Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card review: The business card for loyal Delta flyers who don’t require lounge access

Our take: If credit cards were cars, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card would be a Lexus. Not as pricey or showy as a Mercedes (the Reserve) or as affordable as a Toyota (the Gold), the card will get you where you want to go in comfort.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card Overview

Card type: Business

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business Card is the middle-of-the-road Delta co-branded business credit card offered by Amex. With an annual fee on the higher side ($350), it offers useful perks for business owners who fly Delta frequently enough to want benefits such as a free checked bag, priority boarding, and an annual companion certificate—but not often enough to pay $650 for the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card with Sky Club lounge access. 

Rewards rates on your purchases aren’t as generous as you can find with some other general travel cards, but the SkyMiles Platinum Business card does make up for it in the first year by offering a large welcome bonus. 

The perks, however, are what will make or break your decision to go with this card. It offers numerous statement credits—including up to $200 Delta Stays credit for hotel or vacation rental stays and monthly credits toward Resy restaurants ($120 Resy Credit annually in $10 installments) and rideshares ($120 Rideshare Credit yearly at $10 a month). A credit to reimburse your TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee is included, making it faster for you to navigate your airport experience. 

One of the most valuable benefits, and one that can justify the annual fee if you use it every year, is the card’s companion certificate. This lets you bring a travel companion with you on a main cabin domestic, Caribbean, or Central American round-trip flight each year.  The companion certificate vests after renewal of your card, and can potentially save you hundreds of dollars compared to buying tickets for your favorite travel partner with cash. 

Note, you’ll still be responsible for paying taxes and fees, which should not exceed $80 for round-trip domestic flights or $250 for round-trip international flights. Up to four flight segments are allowed in your itinerary in both of these cases. 

The card also offers priority boarding, a free checked bag (saving you potentially $60 round-trip), complimentary upgrades, and solid consumer and travel-related protections.

Who is the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card good for? 

If you fly Delta regularly and don’t already have elite status, you can instantly see value in the card, as you’ll effectively recoup the cost of the annual fee with the savings from checked bag fees after a few flights on your own—or even fewer flights when traveling with a friend or colleague.

As long as you don’t care about accessing an airport lounge, and so long as you can take advantage of the multiple statement credits (beware possible breakage on those dispensed in monthly amounts) and the companion certificate, this card is well worth considering for small business owners. 

Who shouldn’t get the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card?

Flyers who are airline agnostic and do not have enough chances to fly Delta and would probably not get much value in a card like this with a substantial annual fee and many Delta-specific perks. In that case, a more flexible general travel card is likely the better choice. 
For just a slightly higher $395 annual fee, the Capital One Venture X Business offers flexible rewards you can transfer to a variety of travel partners, as well as airport lounge access through a Priority Pass Select membership when you enroll. Or, if you seek extensive travel perks and the widest-ranging lounge access available, the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express may be what you need (though it costs an eye-popping $695 per year).

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card: How to earn rewards

You can turn your everyday purchases into Delta SkyMiles using this card, and some categories of spending will help you earn at a higher rate than others, as follows: 

• 3 miles per $1 spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and on every eligible dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta and hotels
• 1.5 miles per $1 on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (up to 50,000 additional miles per calendar year).
• 1 mile for each dollar of eligible purchases

Additionally, new cardmembers can earn a welcome bonus of 100,000 Bonus Miles after spending $8,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 3/27/24. 

To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, see this page

How to redeem Delta SkyMiles®

While earning miles is thrilling, getting to redeem them for what you like the most is even more so. There are multiple ways to use your miles, but typically what you’ll get the most value from is booking award travel on Delta Air Lines or on Delta’s partners. 

Delta maintains no redemption charts, which can potentially make it confusing to figure out the pricing of award tickets. Instead, award tickets are priced dynamically—meaning the miles required will vary—based on factors including cash price, demand, and seasonality. 

As Delta Air Lines is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, which includes close to 20 airlines at the time of this writing, your Delta miles can effectively take you around the world. 

Additional redemption options for your miles include getting upgrades for your seats, using them to pay for additional service fees like change fees or same-day confirmed fees, or even getting a Delta Sky Club membership, among other uses.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card rates and fees

• Annual fee: $350.
• Foreign transaction fee: None.
• Purchase APR: 20.99%–29.99% variable.

To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, see this page

Additional benefits

• Generous welcome bonus, helping you rack up miles for your dream award ticket.
• Companion certificate valid for a domestic, Caribbean or Central American main cabin round-trip flight every year after card renewal.
• Medallion Qualification Dollars Headstart, with $2,500 MQDs per year to help you get closer to earning elite status. 
• Medallion Qualification Dollars Boost so you can get a leg up on your status qualification by earning $1 MQD for every $20 you spend with your card.
• $120 rideshare credit ($10 back each month) with eligible select rideshare providers when using your card
• $120 Resy statement credit ($10 back each month) for eligible U.S. Resy restaurant purchases.
• $200 Delta Stays credit when you use your card to book prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta stays.
• 15% discount on award travel redemptions when you use your Delta SkyMiles to book flights.
• Up to $100 credit for the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership fee so you can breeze past security and passport control.
• Trip delay insurance to help you get up to $300 reimbursed for certain expenses if your flight is delayed for more than 12 hours for a covered reason.
• Baggage insurance plan to have your luggage covered against loss, damages and theft.
• Car rental loss and damage insurance to protect you against the unexpected if your rental vehicle is damaged or stolen. This benefit provides secondary coverage.
• Extended warranty so your purchases can enjoy up to one year of additional coverage past their original manufacturer’s warranty.
• Purchase protection, covering up to $1,000 per incident and up to $50,000 per calendar year in the event that your new purchase gets stolen or accidentally damaged. Provides protection for up to 90 days from purchase date, subject to terms and conditions. 

