This flight was the return leg of a trip that brought me to Singapore on all Delta metal — the round-trip cost a total of $762. I used my new Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express to help meet the $3,000 minimum spend requirement for the sign-up bonus, which once I met it, ultimately gave me 10,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) and 40,000 bonus miles. I credited the flight to my Delta SkyMiles account, and I walked away with 6,906 MQMs and $222 MQDs. My flight was booked through Delta and thus earned MQMs based on Delta’s usual earning chart, but Delta and Korean signed a Joint Venture agreement on May 1, which means you can now credit to Delta and earn MQMs even if you book through Korean Air.

If you want to use points for this flight, a good place to start is Korean’s own SkyPass program. You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Korean at a 1:1 ratio and then book an off-peak one-way economy flight for 35,000 miles plus about $125 in taxes and fees. During the peak season, the price increases to 52,500 miles (but the taxes and fees remain the same) for the one-way award. Additionally, you can book Korean Air flights through Delta’s SkyMiles program. Though Delta doesn’t publish an award chart, there’s quite a good amount of low-level economy availability on Korean’s nonstop flights between ICN and JFK for just 35,000 miles and much less in taxes and fees — about $42.