AMEX Delta Six Co-Branded Cards Comparison: Up to 200,000 Bonus, Expires November 4!

These limited-time welcome bonuses for the six Delta co-branded cards are back, and this time the top offer is an eye-popping 200,000. The best value is still Delta Gold, which can get you up to 80,000 + $250 — better than the previous best offer — and the first year annual fee is waived. Grab the welcome bonus first, then decide whether to keep it in year two. The business Gold also comes with no first-year annual fee and a 90,000-point bonus. The limited-time offer expires on November 4, so move fast!

• Delta Gold application link
• Delta Gold Business 90,000 application link

About this offer

AMEX has also increased the welcome bonuses on these six cards. My recommended order is Gold > Platinum > Reserve, for both personal and business cards. First, starting with the lower annual fee card reduces the pressure. Second, Gold waives the first-year annual fee and can also be used to trigger two reimbursements, so it offers the best value. Third, going from lower to higher helps avoid the AMEX same-card application restriction.

The welcome bonuses are among the highest we have seen recently, but all welcome-spending requirements have also been extended to six months and the spending thresholds have increased. That is AMEX’s way of encouraging people to keep using the card long term instead of taking the bonus and leaving. One more reminder: AMEX Delta personal cards are subject to same-card restrictions, while business cards are not, at least for now. Keep that in mind when applying.

• AMEX same-card credit card restriction guide

Personal cards

• No first-year annual fee, plus a welcome bonus of up to 80,000 + $250. I recommend this one for most people; it gives you room to move either offensively or defensively.
• Unfortunately, the 80,000 is the maximum version and you may only get 60,000. You can see the exact amount at the final step of the application. If it really is 80,000, then it is an easy go-for-it.

• If you want something more premium and fly Delta fairly often, you can consider this Platinum card. Note: if you have not gotten Gold yet, I recommend starting with Gold first, because once you have had Platinum, you can no longer get the Gold bonus.
• Unfortunately, the 90,000 is the maximum version and you may only get 70,000. You will be able to see the exact amount at the final step of the application. If it really is 90,000, then it is an easy go-for-it.

• If you want Delta Medallion status and access to Delta’s own lounge network, you can consider this one. It is best for people who fly a lot. Not suitable for most people.
• Also, this round-trip companion ticket looks very valuable, but there are a lot of restrictions. Unless you really fly long-haul flights in the U.S. often and can use it, it is still okay.

Business cards

• The business version has none of the extra complications; it is simply a fixed 90,000-point bonus, and the first-year annual fee is waived, so it can be a top choice. Most people can just pick this one.

• If you fly Delta often or have already applied for Delta Business Gold, you can consider Delta Business Platinum.

• If you want Delta Medallion status and access to Delta’s own lounge network, you can consider this one. It is best for people who fly a lot. Not suitable for most people.
• This time, 200,000 does look impressive, but you need to spend 20,000 to earn it, so the value is only average.

Below, I will briefly analyze a few topics that help with decision-making and distinguishing these cards.

Business cards vs. personal cards

If you are not familiar with business credit cards, I recommend reading the articles below to understand them before applying.

• Introduction to business credit cards
• Recommended U.S. Small Business Cards

From a benefits perspective, business Delta cards are roughly the same as personal Delta cards, so there is no strong preference for holding one over the other. That is why I suggest starting with the personal cards first, beginning with Gold, then Platinum, and then the business versions of those two cards, so you can collect the four common welcome bonuses. The cost is basically just the first-year annual fees. In terms of ongoing use, the business cards are only slightly better because they can get targeted AMEX Small Business offers, but the difference is very small.

Gold vs. Platinum

For personal cards, these two are probably the most obvious comparison. First, in terms of first-year value, Gold is clearly the better deal, since the first-year annual fee is waived, while Delta Platinum has a higher annual fee and no first-year waiver. If you are purely after the welcome bonus, I recommend getting Gold first, then downgrading or closing it in year two. Then, when there is a good Delta Platinum Offer in year two, you can apply again and handle it the same way after collecting the bonus. From a long-term holding perspective, Platinum’s earning advantage is not very compelling, because many other credit cards offer strong travel-category cashback.

