In need of a winter beach vacation? Got a small stash of Delta SkyMiles? You're in luck.
This week, Delta quietly slashed SkyMiles rates on its nonstop flights to some of the best warm weather destinations throughout the Caribbean … for as low as roughly 9,000 SkyMiles roundtrip! This is your chance to fly to popular beach spots like Nassau in the Bahamas (NAS), San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU), Montego Bay, Jamaica (MBJ), Aruba (AUA), and even Delta's new seasonal routes to Turks and Caicos (PLS) for half the miles it typically costs. Heck, it's even cheaper than most domestic roundtrip flights!
Delta didn't advertise this SkyMiles sale, but we found it anyways for our Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers.
Travelers with a co-branded Amex card will see the lowest rates thanks to the automatic 15% discount on Delta award tickets.
We've seen a plenty of amazing Delta SkyMiles flash sales over the last few months, but this is one of the best (and cheapest) yet. You could book dirt-cheap award flights down south for trips in January or February – and even as far out as April from Atlanta. And while most award flights to the Caribbean get hit with $100 or so in taxes and fees, that's a small price to pay on an otherwise great (and cheap!) winter escape.
Thrifty Tip: Have *amex platinum*? Use the $200 airline fee credit to cover the taxes and fees for this Delta SkyMiles deal. This works as long as you have Delta selected as your preferred airline.
These lowest rates are only available on Delta's nonstop routes from some of its major hubs including Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), and New York City (JFK and LGA). But you could easily book a separate flight to any of those cities to take advantage of this deal!
Get more Delta SkyMiles deals like this in your inbox with Thrifty Traveler Premium!
You'll see the lowest rates are for Delta basic economy award tickets, which don't come with free seat assignment … and and get hit with a 19,000-SkyMile penalty if you want to cancel to get the rest of your miles back on virtually all of these routes. These fares also don't count toward Delta Medallion Status, unlike most award fares booked with SkyMiles. You can't even head to the Delta Sky Club before your flight, either.
So it could easily be worth spending a few thousand extra SkyMiles for a main cabin economy fare, as those tickets are fully refundable: You can cancel and get your miles and taxes and fees back for free! It varies by route, but you can generally expect to pay another few thousand SkyMiles or so SkyMiles for a main cabin fare.
Don't have the SkyMiles you need to book these flights? You might: Delta is an Amex transfer partner, so you can send points to your SkyMiles account from cards like *amex platinum* or the *amex gold* instantly to your Delta account and book minutes later.
How to Book This Delta SkyMiles Deal to the Caribbean
To book these fares, do a normal search for flights at Delta.com and be sure to check the box that says “Shop with Miles.”
On the next page, you'll see a grid full of fares, but click the “Price Calendar” button to get the clearest view of what's available. From there, choose the dates with the lowest SkyMiles fares and book!
We recommend upgrading to Main Cabin to include advanced seat assignment and to have the ability to cancel online for a full refund of your SkyMiles and fees. That's easily worth paying an additional 3,000 to 8,000 SkyMiles per roundtrip ticket or so.
Read more: How to Find & Book the Best Delta SkyMiles Deals
Bottom Line
Don't let those Delta SkyMiles collect dust – especially when there are deals out there like these ones!
Delta slashed SkyMiles rates on nonstop flights to destinations throughout the Caribbean this week this week that could help you pull off a dreamy beach vacation this winter – but book soon if you want to take advantage!