The Best Ways To Book Delta First Class Using Points [Step-By-Step]
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Considered a leader among U.S. legacy carriers, Delta has developed a wonderful premium cabin product in Delta One. While it’s not a true first class product like the out-of-this-world experience you’ll find on Emirates or Etihad, you can expect great service and a nice seat in this luxury international business class product.
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A Look Inside Delta First Class: Delta One
For long-haul international flights, Delta has combined business class and first class into a single cabin they call Delta One.
Direct aisle access is one of the leading perks of flying Delta One, since it gives you the freedom to easily get up and move around. It is available on almost every flight where Delta One is offered, and you’ll find it on all of the airline’s long-haul international flights.
The only Delta One seats that don’t have direct aisle access are on Delta’s smaller Boeing 757 aircraft. However, these narrow-body 757s are not used on long-haul flights.
Delta One has premium in-flight dining with seasonal menus tailored to your destination. Flying Delta One, you’ll be able to try a regional dish from your destination before you land. Don’t forget to have your flight attendant bring you a nice glass of wine with your meal!
As a Delta One passenger, you’ll also have access to Delta Sky Club lounges and SkyTeam lounges overseas where you can get complimentary food, drinks, Wi-Fi, entertainment, and even a shower.
How To Fly Delta One (First Class) Using Miles
Delta One flights can be booked with Delta’s own SkyMiles program or through one of their SkyTeam partners’ loyalty programs. We’ll discuss the best options for booking Delta One below.
Delta SkyMiles
The most direct way to book a Delta One ticket is with Delta SkyMiles. Unfortunately, Delta does not always make this easy since they stopped publishing their award chart. Based on the best available data, this chart shows the saver level cost of Delta One award flights to and from the U.S.
Remember, saver level awards provide the cheapest cost in miles.
| To/From North America | One-Way Saver Award |
| North America | 25,000 SkyMiles |
| Hawaii | 40,000 SkyMiles |
| Mexico | 30,000 SkyMiles |
| Caribbean | 30,000 SkyMiles |
| Central America | 30,000 SkyMiles |
| Northern South America | 40,000 SkyMiles |
| Southern South America | 75,000 SkyMiles |
| Europe | 70,000 SkyMiles |
| Middle East | 85,000 SkyMiles |
| North Africa | 70,000 SkyMiles |
| Central Africa | 80,000 SkyMiles |
| South Africa | 95,000 SkyMiles |
| South Asia | 80,000 SkyMiles |
| Southeast Asia | 80,000 SkyMiles |
| North Asia | 80,000 SkyMiles |
| Japan | 80,000 SkyMiles |
| Pacific | 175,000 SkyMiles |
If you can find the saver level award space, the booking process is pretty simple:
- Go to Delta’s website
- Log in to your SkyMiles account
- Select “Book A Trip”
- Enter your origin and destination
- Enter your travel dates choose “Exact Dates” or “Flexible Dates”
- You can also use “Advanced Search” to search by month
- Select to show the price in “Miles”
- Select your flights
- Review your itinerary
- Enter passenger information, then select your seat and pay the taxes/fees
- If you need more SkyMiles to complete your booking, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points or Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints
- Membership Rewards points transfer almost instantly
- SPG Starpoints transfers can take up to 2 days
As you can see, the entire booking process can be handled online. Here are a few key points to remember when booking with SkyMiles:
- Stopovers are not allowed
- Sort your search results by price to find saver level awards
- Search one-way or segment by segment
- Delta will not hold award seats
If you’re looking for some more inspiration, check out our article on the Best Ways To Redeem Delta SkyMiles For Max Value.
