Yesterday I made my best Delta SkyMiles redemption in quite a while… for champagne, natch!
In this post:
13,000 SkyMiles for a bottle of Dom Perignon
Yesterday evening we flew from Boston to Tampa on Delta, and we had a bit of time to kill in the SkyClub. In addition to Delta’s standard complimentary alcoholic drinks, the airline also has an impressive selection of premium alcoholic drinks available for purchase.
What’s cool is that you can either pay cash or redeem SkyMiles for these drinks, and it actually represents a solid use of SkyMiles. Years ago I wrote about my experience redeeming SkyMiles for a bottle of Krug champagne, and yesterday I redeemed SkyMiles for a bottle of Dom Perignon.
For reference, below is the premium list of wine and beer at the SkyClub.
As you can see, you can purchase a bottle of Dom Perignon for either $195 or 13,000 SkyMiles. A few things to note:
- $195 is an amazing price to begin with for a bottle of 2010 Dom Perignon, as you can’t even get it for that price at most liquor stores; for example, K&L has among the best prices on champagne, and charges $219.99 for that bottle
- As you can see, each SkyMile is worth 1.5 cents toward an alcohol purchase, and personally I value SkyMiles at 1.1 cents each; funny enough this redemption was devalued in 2021, as previously each SkyMile got you 2.0 cents toward an alcohol purchase
- What’s most surprising to me about the pricing is that a glass is proportionally the same price as a bottle, as there are five glasses in a bottle, and each glass costs one-fifth as much as a bottle; does anyone know how exactly that’s sustainable for Delta… are that many people buying glasses of Dom Perignon that they consistently go through bottles, or do the bottles typically go flat?
Anyway, the process of buying the bottle of Dom Perignon was easy. I just went to the bar and said I’d like to buy a bottle of Dom Perignon with SkyMiles. A guy sitting at the bar within earshot jumped in and said “wait, you can redeem miles for Dom Perignon?!” I explained the math to him, and he seemed to appreciate that it was a good value.
The bartender put the bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, gave me two glasses, and offered to help me carry it to our seats.
My boarding pass just had to be scanned, and I quickly received a receipt for the purchase (I guess you’re also “taxed” in miles). I tipped the guy a bit in cash, which seemed appropriate.
I can officially confirm that we really enjoyed our bottle of Dom Perignon, and it made our time in the lounge that much more enjoyable.
I tried to create a little snack plate to go along with the champagne, but I’m pretty sure a five year old could do better…
Is this actually a good deal, though?
I love to crunch numbers, and probably analyze many decisions way more than I should. So let me share my thought process in deciding to buy a bottle of Dom Perignon, starting with some basics:
- I don’t just redeem SkyMiles for bottles of champagne every time I’m in a SkyClub; quite to the contrary, I haven’t done so in nearly five years
- We usually don’t drink on domestic flights, but we were having a good day, got some great family health news, and were feeling grateful and happy, despite all that’s going on in the world
- I couldn’t tell you the last time that I’ve redeemed Delta SkyMiles; I almost never find SkyMiles to be the best program for international premium cabin awards, so I really view the opportunity cost of SkyMiles as one cent each, redeeming them using the “Pay With Miles” feature
The way I rationalized this, the bottle of Dom Perignon cost me the equivalent of $130 worth of airfare on Delta. And of course that’s a lot to spend on alcohol. But to me this is also gets at the beauty of miles sometimes. While I try to treat miles as a currency and analyze each redemption, there’s an element of miles being a bit like Monopoly money, given their often low acquisition cost.
Are there times where I might spend $130 on a bottle of champagne? Yes, for a special occasion. Would I have spent $130 in cash yesterday on a bottle of champagne? No, probably not. Did I feel bad about redeeming 13,000 SkyMiles? Nope, not at all.
Bottom line
I view Delta SkyMiles more or less as a revenue based frequent flyer program, where each mile may get you somewhere around one cent toward the cost of a Delta purchase. That’s also why I consider redeeming SkyMiles for alcohol in airport lounges to be a good deal.
