Delta won't expire miles

[NewDay2006]

I have flown to China a few times saving a bunch of money on NorthWest Airlines until the merged with Delta. I was due to lose 0ver 30,000 miles this year since I hadn't flown over 2 years now. Now good news!

 

Skymiles

[chilton747]

Clark Howard often complains about the Skymiles program saying that it is next to impossible to be able to redeem the miles for any trip that one might want. It's been a long time since I had skymiles and tried to use them.

[NewDay2006]

Clark Howard often complains about the Skymiles program saying that it is next to impossible to be able to redeem the miles for any trip that one might want. It's been a long time since I had skymiles and tried to use them.

 

Cuzin, I currently have about 50k miles... 10k, gets you a trip that cost $100. I also recently got a Skymiles debit card if used as a credit card, I will get 1 skymile for every dollar spent. Since December I have accumulated about 1700 skymiles just by paying for my gas and groceries, etc with the card.

 

I do have to pay $59 a year for the card, but my plan is to always have a way to get quick ticket in case of and emergency or spur of the moment trip. we'll see how it works out.

[chilton747]

Clark Howard often complains about the Skymiles program saying that it is next to impossible to be able to redeem the miles for any trip that one might want. It's been a long time since I had skymiles and tried to use them.

 

Cuzin, I currently have about 50k miles... 10k, gets you a trip that cost $100. I also recently got a Skymiles debit card if used as a credit card, I will get 1 skymile for every dollar spent. Since December I have accumulated about 1700 skymiles just by paying for my gas and groceries, etc with the card.

 

I do have to pay $59 a year for the card, but my plan is to always have a way to get quick ticket in case of and emergency or spur of the moment trip. we'll see how it works out.

 

 

Here is an article from Clark's website. Good luck!!

 

http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/uncategorized/frequent-flyer-miles-an-increasingly-bad-option/nDDj/

[NewDay2006]

Clark Howard often complains about the Skymiles program saying that it is next to impossible to be able to redeem the miles for any trip that one might want. It's been a long time since I had skymiles and tried to use them.

 

Cuzin, I currently have about 50k miles... 10k, gets you a trip that cost $100. I also recently got a Skymiles debit card if used as a credit card, I will get 1 skymile for every dollar spent. Since December I have accumulated about 1700 skymiles just by paying for my gas and groceries, etc with the card.

 

I do have to pay $59 a year for the card, but my plan is to always have a way to get quick ticket in case of and emergency or spur of the moment trip. we'll see how it works out.

 

 

Here is an article from Clark's website. Good luck!!

 

http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/uncategorized/frequent-flyer-miles-an-increasingly-bad-option/nDDj/

 

Thanks for the heads up. I was wrong, it is 25k miles for 100 miles... I guess that is about what you said. since they don't expire, I can always compare when I need a ticket and use skymile or not use them.

 

Here's what I just got off of Delta's site.

 

How does Pay with Miles work?

 

There is no fee for using your Pay with Miles benefit. Pay with Miles redemptions are flexible based on the price of the ticket.

 

For base fares less than $100:

Redeem 25,000 miles to cover the total fare.

For base fares equal to or greater than $100 and less than $250:

Redeem 10,000 miles for $100 off the total fare or

Increase the redemption to 25,000 miles and increase from that point in increments of 5,000 miles ($50 off) to cover the total fare.

For base fares equal to or greater than $250 and total fares less than $1,000:

Redeem 10,000 miles for $100 off the total fare or

Increase the redemption in increments of 5,000 miles ($50 off) to cover all or part of the total fare (15,000 miles for $150 off, 20,000 miles for $200 off, etc.).

For total fares equal to or greater than $1,000:

Redeem 10,000 miles for $100 off the total fare or

Increase the redemption in increments of 10,000 miles ($100 off) to cover all or part of the total fare (20,000 miles for $200 off, 30,000 miles for $300 off, etc.).

If you choose to pay for a fare with both miles and a credit card, you must use an American Express Credit Card:

 

For example, if your fare is $325, you may redeem 30,000 miles for $300 off and then you must pay the $25 with an American Express Credit Card

How do I use Pay with Miles?

Log in at delta.com with your SkyMiles account number and PIN.

Search for flights.

