AMEX Delta Reserve Business Credit Card: 80,000 Welcome Offer

The sign-up bonus on this card is now 80,000. If you’ve already applied for all the personal cards, you can consider the business card. That said, this card is still aimed at people who fly Delta a lot and want to work toward elite status.

• Apply here

If you’re deciding which Delta card to choose, check out our detailed comparison:

• Which of the six limited-time AMEX Delta co-branded card bonuses should you choose?

This sign-up bonus is excellent, so we’ve added it to our business credit card sign-up bonus rankings!

• Recommended U.S. Small Business Credit Cards

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

• Expanded Companion Pass eligibility: can be used for flights within the 48 contiguous U.S. states + Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America
• $10 monthly rideshare credit: can be used with Uber, Lyft, Curb, Revel, Alto, and Via, limited to the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Note that you need to enroll in this benefit (enrollment link, business card enrollment link)
• $20 monthly dining credit on Resy.com: use it for dining purchases after creating a resy.com account. Enrollment is required (enrollment link, business card enrollment link)
• $200 hotel booking credit: you must use this card to make purchases 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 tdelta.com/hertz.
• 1.5x on shipping, transit, and office supply purchases (Delta Reserve business card only)
• MQDs awarded directly: reduces the $2,500 in spending needed to pursue elite status
• MQDs from spending on the card: earn $1 MQD for every $10 spent, so in theory you can reach elite status through spending alone
• 1.5x on shipping, transit, and office supply purchases (Delta Reserve business card only)
• Annual fee will increase to $650 (from $550): if you applied for the card before February 1, 2024, your annual fee will be adjusted when your fee renews after May 1, 2024. Literally, that should mean if your new annual fee posts before May 1, it will still be $550; if after that, it will be $650.

If you already held a Delta Reserve personal or business card before then, there are also exclusive benefits, and you must have had the card by February 1, 2024:

• $100 flight credit: deposited directly into your account on April 2
• $1,000 MQD: deposited directly into your account, making elite status easier to reach

AMEX Delta Reserve SkyMile Business Credit Card Overview

Benefits

• [New] Take 15 benefit: book Delta-operated award tickets with this card and get 15% off. Benefit details
• Status Boost: every calendar year, spend $30,000 to earn 15,000 MQMs, up to four times. (The extra 15,000 Delta gift that used to come with it has been removed.)
• Two SkyClub passes: anyone can use them, one use per pass
• Upgrade priority: if premium cabins aren’t full at boarding time, you may be upgraded automatically, but after Delta Medallion members.
• Big-spend bonus: after $150,000 in spending, all purchases earn 1.5x. In my opinion, this is extremely low in practical value. Otherwise, it’s the same as the personal version.
• Delta lounge benefit: both the cardholder and authorized user can access Delta lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (regular lounge price is $450/year)
• Renewal bonus Companion Certificate: starting in year two, once you pay the annual fee, you can receive one Companion Certificate (CP). With this CP, you can bring one companion along on a Delta flight for free, including economy and first class! Usage restrictions for the CP are as follows: only round-trip flights to the 48 contiguous U.S. states, ticket must be purchased at least 14 days in advance, you must use this credit card to pay for the ticket and the companion’s taxes, you must stay at the destination for 3-30 days, and eligible fare classes are L, U, T, X, V. For full terms and how to use it, see: Delta’s official explanation
• Delta flight benefits: when flying Delta, enjoy priority boarding, one free checked bag, 20% off in-flight shopping, and lounge discounts

AMEX card benefits

• [Business card exclusive] AMEX Open Savings: using an AMEX business credit card at participating merchants can earn an extra 2x MR or a 5% discount. Merchants include FedEx Express and FedEx Ground, Hertz^®, HP.com, and more. See: Open Savings overview
• AMEX Offer: Amazon spend $20, get $20 back; Walmart $15 off $5; phone bill spend $75, get $10 back. Generous AMEX often sends cardholders great offers, letting you earn cash back while you spend. See: Recent good AMEX Offers, Archive 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, Sam’s Club discounts, and more (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 details: official site link
• Extended warranty: items purchased in full with an AMEX card automatically get an extra year of manufacturer 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: SkyMiles are worth about 1.4 cents per mile. The main reason is that 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

Our Take

This card is clearly aimed at premium business travelers who fly Delta often. Its biggest selling point is that the large spending bonus helps you earn MQMs toward elite status. If you’re trying to reach Delta’s million-miler-status and are short on MQMs, then both the welcome offer and the spending bonus on this card are excellent supplements. That said, looking at the rest of the benefits, this card still does not compare well with 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 Centurion Lounges. As for benefits like priority boarding and free checked bags, people considering the Delta Reserve 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