We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

3 Changes (1 Good, 1 OK, and 1 Bad) to Delta Credit Cards

  • Million Mile Secrets

    • 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.

    Starting May 1, 2014 the Delta American Express cards will no longer have foreign transaction fees of ~2.7%.  However the annual fee increases on the Delta Platinum card.

    Delta American Express Changes Coming May 1, 2014

    What are the Changes?

    1.   No Foreign Transaction Fees

    Most American Express cards charge foreign transaction fees of ~2.7%.  This makes AMEX cards less useful to folks who travel internationally because the foreign transaction fees will usually cost you more than the miles or points are worth!

    But starting May 1, 2014,  ALL the Delta American Express cards will stop charging foreign transaction fees.

    This includes the Delta Gold credit card, the Delta Platinum credit card, and the Delta Reserve credit card.  If you’re considering a Delta card, check to see if you have a higher targeted offer from Delta or if you get a higher targeted offer from the CardMatch tool!  These may be better offers than the regular links!

    Note that the terms on the Delta cards say that you can’t get the bonus on the SAME card for at least 12 months after you close the card.  And that you can’t get the bonus for a different Delta card if you have had a Delta card in the previous 3 months.

    But note that business and personal cards are considered different products, so you could get the bonus on the same or different business card.

    This is great news if you like collecting Delta miles.  But if Delta miles are not useful to you, there are many other cards with no foreign transaction fees.

    I usually use my Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ink Bold or Ink Plus card while traveling abroad.

    I personally would have preferred if the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express stopped charging foreign transaction fees instead of the Delta card.  That’s because I prefer earning Starwood hotel points to Delta miles.  I can either use my Starwood hotel points at hotels or transfer them to many airlines.

    2.   New Cards With Smart Chip

    Credit cards with Smart Chips are nice, but I don’t really need to have a card with a Chip.  While cards with Chips are helpful in certain countries, they don’t always work!  That’s because US issued cards are almost always “Chip & Signature” cards, but many countries use “Chip & PIN” cards.

    Oh, and most cards in the US will eventually be converted to “Chip & Signature” cards in the next few years.  So I would NOT apply for a Delta credit card just to get a card with a Chip!

    All new Delta AMEX cards issued after May 1, 2014 will have “Chip & Signature” technology.  If you are a current card holder, you can call the number on the back of your card and ask for a new card with the Smart Chip.

    3.   Higher Annual Fee

    The annual fee on the Delta Platinum card increases from $150 to $195.  The Delta Reserve annual fee stays the same at $450 and the annual fee of $95 stays the same on the Delta Gold card.

    The annual fee will increase for new and current Delta Platinum card holders.

    Delta American Express Platinum’s Annual Fee Will Increase by $45 Per Year

    Bottom Line

    From May 1, 2014, the American Express Delta cards will no longer charge foreign transaction fees and will include Smart Chips.

    No foreign transaction fees on the Delta American Express cards is good news if you already have one of these cards or if you value Delta miles and travel outside the US.  However, the annual fee for the Delta Platinum card increases by $45 to $195.

    I’d really like to see American Express remove foreign transaction fees on their other cards as well!

    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! :)