate’s valuations confirm this with SkyMiles, TrueBlue points, and Rapid Rewards points all among the lowest-value frequent flyer currencies.
Related: Delta One Suites Airbus A330-900neo from Amsterdam to New York
Sample Delta SkyMiles Award Flights
To show one factor in the points calculation process, let’s look at some sample SkyMiles award flights available over the next few months. The first table shows flights operated solely by Delta Air Lines while the second, displays flights operated by some of Delta’s partner airlines.
Sample SkyMiles Award Flights (Operated by Delta)
| Route | SkyMiles Needed | Cash Fare ($) | Value per Point (in cents) | Fare Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta (ATL) to Orlando (MCO) | 8,500 | $59 | 0.69 | Basic Economy |
| New York (JFK) to Amsterdam (AMS) | 220,000 | $1,827 | 0.83 | Delta One |
| Los Angeles (LAX) to Las Vegas (LAS) | 4,500 | $39 | 0.87 | Main Cabin |
| Atlanta (ATL) to Sao Paulo (GRU) | 440,000 | $3,873 | 0.88 | Delta One |
| Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) | 56,000 | $554 | 0.99 | Main Cabin |
| Minneapolis (MSP) to Chicago (ORD) | 4,500 | $46 | 1.02 | Basic Economy |
| New York (JFK) to San Francisco (SFO) | 122,500 | $1,299 | 1.06 | Delta One |
| Atlanta (ATL) to Denver (DEN) | 6,000 | $69 | 1.15 | Basic Economy |
| Los Angeles (LAX) to Brisbane (BNE) | 35,000 | $440 | 1.26 | Basic Economy |
| Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to Cancun (CUN) | 13,000 | $207 | 1.59 | Basic Economy |
Sample SkyMiles Award Flights (Operated by Partner Airlines)
| Route | Points Required | Cash Fare ($) | Value per Point (in Cents) | Partner Airline / Fare Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to Paris (CDG) | 48,000 | $404 | 0.84 | Air France / Economy |
| Paris (CDG) to Delhi (DEL) via Jeddah (JED) | 35,000 | $362 | 1.03 | Saudia / Economy |
| Seoul-Incheon (ICN) to Taipei (TPE) | 17,500 | $202 | 1.15 | Korean Air / Economy |
| Austin (AUS) to Mexico City (MEX) | 15,000 | $177 | 1.18 | Aeromexico / Economy |
| New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG) via Manchester, UK (MAN) | 225,000 | $3,622 | 1.61 | Virgin Atlantic, Air France / Business |
| Amsterdam (AMS) to Zurich (ZRH) | 10,000 (+$82) | $209 | 2.09 | KLM / Economy |
| London-Heathrow (LHR) to Nairobi (NBO) via Paris (CDG) | 65,000 (+$787) | $2,441 | 3.76 | Air France / Business |
As a result of the airline’s cash-fare-based approach to award pricing, there aren’t fixed sweet spots. One tip for getting the best value from your SkyMiles is to search out flights operated by partner airlines. Many award itineraries operated by partner airlines offer greater value than when redeeming SkyMiles exclusively with Delta.
Does Delta Charge Fees on Award Tickets?
Like the two other major US carriers (American and United), Delta does not charge fees on award tickets. However, there is a caveat to this. While Delta doesn’t charge fees on award tickets, many of the airline’s partners do. These fees are in addition to any taxes and fees.
Security Fee on Domestic Award Flights
When you redeem SkyMiles for flights operated entirely within the United States, you can expect to pay just $5.60 in taxes and fees. This $5.60 is the government-imposed security fee. As previously mentioned, you won’t incur additional fees or surcharges from Delta’s end.
Taxes and Carrier Imposed Fees on International Flights
Depending on your original and/or arrival destination, you may already be on the hook for additional taxes. For example, when traveling to Cancun from the United States, you will have to pay Mexico’s $40 tourism tax. In Europe, many countries throughout the European Union have added heftier taxes on award tickets.
While these government-imposed taxes are unavoidable, you may be able to avoid greater fees depending on the partner airline on which you travel. Some of Delta’s partner airlines do pass along carrier-imposed fees and surcharges to SkyMiles members booking award flights.
When it comes to carrier-imposed surcharges, the worst offenders are Air France, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic. All three of these partner airlines impose fees in the hundreds of dollars for most intercontinental award flights. Below is just one example of carrier-imposed surcharges when redeeming SkyMiles for a flight with Air France:
Related: How Many Southwest Points Do You Need for a Free Flight?
The Bottom Line
Determining how many Delta SkyMiles you need for a free flight in 2024 is not straightforward due to Delta’s dynamic pricing model and lack of an official award chart. The number of SkyMiles required for a flight can vary widely, from as few as 4,500 SkyMiles for a short domestic trip in Basic Economy to 225,000 or more for a one-way Delta One flight to Europe.
To maximize your SkyMiles, it’s crucial to understand how Delta’s award pricing works and to be strategic in your redemptions. While Delta’s dynamic pricing can make it challenging to find sweet spots, searching for flights operated by partner airlines often yields better value.
Despite the complexities, with careful planning and some research, you can still unlock solid value from your SkyMiles.
What are your favorite ways to use Delta SkyMiles?
