Why I Emptied my Delta SkyMiles Accounts to Near Zero for Value Flying to Lisbon Portugal

Introduction: My First Atlantic Crossing on the Norwegian NCL Viva Prima Class Ship
Emptying my Delta SkyMiles Accounts to get Value Flying to Lisbon Portugal
Comfort Inn South Bend International Airport Review – How Disappointing
Interlining my Bags on a Delta Revenue Ticket and Second Award Ticket
Rant: Are Lounges Worth the Effort Anymore in Atlanta ATL – Part One
Shrinkflation: Famous Delta Shake Shack Burger is Less Than Old Delta Burger
Rant: Are Centurion Lounges Worth the Effort Anymore Mexico City T1 – Part Two
Air France A350-900 Business Class New Seats Review Mexico City to Paris MEX-CDG
Air France A321 Euro Business Class Review With Blocked Middle Seats
THE ONE American Express Fine Hotels Review Near Lisbon Portugal Cruise Port
Review: Vibe Beach Club Plus Cabana Norwegian Viva – Is it Worth the Upcharge?
Norwegian Viva Mid ship 16th Floor Balcony Cabin Number Floor Review
Norwegian Viva Complementary and Main Dining Review – Is the Food Good Anymore?
Norwegian Viva Specialty Dining Review – Should you pay to Enjoy “Better” Meals?
What is the Entertainment Like on the Norwegian Viva?
Emergency Dentist Visit in the Dominica Republic from my Norwegian Cruise Ship.
How Much Does it Cost to Take an Uber from Galveston, Texas to Houston Airports?
How You Get Paid Taking an Oversold Flight Bump From Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines A220-300 Comfort Plus Review. How Much Better than Coach
Final Thoughts on my 15 day Atlantic Crossing on the Norwegian Viva Prima Class Ship

It is no great secret to regular EotF blog readers that when it comes to frequent flyer points I have been, ah hem, “playing the field” and only choosing Delta when the price is ultra cheap and the flights work for me. Delta, over the years, has decided by their choices that I am not of value to them and you know that is a two way street and I have moved on too.

When I say “cheap” I mean cheap in crazy priced Delta-land because even a Delta cheap is not that cheap compared to other (or most) airlines. About a year ago I got in what was the last ever 75,000 Delta SkyMiles business class award from Mexico City on Air France. This year I got in on what likely will be the last 105,000 business class point award to just about empty my Delta account to near zero.

I booked this for a number of reasons despite the fact that just weeks before the trip I was able to book, if I wanted it using Alaska ATMOS points, flight from South Bend to Lisbon Portugal all in business class for just 55,000 points and few bucks in fees all-in on American Airlines. So what reasons are worth flying to Europe via Mexico I will try to explain and maybe justify my thinking and points math.

I still, off and on, hold Amex Platinum personal and business cards. They both come with yearly $200 travel credits. I used to always use them by booking a Delta ticket (before the end of the year) and also use a small Delta gift card to trigger the credit. I would then, the next day, call in and cancel the ticket but not have it refunded but instead turned into a travel credit good for a year (thus ensuring that I did trigger the Amex credit). Both my wife and I had two such credits that were soon to expire and I found very cheap business class seats to Mexico City that almost paid in full for the flights with the credits and I needed to use them or lose them.

That was step one. I should say it was step one after I had already locked in for each of us 105,000 SkyMiles Air France business class award tickets on the new-ish A350-900 with their new upgraded business class seats. Now it is not all about the product for me (but the new seats are nice as you will soon see).

For me travel is both about how much fun it can be but also about resetting my body clock because I hate days upon days of jet lag when I arrive anywhere far from home. The MEX-CDG (Mexico City to Paris) flights are just about perfect at just over 10 hours so we can both enjoy the flights and get some good sleep. Further the connecting flight got us into Lisbon near 5 PM so we could just go to the hotel and crash and reset our body clocks almost instantly.

As a comparison the mega cheap AA business class award flights via Alaska points, with much better departure and far fewer legs, gave us just 7ish hours over the pond and arrived at 7AM in Lisbon leaving us to try to stay awake all day long when all we desperately wanted to do was crash and go to bed? No thanks! Not for me.

Maybe you see my point?

Sadly this did require a stupid early 6AM flight out of my home town South Bend (my wife hates – I mean hates – early flights) but we chose to try staying at a hotel near the airport to be able to with no stress prep the house for being gone for 3 weeks and go to bed early. Did that work? That disappointment I will cover next! – René