Delta SkyMiles Program Review

Delta SkyMiles Review Summary

The Delta SkyMiles® program is the 3rd best frequent flyer program for 2026, according to WalletHub’s review. Some of the biggest strengths of the SkyMiles program are miles worth an average of 1.14 cents apiece that never expire, a wide array of credit card choices, and a large number of airline partners.

Below is a detailed look at the Delta SkyMiles program, including how points are earned and redeemed and the number of destinations it serves. You can also see how the program compares with other well-known frequent flyer programs.

Delta SkyMiles Review Scorecard

Delta SkyMiles Snapshot

1. Earning Policies
2. Rewards Value
3. Redemption Policies
4. Destination Coverage
5. Status Levels
6. Other Features
7. SkyMiles Credit Cards
8. Tips for SkyMiles Members
9. SkyMiles vs. Popular Competitors
10. Methodology

How to Earn Delta Miles

WalletHub Rating for "Earning Policies": 82% (12.23 / 15 points)

SkyMiles members earn miles on purchases made through Delta and its partners. Below, you can see exactly which types of transactions accrue miles as well as how many you’ll receive.

• 2 - 11 miles per $1 spent: Delta flights and certain partner airlines
• 0.25 - 3 miles per flown: Flights with partner airlines like Aeromexico, Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin Atlantic
• 1 - 3 miles per $1 spent: Purchases on a Delta credit card
• 1 - 2 miles per $1 spent: Stays at hotel partners like Marriott, IHG, Accor, Hyatt, and Shangri-la. Depending on the hotel, you’ll get 1-2 miles per $1 spent or 500 - 5,000 miles per stay
• 1 mile per $1 spent: Stays with Airbnb worldwide
• 5 miles per $1 spent: Dining at thousands of participating restaurants in the U.S.
• 2 – 8 miles per $1 spent: Car rentals with partners like Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Payless, Sixt, Thrifty and Mex. Depending on the car rental, you’ll get 2 – 8 miles per $1 spent or 60 miles per day
• 1 - 2 miles per $1 spent: Cruises with the SkyMiles Cruises program
• Up to 10,000 miles: Special Delta vacation packages
• 0.5 – 20 miles per $1 spent: Shopping at participating stores in SkyMiles Shopping

In addition, you may be able to find special deals on Delta flights on the airline’s website, which could allow you to earn more miles on a booking or spend fewer miles when redeeming.

Other Key Things to Know About Earning Delta Miles

Earning limitations: Delta does not specify a maximum number of points you can earn per ticket.

Retroactive flight credit for members: SkyMiles members can get credited for miles from any Delta flight taken in the past 9 months if their frequent flyer number was not on the reservation (as long as they were a member at the time).

Retroactive flight credit for non-members: New SkyMiles members can get miles for Delta flights taken up to 9 months before they became a member.

How Much Are Delta Miles Worth?

WalletHub Rating for "Rewards Value": 46% (9.18 / 20 points)

Delta miles are worth 1.14 cents each, on average, according to WalletHub’s research. That means you need about 32,456 miles to get a free flight, based on the average domestic fare of $370.

Below, you can check out how many SkyMiles you’ll need for some popular round-trip routes, on average.

• New York to Los Angeles: 36,561 miles (or $416.80)
• Los Angeles to Washington DC: 58,939 miles (or $671.91)
• Los Angeles to London: 110,196 miles (or $1,256.23)

How to Redeem Delta Miles

WalletHub Rating for "Redemption Policies": 97% (19.48 / 20 points)

More Key Things to Know About Redeeming Delta Miles

• There are no booking blackout dates.
• You can book a flight with miles up to 331 days before departure.
• There is no short-notice booking fee.
• Delta allow layovers on reward flights.
• There is no award-ticket redeposit/cancellation fee.

Where Can Delta Miles Take You?

WalletHub Rating for "Destination Coverage": 67% (16.63 / 25 points)

Delta flies to 212 U.S. destinations and 103 international destinations. In addition, Delta has 17 partner airlines from the SkyTeam Alliance and 11 non-alliance partners, which collectively visit 212 U.S. destinations and 2,324 international destinations.

You can’t directly transfer miles from the loyalty programs of these partners to SkyMiles or vice versa. For example, you can’t turn Delta miles into Aeromexico miles. However, you can earn Delta miles by taking flights with 25 of the Delta partners, as well as redeem Delta miles for flights on 24 of them.

