Delta Eliminates Phone Booking Fee

Delta will no longer charge a $25 per passenger fee to book tickets by phone. That's excellent news since some Delta partners like Air Tahiti Nui can't be booked on delta.com.

In February 2015, American Airlines eliminated phone ticketing fees for awards flying airlines that can't be booked on aa.com.

United still has phone ticketing fees for awards--$25 per passenger.

New, Secret Delta Devaluation: Israel/Middle East Goes Up in Price November 1

Delta has devalued its miles with no notice (again.)

Effective immediately, awards for travel from November 1, 2016 on are going up in price from the United States to the Middle East in Business Class.
USA to Middle East
Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen

Is: 40k/70k each way in economy/Business
For Travel October 1 to October 31: 35k/70k
For Travel November 1 on: 35k/85k
Change: 5,000 fewer Delta miles each way in economy to the Middle East starting October 1, 15,000 more miles

Beat the Delta Devaluation: Travel to Asia, Australia, or Africa Before October 1

Back in January I wrote about Delta's devaluation of awards to Australia, Asia, Africa, and South America effective October 1, 2016.

To give a two sentence summary, a few regions in economy are going down in price, and three regions in Business Class are going up in price.

Awards for travel from October 1, 2016 on are going up in price to:

North Asia in Business Class
Southwest Pacific in Business Class
Africa and South Africa in Business Class

(Did you notice that this is very different than American Airlines' devaluation where the price is determined by the day you

Washington DC and Baltimore to Lima for $291 Roundtrip

I tweeted this deal first from @MileValueAlerts. Follow @MileValueAlerts on Twitter and follow these directions to get a text message every time I tweet from that account.

Sale: 22,500 Delta Miles to London

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.

Los Angeles to Lima Roundtrip for $289

I tweeted this deal first from @MileValueAlerts. Follow @MileValueAlerts on Twitter and follow these directions to get a text message every time I tweet from that account.

Comparison of Three Major Airline Credit Cards

American Airlines, United, and Delta all release several co-branded credit cards with various benefits, bonuses, and fees.

I have attempted to summarize the following cards on one table for easy comparison:

Some credit card offers in this post have expired, but they might come back.

Discounted Domestic Delta Awards for Winter Travel: 20k Roundtrip

Delta is having a "Pre-Black Friday Award Sale" for roundtrip awards that cost 20,000 miles roundtrip:

booked by November 30, 2015
flown January 5 to February 24, 2016 excluding February 12-16 and 19
with a Saturday night stay

Delta lists "sample cities" on the sales page, but not a complete list of discounted city pairs.

I did a sample booking from Cincinnati to Las Vegas for January.

Comparison of United, Delta, and American Airlines 2016 Award Charts

Which airlines has the best miles and frequent flyer program? United, American, and Delta are the big three legacy carriers that most directly compete with each other in the United States. For that reason, I publish charts that compare their award prices.

I have updated my charts to show the prices that United, Delta, and American Airlines will charge for awards booked March 22, 2016 or later.

Tons of Delta Business Class Award Space to Europe for Next Summer

There is fantastic flat bed Business Class award space for two people on Delta flights to Europe next summer for the Level 1 (on the former, now deleted chart) price