Best Ways to Book Delta One Business Class Using Points [2022]

Considered a leader among U.S. legacy carriers, Delta Air Lines has developed a wonderful premium cabin product in Delta One. Currently, you can fly Delta One to over 60 international destinations.

While Delta One it’s not a true first-class product like the out-of-this-world experience you’ll find on Emirates or Etihad, you can still expect a high level of service and a lie-flat seat in this luxury international business class product as you make your way to your destination.

Let’s take a look at what Delta One has to offer and the best ways you can go about booking it with points.

A Look Inside Delta Business Class: Delta One

Delta One Seat — On international long-haul flights, every Delta One seat is lie-flat and has direct aisle access. Image Credit: Delta

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 inflight 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.

Hot Tip: Don’t miss our dedicated overview of all things Delta here: Delta Air Lines Review – Seats, Amenities, Customer Service, Baggage Fees, and More.

How to Fly Delta One (Business Class) Using Miles

Delta One flights can be booked with Delta’s own SkyMiles program or through one of its SkyTeam partners’ loyalty programs. We’ll discuss the best options for booking Delta One below.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic is not a member of any alliance; rather, it has a lot of partners across the world and one of them is Delta!

We love using Virgin Atlantic to book Delta rewards for 4 big reasons:

Best award availability, arguably even better than Delta itself!
Excellent sweet spots to different parts of the world
Huge transfer bonuses from transferable currencies (upwards of 35% bonus miles)
Can book Delta awards online, no need to call.

Before we get started, let’s just put out there that fuel surcharges are a huge elephant in the room. The good news is that you will only pay fuel surcharges on flights originating in Europe for travel on Delta.

Here’s the award chart for spending Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Virgin Points on Delta flights:

Route	Delta One Redemption
U.S. to Caribbean, Central America & Mexico	60,000
U.S. to Hawaii	75,000
U.S. to South American	90,000
Within the U.S. and between the U.S. and Alaska/Canada	45,000
U.S. to Africa / Middle East and Asia	120,000
U.S. to Southwest Pacific (Australia)	150,000
U.S. to Europe / Europe to U.S.	100,000
Within Asia / Northern Asia	45,000
Northern Asia to Hawaii	70,000
Southeast Asia to Northern Asia	70,000

Here are some fantastic redemptions of Virgin Points on Delta flights:

Detroit (DTW) – Amsterdam (AMS) round-trip for 100,000 miles + ~$12 in taxes and fees to fly on Delta One A350 suites. With a 30% transfer bonus, the points cost drops down to ~76,923 points!
Los Angeles (LAX) – Shanghai (PVG) round-trip for 120,000 miles + ~$35 in taxes and fees to fly on Delta One A350 suites. With a 30% transfer bonus, the points cost drops down to ~92,307 points!
Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD) round-trip for 150,000 miles + ~$12 in taxes and fees to fly on Delta One business class. With a 30% transfer bonus, the points cost drops down to 115,385 points!

Even though Virgin Atlantic’s award availability on Delta is reliable, it’s not as straightforward to find online.

First, you will need to change the default region from United States – English to United Kingdom – English. To do this, refer to the image below:

Virgin Atlantic Region Change — To change your region, scroll all the way down and click the button with the current region and select the 1 you wish to change to. Image Credit: Virgin Atlantic

Click United Kingdom and it will automatically redirect you to a page that looks like this:

virgin atlantic website — Virgin Atlantic’s U.K. Homepage looks different from the U.S. homepage. When booking award flights, be sure to click **Advanced Search** to change your payment to miles! Image Credit: Virgin Atlantic

Now, follow these steps to book your Delta One Business Class flights:

Type in your destination and return cities, flight type, dates, number of passengers, and select Upper Class. Be sure to pay with Miles.
Click the red arrow to search.
The award availability calendar will show up for you to select your flights. Click your flights, confirm your reservation, and pay for taxes and fees.

virgin atlantic award search — Flying from Los Angeles to Shanghai in Delta One’s brand-new A350 suites will only cost 120,000 miles plus $35 in taxes and fees round-trip! Image Credit: Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic is a transfer partner with all of the 4 major transferable currencies: Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Amex, Chase, and Citi each transfer to Virgin Atlantic at a 1:1 ratio. Marriott transfers at a 3:1 ratio, in addition to a transfer bonus of 5,000 extra miles for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred. In all, transferring 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points will net you exactly 25,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Virgin Points.

