No matter where you are in your points and miles journey, the threat of losing your hard-earned rewards to a forgotten expiration date always lurks in the background. While it may cross your mind the more you work toward achieving your redemption goals, it can be easy to forget about if you’re not constantly traveling, earning, or redeeming rewards.
Not only that, every loyalty program, whether for hotels, credit cards, or airlines, has its own rules. For some, like American Airlines AAdvantage, your miles will simply expire if your account isn’t kept active after a certain amount of time. But for others — including Delta SkyMiles, United Airlines MileagePlus, and Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards — your miles will never expire, and you can continue earning and redeeming them as long as your account is open and in good standing.
Here’s everything you need to know about earning and redeeming Delta SkyMiles, plus a few reasons why Delta Air Lines would consider closing your account.
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How to earn more Delta SkyMiles
Earning Delta SkyMiles is easy, thanks to a robust portfolio of airline, hotel, car rental, and retail partners—especially if you sign up for one of Delta’s co-branded credit cards.
Earning
Anytime you book a flight with Delta or any of its SkyTeam alliance partner airlines, you’ll earn miles as long as you sign up for the free-to-join SkyMiles loyalty program. Delta’s SkyTeam partners include the following airlines:
- Aeroflot (currently suspended)
- Aerolíneas Argentinas
- Aeromexico
- Air Europa
- Air France
- China Airlines
- China Eastern
- Czech Airlines
- Garuda Indonesia
- ITA Airways
- Kenya Airways
- KLM
- Korean Air
- Middle East Airlines
- Saudia
- SAS — as of September 1, 2024
- TAROM
- Vietnam Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- XiamenAir
Thanks to Delta’s special non-alliance partnerships, you also have the opportunity to earn SkyMiles with LATAM, airBaltic, Cape Air, China Southern Airlines (select flights only), Hawaiian Airlines (inter-island flights only), and WestJet.
Note that whether you’re flying on Delta metal or with one of its partners, the amount of miles you’ll earn is determined by the class you’re flying in and your current elite status level.
The higher your Medallion Status — Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond — the more SkyMiles and premium-level perks you’ll receive when you fly. For example, as a regular SkyMiles member, you’d earn 5 miles per dollar spent on flights, but with status, you could pick up 7 miles per dollar as a Silver Medallion, 8 miles per dollar as a Gold Medallion, 9 miles per dollar as a Platinum Medallion, or 11 miles per dollar at the Diamond Medallion level.
Members can also accrue SkyMiles by booking hotels and vacation rentals via Delta Stays, booking sailings through Delta Cruises, reserving accommodations with Airbnb, or staying at Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, Accor, or Shangri-La properties worldwide.
Alternatively, you can book your entire trip through Delta Vacations. Doing so allows you to bundle flights, hotels, and car rentals while earning SkyMmiles for every dollar spent.
Delta partners with several car rental companies — Hertz, Enterprise, Thrifty, Dollar, Alamo, National, Avis, Budget, Payless, Sixt, and Europcar — allowing you to earn SkyMiles when booking directly or through Delta Car Rentals. It’s also possible to link your SkyMiles account to Lyft and Turo so you can earn miles for every rideshare and carshare, respectively.
As for retail partners, you can accrue Delta SkyMiles by linking your account before shopping at Starbucks, buying tickets to events through Ticketmaster, or paying for your Energy Plus electric bill (in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, or Illinois).
Redeeming
Once you’ve acquired a decent amount of SkyMiles, your toughest decision will be how to use them. Whether there’s a certain place you’ve been dreaming of visiting or you want to take the family or a loved one on a vacation, it’s worth checking for SkyMiles Award Deals so you can book your trip using the lowest amount of miles possible.
SkyMiles can be redeemed for award flights on Delta Air Lines, as well as any of its partner airlines mentioned above.
Delta Amex cardholders who are short on miles can use the nifty Pay With Miles feature to apply SkyMiles towards the cost of a ticket ($5,000 miles, for instance, would bring the price down by $50).
SkyMiles members can also put miles toward flight upgrades, free checked bags, and premium-level drinks at Delta Sky Club lounges. Alternatively, they can use them to cover fees for ticket changes, selecting Preferred Seats, and other flight-related charges.
