Ultimate Guide to Delta Airlines

Basic Economy

Basic economy (E), like all other airlines, is the cheapest but most restrictive fare class in Delta. Basic economy fares give you all the same onboard experience (service, seat type, and amenities) as a regular economy seat would. However, Delta differentiates itself from competition by not allowing SkyClub access while holding an eligible credit card and not earning SkyMiles or MQDs on paid basic economy fare.

• Baggage Policy: 1 carry-on and 1 personal item, checked bag for fee (1st: $35, 2nd: $40, 3rd-10th)
• Boarding Group: Zone 8
• Upgrades: Upgrades using cash or SkyMiles can be done anytime and to any fare class.
    *Elite status and SkyMiles credit cards will not provide complimentary upgrades. Upgrade
    certificates are also ineligible to be used.
• Seat Selection: No seat selection at time of booking, even for a cost. This policy is the most restrictive of the US big 3 airlines (United and American). Seat selection for a fee opens up a week before departure and random seat selection occurs 24 hours before departure.
    *Elite status preferred seat selection benefits are ineligible.
• Mileage Earnings: Flights are ineligible to earn SkyMiles and million miler status miles.
• Same Day Changes: Elite status same day confirmed or same day standby changes benefits are ineligible.
• Lounge Access: Credit cards that give Skyclub access are ineligible on basic economy flights.
• Change and Cancellation Policies:
  • 24 Hour Risk-Free Cancellation: All flights booked through Delta (cash and SkyMiles) are eligible for a full refund or change (minus price difference) if cancelled within 24-hours of booking.
  • After 24 Hours: All flights (cash and SkyMiles) booked through Delta can be cancelled for a fee of $99-$199. Changes are not allowed if flight originates in North America, but may be allowed for a fee in Europe, Africa, and certain other international markets. For flights originating within North America, the fee is $99 for paid reservations or 9,900 SkyMiles for award tickets. For flights all originating elsewhere, the cancellation fee will be $199 for paid reservations or 19,900 SkyMiles for award tickets.

Main Cabin

Main Cabin (V,X,T,U,L,K,Q,H,M,B,Y) are Delta's regular economy fares. Fare class V, X, and T are the cheapest ticket price. If you see one of these, don't hesitate to buy! Basic economy fare buckets match main cabin ones, even if the fare codes all say E. As such, basic economy fares are also the cheapest when Main Cabin displays V, X, or T fare codes.

• Baggage Policy: 1 carry-on and 1 personal item, checked bag for fee (1st: $35, 2nd: $40, 3rd-10th)
• Boarding Group: Zone 6 (if a SkyMiles member) or 7 (if not a SkyMiles member)
• Seat Selection: Free seat selection for main cabin seating area. Some seats may cost a fee to select.
• Lounge Access: Eligible credit cards and lounge memberships grant SkyClub access.
• Change and Cancellation Policies:
  • 24 Hour Risk-Free Cancellation: All flights booked through Delta (cash and SkyMiles) are eligible for a full refund or change (minus price difference) if cancelled within 24-hours of booking.
  • After 24 Hours: All award bookings can be cancelled or changed for free. For non-refundable flights originating within North America, the change is free while for flights originating elsewhere can be up to $400. See here for more details. The refunded amount is returned as an e-credit, to be used on Delta related purchases later. For refundable flights, all flights are able to be refunded to the original form of payment anytime before departure.

Comfort+

Comfort+ (S,W) allows for selecting seats with more legroom (usually located at the front of the cabin or at exit rows).

• Amenities Inflight alcohol and wider selection of inflight snacks.
• Baggage Policy: 1 carry-on and 1 personal item, checked bag for fee (1st: $35, 2nd: $40, 3rd-10th)
• Boarding Group: Zone 3
• Seat Selection: Free seat selection for all comfort+ seating.
• Lounge Access: Eligible credit cards and lounge memberships grant SkyClub access.
• Change and Cancellation Policies:
  • 24 Hour Risk-Free Cancellation: All flights booked through Delta (cash and SkyMiles) are eligible for a full refund or change (minus price difference) if cancelled within 24-hours of booking.
  • After 24 Hours: All award bookings can be cancelled or changed for free. For non-refundable flights originating within North America, the change is free while for flights originating elsewhere can be up to $400. See here for more details. The refunded amount is returned as an e-credit, to be used on Delta related purchases later. For refundable flights, all flights are able to be refunded to the original form of payment anytime before departure.

First Class

First class (Z,I,D,C,J) is the premium cabin for most Delta's short haul international and domestic flights. The seats feature more legroom and recline than economy seats.

