How to Use Miles

Treat Yourself to Upgrades and More
Your miles aren’t just for flights. You can use them to treat yourself in more ways than one.

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Upgrade with Miles

As a SkyMiles Member, there are more ways than ever for you to upgrade your trip. Whether you choose to upgrade your experience during booking or decide to go back and treat yourself to an upgrade after you’ve already booked your ticket, you can use your miles to get you there. Here’s how:

Upgrade with Miles While You're Booking

Fly completely comfortable with an upgrade to Delta One®, First Class, Delta Premium Select or Delta Comfort+® for nearly all Delta flights. When traveling within the U.S. 50, it's easy to use your miles to upgrade during the booking process. Here's how:

  1. Log in at delta.com
  2. Select a ticket
  3. If your reservation is eligible, you’ll see the option to Upgrade with Miles in your Trip Summary before you complete your purchase.
  4. Once selected, use miles to upgrade all passengers in your reservation.

Upgrade with Miles After Booking

If you have already purchased a flight, you can use your miles to upgrade your trip on your own on delta.com or the Fly Delta app. Whether you’d like to upgrade your seat to Delta One, Delta Premium Select, First Class, Delta Comfort+ or want to select a Preferred Seat or Exit Row Seat on a Delta flight, it’s easy to do on delta.com. Here’s how:

  1. Find your reservation in My Trips on delta.com or the Fly Delta app. (make sure you've downloaded the latest version of the Fly Delta app)*
  2. If an upgrade is available, you will see an option to ‘Select Seats’ for money or miles.
  3. Pick an available seat in the Seat Map and complete your purchase.

If you aren’t able to upgrade your seat using miles on delta.com, Delta Reservations may be able to help you. Here’s how:

  1. Contact a SkyMiles Representative, opens in a new window.
  2. Share your trip information with the representative, and request to book a Mileage Upgrade Award.
  3. The representative will provide prices and availability.
  4. If your reservation is eligible and you have enough miles in your account, the representative can confirm your upgrade.

Miles used to purchase upgrades on delta.com after booking may be redeposited into the purchaser's account if changes are made before the check-in window opens. Those miles can be used to book future travel with Delta Air Lines. If you voluntarily change your flight, your upgrade will not be applied to your new reservation. Prices vary by market and are subject to change without notice. This may not apply to all flights View Terms & Conditions, opens in a new window.

Things to know when upgrading with miles during booking:

  • You must be logged in and have enough miles in your account to upgrade all passengers in the reservation for all flights in the reservation.
  • You can use your miles to upgrade other passengers, even if you are not traveling. However, you must be logged in at delta.com or be an authorized user of the account when upgrading with miles with a Reservations Specialist.
  • Your flight must be on a Delta or Delta Connection® carrier with a reservation in the U.S. 50.
  • There must be enough available seats to upgrade all passengers in the reservation for all flights in the reservation.
  • Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) will be awarded based on the cash amount of the ticket purchased, excluding any taxes and fees.
  • Mileage credit will be earned based on the cash amount of the ticket purchased (base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges remaining and paid in currency after miles are applied to the ticket total). Tickets purchased entirely with miles are not eligible for mileage accrual.

Things to know when upgrading with miles after booking on delta.com:

  • To complete your purchase, you must be logged in and have enough miles in your account to upgrade at least one eligible segment in the reservation.
  • You can only upgrade with miles on delta.com or the Fly Delta app if your entire reservation is operated and marketed by Delta. Not sure what this means?
    • The marketing carrier is determined by the two letter airline code in the flight number. For example, DL2368 is marketed by Delta and VS18 is marketed by Virgin Atlantic.
    • Delta-ticketed flights feature ticket numbers that begin with “006”. Any flight purchased through delta.com is ticketed by Delta. Other airlines have their own unique ticket numbers. For example, Virgin Atlantic-ticked flights feature ticket numbers that begin with “932".
    • The operating carrier for a flight indicates which airline flies the plane. For example, a Virgin Atlantic-operated flight means the flight will be on Virgin Atlantic aircraft.
  • Certain flights are not eligible to upgrade yourself with miles on delta.com or the Fly Delta app, but can be upgraded with miles by calling a Delta Reservations specialist. Upgrades will not be available on delta.com or the Fly Delta app for the following situations:
    • The individual flight segment that is departing the United Kingdom, France, India, Ghana or Honduras
    • You have already checked in to your flight
    • The individual flight segment that is operated by a partner airline
  • Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) will be awarded based on the cash amount of the ticket purchased, excluding any taxes and fees.
  • Mileage credit will be earned based on the cash amount of the ticket purchased (base fare and carrier-imposed surcharges remaining and paid in currency after miles are applied to the ticket total). Tickets purchased entirely with miles are not eligible for mileage accrual or MQDs.

