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Delta is back with another flash award sale, this time with incredible deals on award flights to Australia and New Zealand. If you're planning travel for later in 2026 and want to see as much of the world as possible, this sale is worth considering.
And the prices are fantastic by Delta standards — fly halfway across the world for the price of a domestic fare. Plus, remember that you can book for 15% fewer SkyMiles if you have an eligible Delta credit card. Just don't wait too long; these will likely sell out incredibly quickly. Here's what to know.
Shout out to Thrifty Traveler for alerting us to this incredible deal! Sign up for Thrifty Traveler text message alerts to be the first to hear about future deals like this.
Delta Flash Award Sale Details
Delta's flash sale doesn't show an end date, so book as quickly as possible. Availability tends to get snapped up pretty quickly, so you'll want to book as soon as possible if this sale piques your interest.
The cheapest rates are on Delta Main Basic tickets, so you should be keenly aware of the limitations of booking one of these tickets before making your reservation.
Here's what's on sale now
Our friends at Thrifty Traveler found a fantastic flash deal with some unheard of rates to Australia and New Zealand. You can fly from dozens of cities throughout the U.S. round-trip to Brisbane for 30,000 SkyMiles or Auckland for 40,000 SkyMiles. This includes major hubs like Atlanta (ATL), nonstop flights from Los Angeles (LAX), and even secondary markets like Wilmington (ILM) or Grand Rapids (GRR).
There's no official travel window, but the sale appears to be on flights from September through December. From what we've seen, availability is generally the best in November. Basic economy fares are the cheapest, but you can upgrade to Delta Main for roughly 15,000 to 20,000 SkyMiles more.
Here are some examples of round-trip flights on sale:
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Brisbane (BNE) in Delta Main Basic from 30,000 miles + $129.33
- 25,400 miles after the 15% cardholder discount
- Atlanta (ATL) to Auckland (AKL) in Delta Main Basic from 40,000 miles + $99.83
- 34,000 miles after the 15% cardholder discount
Stack With the Delta TakeOff 15 Card Benefit to Save Even More
Delta SkyMiles co-branded credit cardholders can save an extra 15% on award bookings for flights operated by Delta Air Lines. We've seen these savings passed on to award flights found in this award sale, which is welcome news.
Eligible cardholders must save their co-branded card to their SkyMiles profile to take advantage of this benefit. Once you've saved the card to your SkyMiles profile, the 15% discount will appear on eligible itineraries when searching for SkyMiles awards.
Cards that qualify for this discount include:
$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- 2X miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta
- 2X miles per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets
- 2X miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 1X miles on all other eligible purchases
$350Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- 3X miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta
- 3X miles per dollar at hotels
- 2X miles per dollar at U.S. supermarkets
- 2X Miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
$650Rates & Fees
(Terms apply)
- 3X miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta
- 1X miles on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card doesn't qualify for the benefit, unfortunately.
Boost Your SkyMiles Balance
If you need to top off your SkyMiles balance to book one of these awards, you have plenty of options. You can buy Delta miles, but you could also move points from any of these sources to Delta SkyMiles:
Bottom Line
Delta's flash sale will disappear almost as suddenly as it arrived. In other words, you need to book as soon as possible to take advantage of discounted rates. However, don't move so fast that you overlook which cabin you book your tickets in; the cheapest rates are for basic economy, which has plenty of limitations.
Our advice: even basic economy tickets offer 24-hour risk-free cancellation. If you want to take advantage of it, book a ticket now and figure out the details within the next 24 hours. If you can't go, cancel it before that window expires to get a full refund of your miles. However, if you can, you get bragging rights for booking one of the cheapest flights to Australia or New Zealand that we've ever seen.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card (Rates & Fees), Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card (Rates & Fees), and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (Rates & Fees)
