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It’s no secret that I enjoy flying. This year marks my third year with Diamond Medallion Status from Delta and I spend a lot of time in the air with Delta. So for this week’s Wanderlust Wednesday series, I wanted to discuss ways to earn Delta Skymiles without flying. Between flights and hotels, these are the biggest costs for travel. Last week, I posted about earning Marriott points and you can see more of that here. Here are 6 ways to earn Delta Skymiles without setting foot on a plane:

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1. Co-Branded Credit Card

As I talked about in this overview of travel hacking, getting a Delta co-branded credit card and getting a welcome bonus for hitting a certain amount of spend. This is the fastest way to earn Delta Skymiles without flying. It allows you to earn 50,000+ miles at once just for doing your regular, everyday spending. Earning quick chunks of miles like this allows you to earn faster than you would flying, and with a lot less hassle. 

The key is to channel your regular spending into the one card that is offering the welcome bonus. I usually try to time signing up for a card when I know I have a large expense upcoming. For example, I recently just got the Gold Delta Skymiles Credit Card by American Express, and then bought my ski season passes for this upcoming ski season right afterward. This was something I was going to buy anyway. I didn’t spend any extra and I was able to pay off the card immediately and not carry a balance.

Delta has linked up with American Express to offer 4 different credit cards that might suit your needs with different perks, sign on bonuses, and annual fees. You can only get the welcome bonus once per lifetime so definitely make sure it’s a good offer. (Pro tip: Don’t sign up for < 50,000 welcome bonus points unless you have a big upcoming expense and don’t think you would regularly qualify). 

This also might be obvious, but if you are a couple, you and your spouse can each get your own card with your own welcome bonus. You don’t have to do this at the same time, but you might NOT want to add each other as an authorized user so that both of you will be able to earn a welcome bonus at some point.

DISCLAIMER: I do get a referral if you click on the link to sign up for these cards, but it does not change your bonus miles/points you earn, so hey I would appreciate it!

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2. Rental Cars

Rental cars were another thing discussed in my travel hacking overview. Often if you are planning a trip, you might need a rental car. You might as well get some extra frequent flyer miles for this as well. Here are the rental car partners for Delta.

3. Lyft

Riding with Lyft is the EASIEST way to earn Delta Skymiles without flying. If you aren’t familiar with Lyft, it’s an Uber competitor. If you have never taken Lyft before, you can get a discount on your first ride with code ANDREA779162.

Then in order to earn Delta Skymiles by taking a Lyft ride, you need to go here and link your Lyft account with your Delta Skymiles account. Now you won’t be getting enough miles to take a trip after a few rides ($1 on Lyft = 1 Skymile, $1 on Lyft = 2 Skymiles on airport rides), but all of the miles add up. And you weren’t getting any Skymiles for taking Uber or a Taxi anyway.

4. Airbnb

An additional option to earn Delta Skymiles without flying is by booking a stay on Airbnb. If you have never used Airbnb, you can use this code to get a discount on your first stay. You need to book your Airbnb stay through the Delta portal which you can find here. For every $1 you spend, you earn 1 Skymile.

5. Shopping on Online Portals

Signing up for new credit cards might not be your thing, which makes online shopping portals an one of the most appealing ways to earn Delta Skymiles without flying. If you already do a lot of your shopping online then you should be using shopping portals to maximize the miles and points that you are earning.

Every major airline (and many credit cards) have points and miles earning gateways to many popular online retailers you already shop at. Simply start your search at the shopping portal (here is a link to Delta’s) and continue to check out as you regularly would. You can earn miles for every dollar spent shopping through these portals. The key is to never let a mile earning opportunity go to waste.

6. Dine with SkyMiles Dining

Another one of the ways to earn Delta Skymiles without flying is through Skymiles Dining. This is a separate program where you can sign up with the program, register your credit or debit card with the Dining portal and then use that card when you are out to eat and earn some extra Skymiles.

Earning Delta Skymiles without Flying

As you can tell, there are many ways to earn Delta Skymiles without flying. Do you have any tips to share of how you earn Delta Skymiles? Please include them in the comments below.

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