Deal Alert: Award Flights to Japan From 44,000 Miles Round-Trip

April 15, 2019

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7 min read

Deal Alert: Award Flights to Japan From 44,000 Miles Round-Trip

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Although Delta hasn’t had a published award chart for years, it does offer award flash sales fairly regularly. Destinations have included South America from 32,000 SkyMiles round-trip, domestic flights for 10,000 SkyMiles round-trip, London for 32,000 SkyMiles round-trip, Australia for 44,000 SkyMiles round-trip, Africa for 54,000 SkyMiles round-trip and more.

Today we're seeing Delta awards from the US to Japan starting at 44,000 SkyMiles round-trip in economy. Delta lists 6 routes for this deal starting at 65,000 SkyMiles round-trip, but we found other, less expensive options once we dug in. We recommend heading to Delta.com and searching around for the route of your choice to see how it’s pricing.

At current TPG valuation of 1.2 cents per miles, 44,000 miles represents a cash equivalent of $528. Adding in taxes and fees starting at $60 round-trip, this is about equivalent to scoring a $588 round-trip to Japan. There's a recent deal from the West Coast to Japan for $461 round-trip, so it's worth double-checking the cash price on your booking to make sure you're getting good use out of your miles.

According to the terms of this deal, you'll need to book directly at Delta.com by 11:59pm ET on Wednesday, April 17, 2019 for travel between Sept. 6 and Oct. 31, 2019. To search, plug in your origin airport at Delta.com along with one of the sale destinations mentioned above. We recommend using Delta's "Flexible Dates" calendar, and make sure you toggle to "Miles" when looking at search results.

Remember that Diamond and Platinum Medallion members are entitled to fee-free cancellations on all award bookings (Basic Economy tickets notwithstanding), so top-tier elites can book now and see if it works with their schedule down the road. Also, Delta's higher elite tiers are entitled to complimentary upgrades from Main Cabin to Comfort+.

If you’re in need of SkyMiles, remember that you can instantly transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Delta at a 1:1 ratio.

Airline: Delta
Routes: Many US cities to NRT/HND/NGO/KIX
Cost: 44,000+ SkyMiles round-trip in Main Cabin (economy)
Booking Dates: now through April 17
Travel Dates: Sept. 6 through Oct. 31, 2019
Pay Taxes/Fees With: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare booked directly with the airline), Citi Prestige Card (5x on airfare), Citi Premier® Card (3x on airfare), Chase Sapphire Reserve (3x on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3x on airfare) or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on travel)

Here are a few examples of what you can book:

Miami (MIA) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) for 44,000 miles + $60 in taxes and fees round-trip in economy:

Phoenix (PHX) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) for 50,000 miles + $60 in taxes and fees round-trip in economy:

Miami (MIA) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) for 62,000 miles + $60 in taxes and fees round-trip in economy:

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) for 62,000 miles + $60 in taxes and fees round-trip in economy:

Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) for 62,000 miles + $60 in taxes and fees round-trip in economy:

New York City (JFK/LGA) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) for 64,000 miles + $60 in taxes and fees round-trip in economy:

Seattle (SEA) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) for 64,000 miles + $55 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop in economy:

Nashville (BNA) to Tokyo Haneda (HND) for 64,000 miles + $60 in taxes and fees round-trip in economy:

Orlando (MCO) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) for 64,000 miles + $60 in taxes and fees round-trip in economy:

Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) for 64,000 miles + $60 in taxes and fees round-trip in economy:

Nashville (BNA) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) for 64,000 miles + $60 in taxes and fees round-trip in economy:

Seattle (SEA) to Osaka (KIX) for 64,000 miles + $59 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop in economy:

Orlando (MCO) to Nagoya (NGO) for 80,000 miles + $60 in taxes and fees round-trip in economy:

Boosting Your SkyMiles Balance

While you couldn't earn a welcome bonus in time to boost your balance for this wave of deals, you may consider adding a card now in anticipation of flash sales to come. There are a variety of ways to earn Delta miles, from Delta-operated flights to trips on SkyTeam airlines to various non-travel partners. However, one of the best ways to boost your SkyMiles balance to score a few free trips is by adding one of these cards to your arsenal:

The Platinum Card® from American Express ($550 annual fee; See Rates & Fees); 75,000-point welcome bonus after you use your new card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 6 months of account opening, though be sure to check the CardMatch Tool to see if you’re targeted for a 100,000-point welcome bonus after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months; offer subject to change at anytime, (you can transfer Membership Rewards points directly to Delta SkyMiles) Terms Apply.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express ($595 annual fee; See Rates & Fees); Earn 75,000 points after you spend $15,000 on qualifying purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Terms Apply.
Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card ($450 annual fee; $550 if application is received on or after 1/30/2020, See Rates & Fees); Earn 40,000 Bonus Miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Terms Apply.
Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express ($95 annual fee; See Rates & Fees); Earn 30,000 bonus miles after you use your new card to make $1,000 in purchases within your first three months and a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first three months.

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For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta Reserve Business Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Gold Delta SkyMiles Card, click here.

Featured image by Getty Images

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.