If you have not heard about Delta’s Companion Certificate, it is one of the perks that the airline carrier offers to its customers on plane tickets. You can use the companion certificate to have someone travelling with you fly for free. Delta companion certificate rules and guidelines. That’s right! Your companion’s ticket is not charged. You only have to pay for your ticket. However, in order to avail of this benefit, there are certain rules that must be followed.
In this travel guide prepared by Treknova, we will provide you in detail about what Delta Airlines’ Companion Certificate is. Also, we will tell you how you can use it by following their guidelines.
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What is Delta Companion Certificate?
The Delta Companion Certificate is a great perk that comes with select Delta credit cards. This perk allows you to get a 2-for-1 deal on a plane ticket. So, when you purchase a ticket, you can use the Delta Companion Certificate to purchase a second ticket and you only have to pay the taxes and fees on that second ticket. The certificate can be used to buy two round-trip tickets for the price of one, plus taxes and fees of the companion ticket. The companion only has to pay taxes and fees up to $75. This means that you essentially get an extra ticket for free when you buy one ticket, which can save you a couple of dollars.
Thus, in short, a Delta Companion Certificate allows you to purchase a second ticket on select domestic flights for only the price of the taxes and fees on the second ticket. Also, it is renewed annually.
The Delta companion certificate is offered as a benefit to cardholders that hold certain Delta co-branded American Express credit cards. It is a similar concept to that of the Alaska Airlines companion pass, which is offered by their co-branded credit card.
Delta Companion Certificate Expiration
According to Delta companion ticket rules, the certificate is valid for one year from the issuing date. It cannot be extended and must be used before the certificate’s expiration date. Also, your travel must be completed before the expiration date.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that the certificate’s validity cannot be rolled over to the next year.
Acceptable Forms of Payment
You cannot use eCredit with the companion certificate. You must use an American Express credit or charge card to pay for the flight.
How to Obtain a Delta Companion Certificate
A Delta Companion Certificate comes with the personal and business versions of the Delta Platinum card and Delta Reserve card. You can earn a Delta Companion Certificate simply by having the right credit card in your wallet. American Express offers four co-branded personal Delta credit cards and four co-branded Delta business credit cards in total. However, bear in mind that not all of them come with the companion pass benefits.
Thus, the only way to get a Delta companion certificate is to hold one of the Delta co-branded American Express credit cards that offer the companion certificate as a benefit.
The Delta Companion Certificate is only available on the Platinum Delta SkyMiles and Delta Reserve credit cards:
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business American Express Card
Also, note that the companion pass varies slightly depending on what credit card you hold.
Delta Platinum Credit Cards (Personal and Business)
Both the Delta Platinum card and Delta Platinum Business card come with the companion ticket benefit. This benefit offers one round-trip, Main Cabin companion ticket per year after you pay your annual fee.
You are responsible for paying the taxes and fees on the companion ticket. The companion ticket is valid for L, U, T, X, and V classes of service only. These letters refer to different levels of economy fares. Both the first ticket and the fees for the second ticket must be charged to your Delta SkyMiles card.
The benefits of the Delta SkyMiles PersonalCredit Card include the following:
- Earn 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases
- Priority boarding
- First checked bag free
- 20% off in-flight purchases
- Annual fee $195 (not waived)
- Annual one-time Main Cabin companion certificate
- Annual miles and MQMs after spend requirement
The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Credit Card allows you to earn the companion certificate along with other benefits, like annual MQMs and waiving the MQD requirement. These are all on top of standard benefits, such as free first checked baggage and priority boarding.
The benefits of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Credit Card include the following:
- Earn 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases
- Priority boarding
- First checked bag free
- 20% off in-flight purchases
- Annual fee $195 (not waived)
- Annual one-time Main Cabin companion certificate
- Annual miles and MQMs after spend requirement
The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Credit Card also has the same benefits as the personal card. It is great if you don’t want to take a Chase 5/24 slot.
Delta Reserve Credit Cards (Personal and Business)
If you have either of the Delta Reserve card or the Delta Reserve Business card, you are eligible for one round-trip, Main Cabin, Comfort+, or First Class companion ticket per year after you pay your annual fee.
You are responsible for paying the taxes and fees on the companion ticket. The companion ticket is valid for L, U, T, X, and V classes of service (economy), I and Z classes of service (first class), and W class (Delta Comfort+).
Both the first ticket and the fees for the second ticket must be charged to your Delta Reserve American Express card. On any itinerary, the primary, paid ticket is eligible to earn Delta SkyMiles, but the companion ticket is not.
