Are Delta Vacations Packages Worth It? What You Should Know Before Booking

Vacation packages, which bundle airfare, lodging, transportation, and activities, are becoming an increasingly popular way to book travel. They offer convenience and allow airlines to negotiate better prices, potentially saving you more than you would by booking everything separately.

Delta Vacations caught my attention because booking a package allows me to earn Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs). With the year-end deadline approaching to retain my Platinum Medallion status, I could rack up the remaining MQDs I needed in a pinch.

Having never booked a vacation package before, I was eager to experience all of it — from clicking “book” to heading off on my next adventure.

What’s Included in a Delta Vacations Package

Delta Vacations allows you to book travel to over 300 destinations worldwide — basically wherever the airline flies. Travelers have a few options to book:

• Flight and hotel, plus the option to add a rental car or airport transfers
• Flight and rental car
• Hotel and rental car or airport transfers, if you’ve already got your flight booked

You can also book activities, which could be a wide range of excursions depending on your travel destination. Package holders also have access to a vacation expert to assist with booking or any issues on the ground. All told, vacation packages are a popular booking option for families, weddings, honeymoons, and other group trips, as they simplify planning by eliminating the number of decisions to make.

Naturally, there’s a mileage-earning component to booking a Delta Vacations package. For instance, if you’re booking a package for your entire family, all passengers on the itinerary earn SkyMiles and MQDs for the flight, just as with a standard booking. In general, miles are typically credited to the individual traveler, not necessarily the person who books — or pays — for the trip.

However, the main booking holder earns SkyMiles and MQDs for all other portions of the package, which is often much more costly than the airfare. We’ll break down the math further below, but this is a unique opportunity to earn bonus rewards.

I recently booked a Delta Vacations package to visit the Riviera Maya in Mexico. My boyfriend and I stayed 4 nights at a luxury, adults-only, all-inclusive resort, booked a fun ATV and cenote excursion in Tulum, and had private airport transfers so that we could truly relax on vacation.

Pro: Delta Vacations Support From Start to Finish

There are endless ways to book travel. If you had to choose just one, planning your entire trip with Delta Vacations is probably one of the simplest options, aside from using a traditional travel agent. The Delta Vacations website allows you to easily assemble a package for your trip.

You can book directly online and easily create a package for your trip, or, if your plans are more complex, you can contact one of the Vacation Experts anytime by calling 800-800-1504. I usually prefer booking everything online, but I needed assistance with a multicity itinerary since my departure and return airports were different. The representative on the line helped me book the entire package, making it feel like I was working with a travel agent to organize my trip.

The assistance didn’t stop there. Once I arrived in Cancun, I was connected with a Destination Expert, a local Delta Vacations representative to help me during my trip. He coordinated my airport transfer for departure, confirmed my excursion times, and even offered to meet with me in person if I needed additional recommendations.

Pro: Redeem SkyMiles at an Elevated Rate

One of the greatest ways to use SkyMiles may be for Delta Vacations packages, which can be redeemed for 15% more value. You can redeem as little as 1 mile, which is worth 1.15 cents, and the best part is that you can redeem any number of miles toward the final cost of a package.

This can be an incredibly underrated way to save money on travel and use up those SkyMiles that have been sitting in your account. Upgraded Points values Delta SkyMiles at 1.2 cents apiece, so you’re redeeming miles at a slightly lower value.

Pro: Earn Delta SkyMiles and Medallion Qualification Dollars

If earning Delta elite status is important to you, it’s crucial to be aware of the late 2023 changes to the Medallion program. The elite qualification criteria are now streamlined to a single metric, Medallion Qualification Dollars, and Delta updated the thresholds for each status level:

• Silver Medallion: 5,000 MQDs
• Gold Medallion: 10,000 MQDs
• Platinum Medallion: 15,000 MQDs
• Diamond Medallion: 20,000 MQDs

You’ll earn 1 MQD for every $1 spent, meaning that reaching Diamond Medallion status requires $20,000 in spending with Delta. This is a significant requirement that now focuses solely on the amount spent with the airline rather than the distance flown.

