Avoid Delta's High Partner Award Rates by Booking With SkyTeam Partner Programs

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There's lots to love about the SkyTeam alliance, but the SkyMiles price tag Delta puts on alliance partner tickets isn't one of those things.

Delta's sky-high award rates have made a lot of SkyMiles redemptions on partner airlines all but unaffordable. No matter who you are, forking over a few hundred thousand Delta SkyMiles for a one-way business-class flight to anywhere is no small task — nor is it a great idea under virtually any circumstance.

If you want to fly on a SkyTeam airline, you'll routinely get better value from using partner loyalty programs to make these redemptions. Here are the programs you'll want to know about.

The SkyTeam Alliance

SkyTeam is a truly global alliance, connecting more than 166 countries and 1,000 destinations through 10,000+ daily flights. If you need to go anywhere, there's a good chance that a SkyTeam airline can get you there.

There are 20 airlines in the SkyTeam alliance, but only three offer a compelling use case for booking partner awards. They are:

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Air France–KLM Flying Blue
• Aeromexico Rewards

As alternatives to Delta and its SkyMiles program, Virgin Atlantic, Air France–KLM, and Aeromexico each feature frequent flyer programs that are worth your award redemptions. Each program is easily accessible via various transferable point programs, and it's possible to book tickets through each without a major headache, which is a huge plus on its own.

Historically, Korean Air SKYPASS has also presented great value for SkyTeam travel. Unfortunately, long gone are the days when the carrier was a transfer partner of any major flexible rewards program. You still can transfer Marriott Bonvoy^® points to SKYPASS at a 3:1 clip, but there are better uses of Marriott points than this.

Since SKYPASS miles have become increasingly more complicated to earn, we'll temporarily put Korean Air on the back burner and focus on the three programs that you're most likely to use. Let's dive into what you should book with each of these three.

Related: What Are the Best Flexible Rewards Points?

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

As a relative newcomer to the SkyTeam alliance, Virgin Atlantic has a unique frequent flyer program called Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. As a transfer partner of four of the five major flexible rewards currencies, it's easy to rack up a hefty balance of miles that you can put towards a wide variety of SkyTeam partner flights.

Virgin Atlantic economy to London

Of all the routes flying today, New York to London is one of the most iconic. There's stiff competition, given the sheer number of carriers that fly between the two cities, but what's not competitive is Delta's pricing for an award flight in economy.

If you book New York-Kennedy (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR) with Delta SkyMiles, you can expect to redeem between 33,000 and 41,000 miles plus a few dollars in taxes and fees for a one-way economy ticket. Alternatively, if you booked via Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, you could redeem 10,000 Virgin points plus about $150 in taxes and fees. Despite the high fees, this is still an incredibly competitive rate to get across the pond.

Credit: Virgin Atlantic

Delta Air Lines economy to Tokyo

Sticking with economy-class redemptions, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club also presents substantial value for flights to Japan. If you want to fly Delta from Seattle to Tokyo, your best and most cost-effective bet is booking with Virgin Atlantic. You'll pay 27,500 Flying Club points plus $5.60 in fees — a far cry from the 115,000 SkyMiles that Delta routinely charges on this one-way flight.

Credit: Virgin Atlantic

ITA Airways business class to Rome

ITA Airways is one of Virgin Atlantic's newer mileage redemption options, offering great value to get to Europe in business class. At 75,000 Flying Club points for a one-way flight between Washington, D.C. and Rome, the rates are hard to beat. Comparatively, business-class awards to Rome booked with Delta SkyMiles can cost 375,000 miles on average. Flying Blue offers comparable value to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club on this route, and we'll cover that program shortly.

Credit: Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic business class to Cape Town

To get to Cape Town, South Africa from North America, you'll have to do a lot of flying. And if you can do it in business class, you're in for a far more comfortable ride. If you had an option between booking Atlanta to Cape Town with SkyMiles or Flying Club points, going with Virgin Atlantic is a no-brainer. In business class, Delta charges upwards of 495,000 SkyMiles — over 4X the 105,000 Flying Club points that Virgin Atlantic asks for.

Although you'll be on the hook for about $600 in fees by booking with Virgin Atlantic, it's a reasonable amount for a trip that lasts about 30 hours and costs more than $6,000 if booked with cash.

Credit: Virgin Atlantic

Related: The Trick To Using the Virgin Atlantic Monthly Award Calendar

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

We'll go ahead and pivot to Flying Blue, which is the loyalty program that belongs to both Air France and KLM. Like Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Flying Blue also boasts a long list of card issuer partners that allow for point transfers.

