Delta and American Express have a portfolio of co-branded credit cards.
While Delta SkyMiles is far from my favorite mileage currency, I appreciate that miles in the program have a “floor” value, based on all the ways there are to redeem SkyMiles for at least one cent each toward Delta purchases. In addition to having Delta’s “Pay With Miles” feature, there’s also the “TakeOff 15” benefit, whereby cardmembers can get a 15% discount on award tickets.
In this post:
Details of Delta Amex limited time welcome offers
Let’s go over the details of each of these cards (both personal and business), from least premium to most premium.
Delta Gold Personal Amex: 50,000 SkyMiles
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card has the following welcome offer:
- Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- The card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. (Rates & Fees)
The Gold Delta Amex (both business and personal) offers perks like a first checked bag free, priority boarding, savings on inflight purchases, 15% savings on select award flights, a $100-150 Delta Stays credit, and more.
Read a full review of the Gold Delta Amex.
Delta Gold Business Amex: 60,000 SkyMiles
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card has the following welcome offer:
- Earn 60,000 Bonus Miles after spending $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- The card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 (Rates & Fees)
Delta Platinum Personal Amex: 60,000 SkyMiles
The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card has the following welcome offer:
- Earn 60,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- The card has a $350 annual fee (Rates & Fees)
The Platinum Delta Amex (both business and personal) offers perks like an annual companion certificate, the ability to earn status through credit card spending, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit (every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck, or every four years for Global Entry), a first checked bag free, priority boarding, savings on inflight purchases, 15% savings on select award flights, a $100-150 Delta Stays credit, an annual rideshare and Resy credit (enrollment required), and more.
Read a full review of the Platinum Delta Amex.
Delta Platinum Business Amex: 70,000 SkyMiles
The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card has the following welcome offer:
- Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after spending $6,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- The card has a $350 annual fee (Rates & Fees)
Delta Reserve Personal Amex: 70,000 SkyMiles
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card has the following welcome offer:
- Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $5,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- The card has a $650 annual fee (Rates & Fees)
The Reserve Delta Amex (both business and personal) offers perks like an annual companion certificate, the ability to earn status through credit card spending, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit (every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck, or every four years for Global Entry), a first checked bag free, priority boarding, savings on inflight purchases, 15% savings on select award flights, a $200-250 Delta Stays credit, an annual rideshare and Resy credit (enrollment required), and more.
Read a full review of the Reserve Delta Amex.
Delta Reserve Business Amex: 80,000 SkyMiles
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card has the following welcome offer:
- Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after spending $10,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- The card has a $650 annual fee (Rates & Fees)
How many Delta Amex cards are you eligible for?
If you’re considering applying for a Delta co-branded credit card, then Amex’s general application restrictions apply. Each of these Delta American Express cards is considered a separate product, and you’re potentially eligible for the bonus on each card once.
However, you’ll want to be strategic about the order in which you apply for personal cards. Essentially, you can only earn the bonus on a particular card if you haven’t had that exact Delta card, or a more premium Delta card. So the less premium the card, the more restrictions. Here’s a rundown, ranked from most premium card to least premium card:
- You’re not eligible for the welcome offer on the Delta Reserve Amex if you’ve had that exact card before
- You’re not eligible for the welcome offer on the Delta Platinum Amex if you’ve had that exact card before, or if you’ve had the Delta Reserve Amex
- You’re not eligible for the welcome offer on the Delta Gold Amex if you’ve had that exact card before, or if you’ve had the Delta Reserve Amex or Delta Platinum Amex
Which Delta Amex offer is best?
Which Delta Amex offer is best depends entirely on what you’re looking for and what your travel profile is like. As far as my general advice goes:
- If you’re just a casual Delta flyer, it’s hard to go wrong with the big bonuses and introductory annual fees on the Delta Gold cards
- For those who fly Delta a bit more often, the Delta Platinum cards are great, given the annual companion certificate
- For the frequent Delta flyer who is going for status, the Delta Reserve cards are the best cards for earning status, and also offer the most compelling perks
- If you’re deciding between a personal and business card (and don’t want both), then I’d generally recommend a business card, given that the welcome offers are a bit better
Keep in mind that Delta’s “Pay With Miles” feature allows you to redeem your SkyMiles for at least one cent each toward the cost of a Delta ticket. That means 50,000 SkyMiles will get you a minimum of $500 worth of airfare. With the 15% discount on awards for cardmembers, you can often do even better than that by just outright redeeming for awards.
Bottom line
Delta’s co-branded Amex cards are popular with consumers, and are currently offering elevated welcome offers, making it an ideal time to apply.
While SkyMiles might not be a great currency for aspirational redemptions in long haul premium cabins, there’s still lots of value to be had with these offers, as SkyMiles are incredibly useful for domestic and short haul international awards. SkyMiles also have a very high floor value, unlike some other currencies.
Do you plan on picking up a Delta Amex with the limited time welcome offers?
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card (Rates & Fees), Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card (Rates & Fees), Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card (Rates & Fees), Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card (Rates & Fees), Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (Rates & Fees), and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card (Rates & Fees).
SkyMiles are really great for flights completely outside the US. I use them for Korean Air regional flights in Asia and get extraordinary value. HND-GMP in coach for 7,500 or business for 15,000...
With 110k skypesos you may be able to get s basic economy one way flight from New York to Pittsburgh. Sad.
For some perspective, I just checked how many Skymiles are need for a Delta One RT to AMS from PDX in a little over a month from now: 555,000 Skymiles (+ $107).
Keep in mind the recent updates made which state you are only eligible to earn a bonus if you have not already had that card, or a more premium one too.
https://onemileatatime.com/news/delta-amex-card-welcome-offer-restrictions/
It has been almost 10 years and I don't remember which card I used to get the Delta points before. Called Amex and they said I was able to get the bonus points if I spent $$$ within the next 6 months from issue date for the card. Who really makes the determination if I qualify? Delta or Amex? Seems like my answer was a canned answer and the Amex customer service speaking broken English might not really know or understand.