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While TPG puts Delta SkyMiles lower on the valuation totem pole, we’ve seen some pretty incredible Delta award sales recently, including 22,000 SkyMiles round-trip to Europe and 30,000 SkyMiles round-trip to Hong Kong.
Today we’re seeing more deals, with award flights to Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America from 11,000 miles round-trip.
While Delta has only advertised a handful of cities, it appears that discounted rates are available from airports all over the US. Plug in your desired departure at Delta.com and play around with one of the destinations that are on sale, which include Cancun (CUN), San Juan (SJU), San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO), Punta Cana (PUJ) and Nassau, Bahamas (NAS).
Delta says the sale ends tonight and is only valid for travel from October through December, but we’re finding deals in January 2019 and beyond.
Although Delta doesn’t publish an award chart, it’s unlikely to see awards to south of the US border for less than 35,000 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/LGA/EWR/ATL/BOS/DTW/LAX/MIA/ORD/SFO and likely others) to CUN/SJU/SJO/NAS/PUJ and likely others
Cost: 11,000+ SkyMiles round-trip plus taxes and fees
Dates: October 2018 – March 2019
Purchase By: October 10, 2018 (although prices will likely last longer)
Booking Link: Directly with Delta
Pay Taxes/Fees With: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare), American Express® Gold Card, Citi ThankYou Premier Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve, 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 (EWR/JFK) to Cancun (CUN) for 11,000 miles + $79 in taxes and fees round-trip:
Chicago (ORD/MDW) to Cancun (CUN) for 11,000 miles + $79 in taxes and fees round-trip:
Boston (BOS) to Cancun (CUN) for 18,000 miles + $79 in taxes and fees round-trip:
New York (JFK/EWR) to Punta Cana (PUJ) for 19,000 miles + $121 in taxes and fees round-trip:
Newark (EWR) to San Juan (SJU) for 19,500 miles + $11 in taxes and fees round-trip:
San Francisco (SFO) to Cancun (CUN) for 23,000 miles + $79 in taxes and fees round-trip:
Boston (BOS) to San Juan (SJU) for 24,000 miles + $11 in taxes and fees round-trip:
New York (JFK) to Nassau, Bahamas (NAS) for 24,000 miles + $113 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop:
New York (LGA) to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) for 27,000 miles + $86 in taxes and fees round-trip:
Los Angeles (LAX) to Cancun (CUN) for 27,500 miles + $74 in taxes and fees round-trip:
Atlanta (ATL) to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) for 32,000 miles + $81 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® Gold Card, 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 30,000 SkyMiles after you spend $1,000 in the first three months. Plus, a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase within the first three months. Also, this is a great card for defeating basic economy.
Featured image by Getty Images