Summary
- The Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex offers a generous signup bonus of 70,000 miles with a low spending requirement.
- The $150 annual fee for Delta Skymiles Gold Amex is waived for the first year, offering great value to cardholders.
- Cardholders can receive a $200 flight credit after spending $10,000 in a year, making it easy to offset the annual fee.
When choosing one’s first airline credit card, there are a number of factors that will inform a decision, including preference towards airlines and given card benefits. There are hundreds of airline credit cards out there, with multiple offered by any given carrier alone, making the decision all that much more challenging.
Delta Air Lines, for example, one of America’s largest, most well-established, and beloved airlines, offers industry-leading credit cards that allow their holders to continue gathering miles through qualifying purchases. The airline’s long-standing partnership with American Express, among the most respected names in the credit card world, has allowed it to continue innovating and offer newer cards that better cater to consumer preferences.
Among Delta’s many credit card offerings for personal use, one stands out from the rest due to its better set of offerings that uniquely cater to newer cardholders. In this article, we will discuss five key reasons why the Delta Skymiles Gold American Express card is ideal for one’s first airline credit card.
1 A bountiful signup bonus
Within this bonus alone, one can earn enough miles for free roundtrip flights anywhere in the United States
|
Signup bonus miles: |
70,000 |
|
Required purchases: |
$3,000 |
|
Time frame: |
6 months |
When deciding between different airline credit cards, it is vital to consider the size of a signup bonus. For an introductory credit card that sits at the bottom of a carrier’s offerings, American Express Gold’s 70,000 miles is impressive in comparison to its competitors.
Furthermore, the minimum spending requirement is relatively low, requiring an expenditure of just around $500 per month on the card to earn, according to the airline’s website. Therefore, the American Express Gold card gives you the best bang for your buck in terms of signup bonuses and allows you to begin your experience as a Delta SkyMiles cardholder on a high note.
2 Low annual fees
The $150 annual fee is even waived during the first year
|
Card: |
Annual fee: |
|---|---|
|
Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express |
$150 (waived first year) |
|
Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express |
$350 |
|
Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express |
$650 |
Annual fees are another important consideration for new airline cardholders to consider, and this is one category in which the Delta American Express Gold performs extremely well. The myriad benefits made available by the card more than account for the signup bonus, which is even waived the first year for new cardholders.
Photo: Delta Air Lines
When one considers exactly the different benefits that this card offers, anyone who flies on the airline even a couple of times over the course of the year will more than get their value back from the annual fee. With flight credits, no checked bag fees, exclusive discounts, and myriad other factors that will soon be discussed, there’s no question that this annual fee is far beneath the value provided by the card.
Delta Air Lines CEO Says Airline ‘Probably Went Too Far’ With SkyMiles Changes
While Bastian did not specify what changes would be made, he said changes would be revealed soon.
Recently, The Points Guy analyzed the Delta SkyMiles Gold card and determined the value of its signup bonus to be around $840. With this alone, one can immediately justify having the card for six or seven years alone.
3 A hefty flight credit
Upon spending $10,000 on the card in a year, one will receive a $200 flight credit
One of the newer benefits added to the Delta SkyMiles American Express gold card is a $200 flight credit that is conferred to the cardholder at the end of a calendar year. For high-spenders, $10,000 is likely within the range, requiring a monthly expenditure of less than $1,000 per month.
Across the board, the Delta flight credit is exactly what it says it is: just $200 you can spend on the airline, with extremely limited exceptions. With this flight credit alone, one will immediately be able to make back an investment in the card’s annual fee.
4 An impressive reputation
Delta American Express cards offer the following key benefits
- Cardmember-favoring dispute resolution
- American Express experiences (member-only events)
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
The reputation of American Express is extensive, and the company has long been known to prioritize its card members and offer them unique benefits. Back in 2021, Management Consulted determined the company to be the “Gold Standard” of airline credit cards.
Over time, the company has diversified its offerings and continued to attract customers to see the value in its unique products. As can be seen through this article alone, flying Delta just two or three times per year can easily make this card worthwhile.
The Different Ways To Earn Delta Air Lines SkyMiles
Flying is the most obvious route to earn SkyMiles, but there are other ways too.
5 Free checked bag
Cardholders can save hundreds with this key benefit
|
Bag: |
Fee: |
|---|---|
|
First checked bag: |
$30 |
|
Second checked bag: |
$40 |
One of the most undeniably useful benefits of the Delta SkyMiles American Express Gold card is the ability to bring a free checked bag onboard any flight at any time. Airlines are continuing to innovate baggage fees, raising the cost of checking luggage in order to continue increasing revenue from this non-fare source.
Photo: Delta Air Lines
Within the United States or on flights from the US to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, one can expect to pay $30 to check a bag, with the fee rising to $40 for the second, according to Forbes. As a result, one can easily recoup the $150 annual fee simply by checking a free bag five times.
