Limited-Time Bonuses on Six Delta Co-Branded Credit Cards, Up to 100,000 Miles. Are They Worth Applying For?

About This Offer

AMEX is currently offering limited-time bonuses on three personal Delta cards and three business Delta cards, with welcome offers of up to 100,000 miles. Which one should you apply for? Here’s a quick breakdown.

Personal Cards

• This one only has the standard 10,000-mile welcome bonus, so it’s generally not worth applying for directly. If you want to keep a Delta card long term, you could downgrade one of the other personal Delta cards with an annual fee to this one.

• No annual fee for the first year, plus a 65,000-mile welcome bonus. This is the one I’d recommend for most people because it offers a good balance of upside and flexibility.

• If you want more and you fly Delta fairly often, you can consider the Platinum card. Of course, if you’ve already earned the Gold welcome bonus before, applying for the Platinum to get another bonus can also make sense.

• If you want Delta elite-status perks and access to Delta’s own airport lounges, this one may be worth considering, especially if you fly very frequently. It’s not a good fit for the average applicant.

Business Cards

• The business versions are similar. The Gold Business card waives the annual fee for the first year, so it should be your first choice in most cases. For most people, this one is enough.

• If you travel on Delta often, or if you’ve already applied for the Gold before, you can consider the Platinum Business card.

• If you want Delta elite-status perks and access to Delta’s own airport lounges, this one may be worth considering, especially if you fly very frequently. It’s not a good fit for the average applicant.

Below, I’ll briefly go over a few factors that can help you decide which card to apply for and how to tell these cards apart.

Business Card vs Personal Card

If you’re not familiar with business credit cards, I recommend reading the following articles before applying.

• Introduction to Business Credit Cards
• Best US Small Business Credit Cards

From a benefits perspective, the business and personal Delta cards are quite similar, so I don’t have a strong preference on which version to keep long term. My suggestion is to start with the personal cards first—Gold, then Platinum—and then move on to the business versions of those two cards. That way, you can earn the welcome bonuses on the four most common options, with your main cost being the first-year annual fees. If you plan to keep one long term, the business cards are slightly better because you may receive targeted AMEX Small Business offers, but the difference is small.

Gold VS Platinum

For personal cards, these are probably the two that make the most sense to compare directly.

First, in terms of first-year value, the Gold is clearly the better deal because the annual fee is waived the first year, while the Delta Platinum charges a $250 annual fee in year one. The extra welcome bonus on the Platinum is worth roughly $250 anyway. If you’re applying purely for the welcome bonus, I’d suggest getting the Gold first, then downgrading or canceling it in the second year. After that, if a strong Delta Platinum offer shows up in year two, you can apply for it and handle it the same way after earning the bonus.

For long-term value, Platinum’s earning rates are not especially compelling, since many other credit cards offer strong rewards on travel spending.

• Comparison of Travel Credit Cards

The most obvious advantage of the Platinum is the companion ticket. Starting in the second year, after you pay the annual fee, you receive a Companion Certificate (CP). You can use this CP to bring a companion on a Delta flight for free. The restrictions on using the CP are as follows: it is valid only for round-trip economy flights within the contiguous 48 U.S. states; tickets must be purchased at least 14 days before departure; you must pay for the ticket and the companion’s taxes with this credit card; the stay at the destination must be 3-30 days; and eligible fare classes are L, U, T, X, and V. For the full terms and usage details, see:

• Delta’s official explanation

If you can use this companion ticket every year and get more than $150, or even $250, in value from it, then the Platinum can absolutely be worth keeping long term.

Delta

Elite Status

Delta credit cards can help quite a bit with earning MQMs and qualifying for the MQD Waiver through both welcome bonuses and annual spending. However, this particular limited-time welcome offer does not include MQMs, so the main thing to focus on is the MQMs earned through spending afterward.

• AMEX Delta SkyMiles Platinum: the welcome bonus has included MQMs in the past. Spend $25,000 in a year and you’ll earn an extra 10,000 MQMs.
• AMEX Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business: the welcome bonus has included MQMs in the past. Spend $25,000 in a year and you’ll earn an extra 10,000 MQMs.
• AMEX Delta SkyMiles Reserve: the welcome bonus has included MQMs in the past. In addition, spending $30,000 in a year earns 15,000 MQMs, and you can do this up to four times for a total of 60,000 MQMs.
• AMEX Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business: the welcome bonus has included MQMs in the past. In addition, spending $30,000 in a year earns 15,000 MQMs, and you can do this up to four times for a total of 60,000 MQMs.

These are Delta’s elite-status requirements for 2023. If you’re trying to earn status, the Delta Reserve or Platinum series may be helpful.

Take 15% Benefit

Aside from the Delta Blue, the other six cards offer 15% off when redeeming miles for Delta-operated award flights.

• Benefit details

Here’s a small trick: if you only have the Delta Blue, that’s actually fine. When you’re ready to redeem miles for a Delta flight, you can send a secure message to upgrade to the Delta Gold and still enjoy this benefit. Then you can downgrade back to the Blue a month later.

• Credit Card Tips — Product Change