• SkyPriority Separate check-in line, expedited baggage arrival, exclusive security lines at select airports.
• Amenities Blankets, water bottle at seat, Inflight alcohol, and wider selection of inflight snacks.
• Baggage Policy: 1 carry-on and 1 personal item, 2 free 70 lbs checked bags, (3rd-10th)
• Boarding Group: Zone 1
• Seat Selection: Free seat selection for all first class seating.
• Lounge Access: Eligible credit cards and lounge memberships grant SkyClub access.
• Change and Cancellation Policies:
  • 24 Hour Risk-Free Cancellation: All flights booked through Delta (cash and SkyMiles) are eligible for a full refund or change (minus price difference) if cancelled within 24-hours of booking.
  • After 24 Hours: All award bookings can be cancelled or changed for free. For non-refundable flights, the change is free and the refunded amount is returned as an e-credit, to be used on Delta related purchases later. For refundable flights, all flights are able to be refunded to the original form of payment anytime before departure.

Premium Select

Premium select (G,A,P) is the premium economy product for certain premium Delta domestic routes and long haul international routes. These seats feature better recline and more legroom, much like first class.

• SkyPriority Separate check-in line, expedited baggage arrival, exclusive security lines at select airports.
• Amenities Amenity kits, noise cancelling headphones, blankets, water bottle at seat, pre departure drink, and wider selection of inflight snacks.
• Baggage Policy: 1 carry-on and 1 personal item, 2 free 50 lbs checked bags (3rd-10th)
• Boarding Group: Zone 2
• Seat Selection: Free seat selection for all premium select seating.
• Lounge Access: Eligible credit cards and lounge memberships grant SkyClub access.
• Change and Cancellation Policies:
  • 24 Hour Risk-Free Cancellation: All flights booked through Delta (cash and SkyMiles) are eligible for a full refund or change (minus price difference) if cancelled within 24-hours of booking.
  • After 24 Hours: All award bookings can be cancelled or changed for free. For non-refundable flights originating within North America, the change is free while for flights originating elsewhere can be up to $400. See here for more details. The refunded amount is returned as an e-credit, to be used on Delta related purchases later. For refundable flights, all flights are able to be refunded to the original form of payment anytime before departure.

Delta One

Delta One (C,D,I,Z,J) is Delta's most premium, lie-flat seat cabin. Like Premium Select, this cabin is reserved for most Delta's long haul international and premium domestic flights. Flights that are marketed as Delta One Suites come with everything Delta One, but include a door to enclose the seat onboard.

• SkyPriority Separate check-in line, expedited baggage arrival, exclusive security lines at select airports.
• Amenities Amenity kits, noise cancelling headphones, blankets, water bottle at seat, pre departure drink, and widest selection of inflight snacks.
• Baggage Policy: 1 carry-on and 1 personal item, 2 free 70 lbs checked bags (3rd-10th)
• Boarding Group: Zone 1
• Seat Selection: Free seat selection for all Delta One seating.
• Lounge Access: All passengers are eligible for Delta SkyClubs and Delta One lounges.
• Change and Cancellation Policies:
  • 24 Hour Risk-Free Cancellation: All flights booked through Delta (cash and SkyMiles) are eligible for a full refund or change (minus price difference) if cancelled within 24-hours of booking.
  • After 24 Hours: All award bookings can be cancelled or changed for free. For non-refundable flights, the change is free and the refunded amount is returned as an e-credit, to be used on Delta related purchases later. For refundable flights, all flights are able to be refunded to the original form of payment anytime before departure.

Delta Flights

Delta has made SkyMiles accrual on their own metal and marketed flights very simple: just based off how much you spend and what elite status you are at. The notable exception are basic economy tickets, which earn no SkyMiles. The following is the calculation of SkyMiles accrued on each flight:

General Member: 5 SkyMiles per dollar
Silver Medallion: 7 SkyMiles per dollar
Gold Medallion: 8 SkyMiles per dollar
Platinum Medallion: 9 SkyMiles per dollar
Diamond Medallion: 11 SkyMiles per dollar

Partner Flights

Flights marketed and operated by partner airlines earn SkyMiles based on the cabin class and the number of miles flown. Delta Partners are not limited to SkyTeam alliance partners.

• *Aeroflot
• AeroMexico
• Aerolineas Argentinas
• Air Baltic
• Air Europa
• Air France
• Cape Air
• China Eastern
• China Airlines
• China Southern
• EL AL
• Garuda Indonesia
• KLM
• Kenya Airways
• Korean Air
• Latam Airlines
• Middle Eastern Airlines
• Saudia Airlines
• SAS
• Tarom
• Vietnam Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• WestJet
• Xiamen Air

*Aeroflot is currently suspended due to the Ukrainian-Russian war.

