Delta Reserve Retention Offer

American Express is quite on the roll these past few weeks. First, they rolled out the best welcome ever seen, with the 250K Business Platinum offer (which is still going). Next, they targeted some with a mind boggling 150K Business Platinum retention offer. Now, I received something that is somewhat in that realm with my Delta Reserve retention offer.

My Delta Reserve Back Story

I figured I should give you a little background on why I have this Delta Reserve card, since it does play a role here. Towards the end of last year I accepted a Delta Reserve upgrade offer after some mental gymnastics. While it was a decent enough offer on its own, at 40K Skymiles, I decided to accept it for other reasons. I thought I may be able to double dip the MQM bonus perk that the Delta Platinum and Reserve cards used to get. If you remember, that didn't end up working out so well for me. All of the details on that snafu can be found in my write up.

Even though my idea didn't go to plan, it does play a role for my Delta Reserve retention offer decision here. I accepted the Delta Reserve upgrade offer in early November of 2023. That means that I need to keep the card until November of this year, or I risk forfeiting the upgrade bonus. My card's $550 annual fee (yes it still billed at the lower rate) just hit last week and it gave me an idea. I thought that I might as well try for a retention offer and see what they say with the annual fee posting.

The Real Debate With This Retention Offer

I was hoping for a retention offer, but I knew I needed to keep the card either way because of the 12 month upgrade rule. The real debate I needed to have would be whether a middling retention offer would be worth an increased annual fee cost. That is because once accepted I would need to keep this card another 12 months from the date of acceptance. In this instance, that is an additional 5 months of annual fee I would need to pay. Let me explain.

If I stayed on my regular path I could close my Amex Delta Reserve card in November of this year. While American Express does not prorate annual fees for closures, they do for downgrades. I could downgrade my Delta Reserve to the Delta Blue card which has no annual fee. That would get me a prorated annual fee refund of around $229.

If I accept any retention offer then I will need to keep the card open until April of 2025. That means the offer will cost me $229, or that I will be paying that much to buy whatever miles they offer me essentially. Luckily for me, American Express made my decision very easy.

Delta Reserve Retention Offer Details

Now that we have gone through all of the necessary considerations for this decision, let's check out the Delta Reserve retention offer details:

• Earn 90,000 Delta Skymiles after spending $4,000 within 3 months
• Must keep the card open for 12 months

I was expecting like 30,000 miles if I was lucky, but never in my wildest dreams did I think a 90K offer would be laid at my feet. If I value Delta Skymiles at 1.15 cents each that is a valuation of $1,035 for this offer. Would I pay $229 to get $1,035 of flights? You're darn tootin! This is the same type of decision that Brian just discussed when talking about how every card with an annual fee is worth it in the first year.

Delta Reserve Card Perks

While the retention offer is the most important thing, it isn't the only value I get from holding the card those extra 5 months. I will also receive the following perks:

• Complimentary access to Amex Centurion Lounges when your Delta flight is purchased with the Reserve card.
• Complimentary Delta Sky Club access when traveling on a Delta flight
  • Effective February 1, 2025, cardholders will receive 10 visits per year. To earn an unlimited number of visits each year starting on February 1, 2025, cardholders must spend $75,000 or more each calendar year.
• Two one-time Sky Club guest passes annually
• First checked bag free
• 15% off when using miles to book award travel on Delta flights through delta.com or the Delta app (discount does not apply to partner-operated flights or taxes and fees)
• Upgrade priority over other Medallion members within the same Medallion level and fare class
• A companion certificate for a domestic first class, Delta comfort+ or main cabin round-trip each year upon card renewal (plus taxes and fees of up to $80)
• Main Cabin 1 priority boarding

The 15% discount on award flights and lounge access will probably be the two most useful perks for me personally. I likely won't have any Platinum cards by the end of this year, so it gives me access to Delta and Centurion lounges until at least April of 2025.

Delta Reserve Retention Offer: ToP Thoughts

This Delta Reserve retention offer is the best retention offer I have ever received from Amex, or any other lender for that matter. Even if some people thumb their nose at Delta Skymiles (hi Sarah!) they still have value. While they don't offer as much upside as Membership Rewards points would, they do have a floor of one cent when doing a cash and points booking. I can usually get around 1.1 – 1.3 cents per Skymile on award flights, which puts the value of this retention offer at over $1,000 in value. Yes, American Express is paying me almost double the annual fee to keep this card. Truly another bananas offer!

Anyone else received something similar to this Delta Reserve retention offer? Let me know over in the ToP Facebook Group.