Want to see the latest flight deals as soon as they’re published? Follow The Points Guy on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to text message alerts from our deals feed, @tpg_alerts.
Although Delta’s SkyMiles program doesn’t have the best reputation, it frequently has flash sales for award flights featuring fantastic deals such as flights to Asia for 50,000 SkyMiles round-trip, Bermuda for 12,000 SkyMiles, Mexico for 12,000 SkyMiles and London for 36,000 SkyMiles. And now, flights to Australia from 58,000 SkyMiles round-trip.
At current TPG valuations, 58,000 SkyMiles are worth approximately $696. Adding in taxes of around $118 brings the total value of these awards to just over $800 round-trip. While that's generally a good deal for flights to Australia, we've seen really good deals to Australia recently. So check the cash prices for these trips to make sure that it's not better to pay cash or redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points through the Chase travel portal for flights instead. For example, the recent $695 round-trip deals would only cost 46,333 points — and require no out-of-pocket cost.
Although Delta's deal website only lists five departure cities for this deal, we are seeing quite a few other airports included. The deal dates of Aug. 8 through Dec. 9, however, seem to be universal to all routes. Given how widespread this sale is, your best bet would be to head to Delta.com and search around for the route of your choice to see how it’s pricing. The sale ends Aug. 8, 2018, at 11:59pm ET, so you'll want to book soon if you want to take advantage of the deal.
Airline: Delta
Routes: US Cities (SEA/PDX/ATL/JFK/LAX/MSP/DCA and others) to SYD
Cost: 58,000+ SkyMiles and $113+ round-trip in economy
Dates: Aug. 8 to Dec. 9, although exact dates depend on the route
Booking Link: Directly with Delta
Pay Taxes/Fees With: The Platinum Card® from American Express (5x on airfare), Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige (5x on airfare plus excellent trip-delay insurance) or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2x on travel)
Here are a few examples of what you can book:
Seattle (SEA) to Sydney (SYD) for 58,000 miles + $118 in taxes and fees round-trip in September:Portland (PDX) to Sydney (SYD) for 58,000 miles + $118 in taxes and fees round-trip in October:
Atlanta (ATL) to Sydney (SYD) for 64,000 miles + $118 in taxes and fees round-trip in October:
New York-JFK to Sydney (SYD) for 64,000 miles + $118 in taxes and fees round-trip in November:
Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) to Sydney (SYD) for 64,000 miles + $118 in taxes and fees round-trip in November:
Washington DC Reagan National (DCA) to Sydney (SYD) for 64,000 miles + $118 in taxes and fees round-trip in October:
Los Angeles (LAX) to Sydney (SYD) for 64,000 miles + $113 in taxes and fees round-trip nonstop in December:
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), Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Citi Prestige (5x 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 bonus miles after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in purchases within your first 3 months and a $50 Statement Credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months. Terms Apply.