To make things better, Amex and Citi often have transfer bonuses of anywhere from 25%-35% bonus Virgin Points! You absolutely need to wait for those, as this can make for absolutely stellar award redemptions flying Delta.

Chase, Citi, and Amex all transfer instantaneously to Virgin Atlantic, while Marriott takes up to 24 hours to transfer.

If you are interested in earning Virgin Points directly, consider the Bank of America co-branded Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard®.

Bottom Line: Virgin Atlantic is probably the go-to method: it doesn’t have confusing variable award pricing like Delta, offers the ability to flexibly search for 5 weeks at a time, has amazing redemption rates, tons of transfer partners, and transfer bonuses of up to 30% that make redemptions a no-brainer!

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 it stopped publishing its 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 (in SkyMiles)
North America	25,000
Hawaii	40,000
Mexico	30,000
Caribbean	30,000
Central America	30,000
Northern South America	30,000
Southern South America	75,000
Europe	105,000
Middle East	85,000
North Africa	70,000
Central Africa	80,000
South Africa	95,000
South Asia	97,500
Southeast Asia	80,000
North Asia	80,000
Japan	80,000
Southwest Pacific	110,000

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. Membership Rewards points transfer almost instantly.

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 or our post on the Best Ways to Redeem 100,000 Delta SkyMiles.

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.

The award prices for using Flying Blue miles on Delta One Business class start from the following prices:

To/From North America	One-Way Delta One Award (in Flying Blue Miles)
North America	36,000
Central America, Caribbean, Hawaii	43,000
Latin America 1	50,500
Latin America 2	72,000
Europe	67,500
Middle East, Central Asia, Central Russia	100,000
Central, East, and West Africa	100,000
Southern Africa and Indian Ocean	85,000
India	85,000
Asia 1	85,000
Asia 2	93,000
Tahiti, New Caledonia	64,000
Oceania	144,000

The booking process is as follows:

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):

American Express Membership Rewards: transfers almost instantly
Capital One: transfers almost instantly
Chase Ultimate Rewards: transfers almost instantly
Citi ThankYou Points: transfers take up to 2 days
Marriott Bonvoy: 1 day

For some destinations, booking with Flying Blue miles might actually be a better deal than booking with SkyMiles. Compare the cost of the miles 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 One flight with your Korean Air SKYPASS miles online!

Route	Delta One Business
North America – North America	45,000
North America – Central America	75,000
North America – South America	110,000
North America – Europe	80,000
North America – Middle East, Africa	120,000
North America – Asia 1	140,000
North America – Asia 2	155,000
North America – Asia 3	170,000
North America – Oceania	185,000

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.

Korean Air no longer allows you to put awards on hold.

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 its partners. If you want to book Delta One, 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.

Great Delta One Redemptions

Now that you know the best ways to book Delta One, let’s check out some of our favorite flights to book!

Virgin Atlantic

Detroit (DTW) – Amsterdam (AMS) in Delta One Suites round-trip for 100,000 miles
Detroit (DTW) – Beijing (PEK) in Delta One Suites round-trip for 120,000 miles
Los Angeles (LAX) – Shanghai (PVG) in Delta One Suites round-trip for 120,000 miles
Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD) in Delta One round-trip for 150,000 miles
Minneapolis (MSP) – Tokyo-Haneda (HND) in Delta One Suites round-trip for 120,000 miles

Delta SkyMiles

Atlanta (ATL) – Johannesburg (JNB) in Delta One one-way for 95,000 miles (one of the top 10 longest nonstop flights worldwide!)

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

New York City (JFK) – Tel Aviv (TLV) in Delta One one-way for 53,000 miles
- With a round-trip booking for 106,000 miles, you can also build in a stopover and an open jaw

Korean Air SKYPASS

Los Angeles (LAX) – Honolulu (HNL) round-trip in domestic first class for 45,000 miles
New York City (JFK) to Paris (CDG) 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.

Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou all transfer to Air France Flying Blue at a rate of 1:1. You could also transfer Marriott points at a rate of 3:1.

For transfers to Delta, you can use Amex at a rate of 1:1, or Marriott at a rate of 3:1.

American Express Credit Cards

American Express has many great credit card options to help you earn plenty of points for a Delta One ticket. Here are some of our favorites:

Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)

If you’re a business owner, there are a number of Amex business credit cards to choose from.

Capital One Credit Cards

Recommended Capital One Cards

While the Capital One transfer rate isn’t as good as other issuers, they can still be a big help when working towards a redemption.

Chase Credit Cards

Chase has some of our favorite travel rewards cards on the market. Here is what we recommend:

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

If you’re a business owner, see our list of recommended Chase business credit cards.