Delta has reasonable cash prices to begin with for some great alcohol (often lower than retail), and then you can redeem SkyMiles for 1.5 cents each toward those purchases. Redeeming 13,000 SkyMiles (plus tax) for a bottle of 2010 Dom Perignon was a real treat, and a great use of SkyMiles. I guess I should just start thinking of my SkyMiles stash as my Dom Perignon fund. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing…
Has anyone else ever redeemed SkyMiles for premium alcohol in a SkyClub? What was your experience like?
I've found that the cheapest place to buy Dom is at the Oslo Airport duty-free. You can get a bottle for roughly the equivalent of $140.
Wait a minute, where is Tim Dunn?
The best prices for Dom are at Costco. I just bought a bottle of 2012 the other day for $168 pre tax.
Dom Perignon isn’t that expensive at wholesale. Before Moet Hennessy announced a price increase for Q1,2022 if you ordered 500 cases the b.c. Was around $140 thru Southern glazers wine and spirits(which is pretty much the exclusive distributor for moet and Hennessy wine and spirits in most of the 48.) what’s funny that a lot of people don’t realize is that Any liquor store could order 5 cases of Krug, and that bottle cost was...
Dom Perignon isn’t that expensive at wholesale. Before Moet Hennessy announced a price increase for Q1,2022 if you ordered 500 cases the b.c. Was around $140 thru Southern glazers wine and spirits(which is pretty much the exclusive distributor for moet and Hennessy wine and spirits in most of the 48.) what’s funny that a lot of people don’t realize is that Any liquor store could order 5 cases of Krug, and that bottle cost was 130. Krug is actually cheaper at wholesale than Dom Perignon, but the latter is run on a thin or negative margin at major retailers (Costco, TotalWine, BevMo!) Enjoy the Dom because prices of dom are about to go up (at wholesale they went up 20$) And Due to liquor laws list price is actually the price retailers pay, larger ones are just set up on a discount schedule which in CA if available for one must be available for all.
I took my 16 year old daughter to Germany in 2019, and on the way back we had a layover at CDG and spent some time at the AF lounge in the Int'l departures terminal. They had a tub of open bottles of V/C NV.... I grabbed a glass and sat down, kid asked if she could try some. I told her to get her own, so she went and grabbed a glass and 3...
I took my 16 year old daughter to Germany in 2019, and on the way back we had a layover at CDG and spent some time at the AF lounge in the Int'l departures terminal. They had a tub of open bottles of V/C NV.... I grabbed a glass and sat down, kid asked if she could try some. I told her to get her own, so she went and grabbed a glass and 3 chocolate croissants. After her first sip she asked if that was how it was supposed to taste. I said "pretty much", and she wondered what all the fuss was over it.... then ate all 3 croissants.....
Too bad there is no portal for you to redeem your skymiles for alcohol at that price for delivery. I am it's too bad it is only available in the skyclub.
I did this same redemption at the JFK sky club a couple of years ago, and I told the server to leave the bottle alone because I wanted to be the one to open the bottle and hear that pop. He smiled and walked away, Naturally, that bottle was in my backpack when I strolled out of the lounge and onto my flight to Brasil.
It does not indicate vintage on the menu but in the photo it says Dom Perignon 2010. That’s a good deal. Even better if you don’t open the bottle and take it with you. It will be $500+ a bottle in a few years.
Also there’s no Bordeaux or burgundy wines on the list. Mostly CA. That’s weak.
2010 is not a great year. It won't increase much over the next 5-10 years. It's not the 2008
Best part of this article is the good family health news. I'm happy for you!
And yet $90 for NV Veuve Cliquot is double the US retail price.
As far as I know a regular champagne should be consumed within two years, a vintage champagne should be consumed within 5-10 years. It is important that the champagne is stored correctly: no sunlight, consistent temperature at 50-59 Fahrenheit, 70-85% humidity, storage on its side - I am not sure, if Delta SkyClub can ensure that.
Thus, when ordering a 2010 Dom Perignon and pouring it down, one or the other SkyClub customer reveals...
As far as I know a regular champagne should be consumed within two years, a vintage champagne should be consumed within 5-10 years. It is important that the champagne is stored correctly: no sunlight, consistent temperature at 50-59 Fahrenheit, 70-85% humidity, storage on its side - I am not sure, if Delta SkyClub can ensure that.
Thus, when ordering a 2010 Dom Perignon and pouring it down, one or the other SkyClub customer reveals himself more as a braggart and less as a champagne connoisseur.
