Whenever I’m planning a trip to a city, I peruse Airbnb Experiences in that location. I’ve used the platform for nearly a decade as a way to gauge what there is to do (in addition to my other travel research).
My first-ever Airbnb Experience was a nighttime kayak paddle through Miami back in 2017, and I’ve done dozens around the world since, from cooking classes to market crawls to jungle treks. Just like any other activity portal, there are as many duds as there are gems — but verified reviews and photos from past guests make it easier to tell the difference.
On a recent trip to Rome, I earned nearly 900 SkyMiles across two experiences — without setting foot on a Delta plane. No, it’s not a groundbreaking number of miles, but they accumulated based on activities I would have done anyway. Here’s how it worked.
The experiences I booked in Rome
Rome is one of those cities where a tourist’s version and a local’s version can look almost nothing alike. Beyond the recommendations I got from locals, I booked two Airbnb Experiences to discover a different side of the city.
The first was a culinary-focused walk through Testaccio, a working-class neighborhood in the city’s southeast where Roman cooking was born. It included a sampling of dishes, along with a history lesson, inside the main food hall, Mercato di Testaccio. My guide, Francesca, walked us through it all while we ate: a crisp “supplì”, a “bollito” sandwich, a “tagliere” of cheeses and “salumi” from one of the oldest vendors.
Francesca also explained how the neighborhood’s old slaughterhouse gave rise to the cooking that became some of Rome’s most famous food. I left full and knowing a lot more about the city.
The second tour was a morning hunt for vintage items at Porta Portese, Rome’s sprawling Sunday flea market. My guide, Olga, has lived in the city for 25 years and pointed out real designer pieces and finds I would have missed.
I was traveling with a friend and booked both tours for the two of us. The Testaccio walk came to about $232; Porta Portese was about $65.
Under the expanded partnership, SkyMiles members earn 3 Delta SkyMiles per $1 on qualifying Experiences and Services, minus taxes and fees. Therefore, the food tour earned 697 miles and the flea market experience earned 195 miles. Both bonuses were posted to my Delta account the day after each tour completed, not the six to eight weeks the fine print mentions.
An easy way to earn some miles
The number of miles you earn with the Delta-Airbnb combo is likely too small to chase on its own, unless you’re booking a pricey experience for a large group. Three miles per dollar on a $1,000 group cooking class is 3,000 miles — a solid number.
🤓Nerdy Tip
Sometimes you may do better booking a comparable tour through Delta’s SkyMiles Shopping portal on Viator or GetYourGuide, so it’s worth comparison-shopping first.
If Airbnb Experiences are already part of how you travel, there’s little reason not to do it. It took two minutes to connect my accounts, and I earned a few hundred miles on tours I was booking anyway.
