For consumers, one positive thing about the pandemic was that many airlines introduced more flexible policies when it comes to changing or canceling tickets. For example, with the “big three” US carriers, you can now generally cancel a ticket, and apply the credit toward a future itinerary (there are exceptions, like basic economy tickets).
In separate posts, I’ve written guides to American’s trip credits and flight credits and United’s flight credits. In this post I wanted to take a look at Delta’s system of eCredits, which are the currency by which Delta issues vouchers for canceled tickets. There’s even a trick to extending the expiration date of these, which I’ll cover.
In this post:
Delta’s eCredit travel vouchers explained
Delta eCredits are what’s issued by the Atlanta-based carrier when you cancel a ticket and have a residual value that you can apply toward a future ticket. Delta eCredits have a specific monetary value, and think of it as a form of payment toward the cost of a Delta ticket, including any government-imposed taxes and fees.
Delta eCredits are sometimes issued in other ways as well, including as compensation for denied boarding on an oversold flight, as a voucher for compensation for a service issue, etc. Let’s discuss some of the important details regarding these…
For how long are Delta eCredits valid?
Delta eCredits are generally valid for one year from the date that a ticket was initially issued. You only need to book by the expiration date, and not actually travel by then. To give an example, let’s say you issue a ticket on January 1, 2024, for travel on June 1, 2024, and then later need to cancel the ticket:
- You would then need to redeem the eCredit by January 1, 2025
- However, you could travel on a subsequent date, as long as you book by January 1, 2025; Delta generally opens its schedule 331 days in advance, so you could book travel nearly 11 months in advance, through late 2025
During the pandemic, Delta extended all eCredits to be valid through at least December 31, 2023, so they’ve had quite a bit of extra flexibility. However, going forward, the standard expiration rules apply.
Can you use Delta eCredits for others?
Delta eCredits are non-transferable, and must be used by the person who they were initially assigned to. The only exception is that if the original ticket had multiple people on it, any of the people who were part of that group could apply the eCredit value toward their ticket.
Do Delta eCredits maintain residual value?
If you have a $500 Delta eCredit and apply it toward a $250 ticket, do you lose the residual $250 value, or maintain it? The good news is that Delta eCredits maintain their residual value, so you can apply the credit toward smaller purchase amounts without issue, without losing value.
Note that the residual eCredit amount maintains the same expiration date as the initial ticket (though as I’ll explain below, there’s a trick to extending the expiration date).
Can Delta eCredits be used for award tickets or upgrades?
Delta eCredits can only be applied toward the cost of a revenue ticket. That includes for travel on Delta, as well as for travel on partner airlines, as long as you’re booking through Delta. So you could apply these eCredits toward an Air France or KLM flight, for example, but only through Delta booking channels.
You can’t use eCredits for a ticket upgrade (unless you’re just reissuing the ticket in a premium cabin), or to pay taxes and fees on award tickets. Rather they can only be applied toward revenue tickets issued directly by Delta.
How do you find Delta eCredits?
If you’re a Delta SkyMiles member, you should be able to find any eCredits attached to your account by logging into your SkyMiles account, going to the “My Profile” section, and then navigating to “Certificates, eCredits and Vouchers.” Note that only eCredits that were associated with your SkyMiles number when the ticket was issued will display.
In the event that you’re not a SkyMiles member, or if it’s not showing up correctly for whatever reason, you can find your Delta eCredits at this link. There you can look up your eCredits based on a variety of options, ranging from the credit cards used to pay for a ticket, to your contact info.
How do you redeem Delta eCredits?
Redeeming Delta eCredits is easy. Just go through the process of booking a ticket, and when you get to the payment page, select “Use eCredits” as the payment method.
Note that:
- The maximum number of combinable eCredits allowed with the initial purchase of a ticket is five
- The maximum number of combinable eCredits allowed with the change of a ticket is two
Can you extend Delta eCredits?
