While Delta notoriously charges astronomical rates when booking premium seats on its own metal, the SkyMiles program has a few sweet spots, especially when it comes to redeeming on partner airlines. One of the best ways to redeem miles on Garuda Indonesia is through its SkyTeam partners. Here's what my Garuda experience was like. When piecing together the marathon trip that would have me landing in Seoul, South Korea (ICN), and needing to position to Southeast Asia (either Thailand or Indonesia), I was beyond thrilled to find a wonderful mileage redemption pop up between Seoul and Jakarta (CGK). I'd been eager to fly this unicorn of an airline for quite some time, but they still haven't restarted service to the US, so I wasn't sure when the opportunity would present itself. While its route network is still but a fraction of what it once was, the airline has been able to achieve steady growth and develop a solid reputation over the last five years. That same year, Garuda officially joined the SkyTeam alliance, enabling it to garner more international acclaim and expand its destinations through partner codeshares. In 2009, near rock bottom, the airline emerged with an ambitious turnaround strategy that promised revamped boutique branding, a modernized fleet and world-class onboard service. Years of subsequent financial hardships and political turmoil in the late '90s and early 2000s forced the airline to drastically reduce its service and stabilize its operation.

During its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, the airline launched Indonesia onto the global stage, connecting its Jakarta hub to a network cities all of the world, in addition to an expansive intra-Asian network.

Boeing 777 300 garuda