Tastes are known to be different. As long as the champagne tastes good or you imagine that it tastes good and you're happy, it's only good if SkyClub gets rid of its remaining stocks.
Great mix of condescension and ignorance. Champagne is very ageable. A lot of 2002 vintage bottles are really just hitting their peak drinking period now.
Vintage matters a lot.
2008 and 2012 for recent vintages.
Many less expensive 2008s and 2012s are better than Dom 09 or 10 but Dom 08 is close to the top.
@ben schlappig Can you try BRIBING the bartender in cash to NOT open the bottle, ideally give him an empty bag to put it in?
I have ask that before .. and was told it has to be open cork
LOL commenters
In Europe you can go to a pinxto bar or restaurant and get great champagne for 'retail' with little / no markup
@Greg
LOL, You and I visited a whole different Europe, unless your definition of 'great' champagne retails for less than 20 Euros.
Coming from someone who lives in Europe, I have to (regrettably) agree more with Eskimo here. Not sure what you mean by little/no markup, Greg--businesses in Europe still have to make a profit. They certainly mark up champagne, even in France (where I live). On the flip side, if your point is just that there are many champagnes that you can find that are as good, if not (much) better, than Dom at lower price,...
Coming from someone who lives in Europe, I have to (regrettably) agree more with Eskimo here. Not sure what you mean by little/no markup, Greg--businesses in Europe still have to make a profit. They certainly mark up champagne, even in France (where I live). On the flip side, if your point is just that there are many champagnes that you can find that are as good, if not (much) better, than Dom at lower price, I agree 100%. Not to say that Dom is bad, but its price is largely driven by its name and I've had a lot of better champagnes for less.
And now every bougie influencer will start humble bragging pictures of Dom in the SkyLounge on InstaSnap. But in all seriousness, this is a good value of points, as this is in line with Costco pricing.
Never thought of that, but thank you. You got me thinking of of a Carbanet Sauvignon Silver Oak next time at LGA or JFK.
Actually, the split of Gruet is an excellent value. Gruet is arguably the best American sparkling wine under $30 per bottle.
Agreed. Gruet is great!
With Dom, you're mostly just paying for the name (like Rolex and many other luxury consumer brands). I suspect the vast majority of those who buy bottles of Dom would be unable to pick it out in a blind tasting of decent quality sparkling wines.
I have used them for a glad or 2 of DO at the MSP Skyclub. Very tasty
fyi emirates lounge in dubai has a champagne section, everything’s free and bottom less and you have access to the lounge by just being a silver member (not very hard to achieve with a couple of international trips). u.s airlines in general have so much catching up to do
One catch, the bottle has to be opened in the club, right? You can not take it "to go"?
@ polarbear -- Yep, that's correct, or else I'd do some champagne shopping in the club. The bartender has to open the bottle.
@Lucky, so what happens if you tip(ped) bartenders using SkyMiles/points? What conversion ratio do they get? =)
@ Quo Vadis -- That's a good question. I've been told that SkyMiles used for tip convert at the same rate. However, I'm not 100% convinced of that and I figure the bartender appreciates cash in their pocket, which is why I tipped in cash.
Great redemption Ben! I personally would have gone with the LP Rose.
At those prices, the Dom is a much better value. I like LP Rose, but can easily find it for $70/bottle, or less by the case.
You shouldn't evaluate everything by retail prices although I get why people do. The LP rose has a higher QPR IMHO.
At retail prices, I totally agree about the QPR. But not to the extent of this LP markup.
Nice to hear about the good family news.
But that plate is a bit of a disgrace to a good bottle of champagne.... :)
Cheers! Been years since flown on Delta. Never had any Delta CCs. But I’d love to use sky pesos for Don Champagne :-)
Nice to hear you got some great family health news!
Agree that SkyMiles aren't terribly valuable and the redemption rates can be eye-popping, but the good news in 2021 and in 2022 is that redemptions count toward status. It makes redeeming an obnoxious amount of miles for a D1 flight to Europe a bit more bearable knowing that it counts toward the $15k Platinum spend threshold.
I’ve been using SkyPesos on domestic USA routes where DL matches or beats WN Rapid Rewards award prices (yes, they actually do this in some markets). When combined with a Gold Medallion status match from Q4 2020 it’s pretty hard to beat an F domestic redemption for 4500 SkyPesos that would actually earn MQM and MQD in 2021/2022.