There’s actually a trick to extending the expiration of a Delta eCredit, which can come in handy. Just use your eCredit toward a future ticket that’s a little more expensive than the value of your eCredit, and when you cancel your ticket, you’ll be issued a new eCredit valid for an additional year.
For example, say you have a $250 voucher expiring on December 31, 2023:
- Book a ticket that costs slightly more than $250, so that you’re using the entire eCredit, plus you’re paying a little bit more in cash
- Then if you cancel the ticket (after the 24 hour free cancelation period) you’ll be issued an eCredit for the entire new amount (value of all the eCredits plus the cash amount paid)
- That new eCredit will be valid from the date that the new ticket was issued, giving you an entire year to use the voucher (and you only have to book by then, and not actually travel by then)
This could also be useful for combining multiple smaller credits into one larger credit. In other words, say you have five $50 credits expiring soon. Using the above technique would then get you one bigger credit expiring in a year.
Bottom line
Nowadays most Delta Air Lines tickets have quite a bit of flexibility. There’s sometimes confusion about how long vouchers are valid for, who they can be redeemed for, and if they can be extended, so hopefully the above is a useful rundown of how Delta’s voucher system works. With many Delta eCredits expiring soon, fortunately there’s an easy way to extend them, if you know what you’re doing.
What has your experience been with Delta eCredits?
Ben- I believe this loophole no longer exists- I just did this and was reissued a credit that strangely has the same expiration of the original e-credit I used to book the ticket, even though I added $9 of my own funds towards the ticket I purchased and those also expire in a month.
Not sure why there is an expiration date. Once Delta takes the money from the customer it should be ok to use it when needed. I just lost $1000. Delta prays on the customers while they rake the money. Richer gets richer and poorer gets poorer. I’m so frustrated and angry about this company.
Agreed. Worst airline for customer service. All they care about is $$$ not passengers.
Your advice about using eCredit for a flight that occurs after the expiration date is apparently incorrect. I just got this message from Delta:
That's a good question and thank you for raising this concern to me. According to our policy, I regret to inform you that you can't book a flight using an e-credit before it expires and take the flight later. You need to book and fly within and before the expiration of your e-credit.
You can definitely choose a flight after the expiration it just hase to has event beige why the expiration date
where in delta does it says ecredits can be used to anyone on the original ticket trying to dispute but having no luck?
I wish I would have been given this information earlier from the airline. Misinformation cost me a $700 loss. I applied an $78 ecredit from 2021 to a $800 plus ticket in March of 2023 that I subsequently had to cancel for my May 2023 international flight. Was told I had a year to use the new credit. Found out today, that everything was null & void as of 12/31/23 because the 2021 ecredit was...
I wish I would have been given this information earlier from the airline. Misinformation cost me a $700 loss. I applied an $78 ecredit from 2021 to a $800 plus ticket in March of 2023 that I subsequently had to cancel for my May 2023 international flight. Was told I had a year to use the new credit. Found out today, that everything was null & void as of 12/31/23 because the 2021 ecredit was considered an exchange hence making my 2023 $800 ecredit apart of the expiration date (12/31/23) & not the month/year I was told by the delta rep... I am utterly disgusted with Delta to say the least. Definitely feel as if Ive been scammed.
wish I would have been given this information earlier from the airline. Misinformation cost me a $700 loss. I applied an $78 ecredit from 2021 to a $800 plus ticket in March of 2023 that I subsequently had to cancel for my May 2023 international flight. Was told I had a year to use the new credit. Found out today, that everything was null & void as of 12/31/23 because the 2021 ecredit was considered an exchange hence making my 2023 $800 ecredit apart of the expiration date (12/31/23) & not the month/year I was told by the delta rep... I am utterly disgusted with Delta to say the least. Definitely feel as if Ive been scammed.
I used the trick to use Covid related eCredit with expiration of December 2023 to book a main cabin flight with similar cost for June 2024, then cancelled after a few months. I received eCredit for the ticket amount but was given an expiration of July 2024. I am wondering if I use the eCredit to book a Comfort + seat and then cancel it, if I will get a refund for the full ticket amount instead of an eCredit...
