Delta SkyMiles Business Class Deals Make a Comeback After Years of High Rates

For some time now, we’ve been advising travelers who want to fly business class to steer clear of using Delta SkyMiles. With typical rates around 400,000 SkyMiles or more (yes, for a one-way flight), the value just wasn’t there.

It seems like things have shifted.

Good deals on Delta Award flights

Delta One business class (Source: Delta)

In the past three months alone, we’ve uncovered and sent Thrifty Traveler Premium members more than 10 award alerts for heavily discounted SkyMiles rates on Delta business class redemptions. That’s more Delta One deals than we’ve seen in over three years combined—and these include long-haul business class redemptions at SkyMiles rates lower than any we’ve seen since before the pandemic. Some highlights include:

• Nationwide flights from the U.S. to Seoul (ICN) in Delta One Suites starting at 85,000 SkyMiles one-way

• Delta One Suites on the new route to Taipei (TPE) for as low as 83,000 SkyMiles—Delta’s lowest business class rate since 2020!

• Lie-flat Delta One fares to Brisbane (BNE) in Australia for 123,000 SkyMiles one-way

• Roundtrips to Auckland (AKL) for under 300,000 SkyMiles total

• And just a few months back, fares to Tokyo-Haneda (HND) were as low as 85,000 SkyMiles one-way

Are business class tickets for 85,000 to 100,000 miles one-way the best deals out there? Not really. You can fly United or American business class to Europe for 80,000 or 57,500 miles, respectively. Other airlines offer lie-flat seats abroad for just 50,000 miles—or even less. These recent Delta redemptions don’t quite stack up to those.

Delta's American Express SkyMiles Gold card saves you 15% on award flight cost (Source: American Express)

However, those other, better business class deals are becoming harder to find. Airlines are hiking award rates while making it increasingly difficult to actually book seats with points.

Meanwhile, Delta seems to be bucking the trend. It’s surprising to say this, and Delta could change course tomorrow, but after years of calling SkyMiles practically worthless for business class, the situation is improving—if only slightly.

Is it worth spending your SkyMiles now?

While paying 100,000 miles or more for a business class seat may not sound like a steal, for those holding only SkyMiles, this is about as good as it gets.

As usual, travelers who carry a co-branded Delta card, such as the Delta SkyMiles Gold Card, enjoy the best deal with an automatic 15% discount on Delta award tickets.

There are countless loyal Delta flyers sitting on mountains of SkyMiles, only booking Delta flights and using their SkyMiles Amex card everywhere they go. For that group, these are the best deals we’ve seen in years—and one of the top ways to redeem SkyMiles.

Dining in the Delta One business class (Source: Delta)

Even if you’ve only got 50,000 to 80,000 SkyMiles, it could be worth transferring some Amex Membership Rewards points from cards like the Amex Gold to Delta to secure enough SkyMiles for these deals—even if you have to pay a small fee to do so.

To be clear: SkyMiles rates of 400,000 or more for business class are still, unfortunately, the norm. These deals remain relatively rare—and many of them have already passed. And if your goal is business class travel, earning transferrable credit card points is still a smarter strategy than focusing on SkyMiles.

But the trend is clear: Delta One deals with SkyMiles are making a comeback, especially on ultra-long-haul flights across the Pacific where a lie-flat seat is essential. And with recent changes to one of the best ways to book Delta One for less, these SkyMiles deals are something to celebrate.

Book your flight while available

Securing a Delta One suite to Brisbane (BNE) for 123,000 SkyMiles this winter—peak summer in Australia—is tough to beat, even compared to other airlines. While you could book a Qantas business class seat to Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), or Brisbane for 80,000 American AAdvantage miles, the award availability is virtually nonexistent. So which is the better deal: the one that’s impossible to book, or the one you can actually snag?

Booking Delta One to Australia for a fraction of what SkyMiles typically cost is notable, and recently, many one-way business class flights have been discounted—something Delta rarely does. Plus, most of the recent deals involve Delta’s top-tier Delta One Suites on the Airbus A350-900 or A330-900neos, not the older business class seats found on much of Delta’s fleet.

Missoni Amenities Kit in the Delta One business class (Source: Delta)

Best of all, we’re not just seeing these lower Delta One rates from major airports like Los Angeles (LAX) or Seattle (SEA). The savings extend nationwide—even to major Delta hubs like Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and Atlanta (ATL), which usually miss out on the best SkyMiles deals.

While 100,000 SkyMiles or more for a business class flight to Seoul or Taipei isn’t groundbreaking, if SkyMiles are what you’ve got, this is the best option right now.

What’s Going On with Delta?

Good news about Delta SkyMiles? From an airline program that’s become synonymous with “devaluation” and whose executives have boasted that they don’t need to cater to customers or bloggers?

Yes, really. For the first time in years—perhaps a decade—the value of SkyMiles seems to be ticking up instead of dropping further down. So, what’s changed at Delta?

To be honest, it’s hard to say for sure. Maybe after four years of a travel boom, demand is finally cooling off? Maybe business travelers—the backbone of Delta’s premium seat sales—are staying home or choosing other airlines? Maybe Delta is struggling to fill seats on new routes like Seattle (SEA) to Taipei (TPE), Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland (AKL), and Salt Lake City (SLC) to Seoul (ICN), leading to frequent sales?

Or maybe the years of devaluations and frustrating changes to Medallion Status have pushed once-loyal Delta flyers to the edge, jeopardizing Delta’s goal of earning $10 billion annually from its relationship with American Express—and forcing the airline to finally offer more value to win back customers?

The answer is likely a mix of all of these factors, combined with the unpredictable nature of SkyMiles. But more importantly: When business class deals using SkyMiles become available, why question it?

Conclusion

No matter how you book, snagging a good deal on Delta One business class is never a guarantee. But after facing sky-high rates of 400,000 SkyMiles each way, the current trend of more reasonable deals is unmistakable—and it’s a welcome change.

We still wouldn’t recommend racking up SkyMiles for a big business class redemption. However, if you already have a large stash of SkyMiles and are looking to book a lie-flat seat, things are looking up.