Free Flights and Upgrades? Advice on Getting There with Delta SkyMiles (Updated: OCT 2007)
Written: Jan 20 '07 (Updated Oct 13 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The more you fly, the better the perks
Cons: Miles expire after only one year without activity
The Bottom Line: On par with most other frequent flier memberships- the more you fly, the more rewarding it gets
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| BeastieGirl's Full Review: Delta SkyMiles |
I am all about free travel and first class upgrades. If you aspire to these things too, then head right to Delta.com and sign up for their SkyMiles program. It may take some time and effort, but this program will allow you to get free trips and upgrades as well as other benefits that might not even be realized. Delta SkyMiles is a fairly straightforward program that combines several ways to earn miles as well as multiple ways to redeem miles, you just have to have a little bit of know-how (and flexibility.
Program Details
Anyone can sign up for a SkyMiles account, it is free and really simple to do. You will get a membership card after your first flight- you will be able to use it at Delta check-in kiosks, which is nice. Miles will expire after 12 months if you have no account activity. Even if you don't fly a lot, keeping your account is pretty easy to keep up to date as you can earn miles for hotel stays or car rentals and many other ways. If you are going to fly on Delta, I would definitely recommend signing up for the SkyMiles program, regardless of the frequency of your travel.
Earning Miles
Obviously, flying on Delta is probably the easiest way to earn miles. It is pretty simple- for every mile that you fly, you will earn that many SkyMiles. If your flight is less than 500 miles, you will earn a minimum of 500 miles, which is kind of a nice little bonus without even trying. If you have a ticket that is full fare or a first class ticket, you will actually earn a 50% mileage bonus.
Miles can also be earned by flying on other SkyTeam flights, such as Northwest, Continental, Air France, KLM, Alitalia, Alaska Airlines, Air Jamaica, AeroMexico, Aeroflot, China Airlines, China Southern, EL AL Israel Airlines, Czech Airlines, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic. Be sure to check the airlines for their mileage policies- I flew on a few Continental flights at a reduced fare and only received 50% of the actual miles flown- a bit of a disappointment.
Most major car rental companies offer the opportunity to earn SkyMiles. They include Hertz, Avis, National, Alamo, Dollar, Thrifty, Sixt, and Europcar. Major hotel chains also offer miles, but this is usually in lieu of earning hotel points.
One of my favorite ways to earn miles is through the SkyMiles Dining program. As I travel a lot, I’m usually looking for new restaurants to try. Many times I use the restaurants listed in the program to try out. Depending on the restaurant and how often you eat out at the program restaurants, you can earn 3 to 10 miles per dollar spent- this is a very easy way to earn miles without flying and keep your account active.
There are also shopping opportunities, like buying flowers on line from FTD, Sky Mall, Lather, Shutterfly, Netflix, even buying Biscoff cookies. Some lending companies also offer mileage bonuses, including Ameritrade and Lending Tree. These are all great opportunities to earn miles, provided you need their services.
One way to be sure that you continuously earn miles is to register for the American Express SkyMiles credit card. While I’m not a huge advocate for credit cards, I do think this is probably the best way to earn miles quickly and consistently. There are other cards available for those living outside of the US in the form of a VISA card, but the principle for earning miles is still the same- usually one mile earned for every dollar spent. Many of the cards offer special deals on rental cars or hotel stays and opportunities for double miles. Many offer a first time bonus that will give you enough (or almost enough) miles for one free coach ticket. I have seen offers as well that will give you the opportunity to earn bonus miles that qualify towards preferred status, an exceptional reason for getting this card, I think. In any case, beware of annual fees and high interest rates for any of these cards. If you spend at least 10,000 per year on your card, you can also earn miles that count toward Medallion status, a nice little perk.
Medallion Status
With the SkyMiles program, they offer elite status, referred to as Medallion members. The levels are similar to other frequent flier programs, with a Silver Medallion level starting at 25,000 miles flown, Gold at 50,000 and Platinum at 75,000 miles flown in a calendar year. These miles have to be flown or stated in a bonus program that they are Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQM) in order to count toward preferred status. That mostly excludes purchases on credit cards, SkyMiles dining other such ways of earning miles, although keep your eyes open, this year they have offered a few MQM bonus mile promotions as well.