Transfer Partners

American Express Membership Rewards: 1 Membership Rewards point to 1 SkyMiles and $0.0006 per point for a maximum of $99. This means a transfer of 10,000 MR points will cost $6 and transferring 165,000 points or more will cost a flat fee of $99. This makes cards like the American Express Gold card, which earns 4x points per dollar on dining and groceries, effectively earn 4x points on grocery and dining purchases. Given that the value of SkyMiles is not high compared to other Amex transfer partners, I would discourage transferring unless to top off points for a redemption.

Marriott Bonvoy: 3 Bonvoy points to 1 SkyMiles. Generally discouraged to transfer because of the poor transfer ratio.

Everyday Partners

These direct partners will earn X amount of SkyMiles based on the amount of money spent. A couple of the more notable partners are listed below:

Airbnb: By booking through Delta's link, earn 1 SkyMile per dollar spent on Airbnb stays.

Hertz: SkyMiles can be earned based off of how much money spent and the SkyMileselite status of members when attaching SkyMiles number to your Hertz booking. This is instead of earning Hertz's reward currency so if you value Hertz rewards, do not choose this option.

Delta Affiliate Portals

Delta Stays: Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on base hotel rates booked through Delta Stays.

Delta Vacations: Earn up to 10,000 SkyMiles per person when booking through Delta Vacations.

SkyMiles Dining: Earn SkyMiles when purchasing from participating restaurants in SkyMiles Dining while using a credit linked to the dining portal.

SkyMiles Shopping: Earn SkyMiles when purchasing items through SkyMiles Shopping.

Other Methods/Partners

For other ways to earn SkyMiles and more partners, visit SkyMiles partners.

Delta Flight

US carriers have one of the best online user interfaces for booking award flights. Delta, for instance, just requires you to check a box that says "Shop with Miles" when searching for flights.

An award calendar when selecting "flexible with dates"->"Price Calendar". This will allow you to look at awards with a monthly view.

Generally, these SkyMiles are worth around 1-1.3 cents per point. This even applies to business class flights, hence why people call the currency SkyPesos. However, there are 4 ways to get more out of SkyMiles redemption.

1. Delta Flash Sales: Delta can sometimes have no notice and barely advertised flash sales that will make flights incredibly cheap. The most recent flash sale included booking basic economy tickets from the US to Europe for 20,400 SkyMiles round-trip. This also stacks with the Take Off 15 mentioned below to get a round trip price of 17,340 SkyMiles. Do keep in mind that I have been tracking prices for a while and US to Europe basic economy flights have generally clocked in at around 32,000 SkyMiles round-trip from the east coast. These deals are often only found in SkyMiles Award Deals, where they typically advertise a low fare coming up in the next 2 or so months. Keep in mind the dates they advertise may not be the only dates, as bookings farther out can also be just as cheap.
2. Take Off 15: All Delta credit card holders (except for Delta SkyMiles blue card) will get a 15% discount on Delta operated awards. This could bring the average value of flight awards to 1.3-1.5 cents per point. For domestic flights, this isn't too bad. This is also a discount, so you would only need the amount that they ask you to on screen.
   
   

3. Fuel Surcharges: Delta does not pass on fuel charges to your award ticket. This is most important for when you look at flights from partner airlines, which usually passes on fees to their own members.
4. Free Changes and Cancellation: Probably the best thing about Delta awards is the ability to freely change and cancel tickets if not in Basic Economy. This allows for a lot of flexibility to book backup flights with.

Partner Flight

Delta has a wide selection of partners that SkyMiles can be redeemed. The best way to redeem SkyMiles for outsized value is to redeem on partner flights that don't originate or end in the United States or Canada. That is because Delta has a hidden award chart for those flights.

To summarize the article, some of the sweetspots include Europe to Australia in business for 90,000 SkyMiles, WestJet economy within the continental United States and Canada for 12,500 SkyMiles, and East Asia to Southeast Asia in business for 40,000 SkyMiles.

While other blogs have touted the value of using SkyMiles on WestJet, I have found that WestJet flights are in fact dynamic, so proceed with caution.

As of February 2025, I could only find availability for the following carriers. Do keep in mind that availability could change at any time, but interestingly, all Chinese SkyTeam carriers are absent.

• AeroMexico
• Air France
• China Airlines
• EL AL
• Garuda Indonesia
• Hawaiian Airlines
• ITA Airways
• KLM
• Korean Air
• Latam Airlines
• Middle Eastern Airlines
• Saudia Airlines
• SAS
• Tarom
• Vietnam Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• WestJet

Flight Upgrades

Upgrades for flights generally cost around 1 cent per SkyMile to the cash upgrade price.

Fixed Point Costs

Delta has a few options that SkyMiles cost are directly tied to the cash price:

• Premium Drinks at SkyClub: 1.5 cents per SkyMiles for drink purchases at SkyClubs. Good value!
• Cash and Miles Flights: Book flights at 1 cent per SkyMile in 5000 SkyMiles or $50 increments. Take Off 15 would not apply to this redemption.
• Delta Vacations: Book Delta vacation packages (flight + hotel, or flight + car rental) at 1 cent per SkyMile.

