For a few years, Virgin Australia Business Class award space to Australia has been a gimme. I would often find 12 Award Seats (half of which were Business) to Australia over Christmas and New Year's on Virgin Australia flights.

Update 8/19//15:

The glitch is fixed. One way search results now include partners as they should. Here's a screen shot of Los Angeles to Sydney in February 2016 in Business Class. I can assure you that none of those days with 80,000 mile Saver seats are on Delta flights. ;)

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Virgin Australia, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and Air France flights are not displaying on delta.com on one way searches. You can search them as part of roundtrip awards. You can book them by calling Delta at 800-323-2323.

Let's take a look at the problem with Virgin Australia award space.

Update 8/11/15: The deal is now open to everyone. I have uncovered many of its secret rules.

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Delta Points got the following statement:
“There is a transatlantic fare sale going with a one day presale for Medallion/cobrand. It will be open to all as of tomorrow.”
So credit card holders and elites could book August 10, and everyone can book August 11. I'll update when I can book the awards.

I tweeted this deal first from @MileValueAlerts. Follow @MileValueAlerts on Twitter andfollow these directions to get a text message every time I tweet from that account. I tweet from @MileValueAlerts only a few times a month because it is designed to be used only for the best and most limited-time deals–like mistake fares–so that you aren’t bombarded by text messages.

Travel from Houston to Managua, Nicaragua for $172 roundtrip on Spirit Airlines this Summer and Fall.

Delta is advertising a fare sale for travel from August 6 to December 16, and, in a first, is advertising a concurrent sale on the award prices on the same routes.

There are 29 listed sale routes.

When 5,000 mile awards started in May, I wrote that this was mixed news:

Good: Some awards are 60% cheaper, and hopefully more routes with 5,000 mile award space are added.
Bad: By picking 5k routes on cheapness not distance, Delta is taking a step away from award charts (which it deleted from the internet already) and toward revenue-based redemptions.

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Award Space is widely available for two passengers on several routes to London in May and June 2016.

This is an excellent use of Delta SkyMiles because these awards cost 62,500 SkyMiles each way per person, despite Delta's big devaluation last week. The award space is also an excellent use of ThankYou Points transferred to Virgin Atlantic miles during the current 25% transfer bonus.

Delta has introduced revenue-based awards today and higher priced upgrades for travel beyond June 1, 2016. You can currently book award travel and upgrades through June 9, 2016.

Delta's Statement
Here's what Delta says about the changes:
We know your miles are important, so we want to provide the most notice possible regarding Award price changes. For travel on or after June 1, 2016, the number of miles needed will change based on destination, demand and other considerations. But most Award prices will remain unchanged.

Update 7/9/15: All these deals are dead. The Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card has come out with an even better offer! 75,000 bonus points after spending $2k in the first three months.

Today (June 30) the 60k and 50k Delta credit card offers expire, the 50k Hilton credit card offer expires, and the ability to buy IHG points for 0.575 cents ends. It's a big day for procrastinators.

I do not know the exact times the credit card offers end.

Update 7/9/15: All these deals are dead. The Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card has come out with an even better offer! 75,000 bonus points after spending $2k in the first three months.

Today (June 30) the 60k and 50k Delta credit card offers expire, the 50k Hilton credit card offer expires, and the ability to buy IHG points for 0.575 cents ends. It's a big day for procrastinators.

I do not know the exact times the credit card offers end.

According to Delta's SkyMiles FAQs, mixed cabin awards are no longer allowed.

Mixed cabin awards used to be explicitly allowed (and indeed this FAQ at a slightly different URL has the old language.)

If mixed cabin awards were totally banned, that would terrible news. I can see three possible maladies:

Delta has "five" cabins: economy, Business, Business Elite, First, and One. Each plane has only two cabins but the front cabin is branded several ways.