Earn Miles Without Flying: Delta SkyMiles Shopping Guide

It’s easy to earn Delta SkyMiles without even flying. This is true for many airlines, but let’s dive into Delta with the SkyMiles Shopping Portal — a simple and easy way to earn SkyMiles from your home, office, even sitting in an airplane seat, all with your laptop, tablet or smartphone.

This article will provide you important information you need to know about using the Delta SkyMiles Shopping mall to earn extra Delta miles.

So you want to earn SkyMiles—Delta’s frequent flyer currency. Those SkyMiles can be used to book award tickets, discounted tickets (with cash + miles), upgrades, etc.

SkyMiles shopping is a shopping portal in which you can choose to make common purchases that you are probably doing today, but get rewarded in SkyMiles as a bonus. It’s easy.

What Is Delta SkyMiles Shopping?

SkyMiles Shopping is one of many airline shopping portals in which SkyMiles member can shop and earn SkyMiles based on their purchases. It does not cost you anything to join or use the service. Basically, you are getting free SkyMiles for making purchases you normally would make otherwise.

The site features hundreds of retailers as well as thousands of offers.

Some Benefits Of Delta SkyMiles Shopping

Credit Cards Rewards Are Stackable

You can actually double-dip earnings here. This is because you can stack your miles earned along with your credit card earnings. For example, earn SkyMiles for shopping through the Delta SkyMiles portal and if you use a Delta co-branded credit card issued by American Express, you also get the SkyMiles for paying with that credit card. (You could pay with any credit card and receive any bonuses on those cards as well.)

Here are some of the Delta SkyMiles American Express credit cards that earn you SkyMiles for purchases (on top of the shopping portal):

Best Credit Cards to Use for Delta SkyMiles Shopping

Related: Some of the best Delta/American Express co-branded credit cards to use for SkyMiles Shopping include:

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

• Earn 35,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.
• Earn 2X Miles on Delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery and at U.S. supermarkets.
• Earn now. Travel when you’re ready. After you spend $10,000 in purchases in a calendar year, you will receive a $100 Delta Flight Credit to inspire your next travel.
• Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights.
• Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
• Enjoy a $0 introductory Annual Fee for the first year, then $99.
• Terms Apply.
• See Rates & Fees

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

• Limited Time Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in the first 3 months. Offer ends 10/28/20.
• Earn 2 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta, on every dollar spent on eligible U.S. purchases for advertising in select media, on every dollar spent on eligible U.S. shipping purchases, on every eligible dollar spent on dining at restaurants. Earn 1 Mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
• Check or stow your bag with ease: First Checked Bag Free + Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding.
• Pay no foreign transaction fees when you travel overseas.
• $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99.
• Terms and limitations apply.
• See Rates & Fees

Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express

• Earn 60,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months, Offer Expires 10/28/2020.
• New! Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery and at U.S. supermarkets.
• Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card.*Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $75 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
• New! With Status BoostTM, earn 10,000 MQMs after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion Status.  MQMs are used to determine Medallion Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
• New! Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre&#10003®.
• Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta Flights.
• New! Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
• Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
• Enjoy an exclusive rate of $39 per person per visit to enter the Delta Sky Club® for you and up to two guests when traveling on a Delta flight.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees.
• $250 Annual Fee.
• Terms Apply.
• See Rates & Fees

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card

• Limited Time Offer: Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in the first 3 months. Offer ends 10/28/20.
• Earn 3 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and on every eligible dollar spent on purchases made directly with hotels.
• Status-like benefits: First Check Bag Free on Delta flights + Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding
• Earn 1.5 miles per dollar on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (that’s an extra half point per dollar), up to 50,000 additional miles per year. 1 Mile on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases.
• Get closer to status with Status BoostTM. Spend $25,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year and earn 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs); spend a total of $50,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in a calendar year and earn an additional 10,000 MQMs. MQMs are used to determine Medallion Status and are different from the miles you earn toward flights.
• Terms and limitations apply.
• See Rates & Fees

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

• Earn 40,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.
• With Status Boost(TM), earn 15,000 MQMs after you spend $30,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to four times per year, getting you closer to Medallion Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
• Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre%u2713®.
• Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights.
• Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases.
• Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
• Complimentary access into the Delta SkyClubs® for you when travelling on a Delta flight.
• Enjoy complimentary access to The Centurion® Lounge when you book your Delta flight with your Reserve Card.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees.
• $550 annual fee.
• Terms Apply.
• See Rates & Fees

Convenience 

You can shop at your convenience, whenever you wish and using any device from smartphone to tablet to desktop all while earning SkyMiles.

Throughout the year, the Delta SkyMiles Shopping portal has bonus mile shopping events, rewarding buyers with extra SkyMiles earnings. This is especially true around traditional holiday shopping days. I use it regularly when shopping for the holidays. Along with these bonus events, Delta SkyMiles Shopping also features valuable shopping coupon codes, seasonal sales, and free shipping deals.

How To Get Started

If you are already a Delta SkyMiles member, you’re almost ready to go with Delta SkyMiles Shopping. If not, enroll here to get your SkyMiles number. Once you have that number you can register here for your SkyMiles Shopping account.

Tip: As an extra precaution, you should make your SkyMiles Shopping account password different from your Delta.com account password. This is because both sites are using your Delta SkyMiles number for access.

