Delta reviews

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NEWS: Delta Air Lines has now completed the merger of the SkyBonus programme into Northwest's similar Biz Perks Frequent Flyer programme, with the new entity for companies retaining the name of Skybonus.

Delta's Frequent Flyer scheme is called Skymiles: it is a pretty normal scheme, with points earned by a combination of fare paid plus the distance, with a class of travel multiplier.

A major perk of the programme is that miles do not expire: indeed, it is the only major US airline without mileage expiration.

Any member with even the slightest status of Silver and above gets a 50% bonus on miles in anything other than cheap economy seats.

Delta Airlines Domestic First Class on an Airbus A320

You may also come across Delta's SkyBonus scheme – which is a 'sort of' addition to the skymiles frequent flyer scheme. It is in effect a free Frequent Flyer scheme designed for small to mid-sized companies that aren't quite large enough for their own account with Delta.

Occasionally you may hear about the Million Miler scheme. It doesn't offer a lot, but if you rack up one million Medallion Qualification Miles over a lifetime you are awarded complimentary annual Silver Medallion status, two million gets you Gold, and so on.

General Member

This is the basic 'you can earn points, but that's about it' level.

Silver Medallion

You can obtain Delta SkyMiles Silver Medallion status after flying 25,000 miles, or 30 segments, in a year. There is a 25% medallion bonus, and a

Silver level also has Elite Skyteam status: which doesn't mean a lot.

Delta regional jet at Minneapolis

Gold Medallion

You can obtain Delta SkyMiles Gold Medallion status after flying 50,000 miles, or 60 segments in a year.

The main perk of this level is the abaility to book a free upgrade to Economy Comfort on Transcontinental Routes.

Gold level also has Elite Plus Skyteam status: which is really worth it: it gives you Skyteam lounge access across the network.

Platinum Medallion

You can obtain Platinum SkyMiles Platinum Medallion status after flying 75,000 miles, or 100 segments in a year.

This comes with all the Gold Medallion perks, plus on reaching this level you get a choice of 4 Systemwide Upgrades, 20,000 miles, or 4 Delta Sky Club One-Day Passes. There is also the nice perk of getting International Economy Comfort Seats for free.

Diamond Medallion

You can obtain Diamond SkyMiles Platinum Medallion status after flying 125,000 miles, or 140 segments in a year. This comes with all the Platinum Medallion perks, plus on reaching this level you get a choice of 6 Systemwide Upgrades, , 25,000 miles, or 6 day passes. Not that you really want the day passes unless you pass them on, as you also gain free Delta Sky Club membership.