4 best ways to save money (or miles) on Delta flights

Delta Air Lines is one of the largest airlines in the world, with flights to over 280 destinations across six continents. Despite some major changes coming to how travelers can earn elite status and get into its airport lounges, Delta continues to be a popular choice thanks to perks like free Wi-Fi on most domestic flights and seat-back entertainment screens on most aircraft.

Understanding how to get the best deal on Delta flights can go a long way to getting you to your next vacation destination while staying within your budget. Below, CNBC Select shares four tips and tricks that can help you save cash and miles on your next Delta flight.

Delta has a generous change policy as long as you’re ticket isn’t in Basic Economy. There are no change or cancellation fees for cash or award tickets in Main Cabin or above when originating from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Africa, India and the Caribbean. Meanwhile, Basic Economy cash and award tickets are non-changeable and non-refundable in most cases — certain Basic Economy tickets originating from a few international markets may be changeable for a fee.

Airfare costs (both cash and mile prices) frequently change. By booking your flight as far in advance as possible, you have a longer time to monitor prices and have a better chance to lock in a price drop.

According to Expedia’s 2024 Air Travel Hacks Report, which analyzed billions of data points through collaboration with the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) and OAG, domestic economy flights should be booked at least a month before to save 24% on average compared to booking at the last minute. Meanwhile, the ideal booking window for international flights is around 60 days out, and no earlier than four months in advance, for optimal availability, selection and savings.

Several major online travel agencies (OTAs), including Expedia, Capital One Travel and Google Flights, now offer price drop protections on certain bookings, where you may receive a refund or travel credit if the price of your flight drops after booking.

If your travel dates are flexible, you can save miles or pay less on your Delta flights by flying during times when there is less demand. You can usually book cheaper tickets during a shoulder season or during the middle of the week, such as a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. According to Expedia’s report, Sundays are the most expensive days, on average, to travel.

At the time of writing, Delta flights from Detroit to Paris in April 2024 (shoulder season in Paris) are available for under $700 roundtrip or 78,000 SkyMiles plus taxes and fees. But prices jump over $1,200 or 140,000 miles plus taxes and fees on most days by mid-May.

As with many other airlines, Delta sometimes also overbooks flights and may offer large sums of cash to passengers who volunteer to take a later flight.

One of the best ways to save on Delta flights is by opening certain travel credit cards and airline credit cards. With a co-branded Delta credit card, you can earn Delta SkyMiles and receive other card-specific benefits, such as Delta Sky Club airport lounge access, discounts on in-flight purchases and a companion certificate, which allows you to book a second ticket on eligible flights for the cost of the taxes and fees.

You can also earn Delta miles indirectly with any American Express card that earns American Express Membership Rewards® points because Membership Rewards points transfer to Delta at a 1:1 ratio. So, if you open The Platinum Card® from American Express, for example, and earn its 80,000-point bonus after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership, you would then be able to convert those points into Delta SkyMiles. The card also comes with an up to $200 annual airline credit you can use to cover checked bag fees, seat selection fees and other incidentals if Delta is selected as your preferred airline.

TakeOff 15 Perk

Certain Delta credit cards provide an automatic 15% discount when you use miles to book Delta flights through Delta.com and the Fly Delta app (the discount isn’t applicable for partner-operated flights or for taxes and fees). To take advantage of this perk, you don’t need to do anything other than have one of the following Delta co-branded credit cards:

The nice thing about this benefit is it’s a discount, not a rebate, this allows you to book an award with fewer miles. The discount is automatically applied when signed into your SkyMiles account.

Just note that no annual fee (see rates and fees) Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card does not have access to the TakeOff 15 perk.

Free checked bags

Delta charges $30 each way for the first checked bag on domestic itineraries with a Basic Economy, Main Cabin or Comfort+ ticket. However, you can get the first checked bag free for yourself and up to 8 companions with these Delta cards:

These cards all have annual fees, but in certain cases, the free checked bag benefit can make the card worth it. For example, the Amex Delta Gold card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99 (see rates and fees). So if you check a bag for two or more roundtrip Delta flights a year, the free checked bag perk alone makes the annual fee worth it.

Delta’s regular flash sales allow you to book flights for less cash or fewer SkyMiles than usual for a limited time. These sales are some of the best ways to maximize your miles, often featuring round-trip domestic Main Cabin flights for 15,000 miles or less. In the past, there have been Delta SkyMiles deals to the South Pacific from 60,000 miles round-trip, Europe for under 40,000 miles round-trip and the Caribbean for about 10,000 miles.

The flash sales are generally for economy awards, but there are sometimes deals for Delta One business class as well. Unlike many other frequent flyer programs, you may also sometimes find better deals when booking round-trip awards, as opposed to two one-ways, particularly for international itineraries.

You can search the current award deals here and other Delta flight deals (miles and cash) here.

Delta has an extensive flight network and operates hubs in many major cities such as Atlanta, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City. If you live in or frequently travel to areas Delta serves, it pays to know how to find the cheapest possible Delta flights. To find the best deals, be flexible with when you travel, take advantage of Delta credit card benefits and pay attention to Delta’s sales.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every story is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

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For rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card card, click here.  

For rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card card, click here.  

For rates and fees of the The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.