Logging in to SkyMiles Shopping is easy. Always start your shopping at skymilesshopping.com. That’s how the portal tracks your shopping activity and how many miles you have earned. Also, make sure your browser settings are not blocking cookies. This can prevent you from receiving your miles. AdBlocker software should be turned off, as this will also prevent SkyMiles earnings.

Using The Delta SkyMiles Shopping Program

Even before logging in to the site, you can see how many bonus miles are offered at various retailers. To see some of the bonus offers, you do need to be logged in to SkyMiles Shopping.

Logging in is easy since it uses the same information as your Delta frequent flyer account.

Once you are logged into the shopping program, you can easily search for retailers you want, or search by category.  You can also search by offers. Using the last method, you can sort from highest miles awarded per dollar spent.

You Can Use the Site’s Search Engine in Several Ways

To make finding your favorite retailers, shopping categories, or highest SkyMiles earnings, you have a few search options on the site.

Search By Retailer

Recently, I was searching for a new laptop and I decided Office Depot and Staples both had my final two choices. Next, I logged into Delta’s SkyMiles Shopping site and did a quick search by retailer, typing in part of the name. The Delta SkyMiles Shopping portal search function is interactive. In short, it filters as you type. I quickly found that Office Depot was earning 2 SkyMiles per dollar spent and Staples was earning 1 SkyMiles per dollar spent.

If you select a retailer, then you may see special offers and coupons offered for select purchases with this retailer.

The next steps are easy. I simply clicked “Shop Now,” which redirected me to Office Depot where I completed my purchase. You don’t need to do anything special to earn the extra SkyMiles. In this case, over 1,000 miles for my click effort.

Search By Categories

Search By Offers: Special Shopping Offers 

It’s possible to earn even greater bonuses when SkyMiles Shopping features bonus points with their special shopping offers. You will not find these everyday, but they do pop up even now and then and are definitely worth checking the site for on a regular basis.

These usually come in the form of bonus SkyMiles for specific dollars spent. As a matter of fact, you can pool spend to meet the bonus targets. For example, perhaps there is a Holiday Bonus requiring you to spend $200 to get 1,500 bonus SkyMiles. You can make purchases from more than one retailer (within the eligible promotional time period) and get your bonus. For example, you buy $100 from one retailer and then $200 from another and you’ve met the $300 required for your 1,500 SkyMiles bonus offer. Sweet.

There also offers for Free Shipping as well as Extra Rewards. Don’t want to choose between the two and want to see all offers available? Select ‘All Online Offers.’

Using “The Button” from Delta SkyMiles Shopping

You never have to miss out on earning extra SkyMiles if you use plug-in button. It’s a simple download that works within your Chrome browser. With the Delta SkyMiles Shopping Button you don’t have to directly log into the SkyMiles Shopping portal to earn your SkyMiles!

When you download the Chrome browser’s plug-in,  you can shop as you would normally on individual retailer’s websites and you’ll earn those SkyMiles from the SkyMiles Shopping portal as if you had logged into the site first.

Probably the best feature is that the tool will create a ‘pop-up’ that appears when you’re browsing an eligible retailer’s website. Then, you simply click ‘Activate’. Every dollar you spend will then earn you SkyMiles automatically.

Leveraging Credit Cards To Earn Extra SkyMiles 

Using those Delta credit cards will earn you extra SkyMiles. You will get the SkyMiles for using the Delta SkyMiles Shopping site, plus the extra SkyMiles rewarded by the credit card for spend.  Using this strategy, you can leverage your spend towards greater SkyMiles earnings.

Of course, you could use a different credit card if you are getting a bonus from using it for a specific purpose. For example, 5x spend on office supply stores such as Office Depot or Staples with your Chase Ink Cash card. SkyMiles and Ultimate Rewards earnings — Cha Ching.  Get the idea now?

Also, make sure to consider whether the retailer is part of a category bonus being offered on a specific credit card. That may determine which credit card you use for your purchases.

Another potential idea is to use an American Express credit card that earns Membership Rewards, which can be transferred to Delta at a 1:1 ratio.

Here are some credit cards that earn Membership Rewards:

• The Platinum Card from American Express
• American Express Gold Card
• The Business Platinum Card from American Express
• American Express Business Gold Card
• The Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express

Delta SkyMiles Shopping: Some Potential Issues To Know About

It’s important to know what actions might cause you not to earn your SkyMiles for shopping through the portal.  The three biggest known issues are:

• COOKIES – Make sure your browser settings are not blocking cookies from the store’s website. This can prevent you from receiving your earned SkyMiles

• COUPON CODES – Only use coupon codes from SkyMiles Shopping. I learned this lesson the hard way. I had a coupon code for $50 off at eBags for some luggage I had been eyeing to purchase. I used the coupon, got my $50 off, but no SkyMiles!

• CLICKING BETWEEN SITES – Do not click out to another site in between the SkyMiles Shopping portal and the store site as it could interfere with the tracking that identifies you as a SkyMiles Shopping member and you might not get your award miles.

The Upshot

Using the Delta SkyMiles Shopping portal is convenient and stress-free. It’s even easier if you install the Chrome extension. It rewards you in SkyMiles for online shopping — something you are probably doing already. Along with monitoring the bonus offers, you can really rack up SkyMiles.