Even though I am a Platinum, Million-miler Delta SkyMiles member, most of the time eCredits issued due to changed tickets are not added back to my SkyMiles accounts under the "Wallet" - but they are noted on the email receipt and must be manually utilized. The frustrating aspect of this (in addition to manually having to enter the numbers), is that my name is not matching up with my SkyMiles account when manually entering the...
Even though I am a Platinum, Million-miler Delta SkyMiles member, most of the time eCredits issued due to changed tickets are not added back to my SkyMiles accounts under the "Wallet" - but they are noted on the email receipt and must be manually utilized. The frustrating aspect of this (in addition to manually having to enter the numbers), is that my name is not matching up with my SkyMiles account when manually entering the eCredits - they duplicate my middle name, and I have to call Delta to get them to correct the ticket. Do not assume all eCredits will be retained in the "Wallet" within SkyMiles accounts - most will not! If you lose or forget the email with the eCredit number on changed tickets, there is a possibility these eCredits (real $!) could be lost forever (to Delta's advantage).
I was never informed a single time that this would expire by end of 2023. Shame on Delta. I never gamed their system like the OP suggested. Shame on me.
Why can’t Delta do like SOUTHWEST?? Credits NEVER expire on Southwest. IF ONE AIRLINE CAN DO THIS, so can All of them!! The Department Of Transportation needs to hear from us, the consumers!! I just finished writing them.
I have spent HOURS, attempting to settle my expired ecredit, which should have had a new expiration date, since I used it and then had to cancel due to Covid, again! Sadly, they keep telling me that I have lost my $327.?? I refuse to just give my money away! Delta won’t even give me points to be used at a later time. I am not in the habit of donating my hard earned money...
I have spent HOURS, attempting to settle my expired ecredit, which should have had a new expiration date, since I used it and then had to cancel due to Covid, again! Sadly, they keep telling me that I have lost my $327.?? I refuse to just give my money away! Delta won’t even give me points to be used at a later time. I am not in the habit of donating my hard earned money to corporations.
I have even requested corporate to be contacted and I am told they have reached out to “them”. Have they really?? How does a customer find out?
One thing in here is not actually true. I purchased a ticket on Dec. 31, 2023, using two expiring e-credits and paying about $3,000 with my Delta Amex credit card for the balance (it was for a Delta One ticket). I had to cancel the ticket and was told by the agent I would get an e-credit for the full amount with 12 months to use it. Instead I just discovered I have a credit...
One thing in here is not actually true. I purchased a ticket on Dec. 31, 2023, using two expiring e-credits and paying about $3,000 with my Delta Amex credit card for the balance (it was for a Delta One ticket). I had to cancel the ticket and was told by the agent I would get an e-credit for the full amount with 12 months to use it. Instead I just discovered I have a credit in the right amount, but it expires in 2 months! I have just spent several hours on the phone with Delta and they insist that because a part of my ticket was paid with an e-credit, the ENTIRE new e-credit expires when the earliest of the e-credit would originally have expired. I could accept that for the portion paid with the earlier e-credit (even though that goes against what the writer here says) but it is beyond belief that they then took my $3,000-plus of additional new payment and made the credit for that expire 9n the date the earliest previous mme- credit was supposed to expire. That's garbage. They freely admitted that if I hadn't used the relatively small e-credit I would get a full 12 months of credit on the $3,000. But since I used an e-credit as well, I now only get 2 weeks to use the entire amount before it expires!!!!
Did you ever get this resolved??
You need to use the credit before the expiration date. If you don’t actually take the trip and just rebook a ticket with your ecredit, Delta will take your ticket credit and you will lose your money. You need to rebook with the ecredit and take the trip within a year.
Hello everyone. I would appreciate your help with my question. I bought a Delta ticket through Travelocity and later canceled it, receiving airline eCredit. I'm wondering if I can use this eCredit directly on the Delta website. Despite trying various methods, I couldn't locate the eCredit on the Delta website. It has been approximately 24 hours since I canceled my ticket. As I don't have direct access to my eCredit on Travelocity, I had to...
