Playing the SkyMiles frequent flyer game can be quite lucrative if you understand all the avenues how to achieve and maintain elite status year after year. While Delta makes the core SkyMiles program fairly straight forward with earnings based off of the price you paid for the ticket, there is another way to earn faster and spend less doing so.
The seasoned beat down top-tier frequent flyers know this game well and everything discussed here in legit and within the T&C of the SkyMiles program – Delta just makes this incredibly complex to understand, so i’ll do my best to break it down for you.
Welcome to “Becoming a travel agent 101”
Unfortunately, there is a lot of airline industry terminology you’ll have to understand. A lot of jargon you’re about to learn is buried in the logic required to figure how to
| Terminology/acronym | WTF it means |
|---|---|
| Fare Class | Fare classes are simply pricing buckets. The lower your fare class, the cheaper the ticket will be. |
| PNR | This stands for Passenger Name Record and is also sometimes called a record locator or confirmation number. |
| Ticket/eTicket # | All airlines are assigned a 3-digit numerical code that prepends every ticket/eTicket number. Delta Air Lines is 006. |
Who marketed the flight and why is this important?
Airlines within the SkyTeam alliance may have the ability to sell seats on other airlines as a way to expand the reach of their route network to lure customers to book with them instead of another airline. In addition, airlines have the ability to make deals or offer discounts on certain flights, routes, dates, etc.
It is common-place to see a flight/route for sale by both the incumbent operator (Airline who owns the plane) and one or more partner airlines. In addition to the flight/route being marketed through multiple airlines, the individual deals may offer the exact flight/route for cheaper than the incumbent or other partners.
Who is operating the flight and why is this important?
The owner of the aircraft and branding is the one operating the flight under their own flight numbers (example: VS1234 or KL1234, etc); however, through the marketing agreements, partner airlines may sell seats a partner-operated flight (example: VS1234) as a Delta codeshare (example: DL8765). While the physical aircraft, staff and branding will all be the partner’s, the codeshare flight number changes things drastically in terms of how you’ll earn in the SkyMiles program.
Ticket Price vs Distance Flown
When to book Ticket Price vs Distance Flown routes
While you can technically book a partner marketed flight on a Delta-operated domestic or international route, it doesn’t make sense as the earnings based on Distance Flown are optimally designed for long-haul flights with a stop at a non-US partner hub (AMS, CDG, ICN, MEX, etc).
How to book a partner flight to earn based on Ticket Price
Focused on maximizing MQD earnings
- If you’re booking a cheap main cabin flight , it will likely be advantageous to earn on Ticket Price, as partner MQD calculations are
- If you are booking an expensive last minute flight or a direct intercontinental flight from the USA, it may be advantageous to earn based on Ticket Price to maximize your MQD.
- If you are booking >8,000 mile trip (one way) and you’re booking business class and can find a low business class fare class, it may be advantageous to earn based on Distance Flown.
Focused on maximizing MQM earnings
How to book a partner flight to earn based on Distance Flown