While the Delta SkyMiles program isn’t what it once was, it still deserves a place in any frequent flyer’s life. Despite devaluations and the removal of published award charts, there are some bargains to be had. More than that, Delta’s elaborate network of routes and extensive list of airline partners makes it nearly unavoidable.

Airfare sales happen every day but not necessarily from your home airport. In order to take advantage of some of the best deals out there, you might have to get a bit creative. There are plenty of options available to help reduce the cost of airfare. You may save money by positioning yourself to nearby airports or by using your frequent flyer miles like cash to reduce the cost of a ticket. If you’re earning points on a credit card you will want to access their travel portals to see if your points have greater value there. Additionally, using a combination of award tickets and purchased tickets for securing your airfare may result in paying less. Try these combinations to find the best deal.

Delta upgrade certificates are one of the best benefits of elite status offered by any major US airline. There are two varieties – regional upgrade certificates (RUCs) and global upgrade certificates (GUCs). These instruments allow fliers to skip to the front of the pecking order for upgrades when booking paid flights.

For travelers seeking to fly in a premium cabin, upgrade certificates can save an enormous number of miles relative to booking an award ticket. In addition, upgrade availability is often in greater supply than low-level award availability, meaning you have a better chance of being able to work your way into a premium cabin in the first place.

There are plenty of ways to earn miles with airline partners on the ground through shopping, dining, staying in hotels, renting cars and taking advantage of a variety of promotions.

But there is one method that allows travelers to get a huge amount of miles in a short period of time. Getting a sign-up bonus for a credit card can get you a nice head start on your next vacation using Delta SkyMiles. Then you can top off the balance by taking advantage of other type of offers.

Transferring points from credit card rewards programs, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, or American Express Membership Rewards is a great way to fly on their partner airlines, but that’s just the beginning. Since so many airlines are members of airline alliances (and those that aren’t can partner with other airlines in ways you wouldn’t expect), it feels sometimes that you can use points to fly on almost every one of them.

Over the past several years, airlines have taken steps to differentiate their classes of product segment in order to maximize revenue. Cabin configurations traditionally consisted of either two classes (economy and business class) or three classes (economy, business and first class).

Now planes are configured with four or even five cabins, with the more recent additions being premium economy. In many cases, premium economy has become the new “middle class” as airlines have done away with first class, and are flying with planes that have standard economy, premium economy and business class.

Every week I see a post or a picture in one of the frequent flyer communities of someone celebrating their Million Miler status with one of the legacy carriers. Often the elated and relieved poster will recall countless years and flights it took to achieve the milestone. This is followed by congratulatory remarks, memes, and GIFs from onlookers who themselves recall their personal victory or their current journey towards that goal.

I hope I never achieve it, and I hope you don’t either. I do have an alternative goal to strive for though.

Domestic airlines have long lagged behind their international competitors when it comes to providing a luxurious and comfortable premium cabin experience on long haul routes. American currently has the best offering of the three legacy carriers with the bulk of its international long haul fleet featuring private reverse herringbone seating in a 1x2x1 configuration.

Among the major U.S. airlines, Delta has long had the best economy class product. In fact, their major competitors, United and American, really aren’t close at this point.

However, in the premium cabin market, things aren’t as clear cut, and competition has been heating up lately. One key item to note up front is that while the name Delta One sounds like a name for a first-class product, Delta One is actually a business class product. This applies to both the transcontinental and international versions. Therefore, when making comparisons to other premium cabin products, business class is the proper benchmark.

Delta is a transfer partner of the American Express Membership Rewards program, but it is not a partner of either Chase Ultimate Rewards or Citi ThankYou. You can still use TY or UR points to fly on the airline though by booking the carrier through a partner airlines. We will show you how.

Elite status with an airline can get you some fantastic benefits: free upgrades, discounts, bonus points and more. While status is generally limited to those who earn the hard way—through flying and spending—you shouldn’t forget about status matches and challenges. These offers can be a quick way to get status with an airline, particularly if you plan to do a lot of traveling in a short period of time.

In a rare win for travel hackers, recent changes to the Delta Medallion program actually increase the value of top tier Diamond elite status, without reducing benefits for lower levels of status. The main change was that for the 2018 Medallion year they substituted an automatic Sky Club membership for a third Choice benefit, whereas before Diamond members only got two Choice benefits.

American started rolling out its basic economy fares this month, joining the other two major legacy airlines in their attempt to compete with ultra-low cost carriers. That means service aboard domestic flights has taken another hit, but there are ways to get around at least some of the drawbacks of flying.

Hilton Honors is about to add its newest feature with cash and points redemptions, which is exciting for many travelers. Plus, there are some new routes for mileage earning and redemption that are worth exploring, but beware the basic economy fares that seem to be expanding from third-party sites.

Stopovers and open jaws are great way to see more of the world for less money. Some airlines allow you to add a stopover to your award ticket itinerary on the way to or from your final destination. So what exactly is a stopover and an open jaw and which carriers let you take them? Read on for the airlines and their rules.

The first quarter of the year is a great time to re-evaluate your loyalties to frequent flyer programs. You have the rest of the year to reallocate your flights and credit card spending in order to earn elite status for the rest of the year as well as 2018. With so many devaluations, mergers, and new reciprocal elite benefits you may be inclined to change the programs which you prioritize.

Transcontinental flights from the New York City area to LA and San Francisco are among the most grueling domestic routes in existence, with flight times of approximately six hours depending on the direction of travel.

Fortunately, all the major airlines that fly these routes offer premium products that go above and beyond traditional domestic premium cabin service. In addition to the big three legacy carriers, there is competition provided by smaller airlines such as Jet Blue and Virgin America. We will compare quality of product, award availability and costs, and note a few things to consider when booking these flights.

For many years, the standard price for a round-trip domestic economy award has been 25K miles for the legacy airlines. This continues to be the case for United, American, and to a lesser extent, Delta.

However, there are many alternatives available which allow us to book round-trip domestic economy awards for cheaper prices than this when the flights are short enough to fall under certain mileage thresholds. In this post, we will lay out some of the best options for cheap short-haul award bookings.

Airline ticket and hotel prices go through the roof for the host city during big events like the upcoming Super Bowl, which is being held in Houston on Sunday, February 5.

One way to cut costs if you want to see it in person is to use points and miles where the price in miles is fixed regardless of the cash price of the ticket. Because tickets will be costly. You can expect to use 25,000 miles to get to Texas for the game though some airlines will cost more and at least one route is less.

Many travelers who earn frequent flyer miles aren’t always interested in booking an award ticket. Instead, they want to use their miles to upgrade a ticket they’ve already bought with cash. Upgrades and award travel have a lot in common, but the rules are unique for every loyalty program. This post discusses how to upgrade a ticket purchased with Delta Air Lines.