Act fast: Darn good Delta deal alert with tickets starting at 5,000 SkyMiles

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Delta Air Lines is offering round-trip flights for as little as 5,000 Delta SkyMiles right now. Act fast. We're not sure how long this fare sale will last.

The flights, first flagged by Frequent Miler, are mostly out of Washington, but we found discounted redemptions from several major airports.

Deal basics

Airline: Delta Air Lines
Routes: ATL/BOS/MCI/LAS/MSY/MSP/PDX/SFO/SLC/TUS/WAS and others to ABQ/AUS/DFW/FLL/HOU/IND/MSP/MCO/PDX/RNO/SFO and more
How to book: Directly through the airline
Travel dates: February — December (the best availability is through March)
Book by: N/A

Sample fares

Round-trip, nonstop flights to lots of destinations are available from more than 30 U.S. cities, including:

Seattle (SEA), starting at 5,000 SkyMiles.
Albuquerque (ABQ)/Austin (AUS)/Dallas (DFW)/Fort Lauderdale (FLL)/Houston (IAH)/Indianapolis (IND)/Minneapolis (MSP)/Orlando (MCO)/Portland (PDX)/Reno (RNO)/San Francisco (SFO), starting at 9,000 SkyMiles.
Kansas City (MCI)/Las Vegas (LAS)/Nashville (BNA)/New Orleans (MSY)/Oakland (OAK)/Phoenix (PHX)/Sacramento (SMF)/Salt Lake City (SLC)/San Jose (SJC), starting at 10,000 SkyMiles.

To book, head to the SkyMiles Award Deals page at delta.com and enter your departure city, Don't put in a destination, just hit the red arrow and see what comes up.

The best deals we found are from Seattle where you can fly to lots of cities for just 5,000 Delta SkyMiles including Phoenix, Anchorage or Las Vegas.

Some of these routes will cost only 5,000 SkyMiles round-trip and $11.20 in taxes and fees. (Screenshot courtesy Delta Air Lines) — Some of these routes cost only 5,000 SkyMiles round-trip and $11.20 in taxes and fees. (Screenshot courtesy of Delta)

Here's an example of deals from San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Check out the flight to New York (JFK) for just 10,000 Delta SkyMiles.

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(Screenshot courtesy Delta Air Lines) — (Screenshot courtesy of Delta)

New York to San Francisco or Los Angeles is also a great deal for between 9,000-10,000 miles.

Some of these routes will cost only 9,000 SkyMiles round-trip and $11.20 in taxes and fees. (Screenshot courtesy Delta Air Lines) — Some of these routes will cost only 9,000 SkyMiles round-trip and $11.20 in taxes and fees. (Screenshot courtesy of Delta)

Or how about Minneapolis (MSP) to Los Angeles for between 9,000-9,500 SkyMiles?

Related: Los Angeles expands vaccination requirement for restaurants, bars and other indoor spacesIf your travel dates are flexible, search the Price Calendar for deals. The low fares listed above are for basic economy seats, but on this route it might be worth it to upgrade to the main cabin for an extra 4,000 SkyMiles. With the upgrade you'll be able to select a seat and you can have your miles redeposited if you need to change or cancel plans.

Passengers flying on Delta are allowed one carry-on bag and checked luggage starts at $30 unless you have elite status or carry a cobranded credit card that gives you a free checked bag.

Maximize your purchase

Even though you are booking with miles, don't forget to use a card that earns points for airfare purchases as you still have to pay taxes and fees, and you may have to pay for a checked bag. Some cards that offer points on airline purchases include The Platinum Card® from American Express (5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), Citi Prestige® Card (5 points per dollar on airfare), Citi Premier® Card (3 points per dollar on air travel; see rates and fees), Chase Sapphire Reserve (3 points per dollar on airfare), American Express® Gold Card (3 points per dollar on airfare when booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel), the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (2 points per dollar on travel), or a Delta card such as as the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card for 2 miles per dollar or the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card for 3 miles per dollar on eligible Delta purchases.

The information for the Citi Prestige Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom line

Delta jet at Fort Lauderdale Airport March, 2021. (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy) — Delta jet at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in March 2021. (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy)

Delta Air Lines has some incredible deals for round-trip flights starting at 5,000 SkyMiles round-trip. The best deals are out of Seattle, but the prices are compelling for flights from coast to coast and even some international destinations.

Featured image by NurPhoto via 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.