Delta Stays

Delta Stays is Delta Air Lines' dedicated hotel booking portal, accessible through Delta's Cars and Stays platform. It exists to give SkyMiles members a way to accumulate airline miles on hotel stays without needing to search across dozens of booking sites. The portal uses Expedia as its underlying inventory, so the hotel selection, pricing, and search functionality feel familiar if you've booked through Expedia before. What makes it different is the ability to earn and apply SkyMiles directly during the booking process.

The primary draw of Delta Stays is straightforward: earn two SkyMiles per dollar spent on the base room rate. This applies to hotel bookings made through the platform when you're logged into your SkyMiles account. Your SkyMiles number is attached to your booking automatically, and miles post to your account within up to eight weeks of your stay completion. The earning rate is consistent regardless of which hotel you choose or how many nights you stay. For travelers who accumulate SkyMiles from flying or other sources, this represents a tangible way to convert hotel spending into additional miles without hunting for special promotions or sign-up bonuses.

The portal includes a pricing advantage at certain properties marketed as VIP Access hotels, where SkyMiles members get access to discounted room rates or in-stay perks not available to the general public. This works similarly to hotel loyalty program benefits, but the discounts are negotiated between Delta and the hotels rather than earned through individual loyalty status. Finding these VIP properties is as simple as filtering for them in the search results, and the discount displays before you book.

One important limitation stands out: stays booked through Delta Stays do not earn hotel loyalty points or elite night credits toward your Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, or Hilton status. If you're working toward elite status at a hotel chain, or if you depend on hotel loyalty points for your redemption strategy, Delta Stays sits lower in your hierarchy than booking direct with the hotel or using the hotel's own app. The portal's positioning is therefore best suited to travelers who prioritize airline miles over hotel status, or who have already achieved the elite status they want and are happy to redirect earning toward flights instead.

The booking experience itself mirrors Expedia's search-and-filter flow. You enter your destination, travel dates, and number of rooms, and the platform returns results sorted by price, rating, or other criteria. Each listing includes reviews, photos, and property details pulled from Expedia's database. Some hotels show multiple rate types (standard room, suite, packages with breakfast), and you can compare and select before moving to checkout. The same flexibility applies to cancellation policies as you would find on Expedia: non-refundable rates typically offer lower prices in exchange for no refund, while refundable rates cost more but allow you to cancel up to a certain date. Filter options let you narrow by property type, star rating, price range, or amenities like WiFi, gym, parking, or pet policy. If you have specific accessibility needs or require certain room types, the search interface allows you to specify those requirements before booking.

When you reach payment, you have two main options: pay with a credit card to earn miles on your spending, or use SkyMiles from your account to pay for part or all of the room. If you're using miles, they must come from your SkyMiles account, and you cannot transfer them from another person or earn bonus miles by paying cash instead. The payment name must match the name on your SkyMiles account exactly, and your SkyMiles number is required at the time of booking.

The eight-week posting window means miles do not appear instantly. Delay is normal and expected, and if your miles have not posted within eight weeks of checkout, Delta customer service can investigate. Until your stay is completed and marked as finished in the system, Delta does not credit miles, so partial or cancelled bookings will not earn anything. Refunds on cancelled bookings are processed according to the cancellation policy of the rate you booked, independent of miles.

Taxes and fees are excluded from the mileage calculation. If a room costs one hundred dollars per night plus thirty dollars in taxes and resort fees, you earn two miles per dollar on the one hundred dollar base only, not on the thirty dollar add-ons. This is the standard across most airline booking portals and travel rewards programs, as taxes are government-imposed and resort fees vary widely. Some travelers view this as a fair boundary; others prefer hotel loyalty programs that calculate elite nights on the base room rate alone but do count taxes in the earning rate calculation.

Support for Delta Stays bookings runs through Delta's customer service channels rather than through the hotel directly. If you have a question about your reservation, pricing, or earning miles, you contact Delta first. The hotel is only involved if you have a question specific to the property itself once you arrive. This matters if you need to modify your booking, request late checkout, or dispute a charge. You work with Delta's team rather than the hotel's reservation desk.

Delta Stays makes the most sense for people with significant ongoing SkyMiles balances and a travel cadence that includes hotel stays. If you fly Delta regularly, stay in hotels often, and value accumulating flight redemption inventory, the two miles per dollar rate converts hotel spending into a supplemental earning stream. The platform becomes especially appealing for travelers with high annual hotel spend, since the two miles per dollar rate compounds across multiple bookings into thousands of additional miles annually. If you rarely fly Delta, don't have any miles saved, or prefer maximizing hotel status and points, this portal is not the optimal choice. For those who do use it, the straightforward earning rate and lack of surprises at checkout make it a reliable option once you accept that you're trading hotel loyalty earning for airline miles. The eight-week posting window is normal across airline platforms and should not deter bookings, as miles are guaranteed to appear within that period.