Delta Adds Transcontinental Route With Fully Flat Bed

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On April 24, 2017, Delta will begin service between Washington D.C. (DCA) and Los Angeles (LAX) on a Delta One-configured 757-200. You can book Domestic First Class flying Delta One between the two cities with fully flat beds for 25,000 Delta miles. The premium cabin has 16 beds.

Want to book it? Through November 9, 2016, the Delta Gold and Platinum card are offering increased sign up bonuses (50k Delta miles for spending $3k in three months on the Gold, and 70k Delta miles for spending $5k in three months on the Platinum).

Award Space on the New Route

Washington D.C. to Los Angeles has plenty of space for two passengers this coming summer. Below are calendars for two travelers on the direct flight between Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.

Right now I actually don’t see any Delta One space priced at 25,000 miles, the lowest level available from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles, in the opposite direction (Los Angeles to Washington D.C.). There are only a few scattered days with availability for one traveler at the price of 32,500 miles.

How to Get Delta Miles

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Until November 9, 2016, the Delta Gold card is offering 50,000 bonus Delta miles and a $50 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in your first three months.

Until November 9, 2016, the Delta Platinum is offering 70,000 bonus miles, 10,000 status miles (MQMs), and a $100 statement credit after you spend $5,000 in your first three months.

This is the largest bonus we’ve seen on the Platinum card. It went up to 60,000 bonus miles for a limited time last June, but we’ve never seen 70,000. We’ve seen up to 70,000 on the Gold card, but this is still quite high for a card that normally offers only 30,000 miles.

Eligibility Reminder

Remember that unless you are applying for a targeted offer that doesn’t include the Amex Sign Up Bonus Once In a Lifetime language, if you’ve already collected the sign up bonus on an Amex card before, you won’t be eligible for another sign up bonus from the same card (business cards and personal cards are separate products).

Bottom Line

Delta’s new transcontinental route will begin service April 27, 2017 between Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. It will be flown on a Delta One configured plane with fully flat beds.

Award space is plentiful this coming summer flying Domestic First Class from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles for 25k Delta miles, but at the moment there isn’t any space in the opposite direction for that price.