One of the most popular frequent flyer programs is Delta SkyMiles, the loyalty program of Delta Air Lines.
Joining the program, which has more than 120 million members, is free, and your miles never expire. TPG values SkyMiles at 1.2 cents each in our most recent valuations from June 2026.
You can earn Delta SkyMiles through a variety of methods. Some popular options include flying with Delta and its partners, making purchases with Delta’s cobranded cards, transferring points from American Express Membership Rewards, shopping through the Delta SkyMiles Shopping portal, dining through the Delta SkyMiles Dining program and taking advantage of various other promotions offered by the airline.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: Earn up to 100,000 bonus miles: 80,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership, plus an additional 20,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 on purchases ($6,000 total) in the first six months of card membership.
You can also earn Medallion Qualification Dollars to help you reach Delta’s four elite status tiers that provide perks like seat upgrades, priority boarding and airport lounge access.
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Delta SkyMiles program partners
Delta is a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. You can earn and redeem SkyMiles when you travel with any SkyTeam airline, including:
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Aeromexico
- Air Europa
- Air France
- China Airlines
- China Eastern Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Garuda Indonesia
- Kenya Airways
- KLM
- Korean Air
- Middle East Airlines
- Saudia
- Scandinavian Airlines
- TAROM
- Vietnam Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Xiamen Airlines
Other partners
Delta has several other partnerships beyond SkyTeam members, giving you numerous options for earning miles even when you aren’t flying with Delta or a SkyTeam airline. Nonalliance partners include:
- AirBaltic
- Cape Air
- El Al
- LATAM
- WestJet
Just note that each partnership has specific restrictions and requirements.
Related: The best websites for searching SkyTeam award availability
Delta SkyMiles elite status
The SkyMiles program offers four elite status tiers for frequent Delta flyers: Silver Medallion, Gold Medallion, Platinum Medallion and Diamond Medallion. Additionally, the airline offers an exclusive invite-only tier called Delta 360 that’s only available to its most loyal flyers.
Earning Delta Medallion status
Delta only uses Medallion Qualification Dollars for qualification. You can earn MQDs in the following ways:
Here are some key benefits of each of Delta’s published status tiers.
SkyMiles Silver Medallion
The lowest elite tier in Delta’s SkyMiles program is Silver Medallion status and requires 5,000 MQDs. As a Silver Medallion, you’ll receive:
- Complimentary first-class upgrades on domestic and short-haul international flights from 24 hours before departure
- Upgrades to Delta Comfort within 24 hours of departure
- Priority boarding (Zone 5) and check-in
- One free checked bag on flights operated by Delta and select partner airlines, plus a free checked bag for up to eight of your companions when traveling on a Delta flight
SkyMiles Gold Medallion
Next up is Gold Medallion status, which requires 10,000 MQDs and will give you:
- Complimentary first-class upgrades on domestic and short-haul international flights from three days before departure
- Upgrades to Delta Comfort within three days of departure
- SkyPriority status
- No additional costs for same-day confirmed changes
SkyMiles Platinum Medallion
The third tier in the SkyMiles program is Platinum Medallion, which requires 15,000 MQDs. In addition to the previously mentioned Silver Medallion and Gold Medallion perks, you’ll get:
- Complimentary first-class upgrades on domestic flights and short-haul international flights from five days before departure
- Upgrades to Delta Comfort at booking
- Your pick of a Choice Benefit
SkyMiles Diamond Medallion
Finally, the highest publicly available tier in the SkyMiles program is Diamond Medallion, which requires 28,000 MQDs. Diamond Medallion members get everything detailed above, plus some even better perks:
- Additional Choice Benefits options
- Complimentary Clear+ membership
- Higher upgrade priority
How to earn Delta SkyMiles
You can earn Delta SkyMiles by flying Delta-operated flights, traveling with a SkyTeam partner and opening a Delta cobranded credit card. You can also earn miles through everyday activities like shopping and dining.
Earn SkyMiles by flying
When you fly Delta on a Delta-issued ticket in the main cabin or above (basic economy fares don’t earn miles), you’ll earn SkyMiles on the base price of your ticket. The higher your status tier, the faster you’ll earn miles.
- General member: 5 miles per dollar
- Silver Medallion: 7 miles per dollar
- Gold Medallion: 8 miles per dollar
- Platinum Medallion: 9 miles per dollar
- Diamond Medallion: 11 miles per dollar
Meanwhile, if you book a partner flight on that carrier’s website (for example, Air France) and add your Delta SkyMiles number, you’ll earn miles based on a percentage of the distance flown. The exact number of SkyMiles you’ll receive varies by partner, booking class and your elite status.