Credit cards similar to the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card

Applying up for a credit card is a big decision, and it’s always good to look at other options before committing. There are many business cards on the market, but there are two specifically that deserve a side-by-side comparison with the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card before you make a decision.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card	Capital One Venture X Business	The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Annual fee	Annual fee	Annual fee
$350	$395	$695
Welcome bonus	Welcome bonus	Welcome bonus
100,000 Bonus Miles after spending $8,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 3/27/24	150,000 Miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening	120,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of card membership
Rewards	Rewards	Rewards
3X on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and on hotels, 1.5X miles up to $100,000 of combined eligible purchases per year on transit (including rideshares, taxicabs, and more) and at U.S. shipping providers, as well as on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, and 1X on all other purchases.	10X miles on hotels and rental cars 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel 2X miles on all other purchase	5x points on flights and prepaid hotel stays booked through amextravel.com. 1.5x points on qualifying purchases of $5,000 or more in other categories (on up to $2 million spent). 1x points on all other eligible purchases.
View Offer	Read full review	Read full review

To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, see this page
To view rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page

Capital One Venture X Business vs. Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card

With a similar annual fee but with a higher welcome bonus, the business version of Capital One Venture X Business card has to be on your radar. Earning rewards is straightforward, at 2X for every purchase (5X miles on flights booked
through Capital One Travel and 10X miles on hotels and rental cars). It comes with $300 annual credit for booking through Capital One Travel , as well as a fee credit for the TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee. 

The miles you earn are restricted to use with one airline, but can be transferred to multiple airline and hotel programs, giving you the ultimate flexibility. 

Unlike the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business, the Venture X Business will get you into lounges, both through a membership in the Priority Pass program as well as Capital One’s own network of lounges.

Check out our full review of the Capital One Venture X Business.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express vs. Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card

With an annual fee almost twice as high, you would expect at least double the benefits—and this card delivers. Your travel purchases on flights and prepaid hotels are bonused, earning 5x points on flights and prepaid hotel stays booked through amextravel.com. You’ll also earn 1.5x points on qualifying purchases of $5,000 or more in other categories (on up to $2 million spent), and 1x points on all other eligible purchases. 

Points earned on this card are flexible American Express Membership Rewards points, which can be transferred to nearly two dozen airline and hotel partners, including to Delta at a 1:1 rate.

With several statement credits including a $200 airline fee credit to cover some of your incidentals, a $189 CLEAR Plus credit and a TSA Precheck or Global Entry fee credit so you can go through airport security in a flash, among others, this card may well be your best business travel companion.

If you don’t enjoy the hustle and bustle of the main boarding area (and who does?) this card will get you into Priority Pass lounges, the Centurion network of lounges and even the Delta Sky Club when flying with Delta. If you’d like to enjoy more from your hotel stays, the card grants automatic Marriott Bonvoy Gold and Hilton Honors Gold status, and extends benefits to you as part of the Fine Hotels + Resorts program. 

Check out our full review of the American Express Business Platinum Card.
To view rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page

Is the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card right for you?

This card is probably right for you if you are a small business owner and as long as you fly Delta frequently enough to take advantage of the multiple perks the card offers—such as a free checked bag and an annual companion certificate— and don’t need airport lounge access.

Use good judgment in evaluating the card’s multiple statement credits as some of them are processed in small monthly increments, which require keeping track of. And, the dining credit is only good at Resy restaurants, which some foodies might find restrictive. 

Finally, if your business expenses overlap with the bonuses categories of this card, you may find it rewarding, but otherwise its earning rates are outshone by other credit cards in the market.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use the companion certificate for first class tickets?

The companion certificate for the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business Card is only good for flights in main cabin—but you do have the flexibility to choose domestic destinations or to further places in the Caribbean and Central America. If you’re looking for a Delta business card that comes with a companion certificate good for first class, you’ll need the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Amex Card.

Does the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card come with lounge access?

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business Card does not come with any lounge access benefit, however, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card does grant you access to both Centurion lounges when purchasing your Delta flights with the card as well as Sky Club access. 

If you are airline agnostic but would still like lounge access when you fly, the Capital One Venture X Business card and the American Express Business Platinum are premium travel cards that come with lounge access.

Do I get Delta elite status with the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card?

You will not earn Medallion® Status automatically just by having this card, but you can get some of the way to qualifying for your status depending on your spend. Every $20 in purchases charged to your card will earn $1 in MQDs. Additionally, you receive $2,500 MQDs to get you closer to earning status every year. The cost to earn status varies by tier—at the time of this writing, the range is from $5,000 MQDs to get Silver status to $28,000 MQDs for Diamond.

Please note that card details are accurate as of the publish date, but are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the issuer. Please contact the card issuer to verify rates, fees, and benefits before applying. 

Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefits guide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.