Hello everyone. I would appreciate your help with my question. I bought a Delta ticket through Travelocity and later canceled it, receiving airline eCredit. I'm wondering if I can use this eCredit directly on the Delta website. Despite trying various methods, I couldn't locate the eCredit on the Delta website. It has been approximately 24 hours since I canceled my ticket. As I don't have direct access to my eCredit on Travelocity, I had to ask their online agent to book a new flight with it. However, I would prefer to handle this process myself. How can I use my eCredit, particularly on the Delta website?
My eCredit does not show up under my Delta login, I have to manually enter it in order to find & apply to a flight.
If I use the ecredit to purchase a refundable ticket and then cancel the ticket, will I be able to get the credit back?
A question about using e-credit for two people if bought under the e-credit name: For reasons good at the time, I purchased a Delta ticket for myself, and later a 2nd one for my son (who has autism) under his account as opposed to adding it to my original ticket. Since then, I was able to use my e-credit for something else. Now I (he) has a $700 credit that I paid for. He can't...
A question about using e-credit for two people if bought under the e-credit name: For reasons good at the time, I purchased a Delta ticket for myself, and later a 2nd one for my son (who has autism) under his account as opposed to adding it to my original ticket. Since then, I was able to use my e-credit for something else. Now I (he) has a $700 credit that I paid for. He can't fly by himself, and I'd rather not have to spend $700 for an additional ticket for me to "save/recoup" the original $700. Using his account and his e-credit, can I book two tickets for us, and have part of the credit go toward my ticket? Any advice appreciated. thank you
Hi Donna, the e-credit can only goes with the name that is under, can't be transferrable. However, I would call Delta and ask the agent nicely and explain your situation because he/she can (if they want to) change the e-credit that is under your son's name to a travel certificate, which you can then purchase the two tickets under his account (without name specific restriction). I hope it will work out for you.
I’ve done this before. I use eCredits for my own ticket. I am booking it with my husband. In the payment page, I have to manually enter my husband’s ecredits numbers. That’s how you can have 1 reservation but using the ecredits for each passenger.
I can’t believe the federal government hasn’t stepped in on these airlines and their nefarious practices. If our hard earned $$ buys a ticket and for some reason we cannot or even forget to use the ecredit ( only valid for 1 year) then they just “take it” with no retribution!
Why? If you have a money from a reimbursement or gift card this is good for life!
Yet DELTA without notification to...
I can’t believe the federal government hasn’t stepped in on these airlines and their nefarious practices. If our hard earned $$ buys a ticket and for some reason we cannot or even forget to use the ecredit ( only valid for 1 year) then they just “take it” with no retribution!
Why? If you have a money from a reimbursement or gift card this is good for life!
Yet DELTA without notification to the customers refused to give me anything after I realized I was 24 hrs late to book a flight this year. They send all kinds of marketing and promotions to me every day with technology they couldn’t send a reminder before they stole my money?
I agree 100%!
I made the exact same comment to the customer service agent. I am happy to read this, since they(Delta agents), make one think that it’s just “you” who feels/forgets these things. I am seriously looking into a class action law suit. I am not in the habit of donating money to corporations. And when I do donate, I at least, am able to write it off in my taxes.
Can delta ecredits be used on rental cars?
Hi everyone, I made a mistake during the cancellation of my ticket. I booked a delta ticket using e-credits and my credit card. The ticket is refundable. I cancelled my ticket less than 24 hours ago. My e-credits expired on December 31; the refund went to my old e-credit account. Now I'm not able to use my e-credits anymore. Please help me with this.
Same thing happened to me. Been on the phone & chat with Delta all morning. Phone rep submitted a refund request but may take 30 days for response & may be denied.
Very frustrating because even delta reps are unaware that ecredits with expiration 12/31/23 will not be reissued if flight is canceled, despite the website indicating otherwise.
