Super cheap Delta SkyMiles flash sales have made a comeback to close out 2023. And the latest one could put you on the beaches of Cancún this winter for under 20,000 SkyMiles.
We recently unearthed this unadvertised Delta SkyMiles flash sale with flights to Cancún (CUN) as low as just 16,000 SkyMiles roundtrip – and rates below 28,000 SkyMiles from nearly 200 airports! This is your chance to fly down south to Mexico for a fraction of what other airlines charge – heck, it's fewer miles than most domestic trips! You can book these flights through the winter and even into spring and fall of 2024.
Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers got this deal sent to their inbox earlier this week as soon as we found it, so some of the cheapest availability has been snapped up already. Still, you can find some great deals, give or take a few thousand SkyMiles – especially for a trip in January and February. Travelers with a co-branded Amex card will see the lowest rates thanks to the automatic 15% discount on Delta award tickets.
We search for the best ways to use your Delta SkyMiles (and other points and miles!) with Thrifty Traveler Premium!
You can find cheap award flights down to Mexico from January all the way through October 2024 thanks to this deal. And lucky you, you'll find the best availability in January and February for a warm-weather getaway this winter. And while all award flights down to Cancún (or anywhere in Mexico) get hit with $100 or so in taxes and fees, that's a small price to pay on an otherwise great and cheap winter escape.
But the best part about this deal is how widespread it is: You can book at discounted SkyMiles rates from almost every airport, big and small, across the country. Even major Delta hubs like Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), Atlanta (ATL), and Detroit (DTW) are getting in on the action – no Delta hub penalty here! Keep reading for the full list of cities!
Not feeling a trip to Cancún? Use this cheap SkyMiles fare to get down to the Riviera Maya, then explore nearby areas like Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and beyond! You may even be able to hop on the brand-new Maya Train to easily travel up and down the coast.
You'll see the lowest rates are for Delta basic economy award tickets, which don't come with free seat assignment, and get hit with a 9,900-SkyMile penalty if you want to cancel to get the rest of your miles back. These fares also don't count toward Delta Medallion Status, unlike most award fares booked with SkyMiles.
So it could easily be worth spending a few thousand extra SkyMiles for a main cabin economy fare, as those tickets are fully refundable: Get your miles and taxes and fees back for free! It varies by route, but you can generally expect to pay another 1,000 to 5,000 SkyMiles for a main cabin fare.
And there are plenty of deals to be had around the country, whether you're flying nonstop from Atlanta (ATL), New York City (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), Boston (BOS), and Seattle (SEA) or connecting from airports big and small nationwide. In fact, many smaller airports can make a quick connection through Delta hubs on the way down to Cancún … and use even fewer SkyMiles to do it!
For example, we're seeing dirt-cheap Delta awards under 20,000 SkyMiles roundtrip from many small midwestern cities, like this one from Bismarck (BIS).
And last week, we found a similar deal flying directly into the new Tulum (TQO) airport for under 25,000 SkyMiles from dozens of airports around the country big and small, whether you're flying nonstop or making a connection.
Get the next discounted Delta deal and other points and miles alerts with Thrifty Traveler Premium!
Don't have the SkyMiles you need to book these flights? You might: Delta is an Amex transfer partner, so you can send points to your SkyMiles account from cards like amex_plat or the amex_gold instantly to your Delta account and book minutes later.
Thrifty Tip #1: When booking with SkyMiles, make sure to select “Flexible Dates” and “Price Calendar” to maximize the dates viewable and pinpoint the best deal.
Thrifty Tip #2: Have *amex platinum*? Use the $200 airline fee credit to cover the taxes and fees for this Delta SkyMiles deal. This works as long as you have Delta selected as your preferred airline.
