A common opinion held by many miles-and-points enthusiasts is that Delta’s frequent flyer miles (often jokingly referred to as SkyPesos) can be hard to use.
Folks complain about a lack of available low-level award seats, a website that doesn’t always give accurate information, and very high pricing on some routes, especially international award tickets.
But is this always true? I did some searches for award seats on Delta and then searched for the same dates and routes on American Airlines and United Airlines. The results might surprise you!
$500+ in Travel
Link: American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles (Personal)
Link: American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles (Business)
Link: American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles
Currently 3 versions of the Delta card offer a 50,000 mile bonus after completing the minimum spending.
You’ll get 50,000 miles after spending $1,000 in purchases on your new card in the 1st 3 months with the American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles (Personal), American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles (Business), and American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles cards.
Here’s my detailed review of the American Express Delta SkyMiles 50,000 mile offer.
This is worth at least $500 in travel when you use the “Pay with Miles” feature. That’s because each Delta mile is worth 1 cent toward a paid ticket (for fares over $100).
50,000 miles could be worth potentially more if you redeem for award flights.
Even if you have trouble finding low-level award seats on Delta, it’s often a better deal to pay their “medium” award price rather than pay for a standard or full price award seat on other airlines, like United Airlines.
For example, for a 1-way, coach class ticket from the US mainland to Hawaii, Delta charges:
- 22,500 miles (saver)
- 32,500 miles (standard)
- 45,000 miles (peak)
For the same ticket, United Airlines only has 2 award levels:
- 22,500 miles (saver)
- 45,000 miles (standard)
So if United Airlines and Delta were both sold out of saver award seats, you could still potentially save miles by flying Delta if they had standard (medium) award seats available. It’s always best to shop around!
Let’s Compare!
I wanted to compare available award seats on Delta, American Airlines, and United Airlines for the following types of award tickets:
- Domestic routes between large cities
- Domestic routes between smaller cities
- Flights to Hawaii (booked well in advance)
- International routes (booked a few months in advance)
Let’s see what we can find!
1. New York (Any Airport) to Los Angeles in September
I searched for round-trip award seats from New York to Los Angeles (a very busy route) in late September. You can’t book 1-way award tickets on Delta (but this changes on January 1, 2015).
Delta
Delta shows low-level coach class saver award seats available on most dates in September, both going outbound and on the return. It costs 25,000 miles round-trip for a low-level coach class award ticket.
There were fewer low-level First and Business Class award seats available, but you can still find seats if you’re flexible with your dates. Delta charges 50,000 miles for a low-level Business Class round-trip award ticket, and 65,000 miles for a First Class / BusinessElite ticket.
Delta has a large presence in New York, LaGuardia so flights were relatively easy to come by!
American Airlines
I searched for the same dates on American Airlines between New York and Los Angeles. There were low-level coach class award seats available almost every day, for 25,000 miles round trip.
From New York to Los Angeles:
From Los Angeles to New York:
And I was able to find Business/First low-level award seats almost every day, too. American Airlines charges 50,000 miles for a low-level round-trip Business/First Class ticket.
From New York to Los Angeles:
From Los Angeles to New York:
United Airlines
The same search on United Airlines shows both low-level coach class and United First / Business award seats available most dates in September (with slightly more dates available for coach class).
United Airlines charges 25,000 miles for low-level round-trip coach class award tickets, and 50,000 for Business / First class award tickets.
From New York to Los Angeles:
From Los Angeles to New York:
2. Austin to Traverse City in October
Award tickets between smaller cities can sometimes be hard to find, because there are fewer flights on smaller airplanes. I looked for low-level award seats between Austin and Traverse City in October, and the results were not great!
Delta
There are very few dates available with low-level, coach class award seats between Austin and Traverse City in October. However, if you’re willing to pay for a standard award (40,000 miles round-trip) there are seats available on most days.
There were even fewer low-level award seats in Business / First class throughout October.
American Airlines
American Airlines has more low-level coach class award seats available between Austin and Traverse City in October, but the selection is still not good.
From Austin to Traverse City:
From Traverse City to Austin:
There were more low-level award seats in Business / First on American Airlines, particularly from Austin to Traverse City.
