Question for Delta Experts

[TravelBug Member Find all posts View Profile Close TravelBug]

DH has just over 100K miles on Delta and he'll be hitting the expiration date soon as he rarely flies Delta. If he applies for and uses the Delta AmEx card, will that keep the miles from expiring? And if so, for how long before he has to fly again? We don't want to keep the card beyond the first free year as the annual fee is $95...way too steep! Then we need to burn those miles...a few trips to Aruba should do it .

We had planned to fly from SFO to LA for our upcoming long weekend at Newport Coast Villas, but would have a layover in Utah. What's a 1 hour trip for us on United, would take 6 hours on Delta!

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

If you need miles right away make a purchase for flowers or what I like is Gourmet Center - Home of Biscoff Cookies, European Pastries and Epicurean Specialties , You can also go on the Delta site to see what other offers they have from partners. Any update will extend your expiration date to 18 months

[jericap Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close jericap]

Go on the delta site...I know there are changes coming up for the miles. I just received a notice in the mail 2 days ago explaining them, but only half read it, (we just used most of our Delta miles) then threw it away. I may have received it because I haven't had activity on my card in awhile.

I just took this from the website:

About SkyMiles

SkyMiles Rules & Conditions

All benefits that Delta offers in the SkyMiles program are conditioned upon your compliance with these Membership Rules and Conditions, the terms and conditions described elsewhere in this Guide, all terms and conditions of Delta's contract of carriage, Delta's fare rules, and all other applicable Delta rules and regulations. These rules are subject to change at any time. Unless otherwise stated, the current rules in effect at the time of your travel, request for a benefit, or other transaction will govern that transaction.

Current versions of this SkyMiles Membership Guide and Program Rules, Delta's contract of carriage, and other applicable rules that may apply to your travel, are available at delta.com or from a Delta representative. Please check back frequently for program updates or rule changes.

See SkyMiles Program Updates to learn more about recent changes to the SkyMiles program.

Account Deletion and Mileage Expiration

Accounts with no activity for 12 consecutive months after enrollment will be deleted. A new SkyMiles number can be obtained by contacting Delta.

Currently, miles will not expire as long as you participate in one of the following activities at least once every two years:

* Earn miles for travel on a qualifying Delta, Delta Shuttle®, SkyTeam, or other SkyMiles airline partner flights.
* Earn or redeem miles with one of the SkyMiles program partners including hotels, car rentals, Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express, international credit card partners, SkyMiles Dining & Hotels by Rewards NetworkSM, MilePoint.com, mortgage lenders, CAP magazine subscriptions, real estate, or telecommunications partners.
* Buy Miles here at delta.com or by calling the number on the back of your SkyMiles card.
* Redeem miles on Delta, Delta Shuttle, a SkyTeam partner, or another SkyMiles airline partner. Redemption of previous program awards does not extend the mileage expiration date.

[TravelBug Member Find all posts View Profile Close TravelBug]

Thank you both...so if I understand correctly, we don't necessarily need a Delta branded AmEx card. By signing up and buying from one of the partner vendors, that would work too, until they change the rules of course!

Those cookies look yummy, Frank...just what I need as I'm trying to drop a few pounds for our upcoming Aruba trip. What's really annoying is that DH knew this was coming up yet used United FF miles for Aruba . Had to do that same with some expiring AA miles a few years ago...

[davhu1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close davhu1]

Easy way to keep account active for Delta, sign up for Delta Skymiles Dinning.

Simply register your credit or debit card on this site – the rest happens automatically. When you use your registered American Express®, Discover®, MasterCard®, or VISA® card at a restaurant in the network when benefits are being offered, you'll earn miles good toward travel on Delta or any of the other awards offered in the SkyMiles program.

More detail: SkyMiles Dining - How It Works

Other airlines have similar plans.
United and AA: use thir links for online shopping

[TravelBug Member Find all posts View Profile Close TravelBug]

Cool...didn't realize it was that easy to keep those miles from expiring.

[mas Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mas]

I do the same thing with the dining for miles for my AA account. Don't have many miles (33K), but no sense letting a free rt tkt go to waste. Unfortunately, living in the twin cities area means NWA soon to be Delta is often the only realistic choice. However, just this weekend Southwest started flying 8 flights daily between MSP and Chicago. Hopefully, they will be able to grow here and give the NWA/Delta bozos some stiff competition.

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

If you have a Northwest Airlines account you can still link it to Delta and get a 500 mile bonus for doing so. Not sure if that counts as activity.

Link Accounts, Combine Miles, Get Awards

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

The transfer of miles to a SkyMiles account will not reset or extend the mileage expiration date.

If you have a Northwest Airlines account you can still link it to Delta and get a 500 mile bonus for doing so. Not sure if that counts as activity.

Link Accounts, Combine Miles, Get Awards

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

Thank you so much for this link. I did not know about this. I am flying NWA for the first time next month, and have a lot of miles with Delta. Will link both.

[x3skier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close x3skier]

If you need miles right away make a purchase for flowers or what I like is Gourmet Center - Home of Biscoff Cookies, European Pastries and Epicurean Specialties , You can also go on the Delta site to see what other offers they have from partners. Any update will extend your expiration date to 18 months

I always get some for Christmas gifts.

Another way is to use the Skymiles Shopping link for anything. If you buy something that way, you get miles credited to your account. They have a huge collection of shops for just about anything you could think of buying.

Cheers