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Delta domestic award space can be really crappy. But from Delta’s hubs, you can take non-stop award flights to tons of enticing destinations without the trouble of finding award space.
Delta hubs in the United States:
- Atlanta
- Boston
- Cincinnati
- Detroit
- Los Angeles
- Minneapolis
- New York
- Salt Lake City
- Seattle
I’m going to show you great non-stop award space from four of these hubs to intercontinental destinations around the world. Why? Because the sign-up bonus offers on the Amex Delta cards are some of the highest they’ve ever been. You can only earn one sign-up bonus per card once a lifetime, so it’s important to take note when they’re high.
If you live in one of Delta’s nine hubs, the sign-up bonuses from the Delta Amex cards could take you (and loved ones) very far, very easily.
The Deal With the Delta Cards
Until July 6, 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.
The Delta Platinum is offering 60,000 bonus miles, 10,000 status miles (MQMs), and a $100 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in your first three months, also only until July 6, 2016.
The small business versions of these cards are offering the same sign-up offers, also only lasting through July 6, 2016.
This is the largest bonus I’ve seen on the Platinum card. I’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.
Read my post about both offers to see which is more suited to you.
Award Space from Delta Hubs
Delta does not publish their award chart anymore, so the prices you see below may just be a sale for the time period and not the normal price year round. All calendars are non-stop, for two people, unless otherwise noted.
Atlanta to Bogotá
Economy award space is available daily all of September from Atlanta to Bogotá, Colombia. With the 50k sign-up bonus from the Delta Gold card you could fly roundtrip and still have plenty of miles leftover.
The return to Atlanta isn’t quite as open but as long as you don’t mind flying during the weekdays, you’ll have no problem finding space.
New York to Barcelona
Take a holiday trip to Spain. You’d have enough miles from the Delta Platinum’s 60k sign-up bonus to treat yourself to Business Class in one direction and fly the other way with a different kind of miles.
The first calendar is for one person from New York to Barcelona, and the second is for one person from Barcelona to New York.
Seattle to Cancun
11 out of the 31 days in January 2017 have economy space between Seattle and Cancun. With the sign-up bonus from the Delta Platinum plus another 8k miles you could fly two people roundtrip.
The return back to Seattle has equally as much space.
Los Angeles to Honolulu
You can fly roundtrip to Honolulu in economy from Los Angeles with just the sign-up bonus from the Delta Gold card, and still have at least 7k miles left over. If you travel in August or September you’ll have a ton of dates to choose from in both directions.
Here’s the return back to Los Angeles.
Bottom Line
Getting from a small hometown airport to a Delta hub as part of a single award can be difficult due to Delta’s lack of domestic award space. But if you live in one of its nine hubs, then the Delta Gold or Platinum might be the perfect card for you right now. Sign up before July 6 to cash in on the 50k and 60k sign-up bonuses on the Amex Delta Gold and Platinum.
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel℠ and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
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Just to add a reference, direct flights, CVG to CDG (the only European non-stop from CVG) has low level business awards on 16 of the days in August. This August. This summer, 2 months away, there are still a full 16 days you can fly Delta One to Paris.
27 out of 30 days in October have 30K availability on the same route for economy class (only 4 days in business)
If you want to be in Paris or Europe for Christmas or New Years, low level business on Dec 22, 24, 28, 29, 30 non-stop to CDG still out there..
Now, don’t get me wrong, positioning flight availability is not the greatest from here. It is probably ok getting here though because no one is vacationing in Cincinnati 🙂
Thanks for the useful info. Indeed, there is a non-stop flight from Cincinnati to Paris, and lots of space in August to fly Delta One.
There’s also a few other cities not mentioned in the post that, like Cincinnati, have just one or two intercontinental destinations, like Newark (Amsterdam and Pari)s and San Francisco (Honolulu).