Can You Combine Two People’s Points for Delta Flights
If you’ve ever tried to book an award flight using Delta SkyMiles but found you’re just a few thousand miles short, you might’ve wondered, can you combine Delta miles with someone else’s? The answer is sort of. While Delta doesn't allow you to pool SkyMiles into a shared account, it does let you transfer miles from one person to another, for a fee.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to combine Delta SkyMiles from two accounts, what it costs, and when it might be worth doing.
Can You Combine Delta Airlines Miles from Two Accounts?
Delta doesn’t offer a “family pooling” program like some airlines do (e.g., JetBlue Points Pooling or British Airways), but it does allow transfers between individual SkyMiles accounts for a fee. This means you can send miles to someone else, or they can send them to you, as long as you both have active SkyMiles accounts.
You can transfer up to 150,000 miles per year from your account and receive up to 300,000 miles per year.
How to Transfer Delta Miles
Transferring Delta miles is pretty simple:
- Go to the Delta "Transfer Miles" page on their website.
- Enter the recipient’s full name, SkyMiles number, and email.
- Choose how many miles you want to transfer (in increments of 1,000, up to 30,000 per transaction).
- Pay the fees to complete the transfer.
That’s it! The miles usually appear in the recipient's account almost immediately.
You can transfer Delta miles to somoene else for a fee.
Costs of Transferring Miles
Unfortunately, combining Delta SkyMiles this way isn’t free. The transfer fees include:
- $0.01 per mile
- $30 processing fee per transaction
So transferring 30,000 miles would cost $330 total, a pretty steep price when those Delta miles are only worth about $360 according to most travel experts.
For that reason, transferring Delta miles is often not a great deal unless you're in a specific situation where it's really needed.
It's not cheap to transfer Delta miles to someone else.
Why Combine Delta Airlines Miles?
There are a few scenarios where it might make sense to combine or transfer miles:
1. To Book a High-Value Award
If one person doesn’t have enough miles to book a great flight like Virgin Atlantic Upper Class, a transfer might help them reach the full amount needed.
Use Delta Skymiles to book an award like Virgin Atlantic Upper Class.
2. To Prevent Miles from Expiring
Technically, Delta miles don’t expire, but accounts can go inactive. If a friend isn’t using their miles at all, transferring them might ensure they get used.
3. To Make Small Balances Useful
Maybe your travel companion has just 3,000 miles sitting in their account. By combining that with your miles, you could unlock a trip that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.
4. As a Gift
Want to surprise someone with a flight? You can use your miles to help them get where they need to go.
Can You Transfer Delta SkyMiles to Partner Accounts?
No, you can’t transfer Delta SkyMiles to other airline programs like Flying Blue or Virgin Atlantic. However, you can use your Delta SkyMiles to book flights on Delta’s partner airlines (such as Air France, KLM, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic etc.) directly through Delta’s site.
Use Delta Skymiles to book a parter flight on Virgin Atlantic.
FAQs About Combining Delta Miles
Can you combine Delta SkyMiles with family members?
Not in the form of a pooled family account. But you can transfer miles to or from family members using the paid transfer option.
How much does it cost to transfer Delta miles?
Delta charges $0.01 per mile transferred, plus a $30 fee per transaction.
Can I transfer Delta miles to a partner airline?
No. Miles stay within the Delta SkyMiles program. You can use Delta miles to book flights on partner airlines through Delta’s booking system.
Do Delta miles expire?
Delta miles don’t expire, but unused accounts may become inactive. Transferring miles isn’t necessary to prevent expiration, but it may be helpful in some cases.
Is transferring miles worth it?
Generally, no. The fees eat up a large portion of the value of your miles. But in some cases like being just a little short on miles for a big redemption, it could be worth it.
Can I Combine Cash and Miles When Booking on Delta?
Yes! Delta offers a Miles + Cash option on many flights. This lets you use a mix of SkyMiles and money to book your trip which is ideal if you're short on miles but don’t want to pay full cash price.
Final Thoughts
While Delta doesn't allow you to truly combine miles from two people into a shared account, you can transfer miles between SkyMiles members if needed. Just be aware of the high fees.
For most travelers, the best way to “combine” points is to book an award flight for someone else using your own miles or use the Miles + Cash option to stretch your SkyMiles even further.