How much are Delta SkyMiles worth?
About 1.20¢ each — so a balance of 10,000 is worth roughly $120 when it is spent well.
That figure is the median of 5 published valuations, published 2026-09. It ranks number 12 of 16 currencies in the catalogue — all of them, side by side.
The short version
- Worth: 1.20¢ a mile, spent the way the valuation assumes.
- Floor: no cash redemption worth naming, so the value depends on booking travel with it.
- Kind: Airline — miles in one airline's program.
Why this number and not another
A mile has no fixed price. What it is worth depends on what it is spent on, and a valuation is an outlet's estimate of what a typical member gets when they redeem sensibly — not the best redemption anybody ever found, and not the worst. Outlets disagree, so Cardful takes the middle of their figures for every currency, so that a points card and a cash-back card can be ranked in the same unit; why the figures differ so much from one program to the next is its own page.
Each outlet's own figure, read 2026-09:
| Outlet | Per mile |
|---|---|
| The Points Guy | 1.20¢ |
| Upgraded Points | 1.20¢ |
| NerdWallet | 1.20¢ |
| Frequent Miler | 1.10¢ |
| AwardWallet | 1.37¢ |
If you redeem differently — only for cash, say — your own figure is the one that matters, and the extension lets you set it. Every ranking it shows you is then priced on yours.
Cards that earn Delta SkyMiles
| Card | Annual fee | Top rateThe best rate this card pays in this currency, on the category in the next column. | On |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Blue | none | 2x | Flights |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Gold | $150 | 2x | Flights |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card | $150 | 2x | Flights |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Platinum | $350 | 3x | Flights |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card | $350 | 3x | Flights |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Reserve | $650 | 3x | Flights |
| American Express Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card | $650 | 3x | Flights |
The best card for earning them, by kind of spending
- groceries: Delta SkyMiles Gold — $2.40 per $100
- dining out: Delta SkyMiles Blue — $2.40 per $100
- hotels: Delta SkyMiles Platinum — $3.60 per $100
- food delivery: Delta SkyMiles Blue — $2.40 per $100
- Uber and Lyft: Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card — $1.80 per $100
- public transit: Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card — $1.80 per $100
- office supplies: Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card — $1.80 per $100
We track The Points Guy, Upgraded Points, NerdWallet, Frequent Miler and AwardWallet when refreshing these figures. How every number on this site is worked out.