Starbucks And Delta Cut SkyMiles Earning Again — Fewer Miles, Only For Active Flyers

Starbucks has revamped its program so that you now need to have their top status to earn rebates as quickly as general members used to. Starbucks ‘status’ doesn’t make its best customers better off, and the change was a huge devaluation for everyone else. Now the Starbucks-Delta partnership has restricted SkyMiles earning to people actually flying Delta, and they’ve changed the earning structure to 1 SkyMile per dollar spent. Here’s the old SkyMiles-earning rate: Single reload SkyMiles $25–$49.99 25 $50–$74.99 75 $75–$99.99 125 $100+ 200 This made a $100 Starbucks reload earn 2 SkyMiles per dollar. That’s the structure that went into effect June 12, 2024. Ironically, from the start of the partnership October 12, 2022 until that time, linked members earned… 1 SkyMile per eligible dollar actually spent at Starbucks. So we’re back to 1 mile per dollar on qualifying purchases, but it’s restricted to active flyers. Starting on August 5, 2026, existing Linked Account Members are eligible to earn the Mileage Offer on Qualifying Purchases only during the period of time such member maintains Flight Active Status. “Flight Active” means that, at the time of the applicable Qualifying Purchase, the Linked Account Member has flown on, and completed, at least one (1) Eligible Flight within the preceding one year, which such flight included the member’s SkyMiles Program Account number in the flight itinerary prior to the flight. “Eligible Flight” means any flight segment that is marketed by Delta (bearing a “DL” flight number), including flights operated by Delta, Delta Connection carriers, or other airline partners, regardless of origin, destination, or cabin, and including revenue bookings, exception fares, bulk tickets, tour operator bookings, award travel, block bookings, consolidator fares, and agency bookings (provided that such agency bookings has a Delta ticket stock (006)), but excluding (a) flights marketed by another airline, whether operated by Delta or otherwise, (b) flights marketed and operated by another airline, (c) positive space and non-revenue travel, (d) travel industry or cargo customer discount fares, (e) charter flights, and (f) any tickets that are refunded, voided, or otherwise not flown. The flight needs to have a Delta Air Lines flight number, but it can be award travel. This seems strange to me. It’s a whole lot cheaper! But the idea isn’t just to incentivize Starbucks spend. It’s also to bring Starbucks customers into the Delta ecosystem to feed the top of the SkyMiles funnel and ultimately sell them cobrand American Express cards. Perhaps (1) Starbucks has learned that only actual Delta flyers are new coffee customers incentivized by SkyMiles, so why pay everyone else? or (2) only those brought in by Starbucks who actually fly wind up converting to the card. Topics on this page