Last week, Delta ran an unadvertised award sale to Europe with jaw-dropping fares as low as 22,000 SkyMiles round-trip. Today, the airline is back with an award sale that’s nearly as good. Although there are only a few routes listed by Delta, we are finding numerous other destinations that are discounted — and some are even cheaper than the 26,000-mile fares being advertised:
At current TPG valuations, 24,000 SkyMiles are worth just $288. Adding in taxes and fees starting at $57 and this is equivalent to scoring a $345 round-trip deal. But, what’s especially valuable about these awards are that they book into the Main Cabin, not basic economy. So, you’ll be able to check up to a 50 pound bag each way for free.
For reference, it’s rare to book an award ticket to Europe for anything less than 34,000 miles round-trip through any mileage program, making this an excellent deal. This joins long list of recent enticing Delta award flash sales (e.g. domestic: 10,000 miles round-trip, Mexico: 12,000 miles round-trip, Asia: 40,000 miles round-trip, Australia: 58,000 miles round-trip).
If you’re short on miles, remember that you can instantly transfer American Express Membership Rewards points into your SkyMiles account at 1:1 ratio.
Airline: Delta
Routes: US Cities (JFK/BOS/SFO/ORD/DEN and likely others) to Europe (AMS/ZRH/BRU/LHR/FRA/MAD and likely others)
Cost: 24,000+ SkyMiles and $57+ round-trip in economy
Dates: October 2018 — March 2019, although only January 15-March 31 2019 are listed
Purchase By: August 29
Booking Link: Directly with Delta
Pay Taxes/Fees With: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare), Citi ThankYou Premier Card Chase Sapphire Reserve, Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express, Citi Prestige (3x on airfare plus excellent trip-delay insurance) or Chase Sapphire Preferred (2x on travel)
Here are a few examples of what you can book:
New York Kennedy (JFK) to Zurich (ZRH) for 24,000 miles + $57 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop:
San Francisco (SFO) to Zurich (ZRH) for 26,000 miles + $63 in taxes and fees round-trip:
Chicago (ORD) to Brussels (BRU) for 26,000 miles + $62 in taxes and fees round-trip:
New York Kennedy (JFK) to Brussels (BRU) for 26,000 miles + $57 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop:
Denver (DEN) to Frankfurt (FRA) for 26,000 miles + $124 in taxes and fees round-trip :
New York Kennedy (JFK) to Madrid (MAD) for 28,000 miles + $51 in taxes and fees round-trip:
New York Kennedy (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR) for 30,000 miles + $179 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop:
Boston (BOS) to Amsterdam (AMS) for 34,000 miles + $49 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop:
Maximize Your Purchase
Don’t forget to use a credit card that earns additional points on airfare purchases to pay the taxes and fees, such as the Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on flights booked directly with airlines or American Express Travel), Citi ThankYou Premier Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express Premier Rewards Gold or Citi Prestige (3x on airfare) or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on all travel purchases). Check out this post for more on maximizing airfare purchases.
If you don’t have enough SkyMiles in your account, consider signing up for one of the Delta credit cards to ensure you’re able to take advantage of a deal next time one pops up. For example, the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express currently comes with a bonus of 60,000 SkyMiles after you spend $3,000 in the first four months. Offer ends September 19. Also, this is a great card for defeating basic economy.
Featured image courtesy of Ugur Akdemir/unsplash.