Delta-Branded Credit Cards

What better way to earn Delta miles than through the Delta co-branded credit cards? Here are some of our favorites:

Recommended Delta Cards

Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards

Marriott’s 3:1 transfer rate is the lowest of all the transferable currencies.

Recommended Marriott Cards

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 One, you can expect a luxurious travel experience from start to finish. From comfortable inflight suites to amenity-filled lounges and priority status, Delta One offers an excellent way to use your SkyMiles.

Sky Club 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 One amenity kit — Delta’s TUMI amenity kit will keep you feeling refreshed throughout your Delta One flight. Image Credit: Delta

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 LE LABO lotion and lip balm, a TUMI sleep mask, hand cleanser, dental kit, and socks. The kit was refreshed in October 2019 in an effort to reduce single-use plastics.

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 One Suites A350-900 rear view. Image Credit: Stephen Au

Delta is taking its 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 One Suites are available on the A350, A330-900neo, and Boeing 767-400 as follows:

A350 routes:

Atlanta (ATL) – Seoul (ICN)
Atlanta (ATL) – Tokyo-Haneda (HND)
Detroit (DTW) – Amsterdam (AMS)
Detroit (DTW) – Seoul (ICN)
Detroit (DTW) – Shanghai (PVG)
Detroit (DTW) – Tokyo-Haneda (HND)
Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) – Seoul (ICN)

A330-900neo routes:

Seattle (SEA) – Seoul (ICN)
Seattle (SEA) – Tokyo-Haneda (HND)

767-400 routes:

Boston (BOS) – London (LHR)
New York (JFK) – London (LHR)

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.

Between 3 different airline programs and 4 separate transferable point currencies to choose from, booking Delta One is easy! So if you have a stash of points you’ve been waiting to use, you’re just a click away from your next adventure!

The information regarding the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express^® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, click here.

Featured Image Credit: Delta

Frequently asked questions

What's the best way to book Delta One?

The best way to book Delta One depends on your desired route. Your best bet is to start with Air France’s Flying Blue program and Korean Air’s SKYPASS program since they often cost fewer miles.

Additionally, Delta SkyMiles and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club can provide some good options.

What credit cards can help me earn miles to fly Delta One?

There are many credit cards you can use to earn the miles and points necessary to fly Delta One. First, you need to decide which program you are going to use to book Delta One.

Here are the credit card programs that have partnered with each airline loyalty program:

Air France/KLM Flying Blue — American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points
Delta SkyMiles — American Express Membership Rewards
Korean Air SKYPASS — Marriott Bonvoy
Virgin Atlantic — American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points

What do I get when I fly Delta One?

On your international long-haul flights in Delta One, you will start your journey with Delta Sky Club or SkyTeam lounge access. Both your lounge and flight experience will be complete with plenty of food and drink options.

During your flight, you will also have a lie-flat seat with direct aisle access.

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About Spencer Howard

Always a fan of flying, it was only natural that Spencer was drawn to finding a way to improve the travel experience. Like many, he started this journey searching for cheap flights to take him around the world. This was fun for a while, but Spencer was intrigued by the idea of flying in business and first class! Throwing himself into what became an extensive research project, Spencer spent 3-4 hours per night learning everything he could about frequent flyer miles over the course of several months (he thinks this is normal).

Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.