Things to know if you are upgrading through Reservations (Mileage Upgrade Awards)

  • If you are not flying on a Delta-operated and Delta-marketed flight, Reservations can help you upgrade on a purchased ticket from Main Cabin or Delta Comfort+®, to First Class, Delta Premium Select or Delta One® using Mileage Upgrade Awards.
  • Mileage Upgrade Awards allows you to use miles to upgrade on certain Delta-operated, Virgin Atlantic-operated, Air France/KLM-operated and Aeromexico-operated flights. Not sure who operates your flight?
    • The marketing carrier is determined by the two letter airline code in the flight number. For example, DL2368 is marketed by Delta and VS18 is marketed by Virgin Atlantic.
    • Delta-ticketed flights feature ticket numbers that begin with “006”. Any flight purchased through delta.com is ticketed by Delta. Other airlines have their own unique ticket numbers. For example, Virgin Atlantic-ticked flights feature ticket numbers that begin with “932”.
    • The operating carrier for a flight indicates which airline flies the plane. For example, a Virgin Atlantic-operated flight means the flight will be on Virgin Atlantic aircraft.
  • Mileage Upgrade Awards may be redeemed for fixed mileage amounts according to area of travel and are only valid with certain fare classes. The upgrade transaction can be completed up to 24 hours prior to departure and must be booked through a Reservations Specialist. Inventory is limited.

What regions and/or markets are eligible:

  • Starting on August 22, 2023, Mileage Upgrade Awards on Delta-marketed and operated flights departing from France, Ghana and the United Kingdom may upgrade on the following paid fare classes: P, A, G, Y, B, M, H, Q, or K.
  • For flights marketed and operated by Air France, Mileage Upgrade Awards may be used on the following paid fare classes: W, S, A, Y, B, or M.
  • For flights marketed by Delta and operated by Air France Mileage, Upgrade Awards may be used on the following paid fare classes: P, A, G, Y, B, or M.
  • For Air France-operated flights, Mileage Upgrade Awards are available from Economy to Premium Economy, Premium Economy to Business, or Economy to Business only on transatlantic Joint Venture flights between U.S. cities and Paris (CDG and ORY).
  • For KLM-operated flights, Mileage Upgrade Awards are available from Economy to Business, and may be used on the following paid fare classes: Y, B, or M.
  • For Delta-marketed flights operated by Virgin Atlantic, Mileage Upgrade Awards are available from Economy to Premium Economy, Premium Economy to Upper Class, or Economy to Upper Class. Mileage Upgrade Awards are available from Y, B, M, H, Q, and K paid fare classes from Economy Cabin and P, A, and G paid fare classes from Premium Economy.
  • For Delta-marketed flights operated by Aeromexico, Mileage Upgrade Awards are available on Delta’s published fare classes in Y, B, M, H, Q, K, L, U or T for travel between the United States and Mexico.

Mileage Upgrade Awards with miles do not apply on all fares. All upgrades are subject to availability, and additional taxes and fees may apply. View full terms & conditions.

Use Miles for Premium Drinks

As you pass the time in a Delta Sky Club, find favorites like an Old Fashioned, Gin Fizz and seasonal selections. Use your miles to treat yourself to a premium drink.

 

Miles for Products and Services

Through Delta Reservations

SkyMiles Members can use their miles instead of money for even more products and services when calling Delta Reservations, giving you more flexibility and options than ever before.Use your miles for:

  • Selecting Preferred Seats (waived for all Medallion Members as part of Medallion Benefits)
  • Ticket change fees
  • Same-Day Confirmed fees (waived for Diamond, Platinum and Gold Medallion Members as part of Medallion Benefits)
  • External ticket charge (applies to all tickets issued in the United States or Canada by someone other than Delta)

To take advantage of these options, please message us.

All mileage redemptions listed are nonrefundable. Using the Same-Day Confirmed option is subject to availability and all product terms. Additional terms may apply.

Changes to origin, destination, routing, date and time are permitted except for Basic Economy tickets, and the mileage difference (and any applicable taxes) for the new Award ticket will apply. For travel originating from the United States and Canada to anywhere in the world (including flights operated by joint venture and codeshare partners), Members may change or cancel Award tickets for travel without a redeposit or change fee, excluding Basic Economy fares. For some travel originating outside the United States and Canada, Basic Economy Award ticket restrictions will vary and may be non-cancelable or may be changeable for a fee. For details, visit our Baggage & Travel Fees page.