Airbnb has always been a terrible deal for points people. Afterall you can’t use points for AirBnB and you earn no loyalty either. Yet personally I love AirBnb as they often offer more space than hotel rooms for less money. Great for value and often the obvious choice for longer stays or group and family trips. But from a rewards perspective? A complete dead zone.
No points. No status. No perks.
Meanwhile, book that same trip at a hotel and you’re racking up 10x points, elite bonuses, maybe free breakfast, and quite possibly a suite upgrade if you play your cards right and have status. Between hotel credit cards that earn bonus points on spend, you also are earning points base on the cost of the hotel into the hotel’s program. So for years, booking Airbnb meant accepting one thing: you’re giving up the points game. (GASP! 🫢😲)
yet Delta changed that with AirBnb and now you can earn Skymiles on stays and experiences.
Earn Skymiles Via AirBnB
Delta isn’t making it streamline, but you can earn points. You must connect your SkyMiles and Airbnb accounts to start earning miles. Yet, your accounts will only remain connected for ten days. After ten days, you must refresh your eligibility through deltaairbnb.com prior to booking a stay or activity to continue earning on Airbnb for another 10 days.
The newer twist is that you earn more miles via experiences and services than home rentals. AirBnb is trying to be the next Viator or Project Expeditions while awarding 3x miles on Airbnb Experiences and Services. This won’t replace the cruise Shore Excursion search but it does allow you to earn skymiles on things you usually spend money while traveling. Those local tours, Cooking classes, local guides, etc.
This new change (with hoops to jump through) is not going to change your life, but earning airline miles on things like a private food tour in Rome or a guided hike in Patagonia is the kind of incremental gain that adds up quickly if you travel often. Plus you also get 1 point per dollar on your stay.
This is Not as Robust as Hotels Award Programs
If you’re expecting this to compete with Marriott or Hyatt, you’re thinking about it wrong. This is a supplement, not a full replacement.
Let’s say you spend $2,500 at a hotel. Depending on the program, elite status, etc you could potentially earn a lot of points
- Hotel stay: maybe 2,500-25,000 points depending on the program. Plus elite perks
- Airbnb: 2,500 Delta miles + credit card earnings
On paper, hotels win. Easily, right? But that comparison ignores something huge, Airbnb often costs less and gives you more space. So yes you’ll earn fewer miles, but you’re also not spending as much money. As hotel prices continue to climb, home rentals are more affordable and attractive.
Do hotel perks matter? Absolutely, but since covid we’ve also seen hotels cut, cut and cut some more. Daily housekeeping is gone, lounge hours are reduced, lounge offerings are unattractive and powder eggs and a banana for breakfast just doesn’t cut it. I’d rather make my own eggs and have more space.
For business travelers, I also know that AirBnb isn’t the answer. Also local regulations make it harder in many places to actually rent AirBnB’s which mean hotels are going to be your own choice. Yet, at least this puts loyalty points with Airbnb.
The Bottom Line
Airbnb is still not a loyalty play. If you want upgrades, breakfast, and elite recognition, you book hotels. There’s no real hack here, but you have to remember to connect your account every time you do something. Or Every 10 days. Earn between 1-3 Delta Skymiles for every dollar you spend with Airbnb and stack this with other credit card point programs to double dip.
For now, at least, you’re not walking away empty-handed. This is exactly the kind of earning strategy that doesn’t feel exciting. Instead it’s a nice oh ya I have more points than I thought when you later try to utilize Delta’s Skymiles program.
