Sr. Manager, Award and Upgrade Strategy

How You'll Help Us Keep Climbing (Overview &

Key Responsibilities )
About Sky Miles

Delta Air Lines leads the global travel industry with its Sky Miles loyalty program, delivering a rich suite of benefits and experiences for millions of Sky Miles Members worldwide. The Sky Miles program is central to Delta’s welcoming, elevated and caring brand promise, helping deepen customer engagement and reward high-value Members throughout the travel journey.

Sky Miles is seeking a proven leader to shape and manage award and upgrade strategy across Delta’s loyalty portfolio. This role will help optimize the value and experience delivered to Members while balancing mileage liability, revenue performance, customer behavior and the broader financial impact to Delta.

The Senior Manager, Award and Upgrade Strategy will lead a team of individual contributors focused on mileage redemption strategy and mileage upgrade products. The role will work closely with Revenue Management and other Commercial teams to evaluate performance, identify opportunities and implement customer-focused solutions. This position is based at Delta’s Global Headquarters in Atlanta, GA and follows a hybrid work model requiring a minimum of four days per week in the office.

• Brings high initiative, sound judgment and a strong bias for action to complex award and upgrade strategy decisions.
• Uses data, customer insights and business context to recommend practical actions that improve Member experience and business performance.
• Balances customer value, mileage economics, revenue impact and operational feasibility when evaluating strategy changes.
• Builds trusted partnerships with Revenue Management, Digital, Reservations, Finance, Legal and other cross-functional stakeholders.
• Communicates with clarity and candor to audiences at all levels, including senior leaders and executive stakeholders.
• Navigates trade-offs, ambiguity and competing priorities with speed, resilience and transparency.
• Embraces challenges, fresh perspectives and cross-functional problem solving to move ideas from concept to implementation.

• Own planning, analysis and decision support for Sky Miles redemption and upgrade strategy, including initiatives that strengthen Member engagement, satisfaction and program value.
• Optimize the value and experience delivered to customers while balancing mileage liability, revenue performance and financial impact to Delta.
• Partner with Commercial teams, most notably Revenue Management, to oversee award and upgrade performance, evaluate customer behavior, recommend strategy changes and implement initiatives across flight and non-air redemption products.
• Serve as a key Sky Miles stakeholder for Revenue Management merchandising strategy changes.
• Work with Commercial partners to identify and promote redemption and upgrade opportunities that deliver incremental Member value beyond fare sales.
• Create and present clear, compelling business updates, analyses and recommendations for senior leaders and key stakeholders.
• Develop deep subject matter expertise in Delta, airline and broader loyalty redemption and upgrade practices, including monitoring competitive and industry trends.
• Coach and develop team members or cross-functional partners by building the behaviors, skills and knowledge needed for sustained performance and future growth.
• Lead through Delta’s core values and the Rules of the Road, consistently prioritizing safety, security and the well-being of self and others.

• Eight or more years of demonstrated high performance in a corporate environment, preferably in business, finance, marketing, loyalty or a related field.
• Excellent analytical, project management, database querying and problem-solving skills.
• Strong strategic thinking, financial and economic modeling, project management and business case development skills.
• Passion for Delta, Sky Miles, loyalty and delivering an industry-leading customer experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex ideas into clear, persuasive presentations for…