Delta to roll out pay by points option for checked bags

Depending on how active you are with points, Delta’s decision to roll out a pay-by-points option for checked bags could be a nice way to save a few bucks on your next flight. A checked bag typically costs $30, but passengers will be able to use 3000 Skymiles instead.

When you’ll have the opportunity is unclear, as the implementation is happening airport by airport until it’s available nationwide. The carrier had trialed the concept pre-pandemic but shelved it for obvious reasons in 2020.

If you’re a serious points traveler, it’s almost never going to be worth your time to use this feature. But if you’re a more casual credit card user, you might have a few thousand points hanging around that you can throw toward making a flight a little bit cheaper.

It might be a better option to open a Delta credit card like the Delta Amex collection, which grants you a free checked bag anyway and affords a lot more perks.