20 comments

E W April 28, 2018
Do you receive MQM if you use the Delta “miles+cash” purchase option?
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton April 29, 2018
  Thanks for the question. A ticket you purchase with the Miles + Cash option you’re referring to does not earn MQMs as it is treated like an award ticket.
  Reply
Arlington Traveler June 16, 2019
A couple of caveats to what you write that I’ve discovered in the process of trying to get SkyMiles award from Asia back to the USA in Delta One or partner business class.:
1) The call to book at the low level when there is no availability on DL one with partner flights only works when it is partner + partner.. if you have a DL flight(s) tagged on at the end/beginning it’s a nightmare and often can’t be done
2) DL has de facto increased the one way saver amount to 120K from 85k for any awards with at least one flight with Suites on their own metal. As they complete retrofits of all their 777s and introduce more A350s, that means you need to find a DL flight without suites (A330 or 767) to get the 85K price. As DL begins taking on A330NEO’s with suites, I expect that to become even harder.
Reply
- Stephen Au June 20, 2019
  Hey Arlington,
  1) There are a number of readers and travelers, including myself, that have had no problem with booking DL One plus a partner segment.
  2) Delta Airlines employs multiple pricing levels, and the award bucket levels have changed over time. What you’re most likely looking at is the second-cheapest award level. Thanks for reading!
  Reply
Nathan June 18, 2019
This must be an old article. There’s no flag to click on their website anymore.
Reply
- Stephen Au June 18, 2019
  Hey Nathan,
  Thanks for the feedback. Virgin Atlantic recently changed their interface. The directions have been revised.
  Reply
Malerie October 17, 2019
Hello! I’ve been trying for weeks to find Delta availability through Virgin with not one single search yielding ANY flight options. Am I doing something wrong?
Reply
- Jarrod West October 18, 2019
  Hi Malerie,
  Do you mind sharing what routes you’ve been searching for?
  Reply
Karen Clark December 4, 2019
So are you saying virgin Atlantic upper class is the same as delta one suites?
Having such a hard time because there seems to be a certain language I don’t know. I want to fly Delta one suite but then so many of the flights will say that they are operated by in this case virgin Atlantic which to me means I won’t get a delta one suite?
Reply
- Jarrod West December 5, 2019
  Hi Karen,
  Virgin Atlantic Upper Class and Delta One are not the same. When searching for your availability you’ll want to select a flight that is operated by Delta, not Virgin Atlantic.
  Reply
Daniella December 7, 2019
Is it possible to use a companion certificate for a flight that has delta one domestically (like NY to LA) and then upgrade both people using skymiles?
Thanks,
Daniella
Reply
- Jarrod West December 8, 2019
  Hi Daniella,
  Yes, that should be possible depending on the fare code of the ticket you want to select.
  Reply
Dave C February 7, 2022
Why has this not been updated for the big deval? South America is no longer 90k
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton February 7, 2022
  Hi Dave. I just looked up the Virgin Atlantic chart and it is still showing 90K for South America. https://www.virginatlantic.com/bb/en/flying-club/flying-co/points/spend-with-delta.html
  Reply
- Billy Bob February 16, 2022
  The only thing that gets “updated” is the date of the publication of the page.
  Reply
  - Christine Krzyszton February 17, 2022
    Hi Billy Bob. Actually, if we update any information (which we have done) in the article, even if the entire article hasn’t been updated, the date the new information was added will be reflected by the article date. Thanks for reading.
    Reply
Emma September 11, 2022
For some reason, when I searched for tickets, they always come with hefty taxes and fees. For example, from ATL To LON, taxes for upper class tickets are $2,040. What am I doing wrong?
Reply
- Jarrod West September 12, 2022
  Hi Emma,
  The taxes and fees on award tickets are notoriously high for flights to and from the UK. To get around this, many award travelers fly into/out of a nearby city, and then connect to London on a cheaper ticket to avoid those pesky fuel surcharges.
  Reply
Matt December 18, 2022
I don’t think this works anymore. I have followed the instructions as written, and when I try to search for MSP >> HNL, I get this, “Sorry, no reward flights are available for your search, some flights don’t operate every day. Try selecting flexible dates to see more availability.#101638_A.” Alternatively, when I go to Korean Air, change the region to the UK, and enter the same details, I get this, “Tickets not sold for this route.” Is it even possible to use one of Delta’s partners to get a better deal on Delta flights than on Delta’s site anymore?
Reply
- Stephen Au December 18, 2022
  Hi Matt,
  It’s really hard to book nonstop flights on Delta One business class through partners on Hawaii routes. Instead, I’d recommend using Delta SkyMiles for these Delta flights in business class and maintaining maximum flexibility as you search for the cheapest dates.
  Reply

A Look Inside Delta Business Class: Delta One

How to Fly Delta One (Business Class) Using Miles

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Delta SkyMiles

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Korean Air SKYPASS

Great Delta One Redemptions

Virgin Atlantic

Delta SkyMiles

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Korean Air SKYPASS

How to Earn Enough Miles for Delta One

American Express Credit Cards

Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)

Capital One Credit Cards

Chase Credit Cards

Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)

Delta-Branded Credit Cards

Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards

When Should You Search for Delta One Award Space?

What Makes Delta One a Great Redemption?

Sky Club and SkyTeam Lounges

Delta One TUMI Amenity Kit

Priority Check-In, Security, and Boarding

The New Delta One Suite

A350 routes:

Final Thoughts

Frequently asked questions

What's the best way to book Delta One?

What credit cards can help me earn miles to fly Delta One?

What do I get when I fly Delta One?

About Spencer Howard

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