Earn SkyMiles through credit cards
There’s a Delta credit card for everyone — the loyalist, the business traveler and even the infrequent flyer. The following cards offer these perks:
- First checked bag free worldwide, second checked bag free domestically and priority boarding on Delta flights
- A 20% discount on inflight purchases
- 15% off award redemptions for Delta flights
Here’s a look at some of the best Delta SkyMiles credit cards from American Express. (Terms apply.)
| Credit card | Annual fee | Welcome bonus | TPG’s valuation (as of June 2026) | Notable perks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 (see rates and fees) |
Earn up to 90,000 bonus miles: 70,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership, plus an additional 20,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 on purchases ($5,000 total) in the first six months of card membership. |
Up to $1,080 |
|
|
|
$350 (see rates and fees) |
Earn up to 100,000 bonus miles: 80,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership, plus an additional 20,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 on purchases ($6,000 total) in the first six months of card membership. |
Up to $1,200 |
Enrollment is required for some benefits. |
|
|
$650 (see rates and fees) |
Earn up to 125,000 bonus miles: 100,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership, plus an additional 25,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases ($9,000 total) in the first six months of card membership. |
Up to $1,500 |
Enrollment is required for some benefits. |
|
|
$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 (see rates and fees) |
Earn 90,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. |
$1,080 |
|
|
|
$350 (see rates and fees) |
Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. |
$1,200 |
Enrollment is required for some benefits. |
|
|
$650 (see rates and fees) |
Earn 125,000 bonus miles after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. |
$1,500 |
Enrollment is required for some benefits. |
Related: 5 things you need to know about Delta SkyMiles
Earn SkyMiles through shopping portals
One of the easiest ways to earn SkyMiles is through Delta’s online shopping portal, Delta SkyMiles Shopping. You can earn miles on purchases you would ordinarily make with over a thousand merchants online.
If you don’t already have an account, you must register using your SkyMiles number. Then, you can use the search box to find the store or product you’re looking for and compare prices and mileage rates at different merchants. You can also favorite stores so you’ll be notified when those stores offer bonus miles.
After selecting your merchant, click on the store, product or offer to go to the store’s website to shop and check out. The store will alert the portal when you’ve made a purchase, and the miles you earn will be added to your SkyMiles account. You’ll receive a confirmation email when your miles have posted — this is typically within three to five days, but it can take up to 15 days.
Related: Earn points, miles or cash back: How to maximize online shopping portals for your purchases
Transfer Amex points to Delta
Finally, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to your Delta SkyMiles account at a 1:1 ratio. We don’t usually recommend this because we value Amex points higher than SkyMiles.
It’s often difficult to get a higher fare from Delta due to dynamic pricing. You’ll also have to pay an excise tax offset fee when transferring Amex points to Delta (and other domestic frequent flyer programs).
Related: Amex Membership Rewards transfer partners: Redeem your points with airlines and hotels
How to redeem SkyMiles
Delta uses dynamic pricing for award tickets, so you will need to search on the Delta website or app to determine how many SkyMiles you need for an award ticket. Delta’s site is pretty easy to navigate, and its handy calendar feature can help you find the lowest prices for your next redemption.
We’ve generally found the best redemptions on domestic flights. With one of the Delta cobranded cards that offers a 15% discount on Delta-operated award tickets, you can sometimes book short-haul flights for under 4,000 SkyMiles one-way. That said, prices will vary by day, route and cabin class.
Note that Delta award tickets are fully refundable (on flights originating in the U.S. and Canada, excluding basic economy fares), so if your plans change, you can redeposit the miles and get a refund for the taxes and fees you paid. This also allows you to rebook award tickets when the mileage price drops, securing a refund of the difference in miles.
Additionally, you can use your SkyMiles to book partner tickets on most of Delta’s SkyTeam and nonalliance partners. Unfortunately, these have now largely aligned with Delta’s own flight prices, minimizing the opportunity to get better value from partner awards, especially in premium cabins.
Related: How to redeem your Delta SkyMiles for maximum value
Sweet spots
With Delta using dynamic pricing across its route network, there aren’t many sweet spots to maximize the value of your SkyMiles. Nevertheless, there are a few good options out there.
Delta flash sales
Delta frequently runs SkyMiles flash sales for short- and long-haul routes to U.S. destinations and cities in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. We’ve seen some terrific deals for the main cabin, Delta Comfort and first class. Past deals include round-trip flights to Europe for just 34,000 miles and fares to Tahiti in French Polynesia starting at 60,000 miles.
Of course, these cheap tickets aren’t always well advertised, so it pays to check availability often. Delta often prices short-haul award tickets well under what other airlines would charge for similar flights. You’ll often find the best deals when booking in advance and traveling on off-peak dates.
Bottom line
With its solid operational performance, wide route network and numerous partner airlines, Delta is touted by some as the best domestic airline. In fact, the carrier has taken the top spot in TPG’s analysis of the best airlines in the U.S. for the last eight years. Although award pricing and elite status requirements have disappointed many Delta loyalists, there’s still plenty to like about the Delta SkyMiles program.
Whether you’re a frequent Delta flyer or more casual customer, focusing on a mix of flying, using shopping portals and making purchases with Delta credit cards can increase your SkyMiles balance for your next redemption.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Gold card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card, click here.
