Delta Flash Sale: Business Class to Europe From 98,000 SkyMiles Round-Trip

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Every so often, Delta offers an award “flash sale,” such as domestic flights from 11,000 SkyMiles round-trip or 65,000 SkyMiles round-trip to Asia. The latest version of this promotion popped up Tuesday, offering round-trip business class flights to Europe starting at 98,000 SkyMiles.

In order to take advantage, you must purchase your ticket by December 14, 2017 at 11:59pm ET. Unfortunately, you can't plan summer vacations with this deal as travel dates are limited to flights from February 1 to May 21, 2018.

Delta no longer publishes an award chart, allowing it to make changes at any time without notice. However, business class award flights to Europe are generally no cheaper than 140,000 SkyMiles round-trip. So, this flash sale will get you 30% off the typical lowest award rate. Based on current TPG valuations, those 98,000 SkyMiles are worth just $1,176. And it's exceptionally rare that we find a better deal than that in business class.

The destination airports are technically limited, but the list is quite extensive:

*Seasonal service

Maybe you, like me, noted that Amsterdam (AMS) is one of the cities listed. Delta is launching its first transatlantic service on its brand new Airbus A350-900 from Atlanta (ATL) to AMS in March 2018. So, I was hopeful to grab a deal in the excellent new Delta One Suites product, but Delta effectively isn't running this flash sale on the ATL-AMS nonstop:

However, if you're willing to connect through Detroit (DTW), Delta's offering a business class seat for 98,000 SkyMiles round-trip on some dates:

A round-trip itinerary isn't explicitly required by the terms, so I checked to see if there were any one-way awards available at 49,000 SkyMiles. Unfortunately, the lowest award rate I found for one-way award flights is the typical 70,000 SkyMiles. Regardless, due to Delta's high surcharges on Europe-originating flights, it's not generally a good idea to book two one-way SkyMiles award on trips to Europe.

This sale is going to be best for those that already have a stash of SkyMiles to spend. However, you can transfer points from Starwood Preferred Guest or American Express Membership Rewards to Delta if you need to top off your account. Transferring Starpoints (2.7 cents per point) or Membership Rewards points (1.9 cents per point) to Delta usually is a significant step down in value. However, this flash sale may be one time it makes sense to do so.

Here are all of your transfer options:

• American Express Membership Rewards: 1:1 transfer
• Starwood Preferred Guest: 1:1 transfer with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 20,000 points transferred. Note that you're limited to 79,999 transferred points per day.
• Marriott Hotel + Air Package: transfer 270,000 Marriott points (90,000 Starpoints) to get 120,000 SkyMiles plus a 7-night stay at a Marriott category 1-5.

You're not going to be able to earn a credit card welcome bonus in time to book this flash sale. But, if you're looking to replenish your SkyMiles for the next flash sale, consider applying for one of the Delta SkyMiles credit cards from American Express. For example, the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express comes with a bonus of 30,000 SkyMiles after you spend $1,000 in the first three months and a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your card within the first three months. You’ll earn 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases and 1 mile per dollar on everything else.

H/T: View From The Wing