Delta has gone great lengths to refresh its long-haul business class product marketed as Delta One. The airline has not only installed new seats but also revamped other aspects of the experience — from food and drink to amenity kits.
In this guide, we’ll detail the Delta One experience, as well as show you the ways on how to book award seats using your miles and points.
The Delta One Experience
Ground Experience
Delta has several hubs scattered across the US, among them Atlanta, Boston, and Detroit. In these hubs and other airports Delta serves, you can expect separate counters or entire rows reserved for Delta One customers for expedited check-in.
As a Delta One passenger, you’ll get access to the Delta Sky Club nearest to your departure gate. Unlike United Polaris and American Airlines Flagship lounges, Delta Sky Clubs aren’t exclusive to passengers flying long-haul, so you can expect them to be often crowded.
Nevertheless, Delta’s lounges offer an excellent selection of food, as well as a full bar to boot. Plus, lounge agents are empowered to assist passengers with flight-related concerns, such as misconnections or cancellations.
Seats
Delta One is the airline’s branding for its long-haul business class seat and product. Like United Polaris, it’s differentiated from domestic First Class, which means business class with recliner seats.
There are two subtypes of Delta One — the regular Delta One and the Delta One Suites. Delta One seats are found on retrofitted Boeing 767, Boeing 757, and Airbus A330 aircraft, while Delta One Suites are fitted onto newer A350 and A330 aircraft.
What contrasts the two is, basically, the presence of a full-height door on the Delta One Suites. Rest assured that both cabins feature seats that transform into a lie-flat bed.
Further, whether in Delta One or Delta One Suites, you’ll be provided with premium beddings filled with recycled polyester fibers, and an artisan-made amenity kit by Mexican social enterprise Someone Somewhere.
Food and Drink
In January 2023, Delta announced a refresh of its food and beverage offering on Delta One. New dishes being served include chicken piccata with lemon caper sauce and Calabrian Caesar salad by James Beard-awarded chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo.
Likewise on offer are espresso martinis and old-fashioneds by Tip Top Proper co*cktails, as well as La Fête du Rosé, a premium rosé from St. Tropez.
Finally, Delta’s dessert cart is making a comeback exclusively on Delta One. The carts treat passengers to a variety of cheeses and sweets, including build-your-own sundaes.
The Delta One Cabin
Delta One Suites (Airbus A350 and A330-900)
As mentioned, the unique selling proposition of the Delta One Suites is the presence of a full-height door, which is a rarity in business class.
These “suites” are a customized version of the Vantage XL seat by Thompson Aero Seating, and the reason they look familiar is that similar seats, albeit without doors, are being used by EVA Airways, Qantas, and SAS.
Delta One Suites on both the Airbus A350 and A330-900neo follow a staggered 1-2-1 configuration.
Since the seats are staggered, solo travellers will appreciate the extra privacy offered by the consoles of seats nearer to the window. On the A350, those are “A” and “D” seats on odd rows, while on the A330-900neo, those are “A” and “J” seats on even rows.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), Delta chose the non-”honeymoon” option for its modified Vantage XL suites, so couples would be separated by a console and a retractable divider should they opt for the two middle seats.
Delta One (Boeing 757 and 767, and Airbus A330)
Delta One is an assortment of pod-style seats with configurations that vary by aircraft. For instance, on narrow-body Boeing 757 aircraft, seats are arranged 2-2 in a reverse herringbone configuration, meaning all seats face toward the windows for a little more privacy.
Meanwhile, older Airbus A330 aircraft (A330-200 and A330-300 series) are equipped with Delta One seats in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration. Middle seats on these aircraft are afforded some privacy, thanks to the seats’ console and partitioning.
Lastly, widebody Boeing 767 aircraft offer Vantage XL seats similar to the Delta One Suites described above. However, despite the similarity to Delta One Suites, Delta doesn’t market this product as “suites” due to the absence of a door.
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Delta One Routes
As a rule of thumb, most, if not all, long-haul international flights already offer Delta One or Delta One Suites.
Outside of “flagship” routes, such as New York to Los Angeles, routes within the US or to Canada are trickier to predict. It’d be better to just look up the specific flights you’re looking to fly on.
Delta shows which cabins are bookable on every flight, and the search results clearly indicate whether you’re booking Delta One or Delta One Suites.
If you’re booking or redeeming with a partner, such as Virgin Atlantic, you should cross-check on the Delta website to find out which business class seats are being offered.
How to Redeem Points for Delta One
The easiest way to redeem Delta One awards is naturally through the airline’s in-house program, Delta SkyMiles.
Aside from flying Delta or one of its partners, you may accrue Delta SkyMiles by transferring from American Express Membership Rewards in Canada at a rate of 1,000 MR points = 750 SkyMiles, and from American Express US Membership Rewards at a rate of 1,000 MR points = 1,000 SkyMiles.
