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4 Days Only: Use Delta SkyMiles to Book Disney and Universal Trips at Good Rates

Aug. 27, 2019
10 min read
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Yesterday I shared a new and very limited-time Delta Vacations promotion that allows Delta SkyMiles to be redeemed for double the normal rate of 1 cent each at 2 cents each toward the revenue price of a flight and hotel package, which includes a minimum two-night hotel stay. As I was looking deeper into the promo last night, I noticed activities -- specifically theme park tickets in Orlando -- were available add-ons to your Delta Vacations package.

Related: Earn SkyMiles With The Best Delta Credit Cards

After pricing a few Disney and Universal vacations, it became clear this promotion is definitely a rare opportunity to use points and miles for a complete Disney vacation at a good value. Let's look at what's available and the value you can get at both Disney World and Universal Orlando. Just remember, this isn't a "think about it forever" offer as the promotion ends August 30.

Related: Choosing the Best American Express Card for You (Hint: Membership Rewards points transfer 1:1 to Delta SkyMiles)

Disney World Options Through Delta Vacations

For the promotion, remember you need to book a flight and at least two nights of hotel, and then you can add on theme park tickets. After searching for a few different dates, it appears all of the Disney on-property hotels are available for booking through Delta Vacations, though, of course, some are unavailable on specific dates. The prices below reflect the all-in price for four nights in January per person, including round-trip flights from Atlanta to Orlando for two adults and two children:

Prices on Delta Vacations are very competitive for flights and hotels. In fact, in my searches it's sometimes a better deal booking packages than booking flights and hotels individually. For the same above dates, booking Delta flights for four of us would be $628 and the Disney official website is asking $507 for those nights at the All-Star Sports Resort.

That puts the total package components at $1,135.36 when booking separately, compared to Delta Vacations selling a package for flight and hotel for four people at $945.56, a savings of $189.80. On top of the savings, you can use the current promotion to redeem SkyMiles for 2 cents each, making your flight and Disney hotel for four people on these dates only cost 47,278 Delta SkyMiles -- really an unbelievable value.

With your flights and hotel covered, we arrive at an all too familiar conundrum of trying to redeem points and miles for Disney tickets at a good value. Typically, redeeming points at 1.25 cents each through Citi ThankYou is the best possible avenue since Chase removed Disney tickets from the Ultimate Rewards travel portal. But even that can't be done online. That leaves many people with no avenue to good redemption values for Disney tickets, until this promo.

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During this promotion, you can redeem SkyMiles at 2 cents each to cover Walt Disney World theme park tickets. But, there is a catch. Only flexible date Disney tickets are available through Delta Vacations.

Disney at Christmas (Photo by Summer Hull / The Points Guy)

This means you can use your ticket on any date you wish, but you'll pay a premium for that ability. Basically, you will pay the same price as for the most expensive dates on the calendar (holiday weeks), even if you want to go in the off-season. (Here's how Disney ticket pricing works these days.) Delta Vacations has Disney one park per day, Park Hopper and Park Hopper Plus tickets available — but all only with the flexible date option for three- to 10-day tickets. Let's compare the Delta Vacations ticket prices to the publicly available ticket prices from Disney's website.

Flexible Date Park Hopper Adult Ticket Prices

DisneyDelta Vacations
1 Day$233.24N/A
2 Day$410.03N/A
3 Day$555.93$553.00
4 Day$687.99$687.00
5 Day$696.51$697.00
6 Day$703.97$704.00
7 Day$712.49$712.00
8 Day$718.88$719.00
9 Day$728.46$728.00
10 Day$738.05$738.00

You can see the prices from Disney and Delta are almost identical, and this carries across all of the ticket variations Delta has for sale. Adding four-day Park Hopper tickets for two adults and two children to our Delta Vacation package above brings the price to $3,651.55 -- which is 182,578 Delta SkyMiles.

