Which Is the Best Card for Earning Delta Miles?

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I’ve written about the increased sign-up bonus on the American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles cards (personal and business) and the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card.

Until September 8, 2014, you’ll get a bonus of 50,000 miles (normally it’s 30,000) after you spend $1,000 in the 1st 3 months.

But did you know there are better cards for earning Delta miles from your usual spending?

Best Card For Earning Delta Miles
The AMEX Delta Cards Have a Great Sign-Up Bonus, but There Are Better Cards for Earning Delta Miles

What’s the Deal?

Link:   American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles (Personal)

Link:   American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles (Business)

Link:   American Express Platinum Delta SkyMiles

The American Express Delta SkyMiles cards have an increased sign-up bonus of 50,000 miles until September 8, 2014.  That’s a great sign-up bonus, and for earning miles, you’ll get:

  • 2 points for every $1 you spend on Delta purchases
  • 1 point for every $1 you spend on everything else

But you can earn more Delta miles by spending on cards with points that transfer to Delta.  That’s because these cards have category or transfer bonuses, so you’ll get more than 1 Delta mile for every $1 you spend.  I’ll explain!

1.   American Express Starwood Preferred Guest

Link:   Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express

Link:   Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express

Did you know the American Express Starwood hotel card earns you more Delta miles from your regular spending (assuming you’re a Big Spender)?

That’s because for each 20,000 Starwood points you transfer to Delta, you get a bonus of 5,000 extra miles.  So you’re earning 1.25 Delta miles for every Starwood point you transfer!

Best Card For Earning Delta Miles
You’ll Get a 5,000 Mile Bonus When You Transfer 20,000 Starwood Points to Delta

The sign-up bonus on the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express cards is up to 25,000 points after you spend $5,000 in the 1st 6 months.  And Starwood points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to Delta.  This card gives you:

While there are no category bonuses for spending on this card (except for at Starwood hotels), each $1 you spend is worth 1.25 Delta miles because of the transfer bonus.  So for example, if you spend $20,000 on the card, you’d get 20,000 Starwood points.  Then you could transfer them to Delta and get 25,000 miles.

But if you spent $20,000 on 1 of the American Express Delta cards, you’d only get 20,000 Delta miles.  If you’re a big spender and collect Delta miles, the Starwood hotel card could be a better deal for you!

2.   American Express Premier Rewards Gold

Link:   Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express

The American Express Premier Rewards Gold card earns American Express Membership Rewards points, which can be transferred to Delta at a 1:1 ratio.

The sign-up bonus on this card is 25,000 points after you spend $2,000 in the 1st 3 months.  The annual fee of $195 is waived for the 1st year.

But what makes this card great for earning Delta miles are the category bonuses.  You get:

  • 3 points for every $1 you spend on flights booked directly with airlines
  • 2 points for every $1 you spend at US gas stations and supermarkets
  • 1 point for every $1 you spend on everything else
  • Terms Apply
Best Card For Earning Delta Miles
The Category Bonuses on the AMEX Premier Rewards Gold Card Can Earn You Lots of Delta Miles

Many folks spend a lot of money on groceries and gas, so this card could earn you lots of points quickly.  But do the math after the 1st year to make sure it is worth the $195 annual fee!

And it’s a better card to use for airline tickets (even on Delta) than the Delta SkyMiles cards, because it earns 3 points per $1 you spend.  And you can transfer these points to Delta in a 1:1 ratio!  The Delta cards only earn 2 miles per $1, and only on Delta flights!

Note:   There’s an annual fee of $195 which is waived for the 1st year.  You’ll have to decide if you’ll spend enough on the card in subsequent years to make the annual fee worth it.

3.   American Express EveryDay

Link:   American Express EveryDay Preferred

Link:   American Express EveryDay

The American Express EveryDay Preferred and American Express EveryDay cards also earn American Express Membership Rewards points, which can be transferred to Delta at a 1:1 ratio.

While the sign-up bonuses aren’t a lot (10,000 points for the EveryDay and 15,000 points for the EveryDay Preferred card after you spend $1,000 in the 1st 90 days), the bonuses for spending in certain categories could make this a great card for earning Delta points!

With the American Express EveryDay Preferred card, you get:

  • 3 points per $1 you spend at US supermarkets, up to $6,000 a year
  • 2 points per $1 you spend at US gas stations
  • 1 point per $1 you spend on everything else

But if you use the card to make more than 30 purchases in a billing cycle, you’ll earn 50% extra points, less returns and credits.  There is no minimum transaction amount for any of those 30 purchases.

So you could effectively earn:

  • 4.5 points per $1 you spend at US supermarkets up to $6,000 a year
  • points per $1 you spend at US gas stations
  • 1.5 points per $1 you spend on everything else

This is a better deal than the American Express Premier Rewards Gold card for groceries and gas!  There’s an annual fee of $95, but it’s waived for the 1st year.

The American Express EveryDay card currently has no annual fee, so it could be a good card to keep for a long time to build credit history.  The category bonuses aren’t quite as good, but you’ll still earn:

  • 2 points per $1 you spend at US supermarkets up to $6,000 per year
  • 1 point per $1 you spend on everything else

And if you use the card to make more than 20 purchases in a billing cycle, you’ll earn 20% extra points, less returns and credits.  There is no minimum transaction amount for any of those 20 purchases.

Note:   American Express charges an excise fee of 0.06 per point, up to a maximum of $99, when you transfer Membership Rewards points to US airlines.

Bottom Line

The increased sign-up bonus on the American Express Delta SkyMiles cards can get you a lot of Big Travel with Small Money.  But there are better cards for earning Delta miles from your regular spending.

The American Express Starwood Preferred Guest, American Express Premier Rewards Gold, American Express EveryDay, and American Express EveryDay Preferred cards all earn points that transfer at a 1:1 ratio to Delta.

And because they have category or transfer bonuses, you can earn more miles per $1 you spend than on the American Express Delta cards.

Which of these cards is your favorite for earning extra miles and points?

Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)

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