If you have a transferable points currency and want to fly Delta One business class, this is a fantastic time to book.
Delta business class awards wide open with Flying Blue
As any points hobbyist can attest to, Delta SkyMiles isn’t exactly great about opening up reasonably priced long haul business class awards on Delta metal, at least assuming you’re traveling to or from the United States.
The good news is that these awards can often be booked through partner programs, at a much better cost. It’s just a function of saver level availability being opened up. Well, at the moment, there are hundreds of long haul Delta One business class flights with award availability, which is extremely rare.
Just go to the Seats.aero Delta One award tracker, and then sort availability between regions. For example, in the coming weeks, I see hundreds of different long haul flights with award availability, including lots of tickets to Europe, Asia, etc.
Once you find the flight you want, you’ll want to book with Air France-KLM Flying Blue, which is transfer partners with all major transferable points currencies (Citi ThankYou even has a 20% transfer bonus right now). Flying Blue offers the best value for Delta One awards, given the reasonable redemption rates and lack of surcharges.
For example, you could fly from Boston (BOS) to Edinburgh (EDI) for 57,000 miles and $33 in taxes and fees.
Or you could fly from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Seoul Incheon (ICN) for 110,000 miles and $33 in taxes and fees.
Of course let me note that you’ll want to price out awards before transferring any points, and keep in mind that availability can disappear very quickly, and in some cases, could be phantom.
But gosh, this is all a much better deal than what SkyMiles charges. That same award that’s bookable with 57,000 Flying Blue miles would instead cost 330,000 SkyMiles.
Should you care about Delta One award availability?
I think it’s worth highlighting this award availability simply because of how rare it is to see a lot of Delta One business class award space. At any given time, there are typically maybe a dozen long haul routes that have availability, and they tend to disappear quickly. But right now we’re seeing hundreds of flights with space.
The reason this is useful is if you’re looking to travel point-to-point, especially given that we’re in the peak of summer. There’s even award space for destinations like Athens, Catania, and Nice.
When it comes to the actual quality of the experience, Delta One Lounges are exceptional, if you travel out of an airport with such a facility. As far as the onboard product goes, it depends entirely on the plane you end up on. Delta’s A350 business class is good, while Delta’s 767 business class leaves a lot to be desired.
Bottom line
At the moment, there’s wide open Delta One business class award space on long haul flights in the coming months. Use Seats.aero to find availability, and then once you’ve figured out what you want to book, head over to Air France-KLM Flying Blue, for the overall best pricing. This space won’t last for long…
Anyone plan on taking advantage of this award space?
