Start here: Delta SkyMiles

Steps 1–2: what SkyMiles is and how to join

Step 1: the programme. Delta describes SkyMiles as a loyalty programme rather than only a frequent flyer scheme, and says a membership brings miles that do not expire. [1] New members can enrol in the SkyMiles Starter Pack challenge to earn up to 5,000 bonus miles while getting started. [1] Miles are earned by flying Delta Main or above, through everyday purchases on a Delta SkyMiles American Express Card, and through partners such as Hertz and Starbucks. [1]

In the air, Delta lists more than 20 partner airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, Air France, KLM, LATAM and Aeromexico; on the ground it lists hotel, accommodation, car, ridesharing, shopping and dining partners. [1] Miles can go toward travel to more than 1,000 destinations, Delta Vacations packages, or day-of-travel perks such as seat upgrades and checked bags. [1] The Delta SkyMiles programme page collects the current partner and earning pages.

Step 2: joining. Delta's programme rules state that SkyMiles is open to any individual person in any country that has not prohibited participation in frequent flyer programmes and where participation is not otherwise prohibited by law. [3] Corporations and business entities cannot be enrolled as members, although some may be eligible for the separate SkyMiles for Business programme. [3]

Members must give their full legal name, meaning first name, middle initial or middle name if any, and surname, matching the name on their passport or other valid travel document. [3] A membership number is assigned at enrolment, and the card is available digitally through My Wallet in the Fly Delta app or can be printed from My SkyMiles. [3] Only one person may be enrolled per account, members may not hold more than one SkyMiles account, and membership numbers are nontransferable. [3] A member who wants to enrol a child younger than 13 signs the child up and ticks a box confirming they are the child's parent or guardian. [3]

A password must be set at enrolment and must not be shared, including for the purpose of sharing an account, and members may not use their account log-in credentials on any third-party website or app such as a mileage management, tracking or aggregation service. [3] The name in the account must match exactly the name on the government-issued photo ID used when travelling. [3]

Step 3: how earning works

On Delta-marketed flights, meaning flight numbers that include the DL code, and on certain other Delta-ticketed flights with a ticket number beginning 006, miles are earned on ticket price at 5 miles per US dollar in qualifying Classic or Refundable experiences, 7 miles per US dollar in qualifying Extra experiences and 2 miles per US dollar in qualifying Delta Basic experiences. [3] The eligible amount is base fare plus carrier-imposed surcharges, excluding government-imposed taxes and fees. [3] Delta Main Basic (Basic Economy) tickets are not eligible to earn miles or MQDs. [3]

Tickets bought in another currency have the base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges converted to US dollars at the IATA 5-day exchange rate at the time of ticketing. [3] Miles per segment are a pro-rated share of the eligible ticket price and are not subject to minimum mileage accrual. [3]

Flights marketed by partner airlines, excluding those issued on 006 ticket stock, earn miles as a percentage of distance flown, set by the fare class paid as published on Delta's Airline Partners pages at the time of travel. [3] Most miles earned through non-airline partner offers are bonus miles and do not count toward Million Miler Status. [3] For a wider view of how airlines price mileage earning, see Start here: airline miles.

Miles are typically credited within eight weeks after the qualifying activity. [3] For air travel the member must give their SkyMiles number at booking or check-in, and the name and date of birth on the reservation must match the account. [3] Members have until nine months after the flight date or the date of the qualifying transaction to request missing miles and MQDs. [3] Ancillary purchases and fees do not count, including checked baggage fees, Delta Sky Club memberships, in-flight Wi-Fi passes, in-flight food and beverage, pet travel fees, and ticket change and cancellation fees. [3]

Step 4: how to use miles

Award Travel is limited to two connections per origin and destination for domestic travel and three connections for international travel. [3] Taxes and fees are the passenger's responsibility and must be paid when the ticket is booked, and miles are deducted automatically when a redemption is completed. [3]

For travel originating in the United States and Canada to anywhere in the world, including flights operated by joint venture and codeshare partners, members may change the origin, destination, routing, date and time, or cancel an Award ticket without a redeposit or change fee, excluding Delta Basic experience fares, for which a change fee applies if changes are permitted. [3] For some travel originating outside the United States and Canada, restrictions vary and tickets may be non-cancelable or changeable for a fee, and any mileage difference plus taxes and fees apply to changes. [3]

Award tickets for travel within or originating in China, Russia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Brazil and any country in Africa require 72 hours' advance purchase, and Delta states there are no exceptions. [3] Award seats may be limited and are not available on all Delta Connection or airline partner-operated flights. [3]

Miles + Cash lets members pay for select round-trip flights with a combination of miles and dollars during booking, and those tickets count as Award tickets subject to all Award ticket limits, including ineligibility for mileage accrual; vouchers, eCredit, gift cards and unused tickets cannot be used on Miles + Cash itineraries, and the option may not be available in all markets or on all flights. [3] Pay with Miles is a separate redemption option for members holding an eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card, available only when booking a trip on delta.com, and Delta notes that in some instances Award Tickets may require fewer miles. [3] Delta SkyMiles Reserve, Platinum and Gold American Express Card Members save 15% when booking Award Travel with Miles on Delta-operated flights, which does not apply to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees. [1]

