Delta SkyMiles value: How much are Delta SkyMiles worth?

According to my most recent analysis, Delta SkyMiles are worth 1.1 cents each. Here’s how I came up with that number.

The problems with most valuations

Many sites that cover credit cards come up with valuations of various miles and points currencies. These can be extremely useful tools if you’re trying to sell credit cards. Saying “Earn 60,000 SkyMiles” is much less compelling than “Earn 60,000 SkyMiles – Worth $750!”

While point value can help sell credit cards, published point values can be a useful tool when you’re trying to decide whether to earn cash back or points or you’re trying to determine whether to pay an annual fee for a credit card. But there are several issues with most valuations…

Selling credit cards create a conflict of interest

Most sites that cover credit cards (including this one) stand to make money when you sign up for credit cards through their links. Naturally, this creates a conflict of interest. Higher valuations make airline credit cards seem more compelling, likely leading to more clicks and more money.

That said, I personally know many of the editors and writers at large sites like Nerdwallet, The Points Guy, and Forbes and generally believe that they are operating in good faith when publishing their numbers.

In my case, the way that I handle this is that I use the numbers I publish to when making my own decisions about how to use my cards. I have every reason to determine an economically-accurate valuation for making my own financial decisions, and since publishing these numbers is useful to my readers and YouTube viewers, I do it.

What others miss: You have alternatives

But even assuming that others are operating in good faith and publishing valuations that are based on data, most valuations have two issues:

First, flying on Delta isn’t your only option when you are traveling. Most people buy airfare on price and schedule. And even the most hardcore Delta loyalist will choose another carrier at some price. If Delta is charging $500 for the same ticket that American is selling for $200. Are the SkyMiles you’re redeeming really worth $500? No.

Second, your alternative when spending on your credit card is earning cash back If you ask me if I would rather have $100 of credit toward Delta flights or $100 cash, I’ll choose the cash, every time. Any rational economic actor would make the same decision.

Both of these reasons are why I discount my Delta SkyMiles valuations to the point where I would be ambivalent to earning SkyMiles or cash.

Variability: The X factor

Finally, valuations don’t consider variability. With most airline and hotel programs, points aren’t pegged exactly to the cash price of travel, and how much variability a program has can tell you something about the program.

A program with low variability, like SkyMiles, has the advantage that you’ll get consistent value for your redemptions, so you don’t really need to worry about checking to make sure that the redemption you’re considering is a good deal.

A program with high variability, however, can be incredibly valuable. High variability can mean opportunities to get outsized value through sweet-spot and premium cabin redemptions. It also means that you may need to pay more attention—your chosen redemption might also get relatively poor value for your points.

There’s not really a good way to incorporate this into a valuation, but I publish the standard devision in my data, which can give you some idea of variability.

My data, conclusions, and observations

The dataset I use to determine my valuation for Delta SkyMiles is based on actual trips I have searched for, with the intent of booking, for myself, my friends, my family, and my clients. Whenever I’m searching for a trip, I record several data points, including the cabin class, origin/destination, number of miles required (both with and without the TakeOff 15 discount), and the cash co-pay required.

This dataset includes mostly main cabin travel within the United States, but also includes some trips that I’ve taken where I’ve gotten incredible value redeeming my SkyMiles for Delta One, thanks to SkyMiles flash sales that Delta has run in the past. When I crunch the numbers, here’s what I get:

• With Delta TakeOff 15 Discount
  • Mean: 1.33 cents per point
  • Median: 1.32 cents per point
  • Standard Devision: 0.07 cents per point
• Without Delta TakeOff 15 Discount
  • Mean: 1.13 cents per point
  • Median: 1.12 cents per point
  • Standard Devision: 0.06 cents per point

Discount factor: 82%

The numbers above can tell me the price of the Delta ticket that I can get for 10,000 (or any other amount of) miles, but they aren’t a good comparison to cash.

In order to compare to cash, I apply a discount factor to account for the fact that credit redeemable for travel on Delta is less valuable than cash. The price I can sell large gift cards for major U.S. airlines at to gift card brokers is a good proxy for this. And since I could sell major airline gift cards to my network at 82% of face value, that’s the number I use.

Whether to consider the TakeOff 15 Discount?

If you’re really concerned about the value of Delta SkyMiles, you’re probably a Delta credit card cardholder, or considering becoming one. For most people redeeming Delta SkyMiles, the annual fee of a Delta credit card is likely to be a sunk cost. For that reason, I use the SkyMiles prices including the TakeOff 15 Discount in my valuation.

An observation: Delta may have quietly devalued SkyMiles in 2026

In theory, any loyalty program can devalue their points at any time. But it is less likely to cause a public backlash with opaque pricing like Delta employs for SkyMiles. With no award chart to update and no published value of its miles, a small tweak to how Delta prices its awards can wipe millions of dollars of liability off of Delta’s books,

The average value of SkyMiles based on the data I’ve collected in early 2026 is about 5% lower than the average value in the data collected in 2025 and before. This may be an early indication that someone in Atlanta has tweaked the value you get from SkyMiles…or it may be statistical noise. I’m sure we’ll find out more as the year unfolds and people crunch the numbers, but the value you get from your SkyMiles may have been adjusted downward slightly.

What the data leaves out: Flexibility, earming MQDs, and more…

Of course, the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Some things may mean that Delta SkyMiles are more or less valuable to you and you might want to adjust your personal valuation based on this. Here are some other things to consider:

• Delta flights aren’t the only thing you can redeem SkyMiles for. Some people may get more value for redeeming SkyMiles for premium drinks in Delta SkyClubs. You might value these other redemption options more or less than award travel with Delta.
• SkyMiles award tickets generally have more favorable cancellation policies than tickets purchased with cash. If you cancel any non-Basic award itinerary originating in North America, you’ll get your miles redeposited to your account. With the equivalent cash ticket, you’ll receive a Delta travel credit, good for one year from the date you originally booked your ticket.
• Award travel on Delta earns MQDs and Million Miler miles, but not redeemable miles. And the amount of MQDs will vary from the cash price of the ticket, since that amount is based on the number of miles redeemed.

Bottom line: SkyMiles are worth 1.1 cents each, with low variability

In my analysis, I found that SkyMiles are worth 1.1 cents each and that the low variability of SkyMiles means that you are both highly likely to get close to average value for your points when redeeming them, and highly unlikely to find opportunities to use them for outsized-value awards.