From Delta website:
See How Much You’ll Earn
Any eligible flight that is not Delta-marketed will earn miles according to these partner airline rules. For certain partners, earn will be determined based on marketing and ticketing carrier. Not sure what Delta-marketed means?
How do I know if a flight is marketed, operated, or ticketed by Delta or a partner?
The marketing carrier is determined by the two letter airline code in the flight number. For example, DL2368 is marketed by Delta and VS18 is marketed by Virgin Atlantic.
- Delta-ticketed flights feature ticket numbers that begin with “006”. Any flight purchased through delta.com is ticketed by Delta. Other airlines have their own unique ticket numbers. For example, Virgin Atlantic-ticket flights feature ticket numbers that begin with “932.”
- The operating carrier for a flight indicates which airline flies the plane. For example, a Virgin Atlantic-operated flight means the flight will be on Virgin Atlantic aircraft.
Travel to or from Cuba on flights operated by partner airlines is not eligible to earn miles.
Delta
* * *
I am new to all of this. The partner earning stuff is just not sinking in. I have never purchased a partner flight.
If I purchase directly from KL or AF or AM or MU I should be good? But sometimes not? What if the AF marketed flight is on DL metal?
I want to maximize the earnings of MQD and MQM. Flying with the partners seems to be the best way to earn.
Is there a cheat sheet to earning the best / fastest? What to avoid?
Thanks!