Unfortunately they don’t serve Dom in a DL F cabin…
My absolute favorite redemption of Skymiles. Redeemed them once for a bottle of Dom at MSP before my Delta One flight to Tokyo. Ahhhh, the days when Japan was open and you could move throughout Asia freely. Good redemption, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Hah! This is actually the only way I use SkyMiles, a great redemption indeed (sometimes if you slip a $20 to the bartender they'll let you pack the unopened bottle discreetly for you to take away).
I've seen a lot of folks try the grab and go option, but I've never seen it work for them. The bar staff are required to open the bottle and remind you that it's to be drunk in the club. I guess if you get the right staffer and the right gratuity the rules can be bent.
Depending on the state, it can be bought as low as $130 USD at Costco. ♂️
The 2010 vintage? I doubt it.
As a loyal Delta flyer, I too find the value of SkyMiles to be non-existent for international travel. But if your dates/times are flexible, I’ve scored plenty of domestic flights for 11,000 miles over the past year
Thanks for this tip though! I’m heading to Europe at the end of the month so I’m definitely going to enjoy some champagne in the SkyClub before we board.
The only reason I haven’t done this in the past is not having a layover long enough to make use of it. (Oh and my wife was 7 months pregnant the last time we flew Delta (and she loves champagne more than Lucky)).
I’ve had some fireside Moët in SLC. Similar to you I don’t value skymiles and would never have enough for a meaningful redemption.
Except Moët is generally trash, to be honest, at least for their NV stuff. Pretty terrible champagne but people just buy into the name (same for the standard NV Veuve Clicquot). Those vintage Dom Pérignon are much much better.
Dom P is Moët…
Moët owns Dom Pérignon but for all intents and purposes, they are considered 2 different products and houses (as they should).
Good try @Sel, D.
Should I also call Domaine Chandon, a Dom P?
Lol Sel, D. No. It is not.
1) I occasionally redeem SkyMiles for champagne in the SkyClub - more often the half bottle of Moët when I am in there alone. When with my wife I may order a bottle if we have time
2) I accrue a lot not SkyMiles by flying and spending on Delta reserve. I try to keep enough to redeem for two European D1 round trips via the flash sales. But beyond that I redeem in...
1) I occasionally redeem SkyMiles for champagne in the SkyClub - more often the half bottle of Moët when I am in there alone. When with my wife I may order a bottle if we have time
2) I accrue a lot not SkyMiles by flying and spending on Delta reserve. I try to keep enough to redeem for two European D1 round trips via the flash sales. But beyond that I redeem in economy, especially when I think I can get upgraded or use an instrument. Just redeeemed D1 transcon round trip for about 32K miles, got a comp upgrade on one leg and used a regional upgrade on another. The original redemption value was about 1.3 cents. Sometimes economy redemptions work out. Plus you get MQM this year on SkyMiles redemptions.
I would actually say the LP Rose is a better deal than the Dom, especially now that they're serving the 2010, which is a pretty lackluster vintage.
Lucky - I would recommend looking up wine prices on Wine-Searcher instead of relying on KLWines if you're ever curious about prices. For example, the lowest result that ships to Florida (for you) is $195, which several options at $199.
Huh? You can find that LP Rose for $70 very easily. So almost a 60% markup versus essentially zero markup for the Dom.
Seeing they want $120 (not $110 as I thought I had seen) for the LP -- so an even worse value than I suggested.
Yikes, you're right. I didn't realize they marked up all the other champagnes as well. LP Rose used to 4,000 Skymiles and a pretty good value at that price. Not a buy at double that many miles. In fact, looking at this list, I wouldn't say any of them are great values compared to before.
I still stand by my comment re 2010 Dom though.
Will definitely be doing this on my D1 flight to BOG next month!
Welcome to OMAAT, new member.
I used miles for Dom Perignon at the LGA Skyclub the last time I flew DL. Similarly, a lot of people at the bar were surprised it was an option and it stirred a flurry of interest.
I ended up getting one and a half glasses on my second round because the open bottle didn't have enough for one full glass and the bartender wanted to ensure the new bottle had enough for five complete glasses!
do sky miles count as a type of crypto currency?