That price includes: four nights at the All-Star Sports Resort (which gives you Disney perks like the Magical Express Bus to/from the airport), round-trip flights for four from Atlanta to Orlando and four-day Park Hopper tickets for 47,000 SkyMiles per person, which is outstanding.

If you don't have that many Delta miles at the ready, remember that Amex Membership Rewards points transfer (usually instantly) 1:1 to Delta from cards such as the American Express® Gold Card.

There are a lot of other variables to think about and consider, like possibly using the value of your flexible date Park Hopper toward the cost of upgrading to an annual pass. The idea of essentially redeeming SkyMiles at 2 cents per mile toward a Disney annual pass is intriguing.

Make sure you compare booking your flights and Disney hotels separately before going with Delta Vacations, but once you throw in the ability to use SkyMiles for Disney tickets at 2 cents each, it is probably worth going with Delta Vacations -- even if they are more expensive by requiring flexible date park tickets.

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge (Summer Hull / The Points Guy)

Universal Orlando Sweet Spot

Delta Vacations also sells packages for the Universal Orlando Resort. Staying at one of three top properties at Universal Orlando gives you Universal Express Unlimited passes ($119–$189 value per day) to skip the regular lines at many of the popular Universal attractions. All three of these hotels are listed on the Delta Vacations site, which means you can redeem SkyMiles at 2 cents per mile to get free flights, hotels, Universal tickets and have Express Unlimited included. The three hotels you can book through Delta Vacations to get the Express Unlimited passes are:

I searched prices for a few dates in January and Delta Vacations came back just a little more expensive than if booking the hotel and flights separately but, of course, using SkyMiles to cover the whole cost probably makes the up-charge worth it. For Universal park tickets, Delta Vacations offers 2-Park and 3-Park base and park-to-park tickets. The ticket prices for Universal are exactly the same on Delta Vacations and the Universal Orlando website, with the exception that Delta Vacations does not have access to any promotional tickets.

Image via Shutterstock

Bottom Line

There are a few additional advanced strategies to think about that I wouldn't encourage, but may be something to consider. A few people have found flight and hotel packages that include a cheap two- or three-star property, which make the package cost fewer SkyMiles than if you just booked the flights. I don't think you'll run into any problems not checking into a hotel you booked if you can lower the price of a flight and book a hotel elsewhere. Likewise, booking flights to use miles for hotels and park tickets could hypothetically be a possibility.

I am really enjoying this promo and the ability to redeem miles at 2 cents each toward Disney tickets is truly fantastic value. I will certainly pay much closer attention to Delta Vacations in the future if promos like this continue to be a periodic offering.

For more Disney and Universal trip-planning advice, read these stories:

Featured Image courtesy of the Walt Disney World Resort

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.

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Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG‘s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
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  • Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
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Cons

  • Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
  • SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
  • Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
  • Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
  • Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
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  • Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
  • Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
  • Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
  • Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
  • Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
  • Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
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Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees
TPG Editor‘s Rating
Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG‘s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
3 / 5
Go to review

Rewards Rate

3XEarn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
2XEarn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. and at U.S. supermarkets.
1XEarn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
  • Intro Offer
    Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.

    Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles
    50,000 Bonus Miles
  • Annual Fee

    $250
  • Recommended Credit
    Credit ranges are a variation of FICO© Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.

    670-850
    Excellent/Good

Why We Chose It

Build your loyalty to Delta by applying for the carrier's mid-tier card option, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card. The annual fee is quickly recouped by the card's travel perks, such as an application credit to Global Entry or TSA Precheck, annual companion certificate and so much more. Plus you can fast-track to elite status simply through card spend.

Pros

  • Earn bonus Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and an Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver when you hit specific spending thresholds with your card within a calendar year
  • Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year
  • Statement credit for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry fee (up to $100)
  • First checked bag free

Cons

  • Doesn't make sense if you don't fly Delta
  • SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
  • Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
  • Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
  • Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
  • New: 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.
  • Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
  • Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
  • Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
  • Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
  • Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
  • Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • $250 Annual Fee.
  • Terms Apply.
  • See Rates & Fees