Delta 50% Bonus On Purchased Miles Thru June 30, 2012 - Worth It?
Now through June 30, 2012, Delta is offering 50% bonus on purchased miles. For every increment of 2,000 miles they purchase, they'll get 1,000 bonus miles up to 60,000 purchased miles and 30,000 bonus miles.
T&C
Before we get started, a quick look at the Terms and Conditions says that this offer is only open to recipients of the original email from Delta, though if any readers who did not get the email were able to score the bonus, tell me about it in the comments below.
The bonus does not apply to miles purchased under the SkyMiles Gift Miles program or miles transferred under the SkyMiles Transfer Miles program, so in other words, you have to be purchasing these miles for your own account. Also, if you're thinking about doing this, your account must have been established for at least 10 days, so be sure to get one by June 20.
The Numbers
Ordinarily, Delta SkyMiles cost 3.5 cents each plus a 7.5% tax. With this promo, you'd be paying that same amount of $75.25 for a total of 3,000 miles, so your cost per mile would be 2.5 cents, saving you one cent per mile. That ratio holds true no matter how many miles you purchase with this bonus.
SkyMiles Scenarios
Taking a quick look at the Delta award chart, let's see just what some of these miles could get you.
Let's say you wanted to fly to Hawaii and managed to find low-level award availability in BusinessElite (which is no easy task), which would require 75,000 miles roundtrip. You could purchase 50,000 miles for $1,881.25 and get 25,000 bonus miles with this promo and book your ticket. Business class fares to Hawaii are actually pretty reasonable right now and I've seen some as low as $1,300-$1,500 each this summer on Delta, so you could potentially be losing around $600 by using miles purchased through this promo!
For another example, let's say you wanted to get from Miami to Buenos Aires in coach on Delta's new partner, Aerolineas Argentinas, for a quick weekend this summer. Each ticket would require 60,000 SkyMiles (at low-level availability), so you'd need to purchase 40,000 miles to earn a 20,000-mile bonus and have enough for a ticket, costing $1,505 total. I priced out that flight and you are looking at about $1,100 per ticket in coach in August, so again you'd be spending about $400 more than if you just bought the ticket- not a good deal, especially since you don't earn miles on award tickets.
Business class to Europe might make more sense at 100,000 miles at the low level (like on SkyTeam partners Air France and KLM), since that would bring the total price of the ticket to about $2,500.
Comparison Shopping
Delta frequently runs bonuses, but none that has stacked up to the memorable 100% bonuses on transferred miles, which brought the price of a SkyMiles down to 1.1 cents. Especially because it comes on the heels of US Airways' current 100% purchased miles bonus, which offers Dividend Miles at 1.8 cents a piece. US Airways are much more valuable in my opinion because they more alliance partners, and if you know how to search, you can find amazing availability across its network, so if I were buying miles, that's the program I would concentrate on at the moment.
Of course, if you just need to top up points, I'd recommend transferring American Express points instantly, but if you don't have an Amex card, buying miles via this promotion might make sense, but in general I wouldn't recommend it because I suspect better offers will be available in the future.
TPG featured card
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| 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.
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