Delta Airlines Skymiles Overview
For years, Delta was primarily a carrier focused on the southeastern US due to their super-hub in Atlanta. Over the past few years, however, the airline has built out an extremely robust European and Latin American footprint, including flights to secondary cities like Kiev and Pisa. That upside of this, of course, is that if you are a fan of Delta’s service, they have extensive routes across Africa, Europe and around the world.
If, however, you were hoping to use frequent flyer miles on those trips, you may be out of luck. One study found that they were only able to secure tickets on 25% of the routes they tried. Delta is notoriously stingy with their reward seats, and as they’ve shifted capacity to their international operations, that reputation hasn’t changed.
On the plus side, as with Continental, you can use those miles on SkyTeam partners, many of whom have frequent availability, even during peak times. Some would suggest, however, that those partners are one of only two particularly positive aspects of the SkyMiles program (the other is the generous SkyMiles American Express card). With little to offer over-and-above a pretty generic program, many will find that they are better off accruing miles on Northwest or Continental.
Delta Air Lines Secret: Delta has a long-standing partnership with Singapore Airlines, even thought they are not in the same alliance. Delta’s most generous award is a 90,000 mile business class ticket to Europe on Singapore. Their service blows away Delta’s (and Northwest’s…and Continental’s) and requires fewer miles than Continental for the same cities.
Learn More About Delta Airlines Skymiles
Delta Airlines Skymiles Overview
Delta Airlines Hubs and Routes
Delta Airlines Earning and Using Miles
Delta Airlines Skymiles Elite Status
Delta Airlines Skymiles Elite Status Matching