diff --git a/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/delete.go b/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/delete.go
index 04803c7a1..de7debd64 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/delete.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/delete.go
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ func NewCmdDelete(f *cmdutil.Factory, runF func(*DeleteOptions) error) *cobra.Co
 		Long: `Delete a GitHub repository.
 
 Deletion requires authorization with the "delete_repo" scope. 
-To authorize, run "gh auth refresh -h github.com -s delete_repo"`,
+To authorize, run "gh auth refresh -s delete_repo"`,
 		Args: cmdutil.ExactArgs(1, "cannot delete: repository argument required"),
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			opts.RepoArg = args[0]
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ To authorize, run "gh auth refresh -h github.com -s delete_repo"`,
 		},
 	}
 
-	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&opts.Confirmed, "yes", false, "confirm deletion without prompting")
+	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&opts.Confirmed, "confirm", "c", false, "confirm deletion without prompting")
 	return cmd
 }
 
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func deleteRun(opts *DeleteOptions) error {
 
 	doPrompt := opts.IO.CanPrompt()
 	if !opts.Confirmed && !doPrompt {
-		return errors.New("could not prompt: confirmation with prompt or --yes flag required")
+		return errors.New("could not prompt: confirmation with prompt or --confirm flag required")
 	}
 
 	if !opts.Confirmed && doPrompt {
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/delete_test.go b/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/delete_test.go
index 963b85c98..87ec0ed91 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/delete_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/delete_test.go
@@ -27,7 +27,9 @@ func Test_deleteRun(t *testing.T) {
 			opts:       &DeleteOptions{RepoArg: "OWNER/REPO"},
 			wantStdout: "✓ Deleted repository OWNER/REPO\n",
 			askStubs: func(q *prompt.AskStubber) {
-				q.StubOne("NOTOWNER/NOTREPO") // this always passes??
+				// TODO: survey stubber doesn't have WithValidation support
+				// so this always passes regardless of prompt input
+				q.StubOne("OWNER/REPO")
 			},
 			httpStubs: func(reg *httpmock.Registry) {
 				reg.Register(
@@ -51,7 +53,7 @@ func Test_deleteRun(t *testing.T) {
 			name:    "no confirmation no tty",
 			opts:    &DeleteOptions{RepoArg: "OWNER/REPO"},
 			wantErr: true,
-			errMsg:  "could not prompt: confirmation with prompt or --yes flag required",
+			errMsg:  "could not prompt: confirmation with prompt or --confirm flag required",
 		},
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/http.go b/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/http.go
index 2875c54bc..bd77328ac 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/http.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/repo/delete/http.go
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ func deleteRepo(client *http.Client, repo ghrepo.Interface) error {
 		ghrepo.FullName(repo))
 
 	request, err := http.NewRequest("DELETE", url, nil)
-	request.Header.Set("Accept", "application/vnd.github.v3+json")
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -26,13 +25,8 @@ func deleteRepo(client *http.Client, repo ghrepo.Interface) error {
 	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()
 
-	err = api.HandleHTTPError(resp)
-	if resp.StatusCode == 403 {
-		return fmt.Errorf(`%w
-
-Deletion requires authorization with the "delete_repo" scope. To authorize, run "gh auth refresh -s delete_repo"`, err)
-	} else if resp.StatusCode > 204 {
-		return err
+	if resp.StatusCode > 299 {
+		return api.HandleHTTPError(resp)
 	}
 
 	return nil