Delta SkyMiles Cancún Flash Sale Availability
- Travel from January through October 2024, depending on your departure city. Best availability in January and February
- To book these fares, visit Delta.com and search from your airport
- Get 15% award rates with a co-branded Delta Amex card in your wallet thanks to the TakeOff 15 benefit
To begin, do a normal search for flights at Delta.com and be sure to check the box that says “Shop with Miles”.
On the next page, you'll see a grid full of fares, but click the “Price Calendar” button to get the clearest view of what's available. From there, choose the dates with the lowest SkyMiles fares and book!
We recommend upgrading to Main Cabin to include advanced seat assignment and to have the ability to cancel online for a full refund of your SkyMiles and fees. That's easily worth paying an additional 1,000 to 5,000 SkyMiles per roundtrip ticket.
Departure Cities
All these rates listed are for basic economy roundtrip fares before any cardholder discount.
Aberdeen (ABR) – 20k
Albany (ALB) – 19k
Allentown (ABE) – 19k
Asheville (AVL) – 19k
Atlanta (ATL) – 19k*
Austin (AUS) – 19k
Baltimore (BWI) – 19k
Billings (BIL) – 20k
Bismarck (BIS) – 20k
Boston (BOS) -19k
Bozeman (BZN) – 20k
Buffalo (BUF) – 19k
Charleston (CHS) – 19k
Charleston (CRW) – 19k
Chicago (MDW) – 20k
Chicago (ORD) – 20k
Cleveland (CLE) – 19k
Dallas (DAL) – 20k
Dallas (DFW) – 20k
Denver (DEN) – 19k
Detroit (DTW) -19k*
Fort Lauderdale (FLL) – 20k
Grand Forks (GFK) – 20k
Greensboro (GSO) – 19k
Harrisburg (MDT) – 19k
Hartford (BDL) – 20k
Houston (HOU) – 19k
Houston (IAH) – 19k
Jacksonville (JAX) – 19k
Kalispell (FCA) – 20k
Las Vegas (LAS) – 20k
Los Angeles (LAX) – 19k*
Medford (MFR) – 20k
Miami (MIA) – 20k
Minneapolis (MSP) – 20k*
Minot (MOT) – 20k
Missoula (MSO) – 20k
Nashville (BNA) – 19k
New Orleans (MSY) – 19k
New York (JFK) – 19k*
Newark (EWR) – 20k
Norfolk (ORF) – 20k
Oakland (OAK) – 19k
Ontario (ONT) – 19k
Orlando (MCO) – 19k
Pasco (PSC) – 20k
Philadelphia (PHL) – 19k
Portland (PDX) – 20k
Portland (PWM) – 19k
Providence (PVD) – 19k
Raleigh (RDU) – 19k
Rapid City (RAP) – 20k
Redmond (RDM) – 20k
Reno (RNO) – 19k
Richmond (RIC) – 19k
Rochester (ROC) – 19k
Sacramento (SMF) – 19k
San Antonio (SAT) – 20k
San Diego (SAN) – 19k
San Jose (SJC) – 19k
Santa Ana (SNA) – 19k
Spokane (GEG) – 20k
Syracuse (SYR) – 19k
Tampa (TPA) – 19k
Washington, D.C. (DCA) – 20k
Washington, D.C. (IAD) – 20k
Westchester County (HPN) – 19k
Williston (XWA) – 20k
*=nonstop
Bottom Line
Don't let those Delta SkyMiles collect dust – especially when we're finding deals like this one!
Thrifty Traveler Premium members got first dibs on this fantastic award sale from Delta earlier this week. But even as some fares have increased in price, this is still a great deal with plenty of availability if you're flexible with your travel dates to pull off a winter trip to Mexico using your SkyMiles.
With a recent resurgence of SkyMiles, we're searching harder than ever to find the next amazing deal like this one for our Thrifty Traveler Premium members.
Great sale and thanks for posting when these surface but perhaps state early in your reporting when these sales exclude the primary Delta hubs of MSP, ATL, SLC. Saves all of us in those cities (who I have to think are the majority of your readers) some time.