Key tips on booking with miles and points on Delta Airlines
If you have followed me for a while you might of noticed how often I take trips. Recently I had a friend make a comment that I must be rich. I do work hard for my money, but honestly I am able to take so many trips by leveraging the benefits of my necessary credit card spending. What do I mean by that? Points and miles! I really enjoy the “points’” game and finding the best available options to travel with those miles and points. I only fly first class if I can use miles/points and the majority of my flights are booked completely with points. So here are a few tips and tricks I’ve learned. I will mostly focus on Delta booking on this post.
My favorite credit card for points is American Express. My personal card is gold and I use Platinum for my needed purchases. I like the ability to transfer to so many partners quick and easily.
I love using the Platinum American Express for access to the airport lounges when I don’t have a first class ticket. Access to the lounge quickly makes a Delta Comfort Plus ticket feel more luxurious.
I like to transfer my points to Delta. Since I live in Vegas I have access to many airlines but I like the quality of plane, food and staff the best at Delta. During the COVID crisis I also enjoyed their flexible cancellation policy compared to other airlines.
Delta also works well for me since I do also have a Delta American Express card that I leveraged for a fantastic bonus.
When searching for miles availability I use the “search with Miles” button, then on the next screen click on the “Price calendar” to search for the lowest “price”. Make sure you change the “Best Fare for” button; this is where you select the class of ticket such as first, comfort plus, delta one, etc.
Searching for flights does take time, be patient. In the end you will enjoy your reward flight so much more!
Flexibility is important! If your dates and times are flexible you have the best chance of great redemption. Even further with this is if you can be flexible with your destination, you can really score on amazing deals. For example, I wanted to go to Vienna for my birthday, but the prices with points were too high. I looked into starting in Budapest then taking the train to Vienna and then I flew home from Prague. While Vienna was my goal this made more sense for the amount of points I wanted to spend. My dates for this trip were also flexible since my birthday is too close to Memorial Day, so the flights to most destinations seem to be much more expensive so I left about 9 days before my birthday and returned home the day after Memorial Day.
Remember to look at the “taxes and fees” cash requirements and consider if you have chosen the best options. Sometimes, I look at other airlines with great availability, but the “taxes and fees” are thousands of dollars, which pushes them out of my budget.
I have come to love flying into one European or foreign destination cities on a one-way ticket and returning on a separate ticket. In general the old thinking of “one ways” being pricier than round trips no longer exists. When I went to Japan I got the most bang for my buck, without having to back track. I started in Tokyo and returned home from Osaka, stopping along the way in Kyoto and Koyosan. I saved on the bullet train ticket by travelling one way and didn’t waste a day or two going back to my originating airport.
Even the most careful planners need to budget for extra “taxes and fees’ returning to the USA on a one way ticket. Flying to somewhere in Europe for example Paris on a one-way ticket your “taxes and fees” maybe $24 dollars. On the return it could be 225 euros. On the other hand, on a round trip ticket your entire total of taxes and fees may only be $100 total for both flights. You need to analyze if you want to enjoy multiple cities on a trip, and what the cost is to return to the originating airport with extra days, hotels, small commuter flight or train ticket prices.
Occasionally I will book a “one way” ticket to an international destination in first class. Then I will return on a separate ticket in comfort plus if I’m low on points or have them designated for another trip that year. I find I like being well rested and ready to go for the start of my trip, and the lay down seats are the only way I get any sleep. Many flights to Europe arrive first thing in the morning, so I don’t want to waste a day or two jet-lagged and trying to catch up. On the way home I find it less important to get in much more than a catnap or two, that way I’ll be on the correct time when arriving home.
A tip if you can’t spare the points for laydown seats on the flight is to rent a short term sleeping room in the airport or close to it for a few hours. This will give you a few hours of rest, since you most likely won’t be able to check into your hotel or airbnb until the afternoon. Yotel is a fantastic solution to those early morning flights, it gave me a few hours of much needed sleep and a great shower inside the Amsterdam Schiphol airport so I could hit the ground running
If you are considering a laydown seat make sure you get the maximum time in that laydown position! When I search besides finding the lowest miles I search for the best connection location. This might not affect you from the East coast since you may fly direct to your destination; but from the west coat this could make a huge difference. I will always choose a layover in another west coast location such as SLC, LAX, or SEA. If I choose NYC or ALT I will have less time in that Delta One or other airlines laydown chair, which means less sleep or relaxation.