Steps 5–6: status and a first award booking

Step 5: Medallion Status. Delta states that Medallion Status is earned only through Medallion Qualification Dollars. [6] For 2027 Status the thresholds are $5,000 MQDs for Silver, $10,000 for Gold, $15,000 for Platinum and $28,000 for Diamond, based on spending activity in the 2026 calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December 2026. [6] 2027 Status is valid from the day it is earned until 31 January 2028, and MQDs reset each calendar year. [6]

Members earn $1 MQD per $1 spent on the ticket price of a Delta-marketed flight operated by Delta or one of its partner airlines, and $1 MQD per $1 spent on Delta Vacations packages. [6] Holders of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum, Platinum Business, Reserve and Reserve Business American Express Cards receive an MQD Headstart of $2,500 MQDs per card type each Medallion Qualification Year, and can also earn MQDs on card purchases at $1 per $20 of purchases on the Platinum cards or $1 per $10 on the Reserve cards. [6] Award tickets operated by Delta and Delta Global Airline Partners, flown in Delta Main Classic or equivalent or above and booked through a direct Delta channel, earn MQDs based on miles redeemed divided by 100. [3] [6] Miles and MQDs can take up to 6–8 weeks after a Delta-marketed flight to reach the account. [6]

After 1 million flight miles with Delta, members receive annual complimentary Medallion Status; Million Miler Status counts lifetime flight miles including Award Travel and qualifying flights on partner airlines, but excluding Basic Economy and similar Economy Light fares, and the complimentary Status runs with the Medallion Year, currently 1 February to 31 January. [5] Members who already hold elite status with another airline can use the Status Match Challenge, which gives the equivalent Medallion Status for 90 days complimentary and can be extended by earning MQDs during the three-month Match Period: $1,250 for Silver, $2,500 for Gold and $3,750 for Platinum. [4] Only Platinum, Gold and Silver tiers are matched, and eligibility requires, among other conditions, at least 30 days of SkyMiles membership before enrolling, at least one Delta-marketed flight above Main Basic in the previous three years, and no Status Match, promotional or complimentary Medallion Status during 2023 to 2026; members who enrol during 2026 and complete the challenge are awarded Status through 31 January 2028. [4] For how status translates into lounges and travel benefits, see Start here: status and lounges.

Step 6: a first award booking. Award Tickets may be issued only by Delta and only on Delta ticket stock. [3] Taxes and fees must be paid at the time of ticketing with a form of payment Delta accepts, such as a credit or debit card, eCredit or Delta Gift Card. [3] To guard against credit card fraud, some reservations require the member to visit a Delta ticket office to make payment, or to show a credit card and ID, before the ticket is issued. [3] Miles may be redeemed for Award Tickets in the name of passengers other than the member, but Award Tickets are nontransferable once issued and name changes are not permitted. [3] Award prices and conditions for children and infants are the same as for adults. [3] Once travel has commenced the Award is considered used, and miles are not credited back for the unused portion. [3]

Exceptions and limits

• Fare class exclusions. Delta Main Basic (Basic Economy) tickets earn no miles and no MQDs, and Basic Economy and similar Economy Light fares are excluded from Million Miler flight miles. [3] [5]
• Award taxes and partner fees. Award tickets require the September 11th Security Fee of $5.60 per one-way trip, and international Award tickets, including travel to or from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, require U.S. user fees and that security fee of up to $40.00 plus foreign user, inspection, security or other charges of up to $400 depending on the itinerary. [3] Delta states at least $11.20 in U.S. government taxes and fees is required for domestic Award itineraries, and some airline partners charge their own fee for Award Travel on their airline, collected at booking. [3]
• Miles are not property. Miles may not be sold, attached, seized, pledged or transferred except as authorised, including through the SkyMiles Transfer Miles Program. [3]
• Account closure. Delta may deactivate or close an account and remove all miles for fraudulent activity, at the member's request, on death, when a member does not respond to repeated communications, when duplicate accounts are created, when a member resides where membership is prohibited, or when the rules are breached, and Medallion Status, benefits and miles are forfeited on closure. [3]
• Rules in force. Unless otherwise stated, the rules in effect at the time of travel or of the request for a benefit govern that transaction, Delta has the sole right to interpret and apply them, and the terms are subject to change at any time. [3]
• Scope of this course. Everything here describes Delta SkyMiles only; rules for Award Travel on partner airlines may vary and each partner sets its own award terms. [3]

Related pages

Programme: Delta SkyMiles. Courses: Start here: airline miles, Start here: status and lounges. Reference: frequent flyer glossary.

Sources

Sources checked on 18 October 2026. It covers Delta SkyMiles only; the membership, earning, award and status rules of other airlines and of hotel programmes are not described here.

1. Delta SkyMiles programme overview, checked 18 October 2026
2. Delta SkyMiles Membership Guide and Program Rules, checked 18 October 2026
3. Delta SkyMiles Medallion Status Match Challenge, checked 18 October 2026
4. Delta SkyMiles Million Miler Status, checked 18 October 2026
5. Delta How to Get Medallion Status, checked 18 October 2026