9 Reasons Why These Delta Limited-Time Offers Are Worth Considering (Ends April 3, 2019)
Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.
Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.Until April 3, 2019, you can earn increased welcome bonuses on these AMEX Delta cards:
- Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express – 60,000 Delta miles after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
- Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express – 75,000 Delta miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
- Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express – 75,000 Delta miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
These are the highest public bonuses we’ve ever seen from these cards. It’s a good time to consider them, not just for the huge bonuses, but also their money-saving benefits and perks.
Here are the reasons why you might want to apply for these AMEX Delta cards before the limited-time offers expire!
Reasons to Consider the Limited-Time AMEX Delta Offers Before They Vanish
Read our post about the limited-time AMEX Delta personal card offers
Apply Here: Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
Read our review of the Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express
Apply Here: Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
Read our review of the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express
Apply Here: Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express
One important caveat: If you’re new to miles and points, you should carefully consider which Chase cards you want first, because Chase has strict application rules. If you’ve opened 5+ cards (from any bank, except certain business cards) in the past 24 months, you won’t be eligible for Chase cards. Opening the AMEX Delta personal cards will add to your 5/24 count.1. The Welcome Bonuses Are the Highest Public Offers We’ve Seen
The quickest and easiest way to boost your account balance with any rewards program is to earn lucrative credit card welcome bonuses. So with the AMEX Delta cards offering their best-ever bonuses, it’s a great time to apply.
AMEX only allows you to earn the welcome bonus ONCE per person, per lifetime, on each of their cards. So it’s best to apply when the bonuses are highest, because you never know when the deals might come around again.
And keep in mind, each of the AMEX Delta cards are considered different products. So, for example, if you’ve had the AMEX Delta Gold card, you’re still eligible for the AMEX Delta Platinum or AMEX Delta Reserve.
2. Use Miles to Book Award Flights and Save TONS of Money!
Earning a stash of Delta miles means you’ll have the opportunity to book travel just about anywhere for next to nothing.
Although Delta no longer publishes an award chart, you can easily search for award flights and pricing on Delta.com. Depending on your travel goals, the welcome bonuses can have significant value!
If you like to ski, you can book round-trip coach award flights from Atlanta to Salt Lake City during the winter for 26,000 Delta miles per person. With the AMEX Delta Gold bonus, you’d have more than enough miles for 2 award seats. And with the AMEX Delta Platinum or AMEX Delta Reserve, you’ll have enough miles for 3 award seats (which could cost $1,200+) after meeting minimum spending requirements.
Or splurge on a one-way Business Class award seat to Europe with the AMEX Delta Platinum or AMEX Delta Reserve 75,000 Delta mile bonus. Non-stop, one-way award flights from New York to Paris start at 70,000 Delta miles. This seat could cost several thousand dollars if you paid cash.
3. You Can Redeem Delta Miles for Award Flights on Partner Airlines
Delta is part of the SkyTeam Alliance, which means you can redeem Delta miles for award flights on partner airlines, like Air France, KLM, Korean Air, and many others! You can also book award flights on non-alliance partner airlines, like WestJet.
Million Mile Secrets team member Keith used Delta miles to book award flights on KLM to fly non-stop from Amsterdam to Cape Town for his honeymoon. And I’ve used Delta miles to fly my family on WestJet to a reunion in Calgary, Canada.
4. Easily Redeem Miles Using Pay With Miles
If you’re not interested in booking award flights, the welcome bonuses with the AMEX Delta personal cards can still be very valuable, because with these cards, you’ll get access to Pay With Miles.
Using Pay With Miles, your Delta miles are worth 1 cent each. This means you can redeem the AMEX Delta card bonuses to quickly get $600 to $750 worth of Delta flights. There are no blackout dates when you book this way and you’ll earn miles and credit toward elite status just like other paid flights!
To use this benefit, you must book on the Delta website. And only Delta and Delta Connection operated flights are eligible (not partner flights).
5. Save Money on Checked Bags
With these AMEX Delta cards, you get a free checked bag for yourself and up to 8 other people traveling on the same itinerary. This is an automatic perk on paid and award flights.
For folks without Delta elite status, this perk can save you lots of money depending how often you fly with the airline.
