Amex Platinum Delta card review: Earn a companion certificate every year

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The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is ideal for frequent Delta flyers. It will help you earn miles for award flights and has the ability to give you huge jump on Delta elite status.

You’ll earn 40,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new card in the first three months. Plus, earn a $100 Statement Credit after your first Delta purchase on your new card in the first three months of account opening.

Let’s look at what you get with the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card and whether it’s a good fit for your wallet.

Who is this card for?

The Delta Platinum Amex card is the mid-tier Delta credit card that now has a $250 annual fee (see rates and fees). So it’s a bit pricey if for those that rarely fly with Delta, but the Amex Delta Platinum’s benefits make it a great choice for Delta regulars. We’ll cover the old and new perks, which can help you earn Delta miles faster and even potentially expedite your way to Delta elite status.

Current bonus

Right now the Delta Platinum Amex card has a welcome offer 40,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new card in the first three months. Plus, earn a $100 Statement Credit after your first Delta purchase on your new card in the first three months.

The total value of this bonus is at least $450 in Delta flights when you use the Pay with Miles feature. But you can get even more value when you use your miles for flights, which is the best way to use Delta miles.

Benefits and perks

With the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card, you’ll earn:

• 3x Delta miles per dollar spent on Delta, including flights booked on Delta.com, Sky Club membership or passes, Delta Vacations packages, upgrades and inflight purchases
• 3x Delta miles per dollar on purchases made directly with hotels
• 2x Delta miles at restaurants
• 1 Delta mile per dollar spent on everything else
• Terms apply

But that’s just the start of what the card gets you. You’ll also get all of the following perks:

• First checked bag free for yourself and up to eight traveling companions on the same Delta flight reservation.
• 20% discount on certain Delta inflight purchases in the form of a statement credit
• Priority boarding (Main Cabin 1)
• Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year on your card anniversary
• Earn 10,000 MQMs after you spend $25,000+ on your card in a calendar year. And once you spend $50,000+ in total in the same calendar year, you’ll earn another 10,000 MQMs.
• A Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit (worth up to $100)
• Ability to purchase Delta SkyClub one-time lounge passes for the cardholder and up to two guests for $39 a person.
• Terms apply

For more details, check out our guide to the Amex Delta Platinum’s benefits.

How to redeem Delta SkyMiles

The best way to use Delta miles is for flights and you can do this in two main ways. The first is the easiest, one of the perks of having a Delta credit card is that it unlocks the Pay With Miles feature. This feature allows you to pay for airfare at a rate of one cent per mile. This is great if your travel plans aren’t flexible because you won’t have to worry about blackout dates or potentially sky-high award prices. Plus, you’ll actually earn miles on your flight!

You’ll need to redeem at least 5,000 miles ($50) to use Pay with Miles and you can use it to partially pay for flights. Pay With Miles is generally only a good option when you’re booking cheaper economy tickets. Otherwise, you’ll want to use your Delta miles for award flights.

Booking award flights with Delta (or Delta’s partners) is easy. You just login to your Delta account, search for the flights (select “Shop with Miles”) and book the ones you want.

Is the annual fee worth it?

The card has a $250 annual fee. Whether or not this is worth it for the long term will depend on the amount of travel you do each year with Delta.

For those who frequently travel on Delta, this card can pay for itself with free checked bags and status boost which can get you to the next status tier. And the companion certificate you earn each year upon renewal will almost always be worth more than the cost of the annual fee.

Active-duty members of the military can get the annual fee waived by American Express, which makes this an incredible deal.

Insider tip

While you can book flights with most of Delta’s partners online, there are a few that you’ll need to call in to book. This presents a good opportunity for those in the know to book flights with these partners – China Airlines, Air Europa and Jet Airways. You can use these tricks to find hidden award flights, then call Delta to book your ticket over the phone.

Credit cards similar to the Delta Platinum card

The Delta SkyMiles Platinum card is a great card for Delta flyers who travel frequently. The opportunity to earn MQMs and a companion certificate generally make it worth the annual fee, but depending on your purchase habits and travel frequency, here are other Delta cards to consider:

• Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: Lower annual fee of $99 per year, waived the first year (see rates and fees), with a welcome bonus of 35,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new card in your first three months.
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Premium travel card with a $550 annual fee (see rates and fees). Includes Delta SkyClub and Amex Centurion lounge access and a welcome offer of 40,000 miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases in the first three months of account opening.

You can only earn the welcome bonus on an American Express card once, per person, per lifetime. So if you’ve had one of these cards in the past, you won’t be able to earn the same introductory bonus a second time.

Otherwise, reports online indicate most people with good credit are eligible for these cards. Remember that many factors are considered during the application process other than your credit score. Your credit score can give you an idea on your approval chances, but the bank makes the final decision.

Bottom line

The offer on the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card is great if you frequently travel with Delta.

If you value Delta elite status and can use money-saving perks like the annual companion certificate and free checked bag, this card is well worth the annual fee. But if you don’t fly Delta frequently, you might consider other Amex Delta cards with a lower fee.

You can apply for the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card here.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please click here.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please click here.

Featured photo by NextNewMedia/Shutterstock.