Delta Devalues Partner Awards Without Warning — Yet Again
Update 4/17/17: Delta has closed the "loophole" that allowed you to book awards at the old rates when including a Delta-operated segment as part of your itinerary.
Update 4/7/17 4:21pm: Delta has confirmed that this is not, in fact, a mistake. The airline provided the following statement: "This change is part of Delta's regular evaluation of award pricing that can result in increases or decreases".
Update 4/7/17 3:33pm: For some reason or another, partner flights with one Delta-operated segment are pricing at the old rates. For example, here's Las Vegas to Los Angeles (Delta) and Los Angeles to Sydney (Virgin Australia) for 95,000 miles, rather than the 105,000 miles you'd pay when booking just LAX to SYD:
This has been "a thing" for years — Delta making adjustments to its award chart without providing any warning at all. And, with today's change, there wasn't even any notice.
Per One Mile at a Time (and my own searching on Delta's site), several SkyMiles partner awards have jumped quite a bit in cost. By how much? Well, it's hard to pin down an exact figure, since Delta no longer publishes award charts. However in the case of business-class flights to/from Australia, partner awards have jumped from 95,000 miles to 115,000 miles, which is certainly a notable increase.
These increases appear to affect redemptions on select partners specifically — some partner awards have gone up while Delta's award rates have remained the same on the same routes; in other cases, the opposite is true. So, apologies in advance if this is a bit difficult to follow...
The most significant mileage jump seems to impact flights from the US to Australia (and vice versa). For example, 95,000-mile award flights on Virgin Australia just aren't a thing anymore. As you can see below, the lowest fare is now 110,000 miles, but that's only for flights operated by Delta — Virgin awards are now 115,000 miles.
So, here's the new lowest rate I can find between LAX and Sydney on Delta — 110,000 miles each way.
And here's the lowest rate I'm seeing for travel on Virgin Australia:
Partner award flights to Europe are pricing higher as well. In the below example, you can see Delta-operated flights for 70,000 miles, while flights operated by Virgin Atlantic are pricing at 85,000 miles.
So are all partner awards now pricing higher than their Delta equivalents? Bizarrely enough, no, that isn't what we're seeing. Check out Atlanta to Seoul on Korean Air (95,000 miles) vs. Delta (105,000 miles) — in this case, you're actually saving 10,000 miles by flying a partner carrier.
And other award rates appear to have actually decreased. Take Garuda Indonesia's nonstop from Bali to Tokyo, which I flew in 2015. At the time, I redeemed 40,000 miles for this award. Then, last January, Delta raised this redemption to 50,000 miles — now it appears to have dropped back to 40,000 miles. Huh?
Even though this change has been implemented so inconsistently, all indications originally pointed to this being some kind of mistake. However, Delta confirmed with us that the changes legitimate. If you're looking to book an award with your SkyMiles, be aware of the increased (and decreased) rates for partner awards.
H/T: One Mile at a Time
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 3X | Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Delta SkyClub access when flying Delta
- Annual companion ticket for travel on Delta (upon renewal)
- Ability to earn MQDs through spending
- Various statement credits for eligible purchases
Cons
- Steep annual fee of $650
- Other Delta cobranded cards offer superior earning categories
- Earn 100,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $6,000 or more in purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership and an additional 25,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $3,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months, starting from the date that your account is opened. Offer Ends 04/01/2026.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Members receive 15 Visits per Medallion® Year to the Delta Sky Club® when flying Delta and can unlock an unlimited number of Visits after spending $75,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Plus, you’ll receive four One-Time Guest Passes each Medallion Year so you can share the experience with family and friends when traveling Delta together.
- Enjoy complimentary access to The Centurion® Lounge in the U.S. and select international locations (as set forth on the Centurion Lounge Website), Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge in the U.S. (see the Centurion Lounge Website for more information on Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge availability), and Escape Lounges when flying on a Delta flight booked with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. § To access Sidecar by The Centurion® Lounge, Card Members must arrive within 90 minutes of their departing flight (including layovers). To access The Centurion® Lounge, Card Members must arrive within 3 hours of their departing flight. Effective July 8, 2026, during a layover, Card Members must arrive within 5 hours of the connecting flight.
- Receive $2,500 Medallion® Qualification Dollars with MQD Headstart each Medallion Qualification Year and earn $1 MQD for each $10 in purchases on your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card with MQD Boost to get closer to Status next Medallion Year.
- Enjoy a Companion Certificate on a Delta First, Delta Comfort, or Delta Main round-trip flight to select destinations each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Certificate requires payment of government-imposed taxes and fees of between $22 and $250 (for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. Delta Basic experiences are not eligible for this benefit.
- $240 Resy Credit: When you use your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card for eligible purchases with U.S. Resy restaurants, you can earn up to $20 each month in statement credits. Enrollment required.
- $120 Rideshare Credit: Earn up to $10 back in statement credits each month after you use your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card to pay for U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers. Enrollment required.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- With your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, receive upgrade priority over others with the same Medallion tier, product and fare experience purchased, and Million Miler milestone when you fly with Delta.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- $650 Annual Fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees