By Joseph Hellman-Benjamin, Founder and CEO of The Points King. Last updated: November 1, 2026. Editorial Policy
How much does it cost to buy Delta SkyMiles? Delta charges 3.5 cents a mile plus a 7.5% federal excise tax, so 3.76 cents a mile all in: $376.25 for 10,000 miles and $1,881.25 for 50,000. You can buy up to 60,000 a year into your own account. The cheapest Delta has ever sold them was during its fall 2026 bonus sale, at about 2.51 cents a mile with the top 50% bonus. The Points Guy values SkyMiles at 1.2 cents, so buying from Delta rarely pays unless it completes a specific award.
I am Joseph Hellman-Benjamin, and I have run The Points King since 2017. We sell Delta SkyMiles, so I have an interest in this subject and you should read what follows with that in mind. There are no affiliate links on this site. Below are Delta’s own prices and rules, the numbers from the 2026 sale, and the math that tells you whether buying makes sense.
Buying Delta Miles at a Glance
| Question | Answer in November 2026 |
|---|---|
| Delta’s price | 3.5 cents a mile plus 7.5% federal excise tax: 3.7625 cents all in ($37.63 per 1,000) |
| Minimum purchase | 2,000 miles |
| Yearly limit | 60,000 purchased miles per calendar year into your own account; bonus miles do not count |
| Account rules | At least 10 days old, with at least one mile earned |
| How fast miles post | 24 to 48 hours |
| Count toward Medallion status? | No |
| Refundable? | No. All transactions are final. |
| Best price on record | About 2.51 cents a mile including tax, fall 2026 sale, 50% bonus tier |
| What a SkyMile is worth | About 1.1 to 1.2 cents (Frequent Miler, NerdWallet, The Points Guy) |
Delta’s Own Price in 2026
Delta sells miles on its buy, gift and transfer page at $0.035 a mile plus taxes. The tax is the 7.5% US federal excise tax, which Delta says is subject to change; Canadian residents also pay 5% GST. That puts the real cost at 3.7625 cents a mile.
- The minimum is 2,000 miles a transaction. AwardWallet says purchases go in 2,000-mile steps, so you can buy 24,000 or 26,000 but not exactly 25,000.
- The cap is 60,000 purchased miles a calendar year into your own account. Bonus miles from a sale do not count toward it.
- The account has to be at least 10 days old and have earned at least one mile.
- Delta’s terms say purchased miles “will not count toward qualifications” for Medallion or Million Miler status.
- Miles usually post within 24 to 48 hours. Fees are non-refundable and every purchase is final.
The Fall 2026 Sale: the Cheapest Delta Miles Have Been
Delta rarely discounts miles. AwardWallet called its fall 2026 offer only the second purchase bonus Delta has ever run, and I found no buy-miles sale in 2024 or 2025. The bonus rose with the size of the purchase:
| Miles bought | Bonus | Cost per mile, tax included |
|---|---|---|
| 2,000 to 10,000 | 25% | 3.01 cents |
| 12,000 to 20,000 | 30% | 2.89 cents |
| 22,000 to 30,000 | 35% | 2.79 cents |
| 32,000 to 40,000 | 40% | 2.69 cents |
| 42,000 to 50,000 | 45% | 2.59 cents |
| 52,000 to 60,000 | 50% | 2.51 cents |
The top tier gave 90,000 miles for $2,257.50. Sources disagree on the end date: Upgraded Points and PointsCrowd say September 30, 2026, AwardWallet says October 31. Either way, it has ended.
What Buying Costs: Worked Examples
| Miles bought | Cost at Delta’s price | Miles you would have got in the 2026 sale | Sale cost per mile | Worth at 1.2 cents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | $376.25 | 12,500 | 3.01 cents | $120 |
| 26,000 | $978.25 | 35,100 | 2.79 cents | $312 |
| 50,000 | $1,881.25 | 72,500 | 2.59 cents | $600 |
| 60,000 (the yearly maximum) | $2,257.50 | 90,000 | 2.51 cents | $720 |
The last column is what the miles bought at Delta’s standard price are worth at The Points Guy’s October 2026 value of 1.2 cents. At standard price you pay about three times what the miles are worth on an average redemption; at the best sale tier, about twice.
What Delta Miles Are Worth
- The Points Guy: 1.2 cents (October 2026).
- NerdWallet: about 1.2 cents on economy awards, with more upside on international flights (August 2026).
- Frequent Miler: 1.1 cents (March 2026).
- Delta’s Pay with Miles: 5,000 miles take $50 off a Delta fare, 1 cent a mile, for primary Delta American Express cardmembers only.
So the break-even is simple. A mile bought at 3.76 cents has to save you more than 3.76 cents; a mile bought at 2.51 cents in the sale has to save more than 2.51 cents. Using bought miles on Pay with Miles at 1 cent loses 60% to 73% of what you paid. You can run your own numbers with our SkyMiles to dollars calculator.
When Buying Delta Miles Makes Sense
Buying is worth it only when the miles you buy, times the price, cost less than the cash fare you would otherwise pay, after the award taxes. Two cases pass that test regularly:
- Topping off for one award. If you are 2,000 to 6,000 miles short of a seat that costs several hundred dollars in cash, buying $75 to $226 of miles can be the cheapest way to book it. Upgraded Points uses the 2,000-mile, $75.25 example.
- A Delta One award sale. In June and again in October 2026, Delta One to Europe went for 115,000 miles one way, or 97,750 with the 15% discount for Delta American Express cardmembers, according to Frequent Miler and The Points Party. Outside sales the same seat often costs 300,000 or more. Against a business class fare of several thousand dollars, even bought miles can come out ahead.
Buying to build a balance for some future trip is the case that almost never works. Delta prices awards dynamically and can change them without notice, and the miles you paid 3.76 cents for may buy less next year.
Cheaper Ways to Get Delta Miles First
- American Express Membership Rewards: transfers to Delta at 1:1, plus an excise fee of $0.0006 a point, capped at $99 per transfer. See the full list of Amex transfer partners.
- Marriott Bonvoy: transfers to Delta at 3:1.
- A Delta American Express card: the welcome bonus is usually the cheapest large block of SkyMiles, and cardmembers get 15% off award prices.
- Flash sales: Thrifty Traveler tracked 2026 award sales to Europe from 22,000 miles round trip in main cabin, which stretches a smaller balance a long way.
Gifting or Transferring Delta Miles
Gifting miles to someone else costs the same as buying them, 3.5 cents a mile plus tax, up to 60,000 a year to any one member. Transferring miles you already have costs 1 cent a mile plus $30 a transaction, in amounts of 1,000 to 30,000, with up to 150,000 sent and 300,000 received a year. Booking an award ticket in the other person’s name is usually cheaper than either.
Buying Delta Miles From Someone Else: the Rules
Delta’s SkyMiles program rules, last updated January 1, 2026, prohibit “the sale or barter of miles” and award tickets, and say miles are not the property of any member. Delta can deduct miles obtained that way and void tickets issued with them. That risk sits with the account holder and the traveler, and no seller can remove it. We sell SkyMiles in amounts of 50,000 or more at a price agreed in writing by email; the details and the risk are on our buy Delta SkyMiles page, and the full picture is in our guide to the risks of buying and selling miles. Buying from Delta directly carries no rule risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does 10,000 Delta miles cost?
$376.25 at Delta’s price, including the 7.5% excise tax.
How much does 50,000 Delta miles cost?
$1,881.25 at Delta’s price. In the fall 2026 sale the same money would have bought 72,500 miles.
Does Delta put miles on sale?
Rarely. The fall 2026 offer, with bonuses of 25% to 50%, was described by AwardWallet as only the second purchase bonus Delta has run. If buying is part of your plan, watch for the next one.
Can you buy more than 60,000 Delta miles a year?
Not into your own account. Bonus miles from a sale do not count toward the 60,000 limit, and others can gift you up to 60,000 each.
Do bought Delta miles expire?
No. SkyMiles do not expire, whether earned or bought.
Is buying Delta miles worth it?
Usually not. At 3.76 cents a mile, or 2.51 cents at the best sale price, you pay two to three times what a mile is typically worth. It makes sense to complete a specific award, especially a Delta One sale seat, and rarely otherwise.
Sources
- Delta, buy, gift, transfer and donate miles, read November 1, 2026
- Delta, SkyMiles Membership Guide and Program Rules, last updated January 1, 2026
- Delta, Pay with Miles
- AwardWallet, buying Delta miles, September 1, 2026
- Upgraded Points, Delta buy-miles sale, updated October 1, 2026
- PointsCrowd, Delta SkyMiles purchase bonus, September 14, 2026
- The Points Guy, monthly valuations, October 1, 2026
- NerdWallet, how much Delta SkyMiles are worth, August 31, 2026
- Frequent Miler, Delta One award sale to Europe, June 12, 2026
- Thrifty Traveler, best Delta SkyMiles deals this year, August 2026