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Delta domestic economy and Delta Comfort+ award tickets are on sale for as little as 5,500 miles one way.
- Book by June 7, 2016
- Travel August 23 – November 16, 2016 (except September 1 – 8)
- Fly one of 8,000 routes on sale (although only a few dozen are listed)
I searched for Columbus to Los Angeles and found the sale price widely available in economy and Comfort+; interestingly the sale price was available on nonstop and connecting routes.
(Also interestingly, on connecting routes that are partly on planes without Comfort+, that is made clear on the results page.)
On the Columbus to Los Angeles route this represents a 1,500 discount in economy over the price before Delta deleted its award charts. Comfort+ is new since the deleted award charts, so I don’t know how much of a discount this is.
By the way, Comfort+ is economy with a little extra legroom and a few more perks.
Is This Delta Sale a Good Deal?
I value Delta miles at 1.3 cents each, far below its competitors because Delta award space isn’t great, its partners aren’t as useful as most programs’, and it collects fuel surcharges on many awards.
At such a low valuation, domestic economy awards can be a good use of miles, but before booking, look up the price of the cash flight. Remember that 11,000 mile award from Columbus to LAX? That same cash flight is $123.
That means you’d only get about 1.1 cents of value for your 11,000 SkyMiles if you booked the award. No thanks. I’d book this as a cash ticket. (Or better yet with the $250 Air Travel Credit on my Citi Prestige.)
Bottom Line
Delta is offering discounted economy and Comfort+ awards on 8,000+ domestic routes. Book by June 7 and fly late summer and early fall.
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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Question about Delta awards: Is there any way to avoid or get reimbursed for the $150 fee for switching an award ticket? I booked one but want to move it back a week and looking for a way to avoid the pretty substantial fee. Thanks!!
On schedule changes, get a free cancellation or change.
Or pay the change and get reimbursed by $250 Air Travel Credit on Citi Prestige: https://milevalu.wpengine.com/complete-guide-to-citi-prestige-250-air-travel-credit/
What about the Amex $100 credit?
Also do you mean I have to wait to see whether the flight’s schedule gets changed?
Thanks!!
Seems super-annoying to figure out what’s discounted. Without seeing what the cheap flights are easily (like “where can I fly from boston?”), this sale is going to go unused by me 🙁
(hmm, maybe I was too grumpy too fast.. Using the flexible fare thing I can at least get a quick ballpark pretty easily)