Delta Credit Cards Add TakeOff 15 Benefit: 15% Off Award Tickets "Officially Announced"

Officially announced

The benefit has finally been officially announced. Honestly, it is pretty generous that this 15% benefit is available on all Delta cards with annual fees. I originally thought it would be limited to Platinum and above.

• Benefit overview

News

According to updated card images uploaded by a Reddit user and reporting from DOC, all Delta co-branded consumer and business credit cards with annual fees will add this TakeOff 15 benefit. In other words, cardholders booking award tickets can get a 15% discount on the mileage cost. If that is the case, holding a Delta Gold with a $95 annual fee would actually be a pretty solid option.

TakeOff 15 Eligibility: Basic Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum, and Reserve American Express Card Members, as well as Basic Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum, and Reserve Business American Express Card Members (each, an “Eligible Card”) , can get at least a fifteen percent (15%) discount off the mileage portion of an Award Ticket (the “TakeOff 15” benefit) . Additional Card Members are not eligible

The key terms are: this benefit only applies to flights operated by Delta itself; it only discounts the mileage portion, not taxes and fees; and your account must have enough miles for the pre-discount award price in order to book.

Available only it entire itinerary is on Delta and Delta Connection” carrier-operated and ticketed lights booked at Delta com or the FlyDelta app Not available on flights operated by other carriers Not available for Pay with Miles, Miles + Cash, seat upgrades purchased after the initial fight booking or other Delta products or services. Discount only applies to the mileage portion of the Award Ticket fare and does not apply to applicable taves and ices, which must be paid using the Eligible Card Card Member must be logged -in to a SkyMiles account linked to an Eligible Card to receive the TakeOf 15 benefit discount Mileage discount will be greater than or equal to 15% of the overallmileg portion for the Award Ticket, An Award Ticket is a ticket issued by Delta pursuant to the SkyMiles Program Rules, by which SkyMiles members may redeer miles and pay applicable soverment imposed laags and les in exchange for air transportation. All Award Ticket rules apply, as set forth on Delta.com and in the specific terms incorporated into your Award Ticket. Award Travel is defined as travel using an Award Ticket. Award Travel seats are limited and may not be available on all flights or in all markets. SkyMiles account balance must have sufficient miles for the entire Award Tickets) being purchased. Take Off 15 benefit is not combinable with certificates, Delta Credits, Delta Gift Cards. vouchers, or with any other discounts or promotional offers.

According to ThriftyTraveler, the AMEX Delta Reserve credit card might add a benefit called Take15. When cardholders book award tickets on Delta, they can automatically get 15% off. For example, a 10,000-mile award ticket would require only 8,500 miles. However, this benefit only works on flights operated by Delta itself, not partner flights.

What is interesting is that this benefit was originally mentioned in the application terms, but was removed after a while, presumably because it was not ready yet. Let’s wait and see. Personally, I think this benefit could be a reason to apply for the card, since the annual fee for the first year can usually be covered by the welcome bonus. For long-term holding, unless you have a lot of Delta miles, this discount is only potentially enough to justify the annual fee.

Analysis

The biggest limitation of the 15% off benefit is that it can only be used on flights operated by Delta itself. That is not a big issue for domestic US travel, but it becomes more complicated for booking international flights. It is still unclear whether it can be used on international itineraries involving two airlines, such as a first segment on Delta and then a connection onto another airline in the same alliance in another country. Of course, the best-case scenario would be that it is calculated separately, with the discount applying only to the Delta-operated segment.

If you redeem 100,000 Delta miles per year, you could save 15,000 Delta miles, worth roughly $180. That would be more than the $95 annual fee on the Delta Gold, so it could make sense to keep the Delta Gold long term. Given that Delta has quite a few credit cards, another possible strategy is to apply for one each year for the welcome bonus, then downgrade it to Delta Gold in the second year, which is also fairly reasonable. In addition, Delta miles can be transferred from AMEX MR points, so there are plenty of ways to earn them.

In short, if you fly Delta often—especially on domestic US routes or Delta’s nonstop US-China flights—it is worth watching how this benefit looks after its official rollout.

Related co-branded cards

For Delta co-branded cards, see: