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Flying with Delta Airlines or Delta airline partners isn’t the only way to earn airline miles, well it was a few years back, but that’s not the case these days. For example, the Delta dining program (officially known as Delta SkyMiles dining) allows you to earn SkyMiles whenever you dine at partner restaurants anywhere in the U.S.
All you need to do is to link your credit card to your SkyMiles Dining account and start spending using your linked card. It’s that easy!
In this guide, we’ll help discuss what SkyMiles dining is and its benefits, and also help you how to create an account. We’ll also recommend some great credit cards you can use to maximize miles earning and discuss other ways to earn Delta SkyMiles.
Read More: Earn Tons of Rapid Rewards Points With Southwest Dining
What Is The Delta SkyMiles Dining Program?
SkyMiles Dining is a sub-program of the Delta SkyMiles frequent flyer program. However, you still need to create a separate account for it since it has its own set of guidelines, merchant partners, and earning rates.
You can join SkyMiles Dining for free. All you need to do is to link your credit card and dine at a partner restaurant so you can start earning SkyMiles right away.
The amount of miles you earn depends on the restaurant and on the day of the week you dine (you won’t earn miles on weekends for some restaurants). But apart from the miles earned from restaurants, there are also fixed rates whenever you meet some of Delta’s requirements.
- Earn 1 mile per $2 if you don’t opt-in to receive Delta emails upon signing up
- Earn 3 miles per $1 if you opt-in to receive Delta emails
- Earn 5 miles per $1 if you opt-in to receive Delta emails and complete 11 eligible transactions in a year
Additionally, you’ll also earn miles from your linked credit card if it offers rewards on dining. For example, if your linked card is the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, you will earn 3 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on dining purchases.
How To Sign Up To SkyMiles Dining
You can sign up online to participate in the Delta dining program. Just fill out the required information to complete your registration. Take note that a SkyMiles Number is one of the requirements so you need to be a SkyMiles member first before you can join SkyMiles Dining.
Once you’ve finished filling out the form, you check the opt-in button to lock in the 3x per dollar rate and potentially earn the New Member Bonus.
3,000 Miles New Member Bonus
The SkyMiles Dining new member bonus is available to all people who can sign up for an account and complete the following requirements within the first 30 days by June 30, 2022, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
The new member bonus is broken down into two separate bonuses:
- Earn 1,000 miles when you spend at least $30 at any partner restaurant, however, you’ll earn 500 miles more if you are a member of the Delta SkyMiles Medallion Program (a total of 1,500 bonus miles).
- Earn 500 miles up to 4 times when you dine at a partner restaurant with a bill of $30 or more (a total of 2000 bonus miles).
Basically, you’ll earn a total of 3,500 miles if you meet both requirements and if you’re a SkyMiles Medallion Member. Just remember that leaving an online review is required within 30 days after you completed a dining experience.
Sample Delta Dining Partner Restaurants
You can use the restaurant locator app on the SkyMiles Dining website to find eligible Delta restaurants near you. The app allows you to filter out the restaurants based on location, pricing, dining options, and even dining hours.
Just click the “Learn More” button to read each restaurant’s earning rates, dining schedule, dining policies, reviews, and other important information. Most of the restaurants you’ll find on SkyMiles Dining are usually local establishments and not big brands.
Tip: You can earn more miles by charging the purchases of your friends and family members to your credit card. Just have them reimburse you in cash or through other forms of payment.
Read More: Delta Premium Select: Delta’s Premium Economy Class Explained
Best Credit Cards To Use With SkyMiles Dining program
Ideally, you would want to use a co-branded Delta SkyMiles credit card so that you will also earn Delta SkyMiles, however, the earning rates are not that high.
- Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card – 2 miles per dollar spent at restaurants.
- Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card – 2 miles per dollar spent at restaurants.
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card – 2 miles per dollar spent at restaurants.
You’re better off linking credit cards from other issuers that offer a higher rewards rate and are transfer partners with Delta SkyMiles. For example, American Express allows you to transfer Amex Membership Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio to Delta SkyMiles. Here are some Amex cards that you can apply for:
- American Express® Gold Card – 4x Amex Membership Rewards points per dollar at restaurants.
- American Express® Green Card – 3x Amex Membership Rewards points per dollar at restaurants.
Let’s say you earned 3,000 points on your American Express Gold Card, you can then convert those points into 3,000 Delta SkyMiles.
Other Ways To Earn Delta SkyMiles
SkyMiles Dining isn’t the only alternative way to earn Delta SkyMiles. Here’s how you can earn more miles according to the Delta SkyMiles website.
Instacart
Link your SkyMiles account and Instacart app to start earning miles whenever you buy groceries through Instacart. Here are the earning rates:
- Earn 1 mile per $1 spent on Instacart orders
- Earn 1.5 miles per $1 spent on Instacart orders for being an Instacart Express Member
Ticketmaster
You can earn 1 mile per dollar spent on eligible ticket purchases on Ticketmaster. Just visit delta.com/ticketmaster, type your SkyMiles Number, and buy any eligible ticket to earn miles.
SkyMiles Shopping
SkyMiles Shopping is a Delta online shopping portal composed of more than 1000+ partner stores. Just like SkyMiles Dining, just simply create an account, link your credit card, and start earning miles whenever you make a purchase from any of these stores.
Read More: Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card: Is It Good For Frequent Travelers?
Bottom line
SkyMiles Dining is free so signing up for it is definitely a no-brainer. It’s a great way to earn some extra miles, especially when Coronavirus greatly affected Delta Airlines and there was no way to earn SkyMiles.
But even today where air travel is slowly bouncing back, SkyMiles Dining can still help you slowly rack up some miles when you’re not flying.
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