So, how does this relate to Delta Vacations? With the changes to the Medallion program, you now have the opportunity to earn MQDs on Delta Vacations packages. These packages can be expensive, often costing thousands of dollars, depending on the number of travelers.

For example, if you spent $10,000 on a Delta Vacations package, you’d earn MQDs on your flight, the hotels, and other components. However, you wouldn’t earn MQDs on the flights for other travelers on your itinerary, as MQDs are always awarded to the individual who takes the flight.

Each traveler also earns SkyMiles on the flight portion of the Delta Vacations package. The earning rate is standard if you were to book a Main Cabin (or above) flight on Delta, so you’d earn 5x miles on the flight as a general member, 7x miles as a Silver Medallion, 8x miles as a Gold Medallion, 9x miles as a Platinum Medallion, and 10x miles as a Diamond Medallion. However, Delta Vacations also offers bonus SkyMiles depending on the cumulative cost of the package:

• Earn 1,000 bonus miles per person on bookings from up to $4,999.
• Earn 5,000 bonus miles per person on bookings from $5,000 to $9,999.
• Earn 10,000 bonus miles per person on bookings of $10,000 or more.

Delta Vacations says it can take up to 8 weeks to receive MQDs and SkyMiles after the trip is complete. In my experience, it took much faster (about 1 week for the SkyMiles and about 3 weeks for MQDs), but your mileage may vary.

Pro: Flexible Change and Cancellation Policies

Vacation packages booked through a third-party travel agency, such as Expedia or discount sites like Travelzoo, are typically nonrefundable unless you select a fully refundable rate.

In contrast, Delta Vacations makes it pretty clear when you can change or cancel your package, as the company adheres to the airline’s accommodating policies:

Generally, you’re allowed to modify your package up to 3 days before departure, with various fees for close-in changes. If you cancel, your refund options vary based on timing and may come in the form of a a Delta Vacations trip voucher, a full cash refund, or the return of SkyMiles (if you used miles for your booking).

Con: You Might Not Get the Best Possible Price

Although vacation packages can provide savings, they may not always be the most affordable option. Booking each part of your trip separately could save you more in some instances, particularly if you’re using miles for flights, points for hotels, or finding flash deals on the individual components.

A vacation package can certainly offer convenience by allowing you to book everything in 1 itinerary, which is appealing to many travelers no matter the cost. However, it’s a good idea to price out the same flights, hotels, and activities separately to compare with the cost of a bundled vacation package. In some cases, you might save a significant amount, while in others, the cost could be comparable or even higher than booking everything individually.

It’s also worth comparing refund policies. For instance, the same room type you book at a hotel may appear cheaper but may be totally nonrefundable. You’ll have to decide whether it’s worth it to pay more for the peace of mind to modify your booking later on.

Con: You Won’t Earn Hotel Points

Although you earn miles on the flight portion of your Delta Vacations package (and it’s wise to pay with a travel credit card to maximize your rewards), you don’t earn hotel points if you’re staying at a property that’s part of a major chain — nor will you get recognized for any of your elite status benefits, if you hold any.

Since my main objective was to earn MQDs, I wasn’t that concerned about missing out on the hotel points. I stayed at the TRS Yucatan Hotel, a stunning, adults-only, all-inclusive resort in Riviera Maya that I highly recommend. The property is part of the Grand Palladium Rewards program, which is part of a hotel chain based in Spain, and I’m not a member of its loyalty program.

Final Thoughts

There’s a right time to use your hard-earned travel rewards, but they won’t always deliver the best value. You might find yourself running short on credit card points or dealing with costs beyond flights and hotels that aren’t covered by rewards. That’s why you may want to consider other options, such as Delta Vacations, when it makes sense.

Overall, the Delta Vacations platform offers a convenient way to book travel. The added bonus is the ability to earn MQDs, which can help travelers qualify for their next level of elite status. This is an incredible workaround for travelers who want to book a Delta Vacations package and retain their airline status — a win-win scenario.