Easy Ways to Earn Delta Miles
Delta is our go-to airline whenever we fly! Earning Delta Miles couldn’t be easier with 20+ ways to earn miles. If you are looking to increase your stash of Delta miles you have come to the right spot. Starting to accumulate your favorite airline miles couldn’t be easier after you read this comprehensive guide.

Apply for a Delta co-branded credit card and receive Welcome Offer
The fastest and most lucrative way to earn Delta miles is to apply for a Delta co-branded American Express credit card. After you are approved for the credit card, meet the minimum spend and earn your welcome offer points.
Here are Delta Cards to get started with!
Personal American Express Delta Co-Branded Cards
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Business American Express Delta Co-Branded Cards
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Refer someone to a Delta Credit Card
Referral bonuses are a fantastic and easy way to give yourself a bump of SkyMiles. Refer anyone, like your spouse, family member, or friend, to a Delta co-branded American Express Card. When they are approved you will receive bonus SkyMiles too.
It’s easy to refer someone by logging in your your online Amex account, selecting your Delta Amex card and then selecting the “refer” option. Share that link with the person that is signing up for a new Delta credit card.
Retention Offers on Delta Co-Branded Cards
Did you know American Express is great at offering retention offers to good-standing credit card holders? All you have to do is reach out to Amex when your annual fee is about to post each year and ask them if there are any retention offers currently available. By just doing this you could get from 15,000-30,000 SkyMiles to keep your credit card open.
Fly Delta
This is probably the most obvious option to earn SkyMiles! Each time you fly Delta you earn miles based on your ticket price and Medallion Status. Unfortunately beware that if you book Delta’s Basic Economy class you will not earn SkyMiles or get credits toward your Delta Medallion Status.
Use your Delta Credit Card
Ditch your debit card and use your Delta co-branded American Express Card for all of your everyday purchases when you aren’t working towards a bonus on another card. Always be aware of the category multipliers on each card to make you are earning the most!
Apply for an American Express Credit Card
This is the same idea as opening a Delta co-branded American Express Card. Instead you open a regular American Express card, either personal or business, earn the bonus and transfer those Amex points to Delta. American Express is the only credit card points that transfer to Delta. They will transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Unfortunately they do charge a small “transfer fee”, so beware of that.
Here are a few American Express credit cards we recommend opening.
Personal American Express Credit Cards
All information about American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Plan Pack and Go. American Express® Green Card is no longer available through Plan Pack and Go.
Business American Express Credit Cards
- American Express® Business Gold Card
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Book Flights with the American Express Personal Platinum
After you secure the American Express Personal Platinum you can earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year (1x thereafter).
Fly on Delta Partner Airlines
Did you know if you fly on airlines that are part of the Sky Team Alliance you can earn Delta points? These airlines include Virgin Atlantic, KLM, AirFrance, AeroMexico, Korean Air etc. All you have to do is make sure your SkyMiles number is attached to your booking.
Delta “Bags on Time” Guarantee
Have you heard of Delta’s “Bags on Time” Guarantee? It means that if your checked bag on any domestic flight doesn’t arrive at the baggage claim carousel within 20 minutes of your plane’s gate arrival you’ll earn 2,500 bonus SkyMiles.
All you have to do is fill out this form and request your points. Note that you must be a SkyMiles member at the time of travel to be eligible and requests for multiple flights must be submitted separately. You must submit this within 3 days.
Delta + Lyft
If you link your Lyft and SkyMiles accounts you will earn every ride you take. This one is great because you will benefit from something you will already be doing!
Delta + Airbnb
Delta has the same partnership with Airbnb, so when you use this specific site to book Airbnb stays you will earn SkyMiles. It doesn’t cost anything extra and everything works like normal. It’s not a third party site. You will earn 1 SkyMile per $1 spent.
Delta Dining Program
When you sign up for the Delta SkyMiles Dining program you will earn Delta SkyMiles at participating restaurants. You will also get exclusive discounts. Get more out of your next meal by liking whatever debit or credit card (highly recommend a credit card!) you use when you eat out.
Delta Shopping Portal
If you do online shopping, I mean who doesn’t, you can earn SkyMiles by using the Delta Shopping Portal. Simply go through this portal or install the extension on your Chrome browser. You will gain access to exclusive discounts as well as mile bonuses for every purchase at participating stores.
Rakuten + American Express Credit Card
Rakuten is another shopping portal. I personally prefer this card because the earning rates seem like they are often higher. This shopping portal does not directly earn SkyMiles, but there is the option to link any American Express Card that earns Membership Rewards to your account. When you do this you earn Membership Rewards that you can transfer to Delta and turn into SkyMiles instead of cash back.
Beware if you link your American Express Card you can not go back to earning cashback instead.
If you haven’t signed up for Rakuten sign up here and get $30 or 3,000 Membership Rewards instantly.
Delta Vacations
Book your next vacation package through Delta Vacations and earn bonus SkyMiles. A vacation package includes flights, hotels, cars and more. We recommend comparing the prices of your trip between the Delta Vacations price and other travel sites to make sure you get the best price.
Book with SkyMiles Cruises
Just like Delta Vacations your can book a cruise through Delta Cruises to earn bonus SkyMiles. Once again be sure to compare the prices through Delta Cruises to booking directly with cruises to make sure you get the best deal.
Rent Cars with Hertz
As Delta’s preferred car rental partner, SkyMiles® Members earn 4-8X miles per $1 (excluding taxes, fees and miles redeemed) spent on Hertz car rentals booked through Delta. Terms apply.
Head here to rent a car and earn SkyMiles. Once again, always double check pricing on this platform versus others to get the best price possible.
Rent Cars Through Turo
Earn bonus SkyMiles when you rent a car through Turo. Currently you will earn 2,000 SkyMiles for your first booking and 500 SkyMiles for each booking after that.
Drink Starbucks
Another easy partnership is the Delta and Starbucks team up. Simply link your SkyMiles account with Starbucks and you can earn Double Stars on Delta travel days and miles on reloads of $25 or more to your Starbucks Rewards account. It’s a great way to get rewards for something you are already doing.
Look at how you can really max out points earning by doing this hypothetically! First, reload my Starbucks app with my American Express® Gold Card to earn 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at restaurants (on up to $50,000 per year, then 1 point per dollar), and then you will also earn at least 2 Starbucks Stars when you pay for your brew with your Starbucks app.
You can also earn Delta Air Lines miles because you have linked your Delta SkyMiles account with your Starbucks account to earn miles every time you reload at least $25 to you Starbucks account. A coffee order that puts you closer to your next trip and your next free coffee? Sign me up.
Buy Tickets on Ticketmaster
Buying a ticket for a concert or sporting events through Ticketmaster? You can earn SkyMiles when you purchase them through this special Ticketmaster site where you link your SkyMiles account. Once again, earn miles on something you are already doing. You will earn 1 SkyMile for every $1 spent.
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