Silver Medallion members earn a 25% mileage bonus and have some nice little perks, such as early boarding, access to the first class check in line at the ticket counter and unlimited upgrades (assuming there is availability). You can get upgraded on any class fare purchased, but the higher the fare, the higher up on the standby list you will be. I somehow end up with the lowest fare class (T) frequently, and rarely managed an upgrade. There is also a dedicated customer service line for Silver members as well as discounts off of Crown Room memberships.
Gold Medallion members earn a 100% mileage bonus (which really helps to rack up the miles). All of the Silver membership benefits are included, however free upgrades are more likely to go to Gold Medallion members. Often times, upgrades will be issued on a standby basis, with priority given to Gold Members over Silver Medallion members. As a Silver Medallion member, I found that I was upgraded on about 30% of my flights. Only occasionally did I make it to the top of the standby list for upgrades. When I made Gold Medallion status however, I was upgraded about 95% of the time- a big difference. Even with the lowest fare class, I am still upgraded frequently. I was usually upgraded at least one day in advance of my flight, compared to being on the standby list most of the time as a Silver member. Same day change fees for tickets are also waived as a Gold Medallion member.
Platinum Medallion members have all of the above benefits and are upgraded sooner and more frequently than either Gold or Silver Medallion members. They also receive a larger discount on the Crown Room Memberships and have access to more bonus programs and can use their miles for items such as gift certificates to stores including Pottery Barn, Best Buy and Home Depot. Using miles for gift certificates is really nice if you earn a lot of miles like I do, but rarely redeem them for free tickets.
Upgrades
I mentioned that the three tiers of Medallion status receive free upgrades based on availability. Upgrades are still possible, even if you don’t fly often enough to attain elite status. If you earn miles through the American Express SkyMiles card or other purchases and programs, you can use these miles towards upgrades (and they are guaranteed, versus just being placed on a standby list). I used to do this frequently before I was a Medallion member. It’s only 5,000 miles one way on a full fare or 10,000 miles on discounted fare to upgrade your ticket. You will still earn miles for the actual flight, which means that even though you are spending miles, you are still earning some at the same time!
Free Tickets
Most people like to use the free ticket option when they have enough miles. It is 25,000 miles for a SkySaver ticket, which has more limited availability. SkyChoice tickets use twice as many miles but have way less blackout dates. I like that there is the option, rather than being limited to practically 4 days out of a month. If you want to travel on a ticket using your miles during peak travel times, such as Christmas and summertime, you will definitely find limited to no availability for the SkySaver tickets. As a Medallion member, there are slightly more dates available, but not that many more, from my experience. Booking far in advance definitely helps with your options, though.
Other ways to use miles
If you are feeling generous, Delta allows you to transfer miles to another SkyMiles member. You’ll be charged a fee of $25 and $0.01 per mile, but if your miles are about to expire and you have absolutely no activity, then this is a better way than losing all of your miles. If you are feeling even more generous than just giving a friend or family member your miles, you can donate them to charity, is a really nice option. You can also use your miles for magazine subscriptions.
Is Delta SkyMiles worth my time?
While all frequent flier programs have their pros and cons (most of them very similar), my first answer is Of course!. You have nothing to lose by becoming a member, but before you put all your eggs in one basket and try to gain elite status with Delta, consider a few things. Does Delta have flights that suit your needs? If you live in Chicago, you are probably better off flying United. If you are in Detroit, Northwest might be a better airline to earn miles with. If you fly in the South or going through their main hub, Atlanta, doesn’t bother you, then this might be a good airline to invest your time in. My dad keeps warning me to use my miles before they go bankrupt, but at this point in time, I’m banking on being able to keep my miles, even if there is a merger or hostile takeover.
Overall Thoughts
I used to be a huge fan of the US Airways Dividend Miles program and even as a Silver Preferred member, I was upgraded all the time. About the same time that I started flying Delta more frequently, their program was changing to reflect the way most programs, including SkyMiles are run. Less upgrades, less availability for tickets using your miles. The higher the elite status you attain, the better the perks will be, almost regardless of your fare class purchased. I’ve found that since becoming a Gold Medallion member and as a recent Platinum Medallion member, I have become much happier as a SkyMiles member. Even without elite status, free flights and upgrades are still worth saving your miles for.
Here is some additional information you might find helpful:
Delta Airlines
US Airways
Northwest Airlines
United Airlines
US Airways Dividend Miles
www.delta.com/skymiles
Recommended:
Yes
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