Other Options

For more information, visit Delta's website.

Medallion Requirements

Delta has 4 tiers of status for their medallion members.

Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQD) are Delta's metric for how valuable a member is. Below are the ways to earn MQDs with Delta:

• Flights: 1 MQD per dollar spent on paid flights other than in basic economy.
• Award Flights: 1 MQD per 100 SkyMiles spent on award flights other than in basic economy.
• Exception Fares: Flights booked through vacation packages or consolidator fares will earn MQD based on distance (in miles) flown.
• Partner Flights Paid partner flights, with the SkyMiles number attached, can earn MQD based on distance flown. Partners may have different MQD earning rates.
• Credit Cards: 1 MQD per $10 spent on American Express Delta Personal and Business Reserve Card. 1 MQD per $20 spent on American Express Delta Personal and Business Platinum Card. In addition, each Delta credit Card (personal and business) will give 2,500 MQD each year up to 10,000 MQDs as an MQD headstart benefit.
• Promotions: Delta may run promotions to earn MQDs, such as with Delta stays, vacations and more.

Medallion Benefits

The list below are the benefits that all medallion members have. I have ranked the list in order of which perk I find to be the most valuable benefit.

• Additional free checked bags
• Complimentary Preferred Seat Selection
• Complimentary Companion Upgrades
• Sky Priority Check In
• Priority Waitlist Status
• Reclaim status
• Luggage Tags
• Delta Vacations Savings
  • $25 off on $0-$1499 of vacation purchases
  • $75 off on $1500-$3999 of vacation purchases
  • $125 off on $4000-$6999 of vacation purchases
  • $250 off on $7000 or more of vacation purchases

The chart below summarizes the benefits that differ for each tier:

Choice Benefits

For those that reach platinum or diamond medallion, you can receive choice benefits. The options are as follows:

Out of all of these, my pick would be the 4 regional upgrade certificates for platinum medallion members or the 4 global upgrade certificates for the diamond medallion members. Otherwise, I would take the SkyMiles option or the statement credit if you own a credit card and no longer want to fly Delta, since I value SkyMiles more than a penny each. I think SkyMiles would any day beat the Delta Travel Voucher but the Delta Vacations choice is up to personal preference.

Status Match

Delta offers status matches to other airline elites. Eligible airlines include:

• Air Canada
• Air New Zealand
• Alaska Airlines
• All Nippon Airways
• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Copa Airlines
• Japan Airlines
• JetBlue
• Lufthansa
• Qantas
• South African Airways
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines
• Virgin Australia

Reclaiming Status

Delta Allows for status to be reclaimed in case of life events. According to sources online, plenty of events could qualify if you call Delta. All you would have to do once approved is to reach the MQD threshold for your status, same as the status match threshold.

Delta SkyMiles Blue

There is not much to write home about the Delta Blue card, except that this is a $0 annual fee card. It serves as a great downgrade option for personal Delta cards.

Delta SkyMiles Gold and Delta SkyMiles Gold Business

For a $0 introductory annual fee before $150 on renewal, you can test drive the card. The card's main benefit is giving free checked bags for you and up to 8 companions and Take Off 15 (15% discount on Delta operated award flights). The $150 Delta Stays credit, especially on the business card, is a great way to offset the annual fee.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum and Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business

The main reason to hold the card instead of the Delta Gold card is the annual 2,500 MQD head start and annual companion certificate. Holding 4 Delta Platinum or Reserve (business and/or personal) cards will automatically grant you Delta Gold Medallion status, enough to be a Skyteam Elite Plus Member and getting access to SkyTeam partner lounges.

The companion certificate the card comes with is valid for any round trip main cabin Delta operated flight within North America (excluding Canada) and the Caribbeans. This could honestly represent a ton of outsized value if used correctly, sometimes even upwards of $1000. Holding 4 Delta Platinum (personal or business) cards could automatically give you Delta Gold Medallion status and 4 companion certificates for $1,400. This is before factoring all the credits as well.

Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business

The flag ship benefit of the Delta Reserve cards are the Delta SkyClub access. However, they are limited to 15 visits a year unless you spend $75,000 that year. Since the Amex Platinum card also provides 6 SkyClub visits a year, for the casual Delta flyers, I would recommend holding the Amex Platinum card instead.

However, the other flagship perk is that the card can get the most MQD for spend, at a rate of 1 MQD per $10. The card is the best for those wishing to spend towards status. Lastly, for all the ballers flying in first class, the annual companion certificate has the same restrictions as the Delta Platinum companion certificates, except it also allows for bookings in first class.