Delta Skymiles travel tips

TSA PreCheck can save you so much time over the years. 

Delta has revised the changes to its Skymiles loyalty program that sparked a backlash when they were announced in September. Those changes shifted the key metric to build loyalty: The new emphasis would be on money spent.

Fresh off a major overhaul to its True Blue program this past year, JetBlue is adding perks for 2024 for members who qualify for Mosaic Elite status.

Travelers are used to airline frequent flyer programs changing the rules of the game and moving the ball a la Charlie Brown and Lucy Van Pelt — and just like with Charlie Brown, the moves made are usually not to the advantage of most travelers.

I typically refrain from commenting on ebbs and flows of loyalty and frequent flyer programs. Why? It’s somewhat uninteresting. My perspective is there will be a never-ending shift towards optimization, goosing revenue, and a focus on quarterly results by travel companies.

Life was simple in 1979 when the first loyalty program of an American airline was launched. How much you flew was the number of “miles” you earned, a currency for a free seat with the airline you were being “loyal” to. 

Sign-up bonuses, lounge access, cash rebates, free hotel rooms and plenty of fine print: The dizzying promotions and Byzantine rules on earning and redeeming points with rewards credit cards can make your head spin. Here are some ways to cut through the confusion and get the most out of them.

There’s an easy way to get 1,000 bonus miles on your next coffee run. For a limited time, Delta Air Lines is giving 1k bonus miles when you enroll and visit Starbucks two times in one week. Here’s how to enroll in this bonus offer.

In yet another sign that the mainstream travel industry is slowly recognizing (if not wholeheartedly embracing) the sharing economy, Delta this week began awarding frequent-flyer miles for Airbnb stays.

Delta award discounts are becoming so frequent, if not exactly regular, that SkyMiles members may be left wondering which are the “normal” prices: the discounted rates, or the non-discounted rates. With the almost certain prospect of more award sales to come, it certainly makes ponying up the normal award price seem like an unnecessary extravagance.

If your airline loyalty has been on autopilot for the past few years, this would be a good time to reassess your choice of frequent flyer programs. A lot has changed, and not for the better.

In a move that might have you choosing Uber from now on, Lyft customers are no longer available to split fares with a friend through the ride-sharing app. Lyft abruptly announced that they removed the feature this week.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan is the best of all the U.S. airline loyalty programs, says the U.S. News & World Report, and Marriott Rewards is the best of the large hotel-chain loyalty programs. The annual rankings emphasize benefits for basic members, and scores all loyalty programs on a scale of 1 to 5.

Delta Air Lines will begin offering free Wi-Fi on most domestic flights starting February 1.