Without SkyMiles, is Delta's Basic Economy still worth it? It's Econ 101

Late last year, Delta Air Lines dealt a blow to budget-conscious passengers with an announcement: Tickets purchased in Basic Economy would no longer earn SkyMiles.

The ruling carrier at Minneapolis-St. Paul twisted the knife by making Basic Economy tickets changeable — that is, for a $99 fee, or $199 for travel beyond North America. (All other Delta tickets can now be changed without a fee, which is wonderful.)

Ah, Basic Economy. Delta's low-frills "experience" is arguably just a way to get us to pay for the upsell (usually $30 to $80) to the reasonable service of Main Cabin. But no airline had gone so far as to strip frequent-flier miles from the class.

Putting aside that most people who buy the barebones fares are not obsessively monitoring their SkyMiles balances, it raised the question: Is Basic Economy dead to us?

I say no. When it comes to saving money vs. accumulating miles, I'd take the money — almost every time.

Don't get me wrong, I like SkyMiles. I have 77,883 of them, but I've amassed most of them through spending on my SkyMiles Platinum American Express — not by incessantly flying Delta.

Consider the round-trip Delta flight from MSP to Phoenix I found last week, for $116 in Basic Economy or $166 in Main Cabin. If I spring for that extra $50, I'll earn about 635 SkyMiles (5 per dollar, excluding taxes) on the $166 fare.

Popular travel websites value SkyMiles from 1.2 to 1.46 cents per mile. So the miles I'd earn for that Phoenix flight are perhaps worth $9.27 — not enough to justify Main Cabin alone. In fact, you'd need at least a $600 base fare to break even with the miles earned.

Delta Basic Economy fliers get the same seat type as Main Cabin (maybe a little farther back) and a carry-on bag. There are, of course, a handful of other disadvantages, as well as ways to compensate for them, often involving the SkyMiles credit card. It's a strategy known as "defeating Basic Economy."

Seat selection: This is a big one for me. You don't get to choose when booking basic, but 24 hours before your flight, you can usually select one for free. When flying basic, I set an alert a day in advance.

Checked bags: The first bag is $30 for anyone below first class, but if you hold the SkyMiles Gold AmEx (with a $99 annual fee) or higher, you get a free checked bag for everyone on your reservation. That can pay off quickly.

Boarding: Basic Economy is dead last in Delta's Byzantine eight-zone boarding hierarchy. Again, just having a SkyMiles AmEx bumps you up three zones. Amid the shakeups of this pandemic, I have yet to experience a boarding process where it mattered.

Ticket changes: Delta's got me on this one. I said that saving beats SkyMiles almost every time. So when you decide to go basic, you need to be reasonably sure you're going to take the flight, and be willing to potentially forgo the money — and the miles.