UPDATE: This offer is expired. You can learn more about the current offers here.
Back in September, Delta increased the sign up bonus for all four of their co-branded American Express credit cards. These are some very lucrative offers which can help you fly for free! This is a limited time offer that will go through November 9, 2016. With this offer you can earn up to 70,000 bonus points depending on the card you sign up for. Two of the cards are actually the best ever publicly available offer! Here are the sign up offers for all their cards:
Personal Cards:
- Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express: Earn 50,000 miles after you make $2,000 in purchases on your new Card within your first 3 months. You can also earn a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months. $0 introductory offer annual fee, then $95.
- Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express: Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Earn a $100 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months. $195 annual fee.
Business Cards:
- Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you make $2,000 in purchases on your new Card within your first 3 months. Additionally, earn a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express: Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Earn a $100 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 3 months. $195 annual fee.
Difference between personal and business versions:
You’ll notice that the personal and business offers of the respective cards are very similar in nature. Although there is one main differences where the business version has a slight leg up:
- With the business version of the two cards you are eligible to American Express OPEN savings. This gives you 5% statement credit when you use your card at many merchants, including: FedEx, Hertz, etc.You can read more about AMEX Open savings here.
Unfortunately though, both cards are now limited to one sign up offer in a lifetime. So if you’ve received this offer in the past, you are technically not eligible. With that being said, each card counts as its own offer, so if you’ve only received the offer for one of these cards in the past, you are still eligible for the other three cards/offers.
Other card benefits:
- With all four cards you’ll receive your first checked bag for free for both you and 8 other passengers on the same itinerary, Priority boarding, 20% in-flight savings, and discounted SkyClub access. I personally find those benefits pretty basic, but the free checked baggage can really save you some money depending on how you fly.
- With the Platinum card only, you are able to earn 10,000 miles and 10,000 MQMs for the first $25,000 in spend during the calendar year. You’ll then earn another 10,000 miles and MQMs after you spend $50,000 total in the calendar year.
- With the Platinum card only, you’ll receive an annual companion certificate.
- Since all are American Express cards, you are eligible to take advantage of the many American Express statement credit offers that I write about often! This can help often the annual fee and help you save money!
With four different offers, which card is best for you?
So while all four cards have similar benefits, the Platinum card has some enhanced perks that will ultimately cost you an extra $195 for the first year and then an extra $100 a year thereafter due to the annual fee difference. For the first year, you’ll ultimately be spending an extra $195 to earn another 20,000 points. However, due to the statement credit you receive within the first three months of card membership, this brings the difference down to $145, which I personally think is worth the extra 20,000 points.
Also, another main reason to get the Platinum card over the Gold card is if you are looking to earn additional miles and MQMs. While you will get an additional 10,000 MQMs upfront as part of the sign on bonus, there is the ability to get more miles and MQMs on an annual basis. If you are able to put that much spend on your card, however, then the annual fee difference could be well worth it. Also, the Platinum card comes with an annual companion certificate upon account renewal (domestic economy class that can be used within the 48 contiguous states + you have to pay applicable taxes/fees). But, if you are just looking for the basic perks and a good sign up bonus, then the Gold card is probably best.
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I know that if you get a referral for the Platinum Personal Delta card you have until 2/1/17 to be approved for the card and you will still get the 70K Skymiles, 10K MQM and $100 statement credit, and the referer will get 10K Skymiles for the referral.
@Tom – Thanks for sharing! Exact same offer, but more time to apply which is good.