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Delta Air Lines · DAL (NYSE) · FY2025

Delta SkyMiles by the numbers

SkyMiles is the industry's biggest card deal: American Express paid Delta US$8.2 billion in 2025, heading for US$10 billion, and 60% of Delta's revenue now comes from streams other than the main cabin fare.

Written and reviewed by the Points Plug team. Last reviewed .

What Delta Air Lines reports

Loyalty revenue
US$7.6 billion
2025: US$3,362m "loyalty program" line in other revenue plus US$4,237m of loyalty travel awards inside passenger revenue (2024: US$3,297m plus US$3,841m).
Cash from card and other partners
US$8.2 billion
American Express remuneration in 2025, up 11%, which Delta expects to "grow to $10 billion over the next few years". Cash sales of miles under marketing agreements were US$8.0bn.
Deferred revenue for unredeemed miles
US$9.3 billion
Loyalty program deferred revenue at 31 December 2025 (US$4,876m current, US$4,386m non-current), up from US$8,826m; US$9,570m at 30 June 2026.
Members
35 million award tickets
Delta does not disclose members; award travel was 12% of revenue miles and about 35 million award tickets in 2025.

Card partners and deals

  • American Express, described in Delta's filings as its "most significant contract to sell miles". The expiry year is not stated in the pages read (2029 is widely reported but not confirmed).
  • Amex payments were US$2.4 billion in the second quarter of 2026 alone, up 16%.
  • Marketing contracts run one to 13 years and cover brand use, lounge access and marketing as well as miles.

Financing: The 2020 US$9 billion SkyMiles financing (US$6bn of notes and a US$3bn term loan) is amortising: US$4,010m outstanding at 31 December 2025 and US$3,437m at 30 June 2026, maturing 2026 to 2028. Covenants restrict program changes that would "materially impair" repayment.

How the miles are accounted for

  • Miles "are combined in one homogeneous pool and are not separately identifiable"; Amex proceeds are allocated between travel and other performance obligations such as brand usage and lounge access.
  • In 2025 members earned US$4,892m of miles and redeemed US$4,237m for travel and US$219m for non-travel awards.
  • Delta says the majority of new miles are redeemed within two years; SkyMiles never expire, so the rest is handled by breakage estimates.

What it means

The program's recognised revenue of US$7.6 billion is about 12% of Delta's US$63.4 billion top line, and its cash is a large part of the 9.2% operating margin that leads the US industry. Delta does not report a loyalty segment, but the Amex cheque alone is bigger than the operating income of the whole group (US$5.8 billion).

Because SkyMiles never expire, the US$9.3 billion liability can only shrink through redemptions or through breakage assumptions. Delta issues about US$650 million more miles a year than members burn, which is why award prices on delta.com float with cash fares and why Delta Basic fares earn little or nothing.

The SkyMiles notes and loan from 2020 still had US$3.4 billion outstanding in mid-2026. Their covenants are a reason Delta cannot quietly gut the program: lenders were sold on the cash flows from Amex, and a devaluation that cut redemptions or enrolments would put those flows at risk.

What it means for your Delta SkyMiles balance

A program that earns more from selling miles to banks than from flights has an incentive to keep issuing them, and the deferred revenue line is the airline's own estimate of what an average outstanding mile will cost it to honour. Compare that with published valuations and with what Points Plug pays to see where your balance stands.

Delta SkyMiles finances: FAQ

How much does Delta earn from American Express?
US$8.2 billion in 2025, up 11%, with a stated goal of US$10 billion a year.
What is Delta's SkyMiles liability?
US$9.3 billion of deferred revenue at 31 December 2025 and US$9.6 billion at 30 June 2026.
Does Delta still owe money on the SkyMiles financing?
Yes. US$3.4 billion of the 2020 US$9 billion SkyMiles notes and term loan was outstanding at 30 June 2026, maturing by 2028.

Sources

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