Delta Air Lines unceremoniously removed its Skymiles award charts from delta.com last month, taking with it the accountability inherent in such charts. The only justification Delta offered was, “We’ve launched the new Award calendar which offers an easier search for Awards.” The problem is that although the online “award calendar” is great, the website is still broken and awards routinely overprice. Read on for how you can know when Delta is ripping you off and what to do about it.
Delta Domestic Award Space Has Five Levels
> Read More: Comprehensive Redemption Guide for 2015 Delta SkyMiles Program
- Domestic Economy Class (Main Cabin):
- Level 1 – N – 10,000-12,500 miles
- Level 2 – NL – 17,500 miles
- Level 3 – ND – 20,000 miles
- Level 4 – NS – 25,000 miles
- Level 5 – NK – 32,500 miles
- Domestic First Class:
- Level 1 R – 25,000 miles
- Level 2 RL – 32,500 miles
- Level 3 RD – 37,500 miles
- Level 4 RS – 45,000 miles
- Level 5 RK – 55,000 miles
- Domestic BusinessElite (JFK premium transcons):
- Level 1 – O – 32,500 miles
- Level 2 – OL – 45,000 miles
- Level 3 – OD – 60,000 miles
- Level 4 – OS – 67,500 miles
- Level 5 – OK – 75,000 miles
Remember that fares fluctuate often and levels can change several times even during a single day. When you book on delta.com, you will see the code (e.g. NS, R, OD) next to your itinerary when searching for Skymiles space.
Delta Skymiles Price Should Be Highest Level, NOT a Combination of Two Levels
A frequent problem arises when searching for a connecting itinerary (say LAX to BOS via JFK) and lower level space is available on one flight but the not the other.
Take a look at the example below–100K miles for a one-way trip from LAX to BOS.
When you mouse over “Multiple Cabins” you see that LAX-JFK is booked in “OK” class, which is level five business class and JFK-BOS is booked in “R” class, which is level one first class.
Levels can and should automatically be combined among classes at the highest applicable level on a connecting domestic itinerary. In other words, if one flight has level five space and another has level one space, both flights should price as a single level five award — not price separately. So the JFK-BOS flight should be booked as “RK” instead of “R”, which would allow the LAX-JFK and JFK-BOS flight to combined as one 75K award. In simply placing the two flights in their lowest available fare classes, the system prices the itinerary as two awards instead of ones.
Here’s another example–
Here we have LAX-ATL-MIA. Delta is asking 87,500 miles for a one-way first class trip. When we explore the fare classes this ticket is booked under, we find LAX-ATL is booked in “OK” and ATL-MIA is booked in “RL”.
“OK” can be a little bit confusing because on non-premium transcon flights it is priced as its domestic first class equivalent. So even though this particular flight form LAX-ATL is booked in “OK” it should price as a “RK” award or 55,000 miles one-way (level five). We see the system is separately pricing ATL-MIA as an “RL” (level two) award to tack on an extra 32,500 miles and bring us to the 87,500 mile asking price.
Had the system been working correctly, ATL-MIA would also have been offered at “RL” level and the whole one-way ticket should actually cost “only” 55,000 miles.
I did not spend a lot of time coming up with these examples — search between any city pair and you are likely to find similar issues. Here are three more between LAX-MIA I found on the same search screen:
You can see a similar problem in all of them. Rather than combining tickets into one level five award, delta.com is adding a level five + level four award to arrive at the outrageous prices shown.
The pernicious aspect of all this is that many itineraries price correctly — this is not a systemwide problem so much as it is a problem affecting only a handful of itineraries, but still a noticeable handful. You must be on your guard.
Delta Masks Problem by Removing Award Charts, But You Can Still Keep Delta Accountable and Avoid Overpaying for Skymiles Award!
If I have lost you in my narrative above, consider whether that may be the point — ponder whether Delta has reasoned by taking away its award chart that most consumers simply will not be able to spot the problems I have identified above.
And just how do you go about fixing this issue if the itinerary you wish to book is pricing as two separate awards rather than one? First, you must find a competent agent who doesn’t smoke the “computer is always right” crack pipe. Second, you must articulately and concisely explain what I have tried to point out above — that the system is splitting the itinerary into two separate awards.
Don’t bother calling Delta’s deplorable Jamaican-based web support line: the agents are truly worthless. Just call reservations and hope for an understanding Stateside agent who is willing to help.
Check your previously booked itineraries as well and if you find a pricing discrepancy, call Delta back and ask to be transferred to the international manual re-issue desk, about the only consistently competent cadre of Delta agents.
