Editor's note: Big changes are coming to Delta's SkyMiles program in 2024, including how members can earn elite status. The carrier will also be cutting back Sky Club lounge access. Read more on these upcoming changes here.

One of the largest airlines in North America and the world, Delta Air Lines operates hubs at eight U.S. airports: Atlanta (which is Delta’s headquarters), Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Salt Lake City and Seattle-Tacoma. International hubs and key Delta markets are Amsterdam, Mexico City, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Seoul-Incheon and Tokyo.

Delta is huge on its own, but it is also a member of the SkyTeam alliance, which includes airlines like Aeromexico, Air France-KLM, China Eastern, Korean Air and Virgin Atlantic. Then it has its own separate international airline partners including LATAM and WestJet, making it possible to earn and redeem Delta SkyMiles (and get elite status benefits) on other airlines besides Delta.

But you don’t need to live in a Delta-dominated city or fly the airline regularly to benefit from the airline's frequent flyer program, Delta SkyMiles. If there’s a chance you’ll fly Delta in the future, you might as well sign up for SkyMiles as the program is free to join. And given its wide array of partnerships with companies ranging from Lyft to Starbucks, there are tons of ways to earn Delta miles so you can get closer to that free flight — even if you're not a jetsetter.

Sign-up for Delta SkyMiles

To start earning miles with Delta, sign up for a SkyMiles frequent flyer account. Register here; it’s free to join.

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How do Delta SkyMiles work?

Beyond serving as the loyalty program name, SkyMiles are also the currency that members can earn and later redeem for flights with Delta or partners, hotel stays and other rewards.

You can generally earn miles by flying, spending on credit cards (Delta has several co-branded cards for its loyalists), traveling with partners, or dining and shopping through designated programs.

Delta SkyMiles do not expire, which is great news for infrequent travelers or those who have loyalty across multiple airline programs.

» Jump ahead to credit cards that earn SkyMiles or see our roundup of the best Delta credit cards

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How much are Delta SkyMiles worth?

Based on the most recent analysis, NerdWallet values Delta Air Lines SkyMiles at 1.2 cents apiece. To determine the value of reward miles, we compared cash prices and reward redemptions for economy roundtrip routes across several destinations and dates. We divided the cost of the cash ticket by the cost of the reward ticket to determine a “cent per mile” value for each flight, then averaged this value across several flights and dates. Read more about how we arrived at these figures.

This is therefore a baseline value for Delta miles, based on real-world data collected from hundreds of economy routes; it is not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 1.2 cents or more in value from your Delta miles.

How has this value changed over time?

Like many other airline miles, the value of Delta SkyMiles jumped in 2021 and 2022, up from a low of 0.9 cents per mile in 2020.

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Delta vs. competitors: How it stacks up in 2023

Delta came in fifth place out of nine airlines in our most recent analysis on the best airline loyalty programs. But Delta is a bit of a funky airline in terms of its rankings. While some airlines rank consistently high or low across the board, Delta was all over the place.

It has low fees and operates incredibly well in terms of high rates of on-time performance and low rates of cancellations and baggage mishandling. Its in-flight offerings are pretty glorious thanks to seatback screens and Biscoff cookies.

If you book basic economy, you do get the free cookies and seatback screens, but that’s about it. Checked bag fees, no rewards and no seat choice mean Delta basic economy seats are rough.

And even for other fare classes that do earn miles, Delta’s mileage program isn’t all that rewarding anyway, as Delta miles just aren’t that valuable. However, if you have elite status, other perks are pretty nice.

Here's a closer look at how SkyMiles competed across categories:

Seventh in rewards (mile) value.

Second in operations.

Third in elite status benefits.

Ties for second in terms of total fees.

Delta ties for offering the worst basic economy ticket.

Second in in-flight experience.

Seventh in most pet-friendly airlines.

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How to earn Delta SkyMiles

Flying on Delta and its partner airlines is the easiest way to earn miles. But there are ways to rack up miles besides flying, such as using a Delta-branded credit card or spending money with Delta partner companies.

The Delta SkyMiles you earn never expire as long as your account is open; this is different from how things work with some other frequent-flyer programs.

How are SkyMiles calculated?

Earn miles by flying on Delta

Although they have "miles" in their name, the number of SkyMiles you earn on Delta flights is based on how much you spend, not how far you fly. The base earning rate is 5 miles per $1 spent, but you earn higher rates depending on whether you have elite status, which Delta refers to as "Medallion" status. (We'll have more on Medallion levels later — or you can jump ahead to that part now.) You will not earn SkyMiles on any basic economy tickets.

You earn SkyMiles only on the base fare and fees imposed by the airline. You don't earn any rewards on taxes or government-imposed fees that are rolled into the cost of your ticket. So if you are a basic SkyMiles member and spend $150 on a flight, $50 of which is fees, you’ll earn 5 x 100 = 500 SkyMiles.

