7 Trips to Take With 70K Delta Miles

Delta has gotten a lot of flak for its Skymiles program ever since they stopped publishing award charts back in 2015. Pricing for Delta awards now varies based on demand, but there are baselines that you can use to decide whether you’re getting a good deal.

Read more: Step-by-Step Guide: How to Redeem Delta SkyMiles for Award Flights

Pricing varies depending on the airline you’re flying. Flights operated by Delta are available at the lowest prices; other partners, even the ones partially owned by Delta (like Virgin Atlantic and Aeromexico), can be quite a bit more expensive, and as of August those prices go up even further for premium cabins if you book within 21 days of departure. If you’re traveling somewhere that Delta doesn’t fly (or doesn’t have award space), you may still be able to get the lowest prices as long as Delta operates the transatlantic or transpacific segment.

So if you can find low-level saver availability (or if you can’t), here are 7 ways to use 70,000 Delta SkyMiles now that the sign-up bonus for the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express has been raised. May the odds be ever in your favor!

US to Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean

If you’re looking to use your 70,000 miles to fly internationally with a companion, Mexico is probably your best bet – that should get you 2 roundtrip economy tickets on Delta, to destinations like Mexico City, Cancun, San Jose del Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, or Guadalajara.

You can fly on Aeromexico at that price as long as you have a domestic connection on Delta – for example, if you fly from Portland to Los Angeles on Delta and then connect to Mexico City on Aeromexico, it’ll cost you 35,000 miles roundtrip, but if you try to book that same Los Angeles to Mexico City flight by itself, you’ll have to pay 37,500 miles.

If you’re traveling solo, you can also spring for a business class ticket starting at 60,000 miles roundtrip. (Pro tip: most flights to Mexico use standard domestic planes, but you can get lie-flat business class seats on Delta between JFK and Mexico City.)

US to Europe

You can fly from the Continental US to anywhere in Europe. Delta flights should start at 60,000 miles roundtrip in economy; Air France, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic start at 75,000 miles roundtrip. You could also splurge for a one-way ticket in Delta One starting at 70,000 miles. If you book one way, try to book US-Europe – one ways originating in Europe have extra fees.

US to North Africa

You can fly from the Continental US to North Africa starting at 70,000 miles for a roundtrip in economy. If you can scrape up a few extra miles, you might be able to get a better routing – for example, a 70,000 mile ticket from New York to Nairobi might have you connect in both Detroit and Amsterdam, while 75,000 miles would get you a one-stop via Riyadh on Saudia.

US to North Asia (Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, etc.)

This one is pretty hit or miss – searching for flights from Seattle to Tokyo as an example, the cheapest flights available in April or May were 85,000 roundtrip in economy, but in February there are flights available for as little as 60,000 miles!

Continental US to Alaska

Depending on where you’re flying from, you could get a great deal on flights to Alaska. Standard pricing on flights from anywhere in the Continental US to anywhere in Alaska starts at 25,000 miles roundtrip, and if you’re flying from a city where Delta is competing with its former partner Alaska Airlines, it might be even less – flights from California to Alaska start at 19,000 miles, and if you’re starting from the Pacific Northwest it could be as little as 15,000 miles roundtrip.

Domestic US flights

It may not be the most exciting, Delta’s award pricing algorithms actually offer some very compelling deals for economy flights within the US. There’s no transparency, but depending on the route short-haul flights (for example, up and down the West Coast) can be available for as little as 10,000-15,000 miles roundtrip.

Any Flight You Want (up to $700)

Can’t find low level award space? Found an awesome fare on Delta for exactly the dates you need? If you have a Delta Skymiles Gold, Platinum, or Reserve card from American Express, you can redeem miles for cash tickets at a rate of $50 per 5,000 miles. Tickets purchased this way still earn Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) and Segments (MQSes). And if your purchase is more than $700, you can pay for the rest with a credit card – and you’ll earn miles and Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs) for the dollar amount you paid. Definitely not an optimal mileage redemption, but it’s one way to cash out your miles if you can’t find award space.

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