Delta is selling intra-Asia connections on Singapore and ANA, but there's a catch
When Delta Air Lines was awarded several more slots at Tokyo's Haneda Airport earlier this year, it made the long-expected announcement that it would close its Asia-Pacific hub at Tokyo's Narita Airport.
With its Narita (NRT) hub closing, Delta also announced the fate of the last two remaining flights from its once-significant intra-Asia network: It would be ceasing service to Singapore (SIN) and moving its service to Manila (MNL) to fly out of its partner hub at Seoul's Incheon Airport (ICN).
With its Narita hub no more, Delta is now preferring to connect its Singapore-bound passengers to its joint-venture partner Korean Air or to its other close Asian SkyTeam partner, China Eastern. However, with its own intra-Asia flights from Tokyo coming to an end, Delta has also begun selling intra-Asia connections onto two airlines outside of its SkyTeam alliance: Singapore Airlines and ANA.
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Such an itinerary is likely to be appealing to many Delta flyers, as both ANA and Singapore Airlines are known for having great onboard products, especially in their premium cabins.
While you probably won't be able to book Singapore's fantastic first or Suites classes since Delta doesn't offer an international first-class product, Singapore's business class is definitely not a bad way to connect onward from Tokyo to Singapore.
Unfortunately, it appears that Delta is not selling award flight itineraries with these segments operated by Singapore Airlines or ANA, either alone or in combination with Delta flights to Asia. So, if you want to book an award flight from Tokyo to Singapore with Delta miles, you'll still need to connect through another city on one of Delta's SkyTeam partner airlines, such as Korean Air, China Eastern or China Airlines.
Related: The advanced guide to maximizing Delta SkyMiles award tickets
How will these flights affect earning miles and status credit?
When members of the TPG Lounge Facebook group began seeing these flights listed for sale on Delta's website, their first question was naturally how these flights being operated by Singapore Airlines or ANA would affect earning miles and elite status credit on Delta.
Since Delta doesn't have a codeshare agreement with Singapore or ANA for these intra-Asia flights, the flights are marketed directly with their Singapore (SQ) or ANA (NH) flight numbers. As astute Delta flyers may know, flights marketed with the flight numbers of another airline earn Delta miles and status credit according to the partner earning charts for the marketing airline on Delta's website. When you're flying on a close Delta partner airline, that can be a very good thing. However, since Delta's website lists no earning chart at all for either Singapore or ANA, my hopes were not high for earning miles on these flights.
Related: What is Delta elite status worth?
Trial bookings on Delta's website appeared to confirm my suspicions. Even in business class, the flights operated by Singapore or ANA would earn no miles or status credit at all.
The first example I tried was a booking from Atlanta (ATL) to Singapore via Seoul with the flights between Seoul and Singapore operated by Singapore Airlines. As I suspected, the numbers of SkyMiles, MQMs and MQDs in the estimated earning totals were only including the Delta-operated flights from ATL to ICN and back.
No credit at all was given for the ICN-SIN segments operated by Singapore Airlines. Since ATL-ICN is 7,153 miles and business class earns a 50% bonus on MQMs, the 21,460 MQMs that this itinerary would earn were only for the Delta-operated flights. Additionally, the total fare before taxes and fees was $6,400, but the mileage calculator showed only $4,566 of that counting for MQDs.
Attempting ATL-NRT-SIN round-trip with the NRT-SIN segments operated by ANA yielded a similar result. Only the Delta-operated segments between ATL and NRT were earning any SkyMiles or Medallion status credit.
When I reached out to Delta, they confirmed that my understanding of the rules was correct here and no Delta miles or status credit would be earned for the flights that Delta is selling on Singapore Airlines or ANA metal.
Related: Credit cards that can help you earn airline elite status
Bottom line
With Delta's hub at Narita closed and its flights to Singapore terminated, its interline agreements with Singapore Airlines and ANA present additional options for Delta flyers to connect within Asia on nice products. But, if you want to earn Delta miles and status credits for your intra-Asia flights — and since you're reading The Points Guy, you probably do — you'll likely want to avoid these itineraries and stick with SkyTeam carriers like Korean Air or China Eastern for your intra-Asia connections instead.
And if you want to use Delta SkyMiles to book an intra-Asia award flight, you're going to have to booking flights on Delta's SkyTeam partners.
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There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.