Delta is ripe for DOT rebuke, for this practice of nearly doubling the amount of miles actually necessary for an award ticket while offering no accountability mechanism has no doubt led thousands of consumers to spend far more than was necessary to redeem their Skymiles. Delta has shown us it cannot be trusted and as careful stewards of your miles and points, you must understand what Delta is doing and how to combat it.
> Read More: Delta Defiantly Removes Online Skymiles Award Charts
> Read More: Delta Air Lines Worldwide Skymiles Award Charts
One has to wonder if this is a “glitch” which is a tale tale sign of the future. Paying for each individual segment, like we see with BA Avios. After all, that would explain the reason why it’s pricing it segment by segment when they are different fare classes
@Rocky — I fear you are correct.
Thanks for the great timely post. I am planning to book Virgin Atlantic with connecting flights through Delta in the near future.
Any hope for mis-priced itineraries that have already been completed?
And you wonder why award charts are not published anymore….. lets them get away with anything,
@Caleb: I don’t see why not. Contact Delta Customer Relations and explain problem. Post back here how it turns out.
Will do.
Thanks Matthew – that explains something I found just yesterday. While trying to book a 80,000 business class fare to Sydney on Virgin Australia via Delta, I wanted to include the positioning flight from ATL on the same ticket. There were no coach seats at saver level (only NL level). Even though i was spending 80,000 miles for business class, the Delta system tacked on an extra 17,500 miles for the ATL to LAX coach flight! The Delta rep told me that some of their flights “just ticketed this way” and had for awhile, and nothing they could do about it. Thanks for the awareness that I’m just not going insane. Do you think some Delta agents can actually override this?
@Rich, in this case you were charged at the correct level. NL cannot be combined with saver space. You would need N or R space from ATL-LAX to get both flights on one 80K ticket.
Matthew,
I know this is an older post, but hope you are able to read it and answer. Not an expert by a long shot, but was testing this out to figure it out. So some of the economy flights are pricing WAYYY over what you have for the codes. I.E. an NS is pricing at 57,500!!! Where I see you have it at 25,000. What is going on here? This is NOT a multiple cabin option. Would I be able to call this one in as well?
Hi S, Are you trying to book a domestic economy class ticket? Are both segments showing NS?
It is a flight from the US to Canada. The first segment is ND, the second is N, and the last one is ND.
@S: That sounds like a perfect example of the broken website. Segment two should be priced in ND class as well, so that you are charged as single award. Call Delta.
Thank you!
Yesterday I bought Delta tickets to Sacramento Ca from SLC for me and a friend. I used my sky miles for mine. I can’t remember what she quoted me for the round trip I think it was 25,000 but then after it was ordered she raised it to 35,000 saying because they couldn’t get us on the earlier flight she had to raise it to 35,000. After reading your comments I think they charged me for two different segment 17,500 instead of one round trip fair. I just noticed the main cabin NL on my confirmation and my friend has Main Cabin E on hers. Does that mean we do not have seats together ? I am getting very dissapointed with Delta tactic and thinking of cancelling card with them.
Thank , Beverly
All – Am I minssing something here? Fare will vary greatly depending on aircraft type. A redemption of miles for a RJ or MD88 will be far less than a 757 delta one first configured or a A330 from JFK to LAX versus a 737 or 757 standard plane with old first class and configuration. I redeem 800k miles every other month for family trips. I move miles from my Centurion Card to delta if your wondering why so many miles.
Brian, fare will not necessarily vary based upon aircraft type. Sometimes pricing is route dependent, but an RJ or MD88 redemption may sometimes be much higher than a widebody with Delta1.
Redeeming 800K every other month is quite a bit of miles — you should check out upgrd.com/award for a booking consultation — you may be able cut that expenditure in half.
New to this but is 60000 miles for a delta first/bus from Bis-Mbj for New Years week 2016-17 a good deal. Got ticket this week with the return leg right at the 330 day mark
Jose, not bad at all for a r/t ticket from North Dakota to Jamaica in business class.
Matthew, do you have an award chart with the booking codes for international flights? I booked an award ticket and the outbound has OS and RS and the return is OD and RD. I called in and I was told that those are actually the same booking class. The points seem to match your link above for Delta Worldwide Award Chart… but it does show as multiple cabins because the domestic legs are in “First” and the Int’l segment is “Business.” BTW, This article is fascinating.
Hi CM, as long as the second letter stay the same (here, D), the fare will not break and the pricing on the old award charts are effective.