Many major airlines offer a frequent flier program that rewards travelers who travel with their airline on a regular basis. The Delta SkyMiles Program, a frequent flier program offered by Delta Airlines, rewards travelers with miles for their loyalty to the airline. After accumulating a significant amount of miles, travelers can redeem them for airline tickets, upgrades, amenities, and subscriptions.
There are a few ways to earn miles with the Delta SkyMiles Program. Each time you fly with Delta or one of its carriers on an economy or coach flight, you earn the larger of 500 miles or miles traveled. Flights that are upgraded to first class or business class earn 150% of miles traveled.
Miles can also be earned through the many Delta partners. Certain hotels, car rentals, and restaurants reward you with SkyMiles when you use their services. For a listing of participating vendors, visit the Delta SkyMiles website.
As you accumulate miles, you have the opportunity to increase your membership status with Delta. The Silver, Gold, and Platinum Medallion status awards you with complimentary upgrades, priority boarding and seating, and a host of other benefits.
The Delta SkyMiles program has partnerships with several major banks offering a SkyMiles credit card. Having a SkyMiles credit card presents additional opportunities to earn miles. The credit card allows you to earn miles for purchases and extra miles when you use book a Delta flight using the card. In the United States, the SkyMiles credit card is offered by the big banks.
If you have points with Delta partners, you have the ability to convert these points into miles that can be redeemed for a flight. Some of the partners include Hertz, Diners Club, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and Radisson. To convert rewards you should contact the rewards program of the partner. The Delta SkyMiles website also has information about converting partner rewards into SkyMiles.
The major benefit of the SkyMiles program is the miles you receive for flying frequently. The amount of miles required to for an award flight varies by destination and how far in advance the flight is booked.
The minimum amount of miles required to redeem a free flight is 25,000. To gain that amount of miles, you’d need to take a minimum of 50 flights with Delta or one of its carriers. Taking connecting flights to your destination can reward you with more miles because you gain at least 500 miles for each leg of the flight.
