A day trip to Maine: The fun way we found to use the elusive Delta companion certificate

26.06.2024 - 18:15 / thepointsguy.com / Delta Comfort / Clint Henderson

It was the start of summer, and while I had gotten back to some of my old travel patterns, something quintessentially summer was still missing ... and I couldn't shake it. It was a lobster roll.

I wanted to enjoy a good, fresh, legitimate lobster roll with a cold drink and a friend while sitting on the rocky coast of the Atlantic, preferably with a lighthouse nearby.

Silly and potentially wasteful and extravagant? Guilty as charged, but it was also something near and dear to my heart that I wanted to do. And my Delta Air Lines companion tickets helped make it happen.

There have been lots of discussions among TPG reporters and editors about the value of Delta's companion certificates.

I've always had great luck using my certificates for far-off trips, such as heading to Florida during school breaks. Basically, if I book months ahead, I can typically use them. But recently, I was trying to help my parents use a certificate for an October trip between New York and Los Angeles and couldn't find any dates with availability — four months out with a very flexible travel schedule. Ouch.

So, one afternoon, I started playing around on Delta's website, trying to satisfy my craving for a fresh lobster roll, one that came with a side of sunshine and salty air.

Just nine days before travel, I was able to find flights from New York to Portland, Maine, that qualified for the companion certificate. I invited TPG's managing editor for news, Clint Henderson, along for the trip. We quickly hit "purchase" and then bought ample carbon offsets for the 273-mile flight to Maine. Here's how you can take advantage too.

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The concept of a companion ticket is pretty straightforward: You buy one ticket, and you can bring somebody along for just the cost of taxes.

There are two types of companion tickets from Delta. The first comes each year upon renewal of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and can be used on Main Cabin domestic, Caribbean or Central American round-trip flights (including Alaska and Hawaii). The other, more lucrative one is granted each year upon renewal of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. This one can be used on First Class, Delta Comfort+ or Main Cabin domestic, Caribbean or Central American round-trip flights.

Related: Everything you need to know about Delta SkyMiles MQM rollovers

To start using certificates, just log in to your SkyMiles account and visit this page. Then, search for the certificate you want to use (if you have multiple certificates), click the box to select it and then start searching for eligible flights.

Related: How to use a Delta companion ticket

For our trip, booked only nine