Those with Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond Medallion status can use SkyMiles to purchase a Delta Sky Club membership (69,500 miles for individual and 149,500 for executive accounts).
Members at any level can put miles toward Delta Vacations and Delta Stays (mentioned above) or use them to bid on entry to special events through SkyMiles Experiences.
Though not recommended since there are better ways to use them, SkyMiles can be exchanged for magazine subscriptions through MagsForMiles, granting you access to top titles like Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler for less.
Getting a Delta co-branded card
If you’re in the market for a new travel rewards credit card and can responsibly meet the minimum spending requirement, signing up for one of Delta’s co-branded credit cards will help boost your SkyMiles balance quickly.
There are several co-branded Delta credit cards to choose from. These include:
- Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
Small business owners may also want to consider these Delta business cards:
- Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business American Express Card
Always consider your personal travel and financial needs when applying for a new credit card. If you’d rather pay a higher annual fee and receive premium perks like lounge access, the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card might be a good fit.
If, however, you’d prefer a no-annual-fee card and just want the ability to earn miles on everyday purchases, the Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card might be more appealing.
If you ever need to cancel your co-branded credit card, you won’t lose any of the miles you’ve accrued since they’re associated with Delta’s loyalty program, not American Express.
Using Delta SkyMiles shopping and dining programs
If you’re up for some retail therapy or are just in the mood to try out a new bar or restaurant, you can earn extra Delta SkyMiles on these activities. Uhe SkyMiles Shopping portal for all your online shopping needs and reserving your table through SkyMiles Dining can help you earn more miles.
Use any credit card to shop online at over 1,000 stores or link a preferred credit or debit card to your dining program account, then start racking them up on the things you’re going to be paying for anyway.
Buying, gifting, donating, and transferring miles
If you’re short on Skymiles and want to buy some for yourself (or for others as a gift), the going rate is 3.5 cents per mile, and they must purchased in 2,000-mile increments. Note that you’ll only be able to buy up to 60,000 Skymiles per year.
You also have the option to donate your SkyMiles through Delta SkyWish, which lets you support your choice of participating charities, such as UNICEF, St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital, Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, and Make-A-Wish, among others.
If you’d like to transfer some of your SkyMiles to friends or family members, you’ll need to pay one cent per mile, plus a processing fee of $30 per transaction. You’re also limited to up to four recipients each time and can transfer anywhere from 1,000 to 30,000 SkyMiles in 1,000-mile increments.
A free way to “share” miles with friends and family is to book award flights for them with your own SkyMiles. That way, you’ll avoid the transaction fees involved in a transfer.
Alternatively, you can bump up your SkyMiles balance by transferring points from partner loyalty programs like American Express Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, which offer points-to-SkyMiles conversions with 1:1 and 3:1 transfer ratios, respectively.
In a pinch, you could also switch some over from IHG One Rewards, Hilton Honors, Radisson Rewards, Accor Live Limitless, or Hertz Gold Rewards Plus (you’ll have to call 888-999-4900).
Note, however, that the transfer ratios vary by program. You’ll receive one SkyMile for every 10 Radisson Rewards points, for instance, or 1,000 SkyMiles for every 10,000 Hilton Honors points. Transferring 10,000 IHG One Rewards points gets you 2,000 SkyMiles, while 4,000 Accor Le Club points translates to 2,000 SkyMiles.
Reasons why you might lose your Delta miles
According to the program rules listed on Delta’s website, there are a few reasons why your SkyMiles account could be closed by the airline. In cases where the account holder dies, stops responding to communications regarding their account status, or if fraudulent activity is detected, Delta could deactivate it and remove any acquired SkyMiles.
Other reasons you might lose your Delta SkyMiles include creating more accounts with the same name, moving to a country that doesn’t allow you to keep you SkyMiles membership, or violating the program’s terms.
Members are free to cancel their own accounts — just make sure you redeem your miles first so you don’t end up forfeiting them.
Summary
Delta SkyMiles never expire, giving you one less thing to worry about and even more reasons to concentrate on racking them up. Without having that pesky, ever-approaching deadline, you’ll be free to redeem them however you choose, whether it’s for free (or nearly free) flights with Delta Air Lines or its partners, hotel stays, car rentals, cruises, or an entire vacation package. As long as you don’t do anything to break the program’s rules and cause Delta to close your account, the sky’s the limit.
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