The Cheapest Award Flights to Las Vegas on Delta

Delta Air Lines flyers who have been racking up SkyMiles might be ready to use those points to skip town for a much-needed vacation. One sweet spot for a quick getaway is Las Vegas. There are plenty of options for using your miles to book flights to Las Vegas. Although Delta Air Lines no longer publishes an award chart, and redemption rates vary based on demand and travel season, it’s still possible to find affordable flights to Sin City that don’t cost too many miles.

To identify the best reward flights, you should get an idea of which redemption rates to look for. Here are some options for booking cheap Delta flights to Vegas.

How we found the cheapest award flights to Las Vegas

Award rates vary based on where you’re coming from and your travel dates. Not only does it help to fly from a city that’s close to your destination, but it’s also best to be as flexible as possible to secure the best mileage prices. Both West Coast and East Coast residents have access to some great redemption rates.

For this article, we searched for flights in Delta main cabin, not basic economy, the least expensive option. Main cabin fares allow passengers to pick a seat as well as cancel or change a flight for free. If you’re a Medallion member, you also can get upgraded, which isn’t possible when you purchase a basic economy fare.

» Learn more: Your guide to earning Delta Air Lines SkyMiles

4 of the cheapest Delta flights to Las Vegas

Take a peek at the general Delta experience in Vegas, then look to these airports for booking flights from the Delta website or app.

1. Los Angeles to Las Vegas for 5,000 miles

The cheapest Delta flights from Los Angeles require just 5,000 SkyMiles each way. It’s a small price to pay to save yourself a miserable drive back home after a night of shenanigans.

Low redemption rates can be found on both morning and evening departures. This means you don’t have to show up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the airport for a short flight to Vegas. Deals can be found all week, with the best deals available on Saturdays and Mondays through Wednesdays.

2. New York-JFK to Las Vegas for 9,000 miles

From the East Coast, New Yorkers will find the most affordable Delta flights to Vegas departing Tuesdays and Wednesdays from John. F. Kennedy International Airport. You can redeem as few as 9,000 SkyMiles for a one-way trip to Las Vegas.

The good news is you don’t have to wake up super early to grab one of these cheap fares. It’s possible to book a nonstop flight leaving at any time of day for 9,000 miles. Departures on any other day of week range from 11,000 to 22,500 miles per direction, so make sure to get your time-off request approved to score the less expensive flights.

If you're OK with flying out of Newark, you have an option to redeem even fewer miles — just 7,500 for a one-way flight. However, these low-cost itineraries have connections in Minneapolis, Detroit or Salt Lake City.

» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now

3. Salt Lake City to Las Vegas for 5,000 miles

Your best bet of scoring cheap flights to Vegas from Salt Lake City is for departures that fall Monday through Wednesday, as well as Saturday. A one-way main cabin flight starts at 5,000 Delta SkyMiles.

The cheapest flights leave either early in the morning or late at night. So, both early birds and night owls have options.

4. Seattle to Las Vegas for 5,000 miles

Flying from Seattle? You can score an award flight to Vegas starting at 4,500 SkyMiles. There are also plenty of options in the 6,000 to 7,000 SkyMiles range.

If you can, avoid traveling on Thursdays and Fridays. Otherwise, when flying Delta, cheap flights to Vegas can be found most days of the week at different departure times in the morning, afternoon or evening.

How to know if you’re getting a good deal on award flights

Mileage rates go up and down quite a bit, so it would be a good idea to compare your redemption rate to the flight’s cash cost to make sure you get good value from using your rewards.

NerdWallet values Delta SkyMiles at 1.2 cents apiece, so make sure you get at least that much in value, or more, from your redemption. You can use our calculator below to decide if you should pay with miles or cash.

If you're doing the calculation by hand, make sure to subtract the $5.60 passenger fee from the cash price of the ticket. Why? Because you have to pay this fee whether you pay with cash or miles. From here, multiply that new figure by 100 to figure out its total cost in cents. Finally, divide this number by the total number of miles required to book that same flight. This is how you get the cents-per-mile valuation.

For example, let’s say a ticket you want to book costs $115 or 5,000 miles. So, the formula is [(115 – 5.60) x 100] / 5,000 = 2.19 cents per mile. That’s a fantastic value for Delta SkyMiles but is rare to achieve.

As long as you aim for at least 1.2 cents per mile, you should feel good about your redemption. Otherwise pay cash.

» Learn more: Your guide to the Delta Air Lines SkyMiles program

If you want to fly Delta to Las Vegas

To score the best flight deal to Las Vegas using Delta SkyMiles, you must be flexible with your departure date and time. Often, you’ll find the lowest redemption rates for flights in the middle of the week or on Saturdays.

And don’t forget to check a flight’s cost with both cash and miles so you can calculate the value you’d get from your rewards by redeeming them for airfare. You don’t want to decrease their value in the process.