Delta Personal Cards Review & Comparison

Amex offers 3 premium co-branded Delta SkyMiles personal credit cards. Yes, we are ignoring the no fee option that is only good as a downgrade card for this exercise. Each of these three cards have different benefits and earning structures. What they have in common is that they should all generally appeal to Delta frequent fliers. In our Delta Personal cards review & comparison we will be talking about the welcome offer, earning structure, benefits and our thoughts for the following cards:

• Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

Current Welcome Offers For The Delta Personal Cards

Here are the current welcome offers for the Delta personal cards:

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

• Earn 50,000 SkyMiles after $2,000 spend in 6 months. Terms Apply.
• This card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. See Rates and Fees.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

• Earn 60,000 SkyMiles after $3,000 spend in 6 months. Terms Apply.
• This card has a $350 annual fee. See Rates and Fees.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

• Earn 70,000 SkyMiles after $5,000 spend in 6 months. Terms Apply.
• This card has a $650 annual fee. See Rates and Fees.

Amex Application Rules

If you choose to apply, remember that Amex typically will not approve you for more than two Amex credit cards during a 90-day period. They also have a limit of 5 credit cards per person, of which this is one. There is also a 10 card limit on the colored Membership Rewards earning cards (of which this is not one of).

Amex also has a once per lifetime welcome offer rule on each card. This is more like every 5 – 7 years in reality though, and not actually your lifetime. That timeline is based off of when you last held a card, not when you last earned a welcome offer on the product though. If you are ineligible for the welcome offer for any reason American Express will usually let you know that with a pop-up before the application is processed. You can cancel the application at this time with no hard pull.

Delta Personal Cards Review & Comparison: Earning Structure

Each of the personal Delta cards earns bonus miles per dollar on different categories. As mentioned below, cardholders are typically better off spending on other cards instead of on the Delta cards, despite the multiple bonus categories.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

• 2x Delta Skymiles per dollar in the following categories
  • U.S. supermarkets
  • Restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
  • Purchases made directly with Delta
• 1x Delta Skymiles per dollar on all other eligible purchases

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

• 3x Delta Skymiles per dollar in the following categories
  • 3x on purchases made directly with Delta
  • 3x on purchases made directly with hotels
• 2x Delta Skymiles per dollar in the following cateogories
  • 2x at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
  • 2x at U.S. supermarkets
• 1x Delta Skymiles per dollar on all other eligible purchases

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

• 3x Delta Skymiles per dollar on Delta flights
• 1x Delta Skymiles per dollar on all other eligible purchases

Delta Personal Card Benefits

Benefits and perks vary among each of the 3 Delta cards. As expected, benefits range depending on each card's annual fee. The cards have some benefits in common, but not all.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card Benefits

• 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)
• $50 off the cost of your ticket for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you
  book on delta.com
• Up to $100 Delta Stays Credit per calendar year
• 20% back as a statement credit for Delta in-flight purchases
• $200 Delta flight credit after spending $10,000 within a calendar year
• Zone 5 priority boarding

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card Benefits

• MQD Headstart: get $2,500 Medallion(R) Qualification Dollars each year.
  • Plus, earn $1 Medallion(R) Qualification Dollar for each $20 of purchases made on your card
• $120 Resy Credit
  • When you use your enrolled Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card for eligible purchases with U.S. Resy restaurants, you can earn up to $10 back each month in statement credits. (enrollment required)
• Up to $10 per month in rideshare credit for a maximum of $120 per year (enrollment required)
  • Needs to be paid for with the credit card, not an account credit
• Up to $150 annual credit for Delta Stays per calendar year
• Receive a Companion Certificate on Main Cabin domestic, Caribbean, or Central American round-trip flights each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Ticket requires payment of the government-imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for round-trip domestic flights and no more than $250 for round-trip international flights (both for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
• 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)
• $50 off the cost of your ticket for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you
  book on delta.com
• 20% back as a statement credit for Delta in-flight purchases
• Zone 5 priority boarding
• Hertz Five Star(R) Status (enrollment required)

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Benefits

• Complimentary access to Amex Centurion Lounges when your Delta flight is purchased with the Reserve card.
• MQD Headstart: get $2,500 Medallion(R) Qualification Dollars each year.
  • Plus, earn 1 MQD per $10 in card spend.
• Enjoy complimentary access to the Delta Sky Club(R) when traveling on a same-day Delta-marketed or Delta-operated flight.
  • Starting 2/1/25 cardmembers will get 15 Visits per year to the Delta Sky Club
    • You must spend $75,000 on your card each calendar year to earn unlimited visits.
      • This starts from 1/1/24 to 12/31/24 and then each year from then on
• 4 Delta Sky Club one-time guest passes each year. The cost is $50 per person, per visit after that.
• 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
  • You are also placed on the upgrade list even if you have no elite status.
    • Ticket must be purchased on or after February 1, 2024 to be eligible to receive a complimentary upgrade.
• Receive a Companion Certificate on First Class, Delta Comfort+®, or Main Cabin domestic, Caribbean, or Central American round-trip flights each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Ticket requires payment of the government-imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for round-trip domestic flights and no more than $250 for round-trip international flights (both for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
• Up to $20 per month in Resy credit for a maximum of $240 per year (enrollment required)
• Up to $10 per month in annual rideshare credit for a maximum of $120 per year (enrollment required)
  • Needs to be paid for with the credit card, not an account credit
• Up to $200 annual credit for Delta Stays per calendar year
• TSA Precheck ($85) or Global Entry ($100) fee statement credit every 4.5 years
• 20% back as a statement credit for Delta in-flight purchases
• Zone 5 priority boarding
• Hertz President's Circle Status (enrollment required)

ToP Analysis

Each of the Delta personal cards offer plenty of perks to cover their annual fees. Let's take a look at each card individually.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

The Delta Gold card is quite basic, but the first checked bag free alone can compensate the moderate annual fee if you check bags often enough. Delta charges $35 for a first checked bag. Zone 5 priority boarding is also a nice benefit for a basic airline card. This perk has you board with Delta Silver Medallion members and elite members from other SkyTeam partner airlines, and ahead of main cabin passengers.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

The earning structure is the best of the three cards, with useful bonus earning categories, but that is not enough to justify this card's higher annual fee over that of the Delta Gold card. However, if you can use the companion certificate each year it should mostly offset the annual fee. If you can use the monthly credits that should help as well.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

Recent changes to the Delta Reserve card's benefits have curtailed the card's value. Complimentary Sky Club access being limited to 15 visits per year is a drastic change for a card that has a huge annual fee. Meanwhile, the upgrade priority over other elite members within the same level and fare class is a creative perk that rewards you not just for holding the card, but for having status with Delta.

Comparison Of All Three Cards

There is little sense for Delta flyers to hold all three cards. The Delta Platinum and Delta Reserve cards each offer all of the benefits of the Delta Gold card.

As for spending, cardholders will generally do better by using a different credit card instead of the Delta cards. Outside of chasing status it makes more sense to put your spend elsewhere. Even Membership Rewards earning cards, which transfer to Delta, offer better earning in every bonus category listed above.

Delta Personal Cards Review & Comparison: ToP Thoughts

Amex's Delta personal cards offer solid benefits for Delta loyalists. The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card each offer a MQM headstart boost that may interest some. Beyond MQM spending, though, none of the Delta cards deserve much spend, as Amex's MR-earning cards generally have better earn rates.

Bottom line: the Delta personal cards can be keeper cards for frequent Delta flyers who value the cards' benefits. 

What do you think of Amex's co-branded Delta personal cards? Come share your thoughts in our Facebook group!