AMEX Blue Delta SkyMiles: 10,000 Miles Bonus; No Annual Fee

【Updated 2021.3】 Even this no-annual-fee card is now offering a welcome bonus of 10,000 miles + a $200 home furnishing statement credit. Still, I personally recommend applying for Delta Gold instead: get the first year annual fee waived + a 70,000-mile bonus + $200 statement credit, then downgrade to this no-annual-fee card in the second year.

Overview of the AMEX Blue Delta SkyMile Credit Card

Highlights

• 【New】$200 Home Furnishing Statement Credit: If you apply for this card through a referral link now, you can get an extra $200 home furnishing statement credit. Eligible merchants include The Home Depot, Lowe's, The Container Store, Bed Bath & Beyond, Crate and Barrel, Crate and Kids, CB2, Anthropologie and Terrain, among others. Purchases made in-store, online, and through apps all qualify. However, the terms say gift card purchases are not eligible. I think real purchases should be reimbursed, but if AMEX wants to be strict, it is possible they could claw it back.
• 2x Miles at Restaurants: For a no-annual-fee card that earns airline miles, 2x at restaurants is a pretty nice perk. After all, the other Delta cards do not offer this benefit.
• No Foreign Transaction Fee (FTF): Most cards with no foreign transaction fee come with an annual fee, so it is nice that this one does not. See also: Introduction to FTF

AMEX Card Benefits

• AMEX Offer: Spend 20, get 20 back at Amazon; $5 off $15 at Walmart; spend 75, get 10 back on phone bills. Generous AMEX often gives cardholders great offers, letting you earn cash back while spending. Read the following articles carefully, and making $100 a year from one card is no problem: AMEX OFFER Explained, Recent Best AMEX Offers Roundup, and 2013-2016 AMEX Offer Summary
• Free ShopRunner Membership: Enjoy free 2-day shipping at many online stores. For details, see: official link
• Extended Warranty: Items purchased in full with an AMEX card automatically get the manufacturer warranty extended by one year.
• Free Credit Score: AMEX provides your Experian credit score each month. See Which Free Credit Score Is Best for details.

Cons

• Earning Delta miles through everyday spending at 1x on this card is too slow, and there is still a $95 annual fee. If you really want to earn miles this way, the no-annual-fee AMEX EveryDay Card (1.2x-2.4x) or the annual-fee EveryDay Preferred Card (1.5x-4.5x) would be better.

About Delta SkyMile

• Value: Delta miles are worth about 1.4 cent/mile. The main reason is that award pricing changes frequently, so redemptions are less stable than miles from programs like AA and UA.
• Redemption: You can redeem as few as 35,000 miles for a one-way ticket between China and the U.S., 5,500 for a domestic U.S. one-way, 7,500 for a domestic China one-way, and 80,000 for U.S.-Australia business class. Great for short-haul flights within the U.S., especially for people living on the U.S. West Coast and in the Northeast.
• More: For mileage earning and redemption tips, see: Delta SkyMile Introduction 1; Introduction 2; Introduction 3

My Take

It seems airlines have lowered the barrier a bit and started launching no-annual-fee co-branded credit cards with banks. The goal may be to attract people who do not travel much but spend a lot in everyday life. Based on the current offer, just 10,000 miles is not really worth applying for directly, especially since Delta Gold has offered 40,000-60,000 miles, and the Platinum version has gone as high as 75,000 miles. I hope this card can become another downgrade option within the AMEX Delta family: apply for a card with a bigger bonus first, then downgrade to this one for long-term holding. On the other hand, if you do not want to churn and you spend a lot on dining, this no-annual-fee card with 2x at restaurants is still worth keeping for the long term.

Application

Important: Delta cards now have family application restrictions. If you have previously applied for the higher-annual-fee Gold, Platinum, or Reserve versions, then applying for this card later will not earn a welcome bonus.

• Introduction to AMEX Same-Family Card Restrictions【2023.9 Update: Delta and Platinum series cards now have additional restrictions!】

This card is a co-branded Delta credit card, so during the application you need to enter your Delta account number (if you do not have one, one will be assigned automatically). It is still recommended that you register for a Delta membership on the official website first.

• AMEX official application status check link
• For the same AMEX credit card, the public welcome bonus is generally available only once (once-per-lifetime restriction)
• You can call the reconsideration line (800-528-4800, 877-399-3083, 866-314-0237) to speed up credit card approval or request a review of a denied application.
• AMEX limits you to 4 credit cards and 10 charge cards total.
• You can apply for a total of two AMEX credit cards every 90 days, excluding charge cards.
• After you submit your application, a pop-up may appear telling you that you are not eligible for the welcome bonus. In that case, it is usually best not to continue with the application (detailed analysis)
• More about applying for AMEX credit cards

Application Link:

• AMEX Blue Delta Skymile