American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards AmericanExpress GoldRewardsCard American Express Gold Rewards Card 70,000 MR points $250 annual fee BusinessPlatinum Card from AmericanExpress Business Platinum Card from American Express 120,000 MR points $799 annual fee AmericanExpress BusinessGold RewardsCard American Express Business Gold Rewards Card 75,000 MR points $199 annual fee AmericanExpress BusinessEdgeCard American Express Business Edge Card Up to 77,000 MR points $99 annual fee AmericanExpress PlatinumCard American Express Platinum Card 100,000 MR points $799 annual fee AmericanExpress CobaltCard American Express Cobalt Card 15,000 MR points $156 annual fee
CreditCard BestOffer Value 70,000 MR points $1,676 ApplyNow 120,000 MR points $1,574 ApplyNow 75,000 MR points $1,561 ApplyNow Up to 77,000 MR points $1,419 ApplyNow 100,000 MR points $1,361 ApplyNow 15,000 MR points $372 ApplyNow
In the US, there also are Delta-branded credit cards issued by American Express that directly earn SkyMiles.
If you have plenty of Marriott Bonvoy points from stays or credit cards, you may choose to transfer them to Delta SkyMiles at a rate of 3,000 Bonvoy points = 1,000 SkyMiles. Keep in mind though that transfers to airline programs are not the best use of Bonvoy points — you should only do so if you have a redemption already planned.
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Delta SkyMiles doesn’t publish an award chart, meaning the program imposes dynamic pricing on redemptions. With dynamic pricing, the points you’ll need to redeem are affected by factors, such as demand and seasonality. Unfortunately, there’s no apparent upper limit — some awards may fetch as many as 500,000 SkyMiles.
You can look for so-called “saver awards”, which require the least number of points, but these redemptions are few and far between.
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Redeeming with Partner Airlines
Delta is a SkyTeam alliance member; thus, redeeming Delta One awards is technically possible with fellow members, such as Air France/KLM, and Virgin Atlantic. As a caveat, however, partners only get saver-level award inventory, and as mentioned, those aren’t plentiful.
Air France/KLM Flying Blue
To recall, Air France/KLM Flying Blue is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards in Canada, and American Express US Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Bilt Rewards in the US. Also, in Canada, Brim Financial issues a co-branded card that straightforwardly earns Flying Blue miles.
Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard®
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First-Year Value: $0
- Get 60 XP in the first year, plus 30 XP in subsequent years
- Earn 5 Flying Blue miles per euro spent on Air France KLM flights
- Earn 2 Flying Blue miles per dollar spent on food and drink
- Earn 1 Flying Blue mile per dollar spent everywhere else
- Minimum income: $80,000 personal or $150,000 household
- Annual fee: $132 (waived in the first year)
Like Delta SkyMiles, Flying Blue also applies dynamic pricing on its own flights and partner redemptions. However, the program is more transparent by showing the minimum number of miles required through the points estimator tool and interactive map.
It’s frankly hard to find Delta One availability on Flying Blue. Usually, the Delta business class seats you’ll find are on US domestic First Class, while the long-haul seats you’ll find are usually with Air France, KLM, and to a lesser extent, Virgin Atlantic.
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Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Speaking of Virgin Atlantic, you can also redeem Delta One awards with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
Recently inducted into the SkyTeam alliance, Virgin Atlantic doesn’t fly to Canada, so understandably, Flying Club isn’t a transfer partner of any credit card issuer in the Great White North.
It does, however, fly to a handful of destinations in the US, so the program is transfer partners with American Express US Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Rewards.
Despite recent devaluations, Flying Club still offers great redemption opportunities for Delta One.
Unlike Flying Blue or Delta’s own SkyMiles program itself, Flying Club publishes three redemption tables for Delta One: UK to/from the US, Europe to/from US, and a distance-based table for all other Delta flights in the US and around the world.
Assuming you find availability, a one-way Delta One Suites ticket from Detroit to Amsterdam will only set you back 50,000 Virgin Points — a steal compared to the eye-watering amounts Delta SkyMiles charges for the route.
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Tips and Tricks for Delta One
Delta’s Flexible Dates and Calendar View
No thanks to dynamic pricing, Delta tends to excessively price Delta One redemptions on its own SkyMiles program. However, if you’re really keen on flying Delta One, you should use the calendar function on Delta’s booking engine, to search for the fewest miles required.
At the start of your search, make sure that the “my dates are flexible” option is checked, so the engine presents you with both a weekly and monthly calendar of award costs. Keep in mind that redemptions with Delta SkyMiles may be made as early as 330 days in advance.
Virgin Atlantic’s Reward Seat Checker
Virgin Atlantic’s Reward Seat Checker is a nifty tool, which can help you scout Delta One seats. Currently on beta, it allows searches of award seats on Delta’s UK to US routes and vice versa. To use it properly, be sure to select “Flying with Delta Airlines.”
The results will display a calendar with the number of Delta One seats available under “Upper Class,” which is what Virgin Atlantic calls its business class.
To recall, Flying Club charges a fixed number of Virgin Points based upon redemption tables, as detailed above. If you do find a reward seat, consider yourself lucky, as you’re getting a rare deal.
Conclusion
With the high demand for flying in the US, Delta is pricing its Delta One award seats exorbitantly these days, especially when compared to similar long-haul flights on other airlines.
However, if you’re really intent in experiencing Delta One, especially the Delta One Suites, arm yourself with plenty of miles and patience. Likewise, try to use the tools we’ve outlined above to make sure you’re at least getting a decent deal.