Select flights marked as Pay with Miles eligible.

Choose from the list of Pay with Miles options in the "Trip Summary" page, you can select miles, money or the combination of both.

After you make your selection, simply continue with booking your ticket.

Current Gold, Platinum or Reserve Credit Cardmembers log in and start planning your trip.

 

Additional Information

As long as you have sufficient miles in your account, there is no limit on the number of times you can use your Pay with Miles benefit—use it as often as you like.

There is no cap on the number of miles you can use. If you have enough miles, you can pay for your whole itinerary using miles.

You may use Pay with Miles to book some one else's ticket.

You can use Pay with Miles for multiple tickets—you just need to have 10,000 miles per passenger available and they must be on the same itinerary.

If you do not have the minimum 10,000 miles per passenger available in your account, the Pay with Miles option will not appear.

Edited February 17, 2011 by NewDay2006 (see edit history)

[chilton747]

I did the pay with miles thing last time my wife went to China. My boss graciously donated the miles. I think the total miles came to around 140,000. And it took a lot of time trying to find the right flight...but of course we had to be VERY flexible in what dates she used.

[NewDay2006]

I did the pay with miles thing last time my wife went to China. My boss graciously donated the miles. I think the total miles came to around 140,000. And it took a lot of time trying to find the right flight...but of course we had to be VERY flexible in what dates she used.

 

It will be a long time before I can take a reasonable trip with the miles... but I figure to get about 700- 1200 a month. I'll wait. Hopefully it will pay off one day

Edited February 17, 2011 by NewDay2006 (see edit history)

[chilton747]

I did the pay with miles thing last time my wife went to China. My boss graciously donated the miles. I think the total miles came to around 140,000. And it took a lot of time trying to find the right flight...but of course we had to be VERY flexible in what dates she used.

 

It will be a long time before I can take a reasonable trip with the miles... but I figure to get about 700- 1200 a month. I'll wait. Hopefully it will pay off one day

 

 

 

You just need to use that credit card more often.

[C4Racer]

I filter everything we pay through our Delta Sky miles card. This adds the miles up very quick.

Since I pay off the card every month in full, I gain these miles for zero interest charges.

These miles are not too difficult to use, you can also use them for someone else.

I brought my wife's parents from China for a total of $60.

Yeah so I had to pay a fee, really all I paid were the taxes.This included the Hong Kong airport tax.

Can't blame them for not wanting to pay for the taxes. Its hard cash out of their pocket. The other stuff their is no money for them to lay out.

You can't beat that. Of course, everyone has their opinion about what is good or bad.

But who makes them the expert. I noticed he did not mention which airlines gave him trouble.

He talked about paying double miles for when you want to travel, but he did not mention dates.

Even regular fees are double and sometimes triple for times when most people want to travel.

I have always had very good experience with Delta. I will stay with them.

Yeah so to use the miles I had to be flexible on the time my wife's parents traveled.

This is absolutely nothing different than being flexible on dates to get a good rate.

Case in point I travel for business quite a bit. I had to book a trip from Portland to Phoenix.

It ended up costing $630 dollars for me to fly during December.

If I could have waited til after the New Year, I could have booked the same ticket for $236.

So now tell me what is the difference. If I had used frequent flier miles and been charged double?

We have enough miles to take a trip to China or maybe even Europe.

I also get companion tickets to take some one at a reduced rate.

Sorry but I still see it as a good deal. Like everything, it depends on how you manage it and the way you look at it.

[NewDay2006]

I did the pay with miles thing last time my wife went to China. My boss graciously donated the miles. I think the total miles came to around 140,000. And it took a lot of time trying to find the right flight...but of course we had to be VERY flexible in what dates she used.

 

It will be a long time before I can take a reasonable trip with the miles... but I figure to get about 700- 1200 a month. I'll wait. Hopefully it will pay off one day

 

 

 

You just need to use that credit card more often.

 

I use it everyday... thankfully,it's not a credit card, it's a debit card. I only have to use my signature when going to someplace like Wal-Mart or Kroger or I say use credit when getting gas... gas alone I'm gettn at least 200 skymiles a month, sadly ... too much money for gas.

Edited February 18, 2011 by NewDay2006 (see edit history)