How to Transfer Delta SkyMiles

One of the perks of having a Delta SkyMiles account: being able to transfer points and airline miles. When a friend gets close to earning a reward or being able to purchase a round-trip flight with Delta SkyMiles, you can help him reach his goal by transferring some of your miles to him. Likewise, friends can help you make your reward goals by transferring their miles to you.

Points and miles can earn you lots of perks, like airfare, main cabin and first class upgrades, gift cards, access to the loyalty program and lounge access, and other prizes through the rewards program. Medallion members can get additional membership rewards points and award flights, but they do have to pay an annual fee.

Go to the Delta Air Lines website (delta.com) and log in to your SkyMiles using your SkyMiles number. Here SkyMiles members can see any upgrades or award tickets they have, their frequent flyer information and medallion status, and look up any information about Delta flights or Delta partners, the Delta Sky Club, or Delta SkyMiles credit cards.

Enter the name and account number of the person you want to transfer miles to, as well as the number of miles you want to transfer. The amount of miles can be between 1,000 and 30,000, in increments of 1,000.

Enter your credit card information to transfer the miles. The transaction fee is $30 plus $0.01 per mile you want to transfer.

Tip

Use your Delta Amex card, like the Delta SkyMiles platinum American Express card or gold American Express card, to earn points while you do this.

When the miles are transferred, you will receive an email telling you the transaction has gone through. These transactions are non-refundable and Delta terms apply.

Tip

Delta is part of the SkyTeam alliance and has partnerships with other airlines that can also be used to earn points, including Virgin Atlantic, AeroMexico, KLM, and Air France. When you fly Delta, you can earn award travel and bonus miles through these other airlines.

You may only transfer 150,000 miles out of your account per year and have 300,000 miles credited to your account per calendar year.

A $30 charge accompanies each transaction, so if you're going to transfer multiple times per year to the same person, it's better to do one large transaction instead of two smaller ones. This is on top of the annual fee already required of being a part of the SkyMiles program or express membership, so keep that in mind also.