Air France/KLM Flying Blue
Air France/KLM’s Flying Blue program also allows you to book Delta One award tickets online. Just follow the below instructions for an easy booking process.
| To/From North America | One-Way Delta One Award |
| North America | 31,250 Flying Blue miles |
| Central America, Caribbean, Hawaii | 30,000 Flying Blue miles |
| Latin America 1 | 43,750 Flying Blue miles |
| Latin America 2 | 62,500 Flying Blue miles |
| Europe | 62,500 Flying Blue miles |
| Middle East, Central Asia, Central Russia | 100,000 Flying Blue miles |
| Central, East, and West Africa | 100,000 Flying Blue miles |
| Southern Africa and Indian Ocean | 100,000 Flying Blue miles |
| India | 100,000 Flying Blue miles |
| Asia 1 | 100,000 Flying Blue miles |
| Asia 2 | 100,000 Flying Blue miles |
| Tahiti, New Caledonia | 75,000 Flying Blue miles |
| Oceania | 125,000 Flying Blue miles |
- Go to Air France’s website
- Select “Use Your Miles”
- Sign in to your Flying Blue account
- Select your origin and destination
- Select your travel dates
- If your travel dates are flexible, check the box next to “You are looking for flights around these dates”
- Select “Business” so the search shows Delta One options
- Select the appropriate flight, then fill in passenger information
- To complete the booking, pay the necessary taxes and fees
- If you need more Flying Blue miles to complete your booking, you can transfer from any of the transferable points programs (with varying transfer times):
- Chase Ultimate Rewards: transfers almost instantly
- American Express Membership Rewards: transfers almost instantly
- SPG Starpoints: transfers take up to 1 day
- Citi ThankYou Points: transfers take up to 2 days
For some destinations, booking with Flying Blue miles might actually be a better deal than booking with SkyMiles. Compare the miles cost before you book, and you may be able to book the same Delta One experience for fewer miles!
Korean Air SkyPass
Korean Air has recently begun to allow SkyTeam award flight searches online, allowing you to search for award space yourself rather than calling the airline. This is great news if you want to book a Delta first class flight with your Korean Air SkyPass miles online!
Follow these easy steps to book your next Delta One flight online using Korean Air SkyPass miles:
- Go to Korean Air’s website
- Select “Redeem Miles”
- Log in with your User ID or SkyPass number
- Select “SkyTeam Award”
- Select your origin and destination
- Select your travel dates
- Select “Prestige Class” to find Delta One space
- Select your flights
- Find flights that are operated by Delta Air Lines
- Click the “Calculate” button to see the miles required and the taxes/fees
- Click “Continue” to enter your information to complete the booking
Unlike booking directly with Delta, Korean Air lets you put award tickets on hold. This allows you time to transfer points, but you have to call Korean Air directly. Here’s how to do it:
- Call Korean Air at (800) 438-5000
- Provide your desired itinerary to the Korean Air agent
- A Korean Air agent will call you back to confirm the award space and hold it
- Once you have your award ticket on hold, transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards or SPG Starpoints to Korean Air (if applicable)
- Submit the Award Application Form to engskypass@koreanair.com
- Make sure to include a copy of your passport
Keep in mind you are only allowed to book award flights for yourself and eligible family members. Eligible family members include your spouse, children, sibling, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, and in-laws.
Another caveat: Korean Air only allows round-trip award bookings for their partners. If you want to book Delta first class, make sure you book round-trip.
While these restrictions can be annoying, they’re worth putting up with because Korean Air miles can be a great option for booking Delta One flights.
Korean Air also has several other great redemption options, so give our 10 favorites a look!
Hot Tip: Korean Air SkyPass provides some amazing redemptions and is very flexible with holding awards. If you need some time to transfer points, this is a go-to program.
Other Options For Booking Delta One
If you feel like getting creative, Delta One can be booked through several other partners. You can use Alitalia, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Australia’s programs, but they are generally not the best options.
Great Delta One Redemptions
Now that you know the best ways to book Delta first class, let’s check out some of our favorite flights to book!
