How to cancel or change a Delta SkyMiles award ticket and get miles back

What you can do after reading this guide

• Tell whether your award ticket falls under the no-redeposit, no-change-fee rule or under the Delta Basic award rule. [1] [3]
• Choose the right channel: self-service in My Trips, or Delta Reservations for the ticket types that cannot be changed online. [1]
• Predict what happens to your miles when you cancel or change, including on a partially used ticket. [1] [3]
• Recognise when an award-deal discount changes the cancellation or change arithmetic on a ticket. [2]

Who this applies to and what you need first

This guide covers Delta SkyMiles award tickets booked on delta.com US English pages, including Delta Basic award tickets, for travel originating in the United States and Canada. [1] [3] The SkyMiles Program Rules state the no-redeposit, no-change-fee rule for travel originating from the United States and Canada to anywhere in the world, including flights operated by joint venture and codeshare partners. [3]

You need an award booking to work on. Delta's help page says changes and cancellations can be made online prior to departure through My Trips. [1] If the ticket was purchased from a third-party travel site or agency, the help page directs you to that travel agent for servicing and assistance. [1] Award Tickets may be issued only by Delta and only on Delta ticket stock. [3]

Two adjacent products are outside this guide. Open jaw, routing, stopover and ticket validity rules for Pay with Miles tickets are determined by the fare rules of the ticket purchased, and miles redeemed for Upgrade with Miles tickets cannot be re-deposited in the SkyMiles account except for tickets refunded under Delta's Risk Free Cancellation policy. [3]

How do you cancel or change a Delta SkyMiles award ticket?

1. Confirm where the ticket was bought. Tickets purchased from a third-party travel site or agency must be serviced through that travel agent. [1]
2. Check whether your ticket is in a category Delta says cannot be changed online: tickets upgraded using miles or certificates, an adult travelling with an infant in arms, and tickets sold or ticketed by another airline — generally a flight number starting with something other than "DL", except for SkyMiles Award Travel operated by a Delta airline partner. For those, Delta recommends messaging or calling its Reservations Specialists at 800-221-1212. [1]
3. Identify your fare type. Delta Basic award tickets are handled under a fee assessed in miles, while other award tickets for travel originating in the United States and Canada are handled without a redeposit or change fee. [1] [3]
4. Sign in and open My Trips to make the change or to cancel, any time before your travel date. [1]
5. For a change, note that the mileage difference, taxes and fees apply. [3] Where a TakeOff 15 discount was applied, the discount goes to the new Award Ticket if eligible, and the difference in miles is either deducted from your SkyMiles account or redeposited into it. [2]
6. For a Delta Basic award cancellation, expect the fee to be assessed in miles and deducted from the value of the ticket, with the remaining mileage balance redeposited into your SkyMiles account. [1]
7. Note that once travel has commenced on an Award ticket, the Award is considered used and mileage is not credited back to the account for the unused portion of the ticket. [3]

What happens to your miles and fees when you change or cancel?

The cited pages do not print the fee amounts themselves. Delta's help page states that the cancellation fee amount depends on your point of origin and type of ticket, and points to the Baggage and Travel Fees page. [1] The award-deals terms add that the award ticket taxes and fees include only U.S. excise and departure/arrival taxes, airport charges, segment fees, the September 11th Security Fee, and international taxes and fees normally included in the Award Ticket. [2] None of the cited pages states how long a redeposit takes to appear in a SkyMiles account, so this guide does not cover redeposit timing. [1] [3]

Worked example (illustration)

Illustration only: you redeem miles for a Delta Basic award ticket for travel originating in the United States and, once the ticket has been issued, you cancel it voluntarily. Delta assesses a cancellation fee in miles, deducts it from the value of the ticket, and redeposits the remaining mileage balance into your SkyMiles account. [1] The exact number of miles charged as the fee is not printed on that page, which points readers to the Baggage and Travel Fees page for the fees that may apply to a Delta Basic experience; the amount returned is the mileage balance left after the fee is deducted. [1] Had the same trip been booked as an award ticket other than a Delta Basic experience, for travel originating in the United States or Canada, the Program Rules allow the cancellation without a redeposit or change fee. [3] If travel had already begun, the award would count as used and no mileage would be credited back for the unused portion. [3]

Common reasons it fails

• The ticket was bought elsewhere. Tickets purchased from a third-party travel site or agency must be changed or cancelled through that travel agent. [1]
• The ticket cannot be changed online. Tickets upgraded using miles or certificates, bookings with an adult travelling with an infant in arms, and tickets sold or ticketed by another airline generally cannot be changed online and require Delta Reservations. [1]
• A Delta Basic award cannot be refunded, and any change or cancellation carries a fee assessed in miles. The fee is deducted from the value of the ticket, and the remaining mileage balance is redeposited into your SkyMiles account. [1] On the award-deals terms, if the TakeOff 15 benefit was applied to the award ticket, Basic Economy tickets are not eligible for voluntary changes. [2]
• You want to change the passenger name. Name changes are not permitted once an Award Ticket has been issued. [3]
• Travel has already commenced. The award is considered used and mileage is not credited back for the unused portion. [3]
• Travel starts outside the United States and Canada. Restrictions vary for some of that travel: award tickets may be non-cancelable or changeable for a fee. [3]