Here are the benefits of Delta SkyMiles Reserve Personal Credit Card:
- Earn 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases
- Priority boarding
- First checked bag free
- 20% off in-flight purchases
- Annual fee $450 (not waived)
- Annual one-time First Class, Comfort+ or Main Cabin companion certificate
- Delta SkyClub access
- Annual miles and MQMs after spend requirement
The Delta Reserve Credit Card gives you more unique benefits when flying Delta than other Delta co-branded cards like Delta SkyClub access, increased MQMs, and more flexible companion certificate as it allows you to redeem for first class, Comfort+, and main cabin.
The benefits of Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Credit Card include the following:
- Earn 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases
- Priority boarding
- First checked bag free
- 20% off in-flight purchases
- Annual fee $450 (not waived)
- Annual one-time First Class, Comfort+ or Main Cabin companion certificate
- Delta SkyClub access
- Annual miles and MQMs after spend requirement
The Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Credit Card is also the same as the personal version along with all the similar benefits. This card would be great if you don’t want to take a Chase 5/24 slot.
Once you are eligible to receive the companion certificate, it will show under your account’s eCertificates and eCredits page or by typing in the certificate number manually.
How to Use the Delta Companion Certificate
Your Delta Companion Certificate can only be used on the airline’s websiteDelta.com. It can’t be used on Delta flights that are purchased on any other website, such as third-party travel agents.
Steps:
1. You will need to first, log in to your account on Delta.com.
2. Once you are logged in to your account, you will be able to see your companion ticket in the My Wallet section.
3. From there, you can select your companion pass, then search for flights as you normally would. The system should automatically filter out the flights that are not eligible for a companion pass ticket.
Note: When searching for the flights, the results shown is what you can use the certificate on. That means if the flight you are looking for is not shown, then there is no availability based on the fare classes not being available.
4. After selecting your departing and returning flights, you will see the summary page. Only taxes and fees are charged for the companion.
Note: For making payments, you can only use American Express credit or debit cards when the companion certificate is applied. You cannot use eCredit or gift cards when it is applied. However, you can use any American Express issued card, it does not have to be one of the Delta co-branded American Express cards.
There is no price limit to the ticket you can purchase with your Delta companion certificate. So, the higher the price of the ticket, the more value you get from this perk. For instance, let’s say you and a friend want to travel from New York to Los Angeles for a long weekend, but the tickets are $500 each. While you might not want to spend $1,000 for this trip, with the Delta Companion Certificate, you can purchase both tickets for just $500 (plus the taxes and fees on the second ticket). You can easily get hundreds of dollars of value from this 1 perk.
How do I redeem a Companion Certificate?
- Log in with your Skymiles Account and just click the “Redeem Now” button and log in with your SkyMiles account.
- Enter the 8-character certificate code from the letter or email you received.
- Search the flight according to your wish and book your trip.
Delta Companion Certificate Rules
Here are a few rules from Delta to keep in mind when using your Delta Companion Certificate:
(a) The ticket is good for travel within the continental U.S. However, if you are a resident of Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, your ticket can originate from one of those destinations. You still must travel to one of the 48 contiguous states, and the address in your Delta account must be from one of those areas.
(b) Companion tickets can be transferred, so you can book for someone else. But, once the ticket is issued, it is not transferable.
(c) Companion tickets can’t be applied to fares that have already been purchased.
(d) If you cancel your reservation, your companion ticket will not be re-issued.
(e) The companion ticket must be for the exact same flight as the original paid ticket. You can’t use the companion ticket to purchase a fare for a friend on a different flight.
(f) The paid ticket and companion ticket are both eligible for upgrades as long as both passengers are either a Delta SkyMiles member, Medallion member, or SkyTeam Alliance partner airline elite member. Any upgrades will be processed according to the passenger with the highest Delta status.
(g) Companion ticket fares may require an advance purchase of up to 14 days, a 3-night minimum stay, and a 30-day maximum stay.
(h) Some flights may be excluded, and stopovers and open jaws are not eligible for companion flights.
(i) The primary, paid ticket on the itinerary will earn Delta SkyMiles, but the companion ticket will not.
Conclusion – Delta Companion Certificate Rules and Guide
The Delta Companion Certificate is a great deal. This perk allows you to buy a second seat on a Delta flight for the price of the taxes and fees. That means you and your companion can fly for essentially the price of just one ticket.
The companion ticket is available as a perk on four Delta Amex credit cards. These include the Delta Platinum card, Delta Platinum Business card, Delta Reserve card, and Delta Reserve Business card.
