This Airline Is Going Viral for Its Secret Trading Cards, But It Has Been Around for 20 Years — Here's How to Get One

04.12.2023 - 20:03 / travelandleisure.com

Forget stacking miles — there’s something even cooler you can collect if you’re flying Delta Air Lines. 

In November, TikTok user sarowarrr posted a quick 19-second clip of himself asking a Delta pilot if he could have a trading card. The pilot politely obliges, asking his first officer if he has any cards handy. The pilot then hands over two shiny gold trading cards to the delight of sarowarrr.

To date, the video has more than 18 million views, two million likes, and thousands of commenters asking for the backstory of the cards. So, we went straight to the source to ask.

«When they’re not busy preparing for flight or flying our customers to their next adventure, our pilots carrying these fan-favorite cards are more than happy to hand one out to any customer who asks nicely; as they look to add to, or begin, their newest favorite collection,» a Delta spokesperson told Travel + Leisure.

According to the spokesperson, the trading card program was created by Delta employees to help pass on their enthusiasm for aviation some 20 years ago. Each collectible trading card features «a different aircraft in [Delta's] fleet corresponding to the type of aircraft each pilot flies.» The cards get a redesign every five years or so to both add a new look and give collectors something new to look forward to, meaning there have been six Delta Trading Card collections since its inception. (You can see all the iterations here.)

Courtesy of Delta Air Lines

At the moment, there are 11 card types in the collection. The current designs were created by Delta’s “Window Seat” visual design team in 2022, with the direct involvement of flight operations employees to ensure authenticity. Pilots even had the chance to vote on the winning design.

Of course, the cards were popular before they made their way to TikTok. There’s even a small Reddit thread dedicated to figuring out the best time to ask for the trading cards. The consensus of enthusiasts is that the best time to ask is during the flight, by alerting a crew member you’re interested in obtaining a card, so you don’t hold up boarding or deplaning. 

Just don’t get disappointed if you can’t get a trading card on every flight. In fact, sarowarrr posted a follow-up video asking another Delta pilot if anyone has asked for cards. The pilot replies, “You’re about the fifth person to ask me in the last two days,” and notifies him he’s all out of cards. 

The only other key point to remember is to ask nicely. Not every pilot has the cards, and the priority of both the crew and pilots is to get you to your destination safely. But, if you ask politely, you may just be able to join this exclusive group of aviation collectors.