Exceptions and limits

• Origin matters. The no-redeposit, no-change-fee rule is stated for travel originating from the United States and Canada; for some travel originating outside those countries, award ticket restrictions vary and tickets may be non-cancelable or changeable for a fee. [3]
• Basic travel experiences can attract fees generally. The award-deals terms state that if a Basic Travel Experience ticket — or any ticket for travel starting outside the United States and Canada — is changed or cancelled, fees may apply. [2]
• Miles + Cash keeps its cash portion. Mileage purchases, the cash portion of a Miles + Cash transaction, are nonrefundable, and any refunds for the mileage portion purchased in cash are refunded in miles. [3]
• Award tickets are not transferable. Award Tickets are nontransferable once issued, and selling or bartering them is prohibited. [3]
• Account action can cancel award travel. While a SkyMiles account is inhibited during an investigation, no mileage redemptions or other transactions are permitted and any outstanding Award Travel may be cancelled; cancelled Award Tickets must be surrendered to Delta on request. [3]
• Terms can change. Delta reserves the right to change program rules, benefits, mileage regulations, Award Travel terms and fees at any time without notice, and the rules in effect at the time of travel or of the request govern the transaction. [3]

Frequently asked questions

Do I get all my miles back if I cancel a Delta award ticket?

For an award ticket, other than a Delta Basic experience, for travel originating in the United States and Canada, the Program Rules allow cancellation without a redeposit or change fee. [3] For a Delta Basic award ticket, a fee assessed in miles is deducted from the value of the ticket and the remaining mileage balance is redeposited into your SkyMiles account. [1] Once travel has commenced, the award is considered used and mileage is not credited back for the unused portion. [3]

How long does it take for the miles to be redeposited?

The cited Delta pages state that miles are redeposited for a Delta Basic award cancellation and that redeemed miles are redeposited on a voluntary cancellation of an award ticket to which the TakeOff 15 benefit was applied, but they print no time frame for the redeposit. [1] [2] This guide does not cover redeposit timing.

Can I change the passenger name on a Delta award ticket?

No. Name changes are not permitted once an Award Ticket has been issued, although miles may be redeemed for Award Tickets in the name of passengers other than the SkyMiles Member. [3]

What happens if I cancel an award ticket that had the TakeOff 15 benefit applied?

On a voluntary cancellation, the redeemed miles are redeposited into the Card Member's SkyMiles account, except for Basic Economy tickets, and current Award Ticket redeposit fees apply. [2] Basic Economy cancellations result in a cancellation charge assessed in miles as outlined in the fare rules, with the remaining miles after deduction redeposited to the Card Member's SkyMiles account, and no discount applies to the cancellation charge. [2] The member must be an active eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card Member at the time the Award Ticket is changed to be eligible for the TakeOff 15 benefit on the changed Award Ticket. [2]

Next step and official entry points

• Delta: Help With Flight Changes & Cancellations — open My Trips to change or cancel before departure, read the Basic experience and Basic award FAQs, and find the Reservations number for tickets that cannot be changed online. [1]
• Delta: SkyMiles Program Rules — the "Domestic and International Award Travel; Ticket Changes", "Partially Used Award Tickets" and "Name Changes" sections in full. [3]
• Delta: SkyMiles Award Deals terms — the Award Ticket Cancellations and Changes terms that sit alongside the TakeOff 15 benefit. [2]
• Delta SkyMiles programme — the programme hub for earning, redeeming and status rules. [3]

Related pages

Delta SkyMiles programme, award reinstatement, award change fee, award change and cancel fees compared, Delta SkyMiles fees guide, Delta SkyMiles same-day change guide, how to book Delta SkyMiles awards.

Sources

Sources checked on 18 October 2026. This guide covers cancelling or changing Delta SkyMiles award tickets as stated on delta.com US English pages, for travel originating in the United States and Canada, including the separate treatment of Delta Basic award tickets and the change and cancellation terms printed alongside the TakeOff 15 award benefit; it does not cover Pay with Miles redeposit rules, award travel on partner ticket stock, or any redeposit timing, which the cited pages do not state.

1. Delta Air Lines: Help With Flight Changes & Cancellations, checked 18 October 2026
2. Delta Air Lines: SkyMiles Award Deals terms, checked 18 October 2026
3. Delta Air Lines: SkyMiles Program Rules (Last Updated 1/1/2026), checked 18 October 2026