SkyMiles Status Levels

WalletHub Rating for "Status Levels": 22% (2.00 / 9 points)

The Delta SkyMiles rewards program is free to join, but you won’t get any benefits from it other than earning miles until you qualify for one of its status levels.

• Medallion Qualifying Dollars - MQDs (awarded based on the amount spent)

The more flights you take with Delta, and the more money you spend with a Delta credit card, the higher your status level will go. The higher your SkyMiles status level is, the more benefits you will receive on Delta flights and the more you will save when you fly.

Below, you can see exactly what you’ll need to do to achieve and maintain each SkyMiles status level, along with the perks that come with it.

SkyMiles Status Level & Perks

Members must satisfy a given status level’s qualifying requirements between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 to reach or maintain that status level and enjoy its benefits. Your SkyMiles status lasts for the rest of the calendar year plus January of the next year.

In light of the above information, SkyMiles' results for this section are as follows:

Ease of achieving elite status:

• According to our study, the cost of achieving elite status with Delta SkyMiles is $28,000.

Valuable membership perks:

• Based on average spending profile, new members can expect to receive free checked baggage, complimentary upgrades, priority check-in/boarding, complimentary companion upgrades and priority on overbooked flights as valuable perks. Heavy travelers could expect to qualify for: Free checked baggage, complimentary upgrades, priority check-in/security/boarding, complimentary companion upgrades, priority on overbooked flights and expedited baggage services.

Other Features of the SkyMiles Program

WalletHub Rating for "Other Features": 64% (7 / 11 points)

The "Other Features" component of this Delta Air Lines SkyMiles program review focused on four sub-categories. Below, you can see how many points SkyMiles earned in each category, along with the corresponding WalletHub Rating.

Other Key Features

• Sky Miles do not expire.
• You can transfer miles between accounts for a fee.
• Buying miles costs more than they’re worth, as SkyMiles Miles are sold at a 208% markup, on average.

Delta SkyMiles Credit Cards

Opinions and ratings are our own. This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Some offers are from WalletHub partners.

Applying for a Delta SkyMiles credit card is worth considering if you have good credit or better and fly with Delta several times each year. There isn’t just one Delta SkyMiles credit card, though.

For more information, check out our complete review of the latest Delta SkyMiles credit card offers.

8 Tips for SkyMiles Members

1. The best way to redeem Delta miles is for Delta flights. Miles are worth 1.14 cents apiece that way.
2. Pool or transfer miles if it makes sense. SkyMiles allows members to pool their miles together for easier redemption, but there is a fee of $30 plus $0.01 per mile.
3. Avoid buying Delta miles, if possible. Delta miles cost more to purchase than they are worth when redeemed, on average. However, it could be worth buying a small number if it puts you over the top for a free flight.
4. Take advantage of status perks. One of the biggest reasons why airline rewards programs are worth joining is that their status levels tend to provide a wealth of benefits, such as bonus miles, free checked bags and complimentary upgrades. Make sure you take advantage of everything Delta SkyMiles offers.
5. Consider applying for a SkyMiles credit card. The best SkyMiles credit card could save the average person more than $2,000 over the first two years of use, according to WalletHub’s calculations.
6. Try the Island Approach with your credit cards. SkyMiles credit cards offer competitive earnings on Delta flights, but different credit cards may provide better terms on other types of transactions. Using a collection of cards for specialized purposes can enable you to get the best deal on everything you buy.
7. Make sure to read Delta reviews & SkyMiles FAQs. Learning from experts and fellow travelers will help you pick up some helpful tips as well as avoid tricks and pitfalls.
8. Compare your flight options if you’re not wedded to Delta SkyMiles. Delta is not the only airline with a rewarding loyalty program. You can see how SkyMiles compares to a couple of popular alternatives below. You can also check out WalletHub’s rankings of the Best Frequent Flyer Programs to learn more.

SkyMiles vs. AAdvantage vs. MileagePlus

SkyMiles Review Methodology

Overall program rankings are based on the same methodology as WalletHub’s annual study on the Best Frequent Flyer Programs. Editor’s ratings reflect the sum of each rewards program’s scores across the study’s 6 major categories – earning policies, rewards value, redemption policies, destination coverage, status levels and other features – adjusted to a 5-point scale, to create a representative distribution of ratings.

WalletHub calculated Delta SkyMiles mile values by comparing flight rates between U.S. cities and popular travel destinations – both domestic and international – to the number of miles needed to book a flight. We applied the process to round-trip flights from Friday to Monday for each destination’s high and shoulder tourist seasons.