I have used Delta Skymiles to make every trip and book all but one ticket over the last six years. All have been business class tickets with the exception of one ticket that I just bought for my son in Delta Comfort, Full disclosure I travel almost weekly on delta for business so I accumulate miles and status the hard way. Some on AH have actually asked if I lived in the Atlanta airport. The weekly grind pays off as Delta rewards you with additional miles as status builds. For 2018 I am at Diamond status, highest level, so every purchased ticket price gets multiplied by a factor of 11....a $500 ticket becomes 5,500 Skymiles. I just reached Platinum status for 2019 yesterday and picked as my status gift from Delta ....20,000 Skymiles. I will hit 2019 Diamond status by November and I will pick up 75,000 Skymiles as the status gift. Then I buy bonus miles on many flights to build up the total balance. Like
@reedy0312 i got the Delta AMX card when they were offering 70,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000. By using that card for all business and personal expenses that initial requirement took two weeks. Then all additional charges convert straight to Skymikes. Delta purchases on the card are multiplied by a factor of 1.5 which builds your total a little. In addition I accumulate points with Marriott Rewards making sure to sign up for additional bonus rewards promotions. I stay in hotels about 100 nights a year. When you get 70,000 points that converts to 25,000 Skymiles and I can do that about three times a year. Hertz rental cars points will convert to Delta Skymiles also. Recently converted 24,000 hertz points into 20,000 Skymiles. So right now with all the programs I’m sitting on about 900,000 Skymiles and should be at 1.2 million by the first of the year. So that would buy several coach tickets to Johannesburg or two business class.
There are many ways to accumulate points or miles you just have to travel a lot or use Credit cards a lot for business and or personal expenses.
I know one member here who uses his credit card for his farming business for everything he purchases from seed to fertilizer and the point stack up quickly. Heck a few years ago I bought my wife a new car in another city over the phone and gave them my AMX credit card for the down payment.....points and miles are out there just about everywhere.
Hope this helps
@Andy Spencer. Good luck accumulating those miles.