Delta SkyMiles fare sales: Australia round-trip from 51,000 miles!

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Delta SkyMiles isn’t known for providing great value all the time, but if you have SkyMiles, you can find some amazing deals.

As of this posting, there are unadvertised flash sale deals to Australia from 51,000 miles, round-trip from LAX when you hold a Delta credit card. These appear to be available from a large number of cities for 80,000 round-trip.

Regularly published SkyMiles fare sales

Delta regularly publishes SkyMiles award travel deals on its Delta SkyMiles award deal page. If you’re looking for some travel ideas and are looking to burn some SkyMiles, check out that page to see what’s available. If you don’t see your city listed, you might still be able to score a deal. Delta frequently runs unpublished fare sales and it can’t hurt to search to see if one of the advertised deals is also available from your home airport.

Round trip to Australia and New Zealand from 60,000 SkyMiles (68,000 miles with credit card)

Delta also seems to have put Australia and New Zealand on an unadvertised flash sale. Currently, tickets from my hometown of Minneapolis are pricing at 80,000 SkyMiles round-trip in Basic Economy.

For 90,000 SkyMiles, you can get a seat in Main Cabin, which gives you the flexibility to change or cancel your ticket and allows you to select a seat. Personally, I’d happily spend the extra miles for the ability to select a seat on the long flight to Australia.

Searching around for a few other cities, this seems to be widely available. Flights originating in LAX, price out at 60,000 SkyMiles round-trip.

Delta Take15Off

These sale fares get even better if you hold a Delta SkyMiles credit card, thanks to the Take15Off benefit. All you need to do to take advantage of this benefit is log into your SkyMiles account and book the tickets. As long as you are a Delta credit card holder, you’ll see this discount applied.

Delta credit card welcome bonuses

Delta doesn’t just have some great SkyMiles redemption options on offer, but the airline currently is offering some of the best-ever welcome bonuses for new Delta SkyMiles credit cards.

These welcome bonuses probably won’t get you miles in time to take advantage of the current SkyMiles flash sale fares, but if you stock up on Delta miles, you should be prepared for the next fare sale.

We have an easy-to-use guide to Delta credit card welcome bonuses available that shows you these deals. The current bonuses are scheduled to end on 8/2/23

Delta Air Lines credit cards

Here’s an overview of all of the credit cards offered by Delta Air Lines and American Express. For complete details on all of the cards, including the cards’ earning rates, see our overview of all Delta credit cards.

Delta personal credit cards

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card

Terms and conditions apply to all benefits.

Not all airlines offer a no annual fee card option, but Delta does. The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card is Delta’s airline credit card with $0 annual fee. (See Rates and Fees; terms apply) And it’s pretty basic. The only real benefit is that you get a 20% discount on in-flight purchases. The card earns 2 miles per dollar on Delta Air Lines purchases, plus 1 mile per dollar on other eligible purchases and has no foreign transaction fee. (See Rates and Fees; terms apply)

In most cases, you can do better by putting your spending on a 2% cash back credit card.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

Terms and conditions apply to all benefits.

The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is Delta’s entry-level card. It offers a free first checked bag for you and up to 8 traveling companions on the same itinerary. The card also features 20% back on in-flight purchases and no foreign transaction fees. The Delta Gold card has a $0 introductory fee for the first year, then $99. (See Rates and Fees; terms apply)

The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card earns 2 miles per dollar on purchases made directly with Delta, at restaurants worldwide, and at U.S. supermarkets. It earns 1 mile per dollar spent on other eligible purchases.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

Terms and conditions apply to all benefits.

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is the card you want if you’re pursuing Delta Air Lines Medallion status. You can earn up to 10,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles each year through status boosts when you spend $25,000 on the card in a calendar year. Additionally, the card offers a MQD waiver when you spend $25,000 on the card (or $250,000 for Diamond status.)

The card also comes with a domestic Main Cabin companion certificate and SkyClub access available for $50 per person, per visit. The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card carries an annual fee of $250. (See Rates and Fees; terms apply)

The SkyMiles Platinum card earns 3 miles per dollar on purchases with Delta and at hotels. It also earn 2 miles per dollar for restaurant spending and 2 miles per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets. The card earns 1 mile per dollar on other eligible purchases.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

Terms and conditions apply to all benefits.

If you want access to the SkyClub when traveling on Delta, look to the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. The card offers complimentary Delta Sky Club access to the primary cardholder when traveling on Delta, plus two one-time guest passes for companions annually. (*Effective 2/1/25, Reserve Card Members will receive 15 Visits per year to the Delta Sky Club; to earn an unlimited number of Visits each year starting on 2/1/25, the total eligible purchases on the Card must equal $75,000 or more between 1/1/24 and 12/31/24, and each calendar year thereafter.) The card carries a $550 annual fee. (See Rates and Fees; terms apply)

The Reserve offers an annual companion certificate that can be used for U.S. domestic flights in first class or main cabin.

The SkyMiles Reserve card earns 3 miles per dollar on purchases with Delta Air Lines, and 1 mile per dollar on other eligible purchases.

Delta business credit cards

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

Terms and conditions apply to all benefits.

The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card is the business variant of Delta’s entry-level card. The card gets you a first checked bag free for Delta flights booked with you card, plus access to Delta’s Take15Off benefit. The card has a $0 introductory fee for the first year, then $99. (See Rates and Fees)

The card earns 2 miles per dollar on purchases made directly with Delta, at restaurants worldwide, and on U.S. Shipping and U.S. Advertising in select media. The card earns 1 mile per dollar spent on other purchases.

In addition to the checked bag benefit, the card offers a $100 Delta Flight Credit after you spend $10,000 in purchases in a calendar year. The card also features 20% back on in-flight purchases and has no foreign transaction fees.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card

Terms and conditions apply to all benefits.

If you’re a small business owner pursuing Delta Medallion status, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card is the card you want. Through December 2023, you can earn up to 20,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles each year through status boosts, plus you can earn a Medallion Qualifying Dollar waiver with spending on the card. (Effective 1/1/24, this benefit will no longer be available, and there will be a new way to earn toward Medallion Status with the Card. Learn more at delta.com/skymilesprogramchanges.) The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card carries an annual fee of $250. (See Rates and Fees)

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card earns 3 miles per dollar on purchases with Delta and at hotels. It also earn 1.5 miles per dollar on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, subject to a 50,000 mile cap per year. The card earns 1 mile per dollar spent on other eligible purchases.

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card comes loaded with benefits useful if you’re flying Delta frequently. The card offers a domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal, plus access to Delta SkyClubs at a per-visit rate of $50 per person. (Effective 1/1/24, this benefit will no longer be available.) The card offers a first checked bag free benefit and fee credits for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card

Terms and conditions apply to all benefits.

Small business owners desiring SkyClub access should pick up the SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card. The card offers complimentary Delta Sky Club access to the primary cardholder when traveling on Delta, plus two one-time guest passes for companions annually. The card carries a $550 annual fee. (See Rates and Fees)

The SkyMiles Business Reserve card earns 3 miles per dollar on eligible purchases with Delta Air Lines. It is particularly rewarding for large spenders; after you spend $150,000 on your card in a calendar year, you earn 1.5 miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases for the rest of the year. The card earns 1 mile per dollar on other eligible purchases.

The SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card offers an annual companion certificate that can be used for U.S. domestic flights in first class or main cabin.

Rates and fees for Delta Air Lines credit cards

• For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees; terms apply
• For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees; terms apply
• For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees; terms apply
• For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees; terms apply
• For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
• For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
• For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees

Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.