Delta charges $30 for your first checked bag each way. If you’re traveling with a friend or family member on the same reservation, you could save $120 round-trip!
6. Earn Elite Status Faster
With Delta elite status, you can enjoy terrific perks like complimentary upgrades, waived baggage fees, priority boarding, and more.
And having certain credit cards makes it easier to qualify for Delta elite status. For example, after meeting minimum spending requirements with the AMEX Delta Platinum or Delta Reserve card, you’ll earn 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs).
You must earn 25,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (and meet additional requirements) in a calendar year to achieve Delta Silver elite status. So earning the qualifying miles with the credit card can give you a head start!
And if you’re a big spender, you can earn even more miles that count toward elite status.
With Miles Boost from the AMEX Delta Platinum, you can earn 10,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 or more in eligible purchases on the card in a calendar year. Folks can earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles and 10,000 MQMs after spending $50,000 in eligible purchases in a calendar year (for a total of up to 20,000 bonus miles each year and 20,000 MQMs each year).
And with Miles Boost from the Delta Reserve card, you can earn 15,000 bonus miles and 15,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $30,000 on eligible purchases on your card in a calendar year. You can also earn an additional 15,000 bonus miles and 15,000 MQMs after you spend $60,000 on eligible purchases on your card in a calendar year.
7. Minimum Spending Might Be Easier to Complete With Your Tax Payments
To unlock the lucrative bonuses on the AMEX Delta cards, you’ll have to complete the minimum spending requirements in a certain time frame following your date of approval.
Here’s a list of 40 ways to help you meet minimum spending requirements. And with it being tax season, it might be easier to meet the requirements if you pay for your taxes with your card.
8. Fly With a Friend or Loved One Using the Delta Companion Certificate
A unique perk for AMEX Delta Platinum or AMEX Delta Reserve cardholders is the round-trip companion certificate you get each year on your cardmember anniversary.
You can use this certificate to bring a companion on eligible domestic Delta flights for just the cost of taxes and fees.
With the AMEX Delta Platinum, you’ll earn a domestic Main Cabin (coach) round-trip companion certificate each year when you renew your card. This lets you add a second passenger to your domestic round-trip flight reservation (within the contiguous 48 US states) by only paying the taxes and fees for that passenger.
It’s even more lucrative with the AMEX Delta Reserve. When you renew your card, you’ll earn a domestic First Class, Delta Comfort+, or Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate (just pay taxes and fees).
Depending on which route you use these on, you could get a value well in excess of the card’s annual fee.
9. Get Access to Delta Sky Club Lounges With the AMEX Delta Reserve
If you’re a frequent Delta flyer and often visit airports with Delta Sky Club airport lounges, the AMEX Delta Reserve is your ticket to a much more civilized travel experience.
With the AMEX Delta Reserve, you’ll get complimentary Delta Sky Club access when you’re flying a Delta operated or marketed flight that day. You can also bring up to 2 guests and children under 21 years of age at a reduced rate of $29 per person (kids under 2 are free).
This is an excellent deal if you’d otherwise pay for a Delta Sky Club airport lounge membership, which costs $545 per year. The annual fee on the AMEX Delta Reserve is $450 (See Rates & Fees), so you’ll save ~$95 versus purchasing a membership outright.
If you can frequently make use of Delta Sky Club lounges, this perk alone can be well worth the annual fee on the AMEX Delta Reserve – and that’s not even considering the other benefits you’ll get.
Bottom Line
Now’s the time to take a good look at the limited-time personal Delta credit card offers, which have the highest-ever public bonuses we’ve seen. They’re available only until April 3, 2019:
- Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express – 60,000 Delta miles after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
- Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express – 75,000 Delta miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
- Delta Reserve® Credit Card – 75,000 Delta miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
These deals are worth considering, whether you’re looking to book award flights on Delta or partner airlines, or just want to quickly save $600 to $750 off Delta flights. They also come with benefits and perks like a free checked bag for you and up to 8 companions on the same domestic reservation (save $30 per person one-way).
Remember, the AMEX Delta cards are each considered a different card product. So if you’ve had one already, you can still get the others!
For .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! :)
Join the Discussion!