• Travel credit card comparison

Platinum’s most obvious advantage is the companion ticket. Starting in year two, once you pay the annual fee, you can get a Companion Certificate (CP). With this CP, you can bring one companion with you for free on a Delta flight. It is limited to round-trip economy fares within the 48 contiguous U.S. states, ticketed more than 14 days before departure, and you must pay for the airfare with this credit card and pay the companion’s taxes with it as well. The stay must be 3-30 days, and the fare classes are L, U, T, X, V.

• Delta official explanation

If you can use this companion ticket every year and its value is higher than $150 or even $250, then long-term holding this Platinum card is absolutely worth considering.

Delta card reimbursement benefits

AMEX has recently updated the benefits on these six co-branded credit cards by adding reimbursements. This is basically keeping up with the AMEX Platinum coupon book trend. Whether these changes are good or bad really depends on whether you can actually use the reimbursements and benefits. Before applying, I recommend carefully checking whether the new benefits fit your needs and whether you can use them or monetize them.

Hotel reimbursement

After the refresh, Delta Gold and the other co-branded cards also added a hotel reimbursement, but you need to use the card at delta.com/stays, which is Delta’s own travel site.

• AMEX Delta Gold: $100 per calendar year
• AMEX Delta Platinum credit card: $150 per calendar year
• AMEX Delta Reserve credit card: $200 per calendar year
• AMEX Gold Delta SkyMile Business business credit card: $150 per calendar year
• AMEX Platinum Delta SkyMile Business business credit card: $200 per calendar year
• AMEX Delta Reserve Business business credit card: $250 per calendar year

I took a quick look and it appears to run on Expedia’s backend, so the pricing is probably about the same as Expedia’s. I randomly checked the prices in Times Square, New York.

However, when I checked Expedia, prices on Delta were generally more than 10% higher.Let's assume that a major platform like Expedia, in order to stay competitive, offers some of the lower prices online. Delta's price is still a bit high, but the gap is manageable. For $100-$250 reimbursements, it's easy to use the benefit, and losing around 15% is acceptable. Then let's see whether there are any amounts that work well for reimbursement; arranged from low to high, there are some lower-priced options.

In summary, these reimbursement perks are still usable, with only a small discount, and their overall value is still greater than the annual fee increase; but note that rooms booked on Delta will most likely not earn chain-hotel elite nights or points.

Rideshare reimbursement

The following Delta cards can each reimburse $10 per month for rideshare and car service expenses: Uber, Lyft, Curb, Revel, and AlDeltaVia can all be used, limited to the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; you must enroll in the benefit first

• AMEX Delta Platinum credit card:
• AMEX Delta Reserve credit card
• AMEX Platinum Delta SkyMile Business business credit card
• AMEX Delta Reserve Business business credit card

Resy.com reimbursement

• AMEX Delta Platinum credit card: Up to $10 per month in dining purchases on Resy.com can be reimbursed. You must first create a Resy.com account and complete the order using that account.
• AMEX Delta Reserve credit card: Up to $20 per month in dining purchases on Resy.com can be reimbursed. You must first create a Resy.com account and complete the order using that account.
• AMEX Platinum Delta SkyMile Business business credit card: Up to $10 per month in dining purchases on Resy.com can be reimbursed. You must first create a Resy.com account and complete the order using that account.
• AMEX Delta Reserve Business business credit card: Up to $20 per month in dining purchases on Resy.com can be reimbursed. You must first create a Resy.com account and complete the order using that account.

Summary

AMEX Expedia is basically carrying on the old AMEX Expediabook tradition, and the added resy.com benefit has also been around in partnership with AMEX for a while. However, the Delta stay reimbursement perk still surprised me. The idea should be that Delta wants more people to book hotels on its own platform and earn some commission, and the Delta points it gives out are issued by Delta itself anyway, so it doesn't really lose money.

For anyone planning to hold these three cards for only one year, this is definitely a good thing! Because these calendar-year reimbursements let you use the benefit twice in the first cardmember year across two calendar years, while the annual fee only goes up by $50-$100. If you already plan to keep these cards long term, then based on the analysis in our review, as long as you can use any one of these added reimbursement benefits, they'll be worth a bit more than before.

Finally, about welcome bonuses: these cards' new-card bonuses are among the highest lately, but the minimum-spending period has all been extended to six months, and the spending amounts have increased as well. AMEX also wants people to keep using these cards long term instead of just earning the bonus and moving on.

If you haven't applied for a Delta series card yet, getting a Delta Gold card right now is the best choice.