AMEX Delta Reserve Business Credit Card: Record-High 200,000 Welcome Offer

The signup bonus for this card has now increased to 200,000, but the spending requirement is also extremely steep at $20,000. If you've already applied for all the personal cards, you can consider the business card. That said, this card is still best for people who fly Delta a lot and want to work toward elite status.

• Apply here

If you're debating which Delta card to choose, check out our detailed analysis:

• Six AMEX Delta co-branded cards are offering limited-time signup bonuses — which one should you choose?

This signup bonus is excellent, so we've added it to our business credit card signup bonus rankings!

• U.S. business credit card recommendations for small business cards

This card has a lot of benefit updates, as follows:

• Expanded Companion Pass eligibility: can be used for flights within the 48 contiguous states plus Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America
• $10 monthly rideshare credit: Uber, Lyft, Curb, Revel, Alto, and Via are eligible, limited to the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Note that you must enroll for this benefit (enrollment link, business card enrollment link)
• $20 monthly dining credit on Resy.com: use it after creating a resy.com account and placing an order. Enrollment required (enrollment link, business card enrollment link)
• $200 hotel booking credit: you must use this card on delta.com/stays, Delta's own travel website
• More Delta lounge passes: four per year
• Hertz President's Circle status (top tier): requires enrollment at delta.com/mypromos/eligible and delta.com/hertz.
• Shipping, transportation, and office spending 1.5x (Delta Reserve business card only)
• Direct MQD bonus: reduces the $2,500 spend required to chase elite status
• MQD on spend: earn $1 MQD for every $10 spent, and in theory you could reach elite status through spending alone
• Shipping, transportation, and office spending 1.5x (Delta Reserve business card only)
• The annual fee will rise to $650 (up from $550): if your card was applied for before February 1, 2024, your annual fee will be adjusted when the annual fee is updated after May 1, 2024. Literally, if your new annual fee posts before May 1, it should still be $550; if it posts after that, it will be $650.

If you already held a personal or business Delta Reserve card, there are also exclusive benefits, as long as you had the card before February 1, 2024:

• $100 flight credit: issued directly to your account on April 2
• $1,000 MQD: issued directly to your account, making it easier to qualify for status

AMEX Delta Reserve SkyMiles Business Credit Card Overview

Benefits

• 【New】 Take 15 benefit: use this card to book Delta-operated award tickets and get 15% off. Benefit details
• Status Boost: each calendar year, every $30,000 in spending earns 15,000 MQM (Medallion Qualification Miles), up to four times. (The previous extra 15,000 Delta bonus has been removed.)
• Two SkyClub passes: anyone can use them, each pass is valid once
• Upgrade priority: if premium cabins are not full when you fly, you can be automatically upgraded, but you are behind Delta Medallion members.
• Big spend bonus: after $150,000 in spending, all spending earns 1.5x; in my view, this is very low in practical value. Otherwise it's the same as the personal version.
• Delta lounge benefit: both the cardholder and the authorized user can enter Delta lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (regular lounge price is $450/year)
• Renew and get one Companion Certificate: starting in the second year, after you pay the annual fee, you can receive one Companion Certificate (CP). With this CP, you can bring one companion for free on a Delta flight, including economy and first class! The CP restrictions are as follows: round-trip flights only to the 48 contiguous U.S. states, tickets must be purchased at least 14 days before departure, the airfare and the companion's taxes must be paid with this credit card, the destination stay must be 3-30 days, and the fare classes are L, U, T, X, and V. For the full terms and usage details, see: Delta's official explanation
• Delta flight benefits: when flying Delta, you get priority boarding, one free checked bag, 20% off onboard purchases, and lounge discounts

AMEX card benefits

• 【Business card exclusive】 AMEX Open Savings: using an AMEX business credit card at participating merchants can earn extra 2x MR or a 5% discount. Merchants include: FedEx Express and FedEx Ground, Hertz^®, HP.com, and more. See: Open Savings introduction
• AMEX Offer: Amazon spend $20, get $20 back; Walmart $15 off $5; mobile phone bills $75 off $10. Generous AMEX often sends cardholders great offers, letting you earn cash back while you spend. For details, see: Recent good AMEX Offers, A summary of past good AMEX Offers, AMEX Offer explained.
• 【Business card exclusive】More and better AMEX Offers: as a business credit card, you'll get more good offers, such as Staples, Office Depot offers, and Sam's Club 20% off deals (you can buy gift cards). These exclusive offers are not sent to personal credit cards.
• Free ShopRunner membership: enjoy free two-day shipping from many online stores, see the details here: official website link
• Extended warranty: items purchased in full with an AMEX card automatically get a one-year extension on the manufacturer's warranty
• Free credit score: AMEX provides an Experian credit score every month. See Which Free Credit Score Is Best

Cons

• The $550 annual fee on this card is a bit high, and adding additional cards comes with extra fees

About Delta SkyMiles:

• Value: Miles are worth about 1.4 cents per mile, mainly because the award chart changes frequently, so redemptions are not as stable as miles from airlines such as American Airlines and United Airlines
• Redemptions: As few as 35,000 miles for one-way US-China flights, 5,500 miles for one-way domestic US flights, 7,500 miles for one-way domestic China flights, and 80,000 miles for business class between the US and Australia. A great option for short domestic trips in the US, especially for people living on the West Coast and in the Northeast.
• More: For tips on earning and redeeming miles, see: Delta SkyMiles Intro 1; Intro 2; Intro 3

My Take

This card is clearly aimed at premium business travelers who fly Delta often. Its biggest selling point is the large-spending bonus, which gives you MQMs toward elite status. If you want to work toward Delta's million-miler-status and are short on some MQMs, the welcome offer and the spending bonus on this card are both excellent supplements. However, looking at the other benefits, this card still does not compare to another premium card, the AMEX Platinum credit card. That's because the AMEX Platinum credit card can effectively reduce its annual fee to $250 through airline credits, and in addition to Delta lounge access it also gets you into AMEX's Centurion Lounge. As for benefits like priority boarding and free checked bags, people considering this Delta Reserve card likely already have those covered. If you really need Delta miles and airline perks, the welcome offers on the $95 annual fee Delta Gold credit card and the $195 annual fee Delta Platinum credit card are better.

How to Apply

"Note" If this is your first business credit card application, please first read “Introduction to Business Credit Cards” carefully.

This is a Delta co-branded credit card. When applying, you need to enter your Delta account number (if you don’t have one, one will be assigned automatically), but we still recommend registering for a Delta member account 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