Same thing happened to me. Been on the phone & chat with Delta all morning. Phone rep submitted a refund request but may take 30 days for response & may be denied.
Very frustrating because even delta reps are unaware that ecredits with expiration 12/31/23 will not be reissued if flight is canceled, despite the website indicating otherwise.
Update: received a copy-n-paste type refund denial email from "Delta Refunds Desk". I'm asking it be escalated.
Does the flight I buy have to be a refundable one with my ecredit (so I can cancel after the 24 hours period) or can I buy the basic one to be reissued an ecredit? Thanks.
Wife was assigned a credit before we were married for a flight. A year later, now married under her married name, cannot use her credit issued under her married name because "Because the name on the eCredit should be matched with the name of the passenger, it is not transferrable" ....So if you change your name after a credit was issued good luck using it. This issue has not been escalated yet, waiting on hold for "partner support team"
I have this same issue. My wife now has a new last name as on the e-credit. I spoke with someone at Delta online reservations who said I should book the travel under the e-credit name (so it matches traveler name), and then later request a name change on the reservation, which a apparently is do-able.
Hi - Does this work for unused eticket? I booked a flight and waited after 24 hrs to cancel but the expiration on my unused eticket did not change (still shows 12/31/2023). Thank you.
I have $440 expiring Dec 31, 2023. I bought a ticket Nov 2021 and later received an ecredit of $150 for a fare drop. In June 2022, I completed that trip.
In May 2023, I planned another trip, purchased another ticket
and used the ecredit of $150 from the fare drop from Nov 2021. After making the May 2023 purchase using the ecredit of $150 plus $2150, that ticket fare also dropped and...
I have $440 expiring Dec 31, 2023. I bought a ticket Nov 2021 and later received an ecredit of $150 for a fare drop. In June 2022, I completed that trip.
In May 2023, I planned another trip, purchased another ticket
and used the ecredit of $150 from the fare drop from Nov 2021. After making the May 2023 purchase using the ecredit of $150 plus $2150, that ticket fare also dropped and I was issued an ecredit of $440.
Rather than attaching the ecredit of $440 to the May 2023 purchase date, Delta has attached the ecredit of $440 to the ticket purchased in Nov 2021 since I used the ecredit of $150 originally issued in 2021 thus creating an expiration date of Dec 31, 2023 for the $440 ecredit.
They tell me their policy is that when ecredit is used for a ticket purchase, any new ecredits issued on that ticked (ie: due to a fare drop) will be attached to the original ticket purchased because of the carry through ecredit usage.
I’ve called them 3 times and get the same response that the current ecredit of $440 due to a fare drop in May 2023 will expire Dec 31, 2023. Period. Doesn’t matter that I paid $2100 out of pocket after using the first ecredit of $150 from Nov 2021 and receiving a new ecredit of $440 for the fare drop in May 2023.
Any suggestions? This seems so unfair. Their only suggestion was to send in a complaint that will go to corporate.
I’m happy to report that after calling Delta and being turned down for a correction of the ecredit expiration date, I received an email asking for my feedback regarding the phone call. I’m not one to reply to such as it rarely results in anything other than more emails. However, I took the opportunity to again voice my displeasure over their ecredit expiration policy. Within less than 6 hrs, I have received an email with...
I’m happy to report that after calling Delta and being turned down for a correction of the ecredit expiration date, I received an email asking for my feedback regarding the phone call. I’m not one to reply to such as it rarely results in anything other than more emails. However, I took the opportunity to again voice my displeasure over their ecredit expiration policy. Within less than 6 hrs, I have received an email with a new explanation date af Dec 27, 2023. Thank you, Delta! You’ve taken care of this customer. I will be back.
Hopefully, they will soon change their policy to no expiration dates on ecredits as it is the customer’s money to begin with.
I hope they are forced to give back the customers who they strictly would not accommodate on the 12/31/23 cancellation date! Additionally they should remind us of the impending date so we can use our ecredits before they steal them - as it is initially our money.
