Delta Pay With Miles: Everything You Need To Know

Great post Ben. Seriously.
However even a single sign up for Delta card from this article, you are enabling delta’s poor behavior of disdain towards Skymiles.
Sure in an yr from now, the miles could be worth a minimum of $0.05 and the sign up bonus could be 200k. Nothing would change!
And they will keep doing it until it hits their pocket.

if you don't have a co-brand AMEX, you can still cash out DL miles at $0.01 via a dummy non-refundable booking and using miles to pay the upgrade fee at the $0.01 valuation. you can then change the dummy booking into the desired booking.

"I think it’s important to recognize that you’re not getting a full cent of value per SkyMiles when redeeming using the Pay With Miles feature. Why? The cent of value you’re getting doesn’t account for the miles you’re forgoing by using this feature."

Sure this is correct as of today (maybe was correct in the past)? As of last year, award tickets DO earn MQM/MQS/MQDs, while NOT earning redeemable miles. And now with the 15% discount you get for redeemable miles with these same "pay with mile" cards. So why would ANYONE use the latter if you are effectively paying much more in miles while losing MQM/MQS/MQD accrual?

Now if they really had Dom in the lounges now!!It used to be a good use of Skypesos..Hope it will comeback someday.

I find that the international destinations I want to visit are never eligible fo Pay With Miles.

Hmm... I just used this feature and it was marketed as a 'Gold Medallion exclusive.'

Thanks for the helpful guide on Delta's Pay with Miles program! I've been a loyal Delta customer for years, but I've always been a bit confused about how to use my miles effectively.

Your step-by-step instructions and screenshots made it really easy to understand how to redeem my miles for flights, and I appreciate the tips on how to maximize the value of my miles.

I also love the flexibility of being able to use my miles to pay for a portion of the fare, rather than having to redeem for an award ticket. This gives me more options when it comes to booking flights, especially when cash prices are high.

Overall, I'm excited to try out the Pay with Miles program on my next Delta flight and see how much I can save. Thanks again for the helpful guide!

The article is outdated in places. As part of award tickets earning MQD/MQM/MQD, Pay With Miles tickets also started earning MQD at the 1 per 100 miles rate. Elite credit wise, there's no difference between redeeming 20k miles or $100 plus 10k miles.

The Miles+Cash option open to all members (effectively buying the miles between the normal award price and the mile portion of the Miles + Cash) likewise earns the same elite credit, though this is probably the last resort redemption option.

I disagree with you. I think Delta charges an unreasonable amount of points for international trips. Hudreds of thousands of points. In some cases it may even be more practical to pay. However, I do agree with the view it can be a better deal for domestic airfare. Consider main cabin from MIA/FLL/PBI to NYC is only 15,000-20,000 points or less.

Hi Lucky!

Longtime reader, first-time commenter. Love your blog and am a fellow Tampa native too. 🙂

I was hoping you might help me clarify whether Delta offers MQDs based on the cash-equivalent value of the ticket's base fare (at the 100:1 miles/dollar ratio), vs. only for the revenue portion of the ticket, i.e, the portion paid with cash instead of miles.

I'm a Platinum Medallion member and I recently flew a one-way Delta One flight recently using 235k in Delta Skymiles and about $800 in case to cover the remainder. Delta's own customer service agents initially (and repeatedly) told me that the full cash-equivalent value of the base fare (pre taxes) would earn MQDs - which should have been ~3k MQDs (plus or minus). Now, after I have flown the flight, they are only covering 800 MQDs, and are saying that only the revenue portion of the tickets for Pay With Miles earns MQDs. Who is correct?

Any guidance you have or assistance you or others may have in helping navigate the Delta system would be very much appreciated. Thanks so much!

Pay with Miles program from Delta is a game-changer. This guide provides valuable insights! check out t.ly/lUn_1 for more insights on miles

Delta's Pay with Miles feature seems like a game-changer! Thanks, One Mile at a Time, for explaining how to use it effectively. Can't wait to save on my next flight! check out t.ly/lUn_1 for more insights on miles

I recently got proof that someone that i have proof of used my sky miles to book a trip. Is that illegal