MileValue is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Note: Some of the offers mentioned below may have changed or are no longer be available. You can view current offers here.
Delta is offering awards to London for 22,500 SkyMiles each way this winter. That is a 7,500 miles discount off the normal price.
The details are a little sketchy (just like Delta’s lack of an award chart) because those listed on the promo page are incomplete and incorrect:
Origins & Destinations | Round-trip Award ticket and sale fares for travel from select U.S. cities to London-Heathrow International Airport (LHR).
Fare | $906-$986 round-trip or 45,000 miles round-trip (plus taxes and fees) *Additional fees/restrictions/baggage charges may apply.
Purchase By | January 18, 2016
Travel Period | Travel must begin between February 1 and March 24, 2016.
Advance Purchase | 14 days
Minimum Stay | Saturday Night
Blackout Dates | See city-specific Blackout Dates.
Other Rules | Tickets must be purchased at delta.com.
The US cities with discounted awards to London are not listed.
The page makes it sound like you need to book a roundtrip, but one way awards do price at 22,500 SkyMiles, as seen in this calendar of award space between New York and London.
The page doesn’t list exact dates for the discounts, only saying that “[t]ravel must begin between February 1 and March 24, 2016.” The discounted awards go at least through the end of March, though, as this 45,000 mile roundtrip that returns on March 30 shows.One thing that is clear is that the discount only applies to Delta metal. Flying partners like Virgin Atlantic still costs 30,000 miles each way.
Good Deal?
Booking one way to London for 22,500 SkyMiles + $5.60 is a very good deal. Yes, you could book the same award for 20,000 American Airlines miles from October 15 to May 15 each year, but I value 20k AA miles higher than 22.5k Delta miles, so I’d rather book the discounted Delta awards.
Booking a roundtrip is not nearly as good of a value because of the very high taxes for departing Britain on an award–about $183 one way.
Therefore I’d recommend booking a one way Delta award to London, a low cost carrier’s flight to somewhere else in Europe, and an American Airlines off peak award home for 20,000 American Airlines miles plus taxes.
Bottom Line
Delta is currently discounting awards from unnamed American cities to London. The awards cost 22,500 miles one way in economy. They are a better deal going east. Avoid booking them west because of the high taxes to depart to Britain.
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!
Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.
The comments section below is not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all questions are answered.