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Through September 14, 2017 (tomorrow) at 11:59 PM ET, you can book roundtrips between the continental United States and Alaska for 20,000 Delta miles and Hawaii for 35,000 miles. The travel period for the sale is January 8 through March 23, 2018.

Sale Routes

Delta states that the sale applies to roundtrip award flights in economy from the 48 continental United States with the following destinations:

  • Honolulu, HI (HNL)
  • Kahului, HI (OGG)
  • Kona, HI (KOA)
  • Lihue, HI (LIH)
  • Anchorage, AK (ANC)
  • Fairbanks, AK (FAI)

Flights don’t have to be direct to be on sale. For example, here’s a roundtrip flight between Atlanta and Anchorage for 20,000 miles, with a connection in Seattle in both directions.

The Discount

While Delta doesn’t publish award charts anymore, we know from charts maintained by people like us online (Renes Points has a series of spreadsheets) that the lowest level economy award price to Hawaii is normally 40,000 to 45,000 SkyMiles roundtrip, making the sale price roughly a 12.5% to 22% discount. The lowest level economy award price to Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska is pretty hard to tell as it appears there are lots of price regions within Alaska. Be aware that there some awards (from cities closer to Alaska, like Seattle) pricing lower to Alaska from the continental United States than the “sale” price of 20,000 miles roundtrip, so be thorough with your searches. Thanks Delta! Love your transparency.

They aren’t huge discounts, but it does knock the mileage prices down significantly lower than what American or United charges roundtrip to the same places. You likely value Delta miles less than either of those miles, so if award space fits your travel plans, this a great time to spend those Delta miles!

Award Space

I searched a couple routes to show what award availability looks like during the travel dates of the sale. Most of my searches yielded plenty of 20k roundtrip awards to Alaska and a decent amount of 35k roundtrips to Hawaii. If you want to go to Hawaii and are flexible, look into flying to other destinations in Hawaii than Honolulu–you’ll find more award space.

All the calendars below are for one traveler, roundtrip, with flexible travel dates for a 7 day trip displayed.

New York City <> Anchorage

Alaska in winter? Seems a bit crazy. But it's a great time for skiing, dogsledding, and viewing the Northern Lights.
Alaska in winter? Seems a bit crazy. But it’s a great time for skiing, dogsledding, and viewing the Northern Lights.

Los Angeles <> Kona

Atlanta <> Maui

Blackout Days

There are no blackout dates for travel to Hawaii. Blackout dates to Alaska from the United States are March 14 – 19, 2018, and in the return direction from March 4 – 12, 2018

Are You After Delta Status?

Don’t forget that the Delta Reserve Card from American Express currently comes with 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 40,000 redeemable SkyMiles for spending $3,000 on the card within three months of opening it. While the MQMs are the primary reason you should get your card, if you’re chasing status, now’s the time to get this card if you haven’t already. You can only get the sign up bonus once in a lifetime and the 40k redeemable mile part of the bonus is the highest on record (the MQM level doesn’t change).

Read about who the Delta Reserve Card is appropriate for in Attention Delta Status Chasers: Amex Reserve Card Has a New Bonus.

Bottom Line

Through tomorrow at 11:59 PM ET September 14, you can book Delta economy to Alaska for 20k miles roundtrip, and Delta economy to Hawaii roundtrip for 35,000. This is a good sale to Hawaii and also to Alaska, but be sure if you live on the west coast (or especially in Seattle) that 20k is indeed the cheapest “sale” price… some awards are pricing below 20,000 miles.

Travel dates of the sale are between January 8 and March 23, 2018. Your trip must be completed by the end of the indicated valid travel period–you couldn’t start the award at the end of the travel period and complete after the travel period.

If you have a stash of SkyMiles, these kind of flash sales are exactly what they’re good for. Burn em while you can.

Hat Tip Rene’s Points