Use Delta Miles to Get to Europe (Even From the West Coast!)

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Delta miles are great to use for award flights to Europe.  And they’re easy to earn!

I’ll show how to use your Delta miles to fly to Europe.  Even from the West Coast, where folks sometimes have trouble finding available award seats!

Using Delta Miles to Get to Europe

You can use 60,000 Delta miles for a round-trip coach award ticket from anywhere in the mainland US, Alaska, or Canada to Europe.

Because summer is when a lot of folks travel, I recommend planning ahead by at least a few months, especially if you need more than 1 ticket.  It’s easier to find more than 1 open award seat when you start checking early.

Award seats on Delta to Europe are more available starting in September and October, depending on where you want to fly.

Here are a few ways to use your Delta miles to visit Europe this fall.

1.   Los Angeles to Amsterdam

There are lots of available award seats from Los Angeles and Amsterdam.

These flights would cost ~$1,362 if you paid for them!

So you’d get a good value by using your miles.

There aren’t many available award seats until September.  

Until then, you’ll have to redeem nearly double the amount of miles.

2.   Seattle to Paris

Emily and I had a great time on our honeymoon in Paris.  You can see the City of Lights by redeeming Delta miles for flights on its partner airline, Air France.

You can fly from many US cities, including Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles.  If there are saver award seats on Delta from your airport to 1 of these cities, you can add a connecting flight for NO extra miles.

I searched for award flights on Delta.com because it shows you seats on partner airlines like Air France and KLM.

By using miles, you can save ~$1,274 on these flights!

3.   Phoenix to Barcelona or Athens

Phoenix isn’t on the West Coast, but it’s a great example of how flexible Delta miles can be.

From Phoenix, I also found award seats to Paris and Rome.

From Barcelona, you’d fly back on KLM, 1 of Delta’s airline partners.

And if you use your miles to visit Athens, you’ll get to fly there on Alitalia and back on Aeroflot.

Again, you’ll save over $1,000 for each of these round-trip flights.

Flying to Athens would cost even more out-of-pocket.

Use your Delta miles instead to get Big Travel with Small Money!

How to Get Delta Miles

1.  Limited-Time Sign-Up Bonuses on AMEX Delta Cards

Link:   Gold Delta SkyMiles Card From American Express (Personal)

Link:   Gold Delta SkyMiles Card From American Express (Business)

Link:   Platinum Delta SkyMiles Card From American Express

Through June 30, 2015, 3 AMEX Delta cards have increased sign-up bonuses.

You’ll earn 50,000 Delta miles when you spend $2,000 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening your account with the Gold Delta SkyMiles Card From American Express (Personal) and Gold Delta SkyMiles Card From American Express (Business).

That’s 20,000 miles more than the usual sign-up bonus for these cards!

Plus, both cards offer a $50 statement credit when you make a Delta purchase in the 1st 3 months of opening your account.

You’ll earn 60,000 Delta miles when you spend $2,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of opening a Platinum Delta SkyMiles Card From American Express.  10,000 of the miles you earn are Medallion qualification miles.

You can also earn a $100 statement credit when you make a Delta purchase in the 1st 3 months of opening your account.

The usual sign-up bonus for this card is 35,000 Delta miles when you meet the minimum spending requirements.  So the current offer is a much better deal!

2.   Transfer Starwood Points to Delta Miles

Link:   Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express

Link:   Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express

I’ve written about how to earn and use Starwood points.  Because there aren’t many ways to earn Starwood points, they are very valuable.

For every 20,000 Starwood points you transfer, you’ll get 5,000 bonus miles.  You can transfer Starwood points to Delta miles, as well as many other airline partners.

This can be a great way to top off your Delta frequent flyer account if you’re close to an award flight!

You’ll earn 25,000 Starwood points when you open the AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest card and spend $3,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of opening your account.

3.   Transfer AMEX Membership Rewards Points to Delta Miles

Link:   Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express

Link:   American Express EveryDay Preferred

Transferring AMEX Membership Rewards points to Delta miles is another way to increase your mileage balance.  And because you can transfer in 1,000 mile increments, you can add as many as you need to book an award flight!

Note:   You’ll pay an excise fee of 0.06 cents per point, to a maximum of $99, when you transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to US airlines.

The Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express and AMEX EveryDay Preferred card have bonus categories in which you can earn more than 1 AMEX Membership Rewards point per $1 spent.

The AMEX Premier Rewards Gold earns 3X AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on airfare purchased directly from airlines.  And 2X AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 spent at US gas stations, US grocery stores, and US restaurants.

If you open a new account, you’ll earn 25,000 AMEX Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 on purchases within 1st 3 months of account opening.  Then you can transfer those points to many travel partners, including Delta!

The AMEX EveryDay Preferred earns 3X AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 spent at US supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases.  And 2X AMEX Membership Rewards points per $1 spent at US gas stations.

If you make 30+ purchases in a billing period, you’ll get a 50% bonus on the points you’ve earned.

The sign-up bonus is 15,000 American Express Membership Rewards points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months.  It’s not as much as the AMEX Delta cards, but if you spend a lot on groceries or gas, it’s a good card to have.

Bottom Line

Delta miles are great for visiting Europe, especially from the West Coast where award seats can be hard to find on other airlines.

There are limited-time increased sign-up bonuses on the Gold Delta SkyMiles Card From American Express and Platinum Delta SkyMiles Card From American Express through June 30, 2015.  You can use Delta miles to fly to Europe on Delta and its partners, like Air France, Alitalia, and KLM.

If you don’t have enough miles for an award ticket, remember you can transfer your Starwood points or AMEX Membership Rewards points to Delta miles, too.  

Tell me about your European travel plans!