Flyers Can Now Earn Delta SkyMiles on Starbucks Purchases
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Here’s a new way to earn Delta SkyMiles. Delta Air Lines today announced a partnership with Starbucks that allows customers to earn Delta SkyMiles for their spending, as well as bonus Starbucks Stars on days they fly with Delta.
How the Delta-Starbucks partnership works
You’ll have to link your Delta SkyMiles and Starbucks loyalty accounts by visiting deltastarbucks.com to start earning rewards in both programs.
Here are the rewards:
Earn one Delta SkyMile per $1 spent 1 on eligible purchases at Starbucks (excluding taxes and gratuity).
Earn double Starbucks Stars on eligible purchases at participating Starbucks stores on days when you have a scheduled flight with Delta.
If you link your accounts between now and Dec. 31, 2022, you’ll earn 500 Delta SkyMiles. And, after linking the accounts and making a qualifying Starbucks purchase before the end of the year, you’ll earn 150 Stars.
The 150 Stars you'll earn from linking the accounts and making a qualifying Starbucks purchase is enough to earn a redemption. That number of Stars will get you either a handcrafted beverage (such as a latte), any hot breakfast item (such as a breakfast sandwich) or one of a selection of packaged snack items.
What else you need to know
The news comes shortly after Delta announced some fairly significant changes to its loyalty program, including raising its spending requirement to earn Medallion elite status and adding new Choice Benefits, which are extra goodies for Diamond and Platinum Medallion members. With today’s Starbucks news, Delta added one more additional Choice Benefit to those announced earlier this month: 4,000 Stars. That’s more than 25 free hand-crafted beverages.
» Learn more: The best airline credit cards right now
The earnings rate is likely not going to make you rich with SkyMiles, but it’s an easy way to earn miles on top of spending you’re already doing. NerdWallet values a Delta mile at 1.5 cents, so a $5 latte would earn you about eight cents worth of Delta miles.
If you’ve got a coffee habit and spend $5 at Starbucks every day of the year, you would earn about 1,825 miles annually. That means you’re looking at about $27 in Delta SkyMiles value. That’s not even enough miles to cover a checked bag. (You need 3,000 Delta SkyMiles to cover a checked bag fee.)
Still, it’s likely better than nothing — especially if it might just get you enough miles for a free flight. Another way to bolster you Delta SkyMiles account is by spending on a co-branded Delta credit card.
Photo courtesy of Delta Air Lines and Starbucks.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2023, including those best for:
Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express
Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