Delta SkyMiles
- Atlanta to Johannesburg in Delta One one-way for 95,000 miles
Air France/KLM FlyingBlue
- New York City to Tel Aviv in Delta One one-way for 62,500 miles
- With a round-trip booking for 125,000 miles, you can also build in a stopover and an open jaw
Korean Air SkyPass
- Los Angeles to Honolulu round-trip in domestic first class for 45,000 miles
- New York City to Paris round-trip in Delta One for 80,000 miles
Bottom Line: Make sure you check each program before booking to ensure you get the best deal when flying Delta One.
How To Earn Enough Miles for Delta One
If you’re ready to book your Delta One flight but aren’t sure how to earn enough miles, you’ll be happy to know there are many ways to do so.
To earn points that transfer to Delta, Air France, and Korean Air, you can use a Starwood Preferred Guest card to earn SPG Starpoints. For every 20,000 SPG Starpoints you transfer to an airline, you will receive a bonus of 5,000 miles.
| Loyalty Program | Credit Card |
| Starwood Preferred Guest Loyalty Program | Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express |
| Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express |
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to both Air France and Korean Air from one of the cards below.
Ultimate Rewards points give you great flexibility to book Delta One flights with the fewest miles possible.
*Note: In order to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to airline and hotel partners, you must hold one of the starred cards.
American Express Membership Rewards also transfer to Air France and Delta. They are especially useful if you are booking with Delta SkyMiles and need a few more miles to book your award flight.
*Not all cards that earn Membership Rewards will allow transfers to airline partners, so check the terms of the card.
As you can probably see by now, Air France makes it very easy to earn miles! In addition to the above options, Air France also partners with Citi’s ThankYou Points program.
| Loyalty Program | Credit Card |
| Citi ThankYou Rewards Loyalty Program | Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card |
| Citi ThankYou® Premier Card | |
| Citi Prestige® Card |
Finally, you can always earn Delta SkyMiles with one of the American Express Delta cards.
Unlike American Express Membership Rewards and SPG Starpoints, which you can transfer to your Delta SkyMiles account, the miles you earn with these cards are automatically added to your SkyMiles account.
| Loyalty Program | Credit Card |
| Delta SkyMiles Frequent Flyer Program | Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express |
| Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express | |
| Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express | |
| Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express | |
| Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express | |
| Delta Reserve® for Business Credit Card from American Express (review coming soon) |
When Should You Search for Delta One Award Space?
Delta is notorious for inflating award prices the closer you get to flight dates, so you should start searching as soon as you have narrowed down your travel dates.
What Makes Delta One a Great Redemption?
When flying Delta first class, you can expect a luxurious travel experience from start to finish. From comfortable in-flight suites to amenity-filled lounges and priority status, Delta One offers an excellent way to use your SkyMiles.
SkyClub and SkyTeam Lounges
When flying Delta One, you will have access to Delta Sky Club locations as well as SkyTeam lounges when connecting or departing from abroad.
Delta One TUMI Amenity Kit
Delta has partnered with TUMI to make your Delta One experience more comfortable. For every Delta One passenger, Delta provides TUMI amenity kits that include Kiehl’s products, eyeshades, earplugs, socks, a dental kit, and tissues.
Priority Check-In, Security, And Boarding
No one likes waiting in line, whether checking in for a flight, at airport security, or while boarding your flight. When flying Delta One, you will have priority access at each of these points to make your journey smooth and efficient.
The New Delta One Suite
Delta is taking their premium cabin experience to a new level with the introduction of the Delta One Suite. Each suite will come with direct aisle access and a full height door for maximum privacy.
Delta will begin rolling out the new Delta first class suites in the fall of 2017 on their new Airbus A350 aircraft.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a comfortable flight with great service, try Delta’s Delta One product. From access to great lounges to a lie-flat bed on your flight and delicious food along the way, Delta One makes flying a luxurious and comfortable experience.
With 3 airline programs that make it easy to book Delta One, you’re just a click away from your next adventure!
