Accessing Your SkyMiles Account
Sign up for a Delta SkyMiles account if you haven't already. Before you can transfer your miles or points to another individual, you’ll both need to have your own SkyMiles accounts set up. Fill out the enrollment form on the Delta Airlines website to join the program, and have your recipient do the same. As an official member, you’ll have full freedom over what you do with your accumulated miles. Your recipient’s account must have been active for at least 10 days and accumulated a minimum of 1 mile (1.6 km) in order for them to send and receive miles.
Log in to your SkyMiles account. Once you've successfully signed up, you'll be issued a unique account number, which you can use to access important account info. If you already have an existing account, you can get in using your account number or username and your personal password. New members will be prompted to set up a password during the enrollment process. You can also make changes to your SkyMiles account through the Fly Delta mobile app when you’re on the go.
Pull up the Transfer Miles Recipient Information form. Highlight the “Get to Know SkyMiles” tab in the upper righthand corner of the main page of the Delta Airlines website, then click the “Buy, Gift, Transfer, or Donate Miles” link. From there, choose the option to “Transfer Miles.” You’ll be redirected to a new page where you can initiate the transaction. You can check how many total SkyMiles you've earned from your account settings before you begin transferring.
Initiating a Transfer Online
Fill out the form with the recipient’s account info. Scroll down to the bottom half of the page to find the Recipients form. In order to transfer miles over from your own account, you’ll need to know the name and SkyMiles account number of the person who will be getting them. Click the “Add Recipient” button and provide the necessary information when prompted. Check to make sure the information you put in is correct before you submit it.
Add up to 4 recipients per transaction. The Transfer Miles Recipient Information form has spaces for up to 4 different individual members. This makes it much more convenient to transfer your unused miles to multiple people without paying additional transaction fees. Remember that you can send up to 30,000 miles (48,000 km) to any one member. The number of miles that can be transferred from a single account annually is capped at 150,000. Transferring to more than 1 recipient can come in handy if you’re gifting SkyMiles to your kids or distributing them among your business partners to cut down on travel expenses.
Choose how many miles you want to transfer. Specify the exact mileage you want to transfer in the designated slot on the form. SkyMile transfers are carried out in 1,000 mile (2,000 km) increments. This means you can send anywhere from 1,000 to 30,000 to your intended recipient in a single transaction. It’s not possible to send fewer than 1,000 miles (2,000 km) at a time.
Pay the associated charges. Along with a standard rate of $0.01 per mile, there will be a $30 processing fee, plus tax. Provide your credit card information and verify your SkyMiles account information to complete the transfer. If you’re planning on handing off miles to multiple recipients, it will be cheaper to do it in a single transaction.
Allow up to 24 hours for the transaction to finalize. In most cases, the miles you transfer will be deposited instantly. However, it may take as long as 1 full business day for them to show up in the recipient’s account. Keep this in mind if time is of the essence. You’ll receive a notification via email when the transfer goes through successfully. It’s a good idea to initiate your transfers with plenty of time ahead of a big trip. SkyMiles never expire, so you can send them over as early as you like and your recipient can use them when they need them. If the transferred miles don't appear in the recipient's account after 24 hours, call or email Delta's customer service department and let a representative know you've run into a snag.
Using Your Miles Wisely
Make frequent purchases to accumulate SkyMiles. Every time you book a flight through Delta Airlines, points will be awarded to your SkyMiles account. A few miles here and there can add up to some serious travel potential over time. You can also begin racking up travel points by signing up for an American Express Delta SkyMiles credit card. Check your account regularly to find out how many miles you have at your disposal.
Help your friends and family reach their travel goals. The miles you’ve built up can be used to supplement the ones your loved ones have already earned. If someone you know needs 40,000 miles (64,000 km) to enjoy a dream getaway, for instance, but they only have 38,000 on their account, a 2,000 mile (3,000 km) donation will get them there. A small expenditure can help someone else avoid a big one. This can be a big help for spur-of-the-moment trips or times when money is tight.
Decide whether the transfer is worth the cost. Before parting with your hard-earned miles, do a little calculating to find out whether you're actually getting a good deal. The more miles you transfer, the higher the charge will be. For this reason, it may sometimes be more economical to simply buy a ticket out of pocket. While it would only cost $10 to transfer 1,000 miles (2,000 km) (along with the processing fee, for a total of $40 plus tax), gifting someone 20,000 miles (32,000 km) will drive the total up to $230. That’s may not be much more than the price of standard airfare. By spending too much on a single transfer, you’ll just be eating into the savings you would ordinarily get from cashing in your accumulated miles.
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