From Austin to Traverse City:
From Traverse City to Austin:
United Airlines
A search on United Airlines for low-level award seats between Austin and Traverse City also had similar results. There were very few dates with available seats, both in coach class and First / Business class.
Although standard awards were available most days, they’re expensive (50,000 miles round-trip).
From Austin to Traverse City:
From Traverse City to Austin:
3. San Francisco to Honolulu in April
Award tickets to Hawaii are often hard to find on any airline, especially during busy periods like Spring Break. So I searched for round-trip award tickets from San Francisco to Honolulu in April.
Delta
There were very few low-level coach class tickets (45,000 miles round-trip) available going from San Francisco to Honolulu in April, both on the outbound and the return trips.
There are more dates with standard and peak coach class award seats available, but these are much more expensive (65,000 and 90,000 miles round-trip respectively).
A search for low-level Business / First award tickets (90,000 miles round-trip) shows even fewer dates available.
American Airlines
I searched for the same dates on American Airlines between San Francisco and Honolulu. There were many more available award seats!
Low-level coach class award seats cost 45,000 miles round-trip, and there are seats available almost every day in April!
From San Francisco to Honolulu:
And coming back:
In Business / First class, there are low-level award seats available every day! American Airlines charges 75,000 miles for a low-level round-trip Business / First Class ticket.
From San Francisco to Honolulu:
From Honolulu to San Francisco:
United Airlines
A search for flights between San Francisco and Honolulu in April showed many dates available for low-level, coach class award tickets (45,000 miles round-trip), but no dates at all for low-level First / Business class seats (80,000 miles round-trip)!
From San Francisco to Honolulu:
From Honolulu to San Francisco:
4. Washington, DC, to Frankfurt in June
Award travel to Europe in the spring and summer months can be tricky, depending on the route. I searched for low-level award seats between Washington, DC, and Frankfurt in June.
Delta
Going to Frankfurt, there were almost no dates available with low-level coach class award seats, but every day had standard level (95,000 miles round-trip) seats available. Coming back, there were more seats, but some dates only had peak award seats available (130,000 miles round-trip).
In First / Business Class, there are actually many more dates available for low-level tickets.
American Airlines
There are many more low-level coach class seats available on American Airlines (60,000 miles round-trip).
From Washington, DC, to Frankfurt:
From Frankfurt to Washington, DC:
In Business / First Class, there are a handful of available low-level dates on the outbound leg, and quite a few coming back.
From Washington, DC, to Frankfurt:
From Frankfurt to Washington, DC:
United Airlines
United Airlines has some low-level coach class award seats (60,000 miles round-trip) available in June from Washington, DC, to Frankfurt, but very few dates with low-level First / Business Class (140,000 miles round-trip) award seats available.
From Washington, DC, to Frankfurt:
From Frankfurt to Washington, DC:
Which Airline Has the Most Low-Level Award Seats?
It depends on the route, but generally (not always) American Airlines and United Airlines seem to have more low-level award seats available.
That said, on dates when there are only standard awards available, Delta might be a better choice. That’s because they have 3 levels of award pricing: Saver (low-level), standard (mid-level), and peak (high-level).
So for example, on dates where only standard awards are available on all airlines, you might pay 40,000 miles round-trip in coach class on Delta for a domestic award ticket, instead of 50,000 miles for the same ticket on United Airlines (which only has 2 levels of award ticket pricing).
As always, do the math and see what works for you. But don’t assume that you won’t be able to find good award seats on Delta. You may just find the award you’re looking for, even if United Airlines and American Airlines don’t have low-level seats.
Bottom Line
Delta Airlines miles can sometimes be hard to use, depending on the route and time of year. In general, they tend to release fewer award seats than other big airlines, like American Airlines or United Airlines.
But that’s not always the case, so it’s worth checking if you’re shopping around for an award ticket. And often, if there are only standard award seats available, you might pay fewer miles for your Delta award ticket. That’s because they have 3 levels of award ticket pricing.
What has your experience been like booking Delta award tickets? Do you find their miles hard to use?