Delta SkyMiles guide: how earning, awards and Medallion work

Delta SkyMiles is a fully dynamic program: there is no award chart, and the price in miles tracks the cash fare and demand. Your miles never expire, which makes the program forgiving, but getting good value means searching flexible dates and looking hard at SkyTeam partner flights.

Here's how earning, redeeming and Medallion status work at the time of writing, October 23, 2026. Delta changes things without much warning, so confirm details on delta.com before you book.

How you earn SkyMiles

Flying Delta

On Delta-marketed flights, you earn miles per dollar spent, excluding taxes and government fees. Your rate depends on status and fare:

Delta Main Basic tickets, Delta's basic economy fare, do not earn miles or Medallion Qualification Dollars, according to Delta's own pages at the time of writing. Delta has also extended basic-style fares to premium cabins in select markets since July 8, 2026, and those earn fewer miles than standard premium fares. Read the fare name before you click buy.

Flying partners

Partner flights mostly earn a percentage of distance flown, based on the fare class you bought. Higher fare classes earn more, and some deep-discount classes earn nothing. Delta calculates distance as the straight route between origin and destination, not the miles actually flown. Medallion members get a mileage bonus on many partners: 40% for Silver, 60% for Gold, 80% for Platinum and 120% for Diamond.

If miles don't post, Delta's Mileage Request Form accepts claims up to 9 months after the flight. The simpler fix is adding your SkyMiles number to the booking before you fly.

Earning without flying

• Delta Vacations: bonus miles by package price, from 1,000 miles on packages up to $4,999 to 10,000 miles on packages of $10,000 or more.
• Delta Stays: 2 miles per dollar on the base hotel rate.
• Delta Car Rentals: Hertz pays 4 to 8 miles per dollar depending on status. Dollar and Thrifty pay 4, and Alamo, Enterprise, National, Avis, Budget and Payless pay 2.
• Partners: link your account with Starbucks (Double Stars on days you fly Delta), Uber and Uber Eats.
• SkyMiles Shopping and SkyMiles Dining: Delta's shopping portal and restaurant program.

New to how miles work? Our beginner's guide to airline miles covers the basics.

How award pricing works

Delta dropped its award chart in 2015. Every award, on Delta and on partners, is priced dynamically. The cost moves with the cash fare, demand, how far out you book and the cabin. The same route can show wildly different prices on nearby dates, which is why flexible-date searching is the single most useful habit for a SkyMiles member.

Short domestic awards can start around 5,000 miles one-way, but Delta doesn't promise any floor. For a broader look at the trade-offs, see award charts vs dynamic pricing.

Partner awards

Partner flights are bookable on delta.com, but a few quirks apply:

• Delta may raise some partner award prices within 60 days of departure.
• Seats you see on a partner's own site aren't guaranteed to show up on Delta.
• Some partners, including Air Europa, Air Tahiti Nui and Kenya Airways, require a phone booking with Delta Reservations.

Miles + Cash

Delta offers Miles + Cash on many flights. In practice, the cash portion usually buys miles at a poor rate, so a straight award or a straight cash ticket tends to work out better.

Key partners and alliance

Delta is a SkyTeam member, and its partner network splits into two groups at the time of writing:

Some partners have their own earning rules. Cape Air flights earn on ticket price, and Air Baltic-marketed flights earn neither miles nor status. Several partnerships have ended recently, including ITA Airways on September 1, 2025, China Southern on August 10, 2025, and Hawaiian on June 30, 2025.

Medallion status

Delta Medallion status runs on one metric, Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs). On Delta-marketed flights, including those operated by partners, you earn $1 MQD per $1 of ticket price. Partner-marketed flights earn MQDs based on a percentage of distance and fare class. Delta Vacations packages also earn $1 MQD per $1.

Status for 2027 is earned from January 1 to December 31, 2026, and lasts from the day you earn it until January 31, 2028. MQDs reset every calendar year. The thresholds are unchanged for 2027.

Platinum and Diamond members also pick Choice Benefits each year. Delta updated those options on February 1, 2026.

Fees and quirks

• Changes and cancellations: on Main Cabin awards and above from the US or Canada, there's no redeposit fee to cancel and no change fee. You pay or get back any difference in miles. Fees may apply outside the US and Canada.
• Basic awards: cancelling a basic award costs you miles, and you can't change it, only cancel and rebook. Basic awards also can't be upgraded with miles.
• 24-hour rule: awards booked at least 7 days before departure can be cancelled for a full refund within 24 hours.
• Partner taxes: expect roughly $20 to $100 on partner awards from the US, but $200 to $500 or more from Europe or the UK because of carrier surcharges.
• Expiration: SkyMiles don't expire, though Delta can close accounts for fraud or rule abuse.
• Bag fees with miles: at select US airports, you can pay standard checked bag fees with miles at check-in.

Sweet spots

Because nothing is fixed, SkyMiles sweet spots are patterns rather than prices:

1. Short domestic hops such as New York to Boston, Washington or Chicago, where dynamic pricing often lands low.
2. Delta flash sales to Mexico and the Caribbean, which have historically priced well below normal.
3. Partner premium cabins on trips that start and end outside the US, such as within Europe on Air France or KLM, within Asia on Korean Air, or within South America on LATAM.
4. Flexible dates. Searching a full week instead of one day is often worth more than any trick.

Check any redemption against the cash fare with our award value calculator.

Bottom line

SkyMiles is easy to earn and hard to lose, since miles never expire, but its fully dynamic pricing means there are no guaranteed bargains. Avoid Main Basic if you want miles or MQDs, search flexible dates, and look at partner flights that start outside the US for better value. Check delta.com for current rules before booking.