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Chances are you’ve heard of SkyTeam because of its U.S. member airline, Delta. But there’s more to SkyTeam than just one prominent airline. Founded in 2000, the alliance consists of 18 member airlines servicing over 900 destinations worldwide. With such a large network of carriers and destinations, it’s worthwhile to familiarize yourself with SkyTeam and all it has to offer.
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Airlines in the SkyTeam alliance
The SkyTeam Alliance currently has 18 member airlines serving over 600 million passengers a year:
SkyTeam member airlines
- Aerolineas Argentinas.
- Aeromexico.
- Air Europa.
- Air France.
- China Airlines.
- China Eastern.
- Delta Air Lines.
- Garuda Indonesia.
- Kenya Airways.
- KLM.
- Korean Air.
- MEA (Middle East Airlines).
- Saudia.
- Scandinavian Airlines.
- TAROM.
- Vietnam Airlines.
- Virgin Atlantic.
- Xiamen Air.
SkyTeam Elite benefits
SkyTeam has two elite status levels, Elite and Elite Plus, which you can obtain by earning status with a member airline. If you have elite status with any of the SkyTeam members, the SkyTeam website has a tool that helps you figure out which SkyTeam status level you fall into. It’s also helpful if you’re on your way to leveling up your status with an airline and want to know where this will land you as a SkyTeam elite.
Below is a breakdown of the benefits you can expect from the two elite status levels:
SkyTeam Elite
- Priority check-in.
- Extra baggage allowance.
- Priority baggage drop-off.
- Priority boarding.
- Priority seating.
- Priority standby and waitlist.
SkyTeam Elite Plus
SkyTeam Elite Plus members receive all of the above benefits, plus the following:
- Airport lounge access for members and a guest.
- Guaranteed full-fare reservations on sold-out flights when booked at least 24 hours before departure.
- Priority at transfer desks, immigration and security lanes.
- Access to priority baggage handling.
You can get SkyTeam Elite status as a Delta Silver Medallion member, while Gold Medallion and above gets you qualified for SkyTeam Elite Plus. Below are the requirements for earning status with Delta:
- Delta Silver Medallion: $5,000 MQDs.
- Delta Gold Medallion: $10,000 MQDs.
If you’re not a frequent traveler, you can earn credit toward Silver and Gold status by holding the following Delta cards:
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Cardholders earn a MQD Headstart of $2,500 in MQDs every year. Terms apply.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: Cardholders earn a MQD Headstart of $2,500 in MQDs every year. Terms apply.
» Learn More: Find the best airline credit card for you
SkyTeam lounges
SkyTeam’s five dedicated airport lounges can be found in Dubai, Frankfurt, Santiago, Sydney and Vancouver. Along with SkyTeam’s member airlines, the alliance offers over 750 lounges worldwide.
To gain access to SkyTeam lounges, travelers must be traveling in business or first class to an international destination. Lounge access is only valid on departure and transfer segments. SkyTeam Elite Plus members also receive complimentary lounge access when traveling on international itineraries, regardless of class, and they can bring one guest for free who’s traveling with a SkyTeam member airline.
Redeeming points for SkyTeam awards
Whether you’re looking for a bargain on domestic flights or want to travel to the far corners of the world, SkyTeam’s member airlines offer value for your points. Below are some of the cheapest awards you can book from the U.S. on SkyTeam member airlines:
North America (domestic flights)
Korean Air is known for having sweet spot awards, and domestic flights are one of them. For just 25,000 miles round-trip in economy and 45,000 in business class, you can travel anywhere in the U.S., including Hawaii, on Delta.
You also could choose a 20,000-mile economy class flight on Korean Air’s non-SkyTeam partner Alaska Airlines. First class seats cost 40,000 miles for flights in most of the U.S. Flights to Hawaii aren't eligible.
You can earn Korean Air miles by transferring Marriott points at a 3:1 ratio or by picking up a co-branded credit card:
- SKYPASS Visa® Signature Credit Card.
- SKYPASS SkyBlue Visa® Card.
- Skypass Visa Business.
Central America
Delta no longer publishes an award chart, but you may find awards fares between the U.S. and Central America using its flight calendar. For example, we found flights between San Francisco and Los Cabos, Mexico, for as low as 16,000 miles each way in May 2026. Flights out of Miami were even lower when we checked at just 12,000 miles.
South America
Korean SkyPass partner GOL offers economy class awards between the U.S. and Central America for 50,000 miles round-trip. As a low-cost carrier, GOL does not offer first or business class cabins.
Europe
Those Korean Air sweet spots we mentioned? An 80,000-mile round-trip business class ticket to Europe is one of them. That’s an incredible bargain, considering a comparable seat on American Airlines could cost much more.
Africa
Air France and KLM’s joint Flying Blue rewards program has a lot of sweet spots, including Africa. The program charges as few as 50,000 miles round-trip for an economy class ticket to North African countries like Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. Below are examples of these fares that are 25,000 miles each way:
- San Francisco - Marrakech.
- San Francisco - Tunis.
- San Francisco - Algiers.
- New York - Marrakech.
- New York - Tunis.
- New York - Algiers.
If you can find an applicable Promo reward, you could save up to 25% on these fares.
for business class to the Middle East.
Flying Blue miles are not difficult to get. In addition to a co-branded credit card issued by Bank of America, Flying Blue is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Capital One Miles, Bilt Rewards, Wells Fargo Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards. Among the cards you can use to add to your miles balance include:
Asia
Getting to Asia with SkyTeam can be a little tricky, but not impossible. Delta has several flights to Asia via its main Asian hub in Seoul. From there, you can get to Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam and other destinations.
The tricky part is that Delta doesn’t publish an award chart, so it’s hard to know how many miles you’ll need. Availability can be patchy and, when available, award prices can require a huge number of Delta miles — especially for premium seats. For a one-way economy flight from Chicago to Seoul, prices fluctuate between 80,000 to 160,000 miles.
The plus is that Delta miles are easy to come by. Delta miles never expire, and you can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to Delta at a 1:1 ratio with any of these cards:
Another option is using Korean Air SKYPASS miles, which can be hard to earn. The program doesn’t partner with any bank points programs, and you must redeem miles for a round-trip ticket for SkyTeam awards. If you can get the miles, flights from North American to Asia vary from 80,000 to 100,000 miles in economy and 140,000 to 170,000 miles in business class.
That divides to 40,000 miles each way in economy on the low end and 70,000 to 85,000 miles in business class, which can offer some incredible values.
Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, etc.)
Delta’s round-trip awards to Australia start at just 90,000 miles in economy class. Premium cabin award flights are tougher to come by and astronomically priced. Be sure to check out the following credit cards if you’re interested in earning more Delta SkyMiles:
To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, see this page.
To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, see this page.
To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, see this page.
To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, see this page.
To view rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, see this page.
To view rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, see this page.
To view rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, see this page.
To view rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.
To view rates and fees of the American Express Platinum Card®, see this page.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Planning a trip? Check out these articles for more inspiration and advice:
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