Flying Blue miles are easy to earn and use on SkyTeam partner redemptions. Here are some examples.

Delta Air Lines economy to Dakar

On a one-way flight between the United States and Dakar, Senegal, Flying Blue offers quality value in economy class. For 27,000 miles, this Delta-operated flight will get you to western Africa without breaking the bank. Comparatively, you can redeem between 105,000 and 130,000 SkyMiles if you booked an identical itinerary through Delta.

Credit: Flying Blue

Air France–KLM business class to Europe

A few weeks ago, we covered a positive change: the standardization of Flying Blue award rates between the U.S. and Europe. This award price adjustment was great news for business-class flights, which now start at 50,000 Flying Blue miles. If you want to fly between Austin and Amsterdam in KLM's business class, you can do so for 50,000 miles plus $200 — a great deal.

If booked through Delta, this route routinely costs 50,000 SkyMiles in economy. Business-class awards command an average of 375,000 SkyMiles, which is an astronomical amount. Although you'll only pay about $6 in taxes and fees if you book through Delta, the mileage difference won't be worth the cash savings for most people.

Credit: Flying Blue

KLM business class to Riyadh

Continuing with the value trend in KLM's business class, we'll spin the globe and look at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Flying business class from Washington, D.C. to Riyadh with a layover in Amsterdam requires 75,000 Flying Blue miles plus about $300 in taxes and fees. Delta commands a much higher price tag at 94,000 SkyMiles on average (plus $30 in taxes and fees) in economy or 400,000 in business class (plus $800).

The difference is striking, again highlighting the value of booking through a SkyTeam partner program.

Credit: Flying Blue

Related: How to Find the Cheapest Air France-KLM Flying Blue Awards Using the Award Calendar

China Airlines business class to Xiamen

Delta business-class awards to Asia press upwards of 400,000 SkyMiles, which encourages us to take a look at what Flying Blue can offer. China Airlines flies itineraries between Xiamen (XMN) and Vancouver (YVR) for only 88,000 Flying Blue Miles. You'll pay $225 in taxes and fees, but this is an excellent deal for a long-haul business-class flight.

Credit: Flying Blue

Aeromexico Rewards

The third partner SkyTeam loyalty program we'll look at is Aeromexico Rewards. One of the more unheralded programs in this post, Aeromexico has conventionally been complicated to use. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.

Aeromexico Rewards is accessible through multiple transfer partners, which is convenient for boosting your loyalty program balance. American Express Membership Rewards is the main transfer partner to look at, due to its better transfer ratio. A 60% boost on the Membership Rewards you move to Aeromexico, compared to the other transfer partners, means your points will go a lot further.

Delta Air Lines economy to Punta Cana

Using Aeromexico Rewards to book economy flights between New York and Punta Cana presents steady value. Aeromexico generally charges 28,000 points for this redemption, plus about $75 in taxes and fees — or 17,500 Membership Rewards transferred at the 1:1.6 ratio.

Delta will charge between 13,000 and 30,000 SkyMiles for the route, plus $50 in taxes and fees. In peak season, prices are a lot higher, which provides more encouragement to take advantage of the partner program. If you want to transfer points to either Delta or Aeromexico to book this itinerary, the transfer ratio could be the deciding factor. Delta's 1:1 ratio from American Express is much less competitive than the 1:1.6 transfer to Aeromexico.

Credit: Aeromexico

Aeromexico business class to Buenos Aires

Aeromexico business awards between Mexico City (MEX) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE) also present great uses of miles. You'll redeem 100,000 Aeromexico Rewards (or 62,500 Amex points) on the low end, which is a great deal if you want to fly this SkyTeam partner.

Delta prices these Aeromexico business-class awards anywhere between 135,000 and 225,000 SkyMiles, which is substantially higher than you'd find booking with the partner program.

Credit: Aeromexico

Aeromexico business class to Paris

Business-class flights between Mexico City and Paris also present quality value, given their price of 150,000 Aeromexico Rewards (93,750 Amex points). Booking with Delta means paying 320,000 SkyMiles — double the cost of using this partner program. Both itineraries require moderate taxes and fees, but the point difference is the focal point in this award example.

Credit: Aeromexico

Bottom Line

If you've got a balance of flexible rewards points and want to fly a SkyTeam airline — or you're considering building a balance for future travel — one of the best things you can do is familiarize yourself with partner loyalty programs. There's a great chance you'll find better value using partner programs than booking SkyTeam awards with Delta SkyMiles.

What are your favorite SkyTeam loyalty programs? Let us know in the comments.

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