Cheap(er) Delta First Class Awards! Use Fewer Miles with this Easy Move

Cheap(er) Delta First Class Awards

Redeeming Delta SkyMiles for award flights has gotten comically expensive in recent years.  Among several factors, this is the single-biggest reason why I’m (finally) phasing Delta Amex cards out of our portfolio.  We’ll keep flying Delta, though, especially domestically.  That’s because I can reliably book flights on Delta metal at substantially cheaper award rates via other SkyTeam members’ programs.  I’ve primarily booked economy, perfectly content with those more reasonable award rates on relatively short domestic flights.  But sometimes, I can do better.  And oddly enough, that’s where Delta SkyMiles occasionally enter the equation.  Here’s how I simply book Delta first class award tickets for less.

Delta First Class via SkyTeam Partner/SkyMiles Mashup

Step #1.  Find the Lowest Award Rates…

…with SkyTeam partner airlines after comparing them to Delta SkyMiles rates.  (This article presumes Delta rates are higher – my experience most of the time!)  I generally find superior award rates on Delta metal when booking via Air France/KLM Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.  That said, other SkyTeam members may offer viable options here.  Share your experiences in the comments!

During your search of SkyTeam members, consider the available economy and first class rates.  Often, these members only offer economy awards, if anything at all.  Occasionally, partners offer first class award availability on Delta metal.  Those rates can still be superior to Delta’s.

Step #2.  Book Your Preferred Award Rate…

…with the partner airline.  If you’re in the lucky position of having two cheaper options with the partner airline(s) for economy and first class on Delta metal, consider your options.  Booking directly into first with a few more partner miles over economy could make sense if you are satisfied enough with that award rate, want to immediately guarantee a premium cabin seat, have plenty of partner award currency, etc.  Otherwise, booking economy is probably the way to go.

If you decide to book directly into Delta first class with the partner’s program, congratulations.  Everyone else, read on!

Step #3.  Add Your Trip…

…within the Delta app.  Do so by navigating to the Trips section (middle icon at the bottom of the Delta app home screen).  Scroll to the bottom and tap “Find my trip.”  My award flights booked via partners instantly appear in the Trips section after entering the confirmation number and name.

Step #4.  Return to the Trips Section…

…and confirm your award booked via the partner has populated.  Scroll slightly and look for options similar to the above image.  If you see this option, you can upgrade the partner-booked award ticket to Delta first class with SkyMiles!

There are a few things to consider, though.  First, you may not necessarily see the option – yet.  Check back periodically, as availability can be unpredictable.  I personally haven’t figured out any rhyme or reason to when they show up.  Also, you may see the option to upgrade to Comfort+ for an amount of miles cheaper than the first class option.  Do what works for you, but personally, I only bother with this method for first class upgrades.  Also, gauge if the value’s there for a given flight.  Are you okay parting with this amount of SkyMiles for an upgrade given the aircraft type, flight length, and offered amenities?  With how painful it is to obtain solid value with SkyMiles elsewhere, I’m finding myself easily answering “yes” to that question these days.

Step #5.  Decide and Move Forward

If you’d like to lock in Delta first class – or even if you’re on the fence – I recommend upgrading ASAP.  That’s because this upgrade option can get more expensive or disappear at any time.  I know this from experience – I’ve been wishy-washy a few times and ended up losing out.

Conclusion

You might be asking yourself – what do these numbers actually look like?  It varies, and of course, I only have my examples to go on.  So many others exist.  For what it’s worth, I’ve been able to upgrade to Delta first class for 10k SkyMiles or less one-way on my routine flights within the northeast and sometimes longer.  I recall a 10k option for my flight from the east coast to MSP a few months ago.  (Sadly, this is an example where I dragged my feet on upgrading.)

Let me share another example.  I recently booked a late summer one-way flight to LGA in economy for 5.5k Flying Blue miles.  I had the option to book directly into first for 15k Flying Blue miles.  However, given my other Flying Blue plans, I didn’t want to part with another 9.5k Flying Blue miles just to get into first for a couple hours.  Following the above steps, I subsequently discovered I could upgrade to Delta first class with 9.5k SkyMiles, instead.  This process met three goals: confirming a seat in Delta first class for less, using increasingly-difficult SkyMiles for solid (if not outstanding) value, and preserving more Flying Blue currency useful for bigger endeavors.  Then again, given the sorry state of Delta SkyMiles redemptions, perhaps solid is outstanding.  Regardless, either choice is substantially cheaper than booking Delta first class directly with SkyMiles from the get-go.

Have you obtained Delta first class via this method?  Share your booking experiences in the comments.