Earn Delta miles by flying on partner airlines

Each partner airline has its own rules for earning SkyMiles. In general, the rewards you earn on partner airlines are based on the distance of the flight — so they really are "miles." You can earn bonus miles based on the fare class (such as economy, business or first) and your Medallion status.

Spend on Delta credit cards

Delta offers co-branded credit cards with American Express. See below for

Our favorite Delta credit card is the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card. The card gives you 2 SkyMiles per dollar spent with Delta. When you pay for tickets with the card, you get the first checked bag free for you and up to eight other people traveling on your reservation. Terms apply.

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Rates & Fees

There's a great welcome bonus for new cardholders, too: Earn 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months. Terms Apply. The annual fee is $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99.

» Jump ahead to other credit cards that earn SkyMiles

Other ways to earn Delta SkyMiles

Delta's non-airline partners include:

Hotels and Airbnb: You can earn SkyMiles at thousands of properties in most major hotel chains. In some cases, you earn a flat number of points per stay; in others, you earn points based on how much you spend. You can also earn miles at Airbnb. See hotel partners and earning rules here.

Auto rentals and Lyft: Several major rental agencies have an option to earn SkyMiles. And if you prefer rental car alternatives, here's a deal from Turo: Delta SkyMiles Members who link their SkyMiles number to their Turo profile will be able to earn 2,000 miles on their first Turo trip and 500 miles on every trip thereafter. You can also earn miles using the Lyft ride-hailing service. Details here.

Dining: Register your credit card with SkyMiles Dining and earn up to 5 miles per dollar when you use that card at thousands of participating restaurants. (You can use any credit card; it doesn't have to be a Delta-branded card.)

Shopping: Earn miles at hundreds of online merchants through the airline's shopping portal, SkyMiles Shopping.

Transfer from other programs: Delta SkyMiles is a transfer partner for both American Express Membership Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.

Purchase SkyMiles

You can buy additional SkyMiles through the Delta website, but this generally isn't a good value. SkyMiles cost 3.5 cents apiece when purchased like this, which means you're paying more than three times what the miles are worth on average.

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How to redeem Delta SkyMiles

So how do you use points from Delta SkyMiles? Not all redemptions are created equal. Use these tips to maximize Delta SkyMiles redemption value.

Good redemption options

SkyMiles are redeemable for flights through Delta Air Lines and its partners. In most cases, you redeem by booking through Delta's website. Go to the booking tool and choose the option for seeing the price in miles. Then enter information about when and where you want to travel, and choose your fare class.

How many SkyMiles are needed for a flight? It depends on your destination, but SkyMiles members can redeem as few as 4,500 SkyMiles for a domestic short-haul flight.

About Delta tickets and fare classes

Basic Economy: This is a no-frills fare. You sit in a standard seat and get free drinks and snacks. However, you don't get to pick your seat, you're the last to board the plane, you can't get upgraded even with Medallion status, and there are fees of $99 or $199 to change a flight. You cannot book Basic Economy fares with miles and you cannot earn any miles on Basic Economy fares.

Main Cabin: This is a standard economy seat. You get free nonalcoholic drinks and basic snacks, plus seatback entertainment when available.

Delta Comfort+: This is essentially "economy plus." You get 4 inches of extra legroom and dedicated overhead carry-on storage.

First Class: You get a bigger seat with more legroom; free alcoholic drinks, snacks and meals on longer flights; dedicated storage and flight attendant service; and priority boarding.

Delta Premium Select: This is first class with extra-comfortable seating and amenities, available on select international flights.

Delta One: This is first class with lie-flat seating, available only on select long-haul flights.

Unlike some other airlines, Delta doesn't publish an award chart showing you exactly how many miles you need for a given flight. You have to figure it out the hard way — by entering your flight information and seeing what it costs in terms of miles.

Delta advertises that there are no blackout dates for award travel.

You can also use miles to purchase seat upgrades; membership to Delta Sky Clubs airport lounges; vacation packages; exclusive experiences; merchandise, gift cards, hotel stays and car rental in the SkyMiles Marketplace; or donations to charity through Delta SkyWish. See details about these and other options here.

If you happen to have at least 2.5 million SkyMiles in your account — and who doesn't? — you can redeem them for private jet travel. According to Delta, those 2.5 million points are "enough to take up to four passengers round-trip from Atlanta to South Florida."

Bad redemption options

For the most part, using SkyMiles for anything other than flights will result in below-average redemption values. Delta and its partners might push promotions for these unorthodox redemption options, but don’t take the bait. Unless the offer is really extraordinary, you’re almost always better off using miles for flights.