I have been able to extend the delta e-credits since 2022 after booking and canceling the main cabin several times. It has been resetting the expiration to 12 months from the date of booking (not the date of flight). I just booked the main cabin flight today using ecredits and it extended the date of ticket expiration date to July 8th, 2024. I don't know if I can extend beyond 2024 doing the same tactic....
I have been able to extend the delta e-credits since 2022 after booking and canceling the main cabin several times. It has been resetting the expiration to 12 months from the date of booking (not the date of flight). I just booked the main cabin flight today using ecredits and it extended the date of ticket expiration date to July 8th, 2024. I don't know if I can extend beyond 2024 doing the same tactic. I moved to Texas and found out Delta is not the easiest or best fare airline; Good luck.
Does it need to be a refundable ticket to be able to get the new eCredit?
just to clarify. I need to wait for the 24 hrs free cancellation period to be over before i cancel the flight? then i would need to pay the rebooking charges? sorry i am a little confused and would appreciate if someone can clear this out for me. i have $1500 ecredit i need to use and is expiring soon. thank you so much!
There is no rebooking charges. Just make sure you buy a Main Cabin fare and wait until 24 hours have passed because if you cancel within 24 hrs it goes back as an ecredit with the same expiry. Once 24 hours have passed, just cancel and get a new credit with an expiry of 12 months from whenever you cancel.
I actually did this (bought a main cabin fare), and it's been more than 24 hours. The new credit isn't giving an expiration date 12 months out. It's actually giving an expiration date of the day of the booked trip. Anyone else having this issue?
Thanks for the tip about extending credits. Does anyone know if this same technique works with United credits as well? Thanks!
Yes. It actually worked for United for me. Had a travel credit expiring in April. Cancelled and rebooking and extended expiry to Nov.
Both parents died having about $600 e-credits. Anyone have any experience with getting ecredits from Delta for an estate?
Delta will certainly refund those eCredits upon receipt of death certificates.
"Delta eCredits are non-transferable, and must be used by the person who they were initially assigned to. The only exception is that if the original ticket had multiple people on it, any of the people who were part of that group could apply the eCredit value toward their ticket."
What does this mean? One PNR for a family? How can multiple people be on one ticket?
Say what you will about American carriers and Delta. But I find Delta's eCredits to be the easiest way to make flight changes. I had an AF/Delta flight ticket booked through AF and even with all the joint venture nonsense, it was impossible to change, requiring calling in to support multiple times and them giving me incorrect information. Gotta give Delta props for improving the experience around flight changes and cancellations.
Non-transferability is killer and really makes me not prefer booking through Delta if I can help it
I have an unused e-ticket valued at around $200, which expires on February 24. It is listed under the ‘Certificates & eCredits’ section of the Delta app. Will the same trick work in this case too?
Yeah. It does
Thanks!
I have a bunch of e-credits expiring at the end of the month.
I purchased some tickets for next year and have periodically gone in to modify my flights (and keeping the exact same flights) and, almost always the flights are cheaper, and keep getting more e-credits. It looks like I'll have to toss the last few e-credits
Why not use those small residual e-credits to purchase a very cheap one-way fare (as low a difference in paid fare - total credits as you can afford). Make the reservation well into the future (~ 11 months). Then cancel that placeholder ticket, get the new e-credit, and apply to an actual flight you will be flying once you have that opportunity. Worked well for me (applied to 3 small expiring credits at once to...
Why not use those small residual e-credits to purchase a very cheap one-way fare (as low a difference in paid fare - total credits as you can afford). Make the reservation well into the future (~ 11 months). Then cancel that placeholder ticket, get the new e-credit, and apply to an actual flight you will be flying once you have that opportunity. Worked well for me (applied to 3 small expiring credits at once to partially pay for a one way Main Cabin ATL-JFK for $154 in October 2024 - have until November 2024 to cancel and re-apply to another ticket, or to re-apply to slightly more expensive ticket to keep it going).