UPDATE: This offer has expired.
Today is the last day for the limited time increased welcome bonus offers for the Delta co-branded American Express credit cards.That means if you’ve been meaning to apply for one (or more) of these cards, do it today! There are four different offers giving you anywhere between 60,000-70,000 points per offer with a total of 260,000 points if you were to apply for all four (which I do not recommend doing!). You can learn more about the offers in these previous blog posts: The Differences Between the Four Delta Credit Cards Increased Offers; Get a Companion Certificate Every Year with the Delta Platinum Credit Card!; Is the Delta Platinum Credit Card Worth the Extra 10,000 Points; Top 10 Questions About the Delta Credit Card
Personal Cards:
- Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express: Limited Time Offer: Earn 60,000 Bonus Miles after you make $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within your first 4 months. Offer expires on 9/19/2018. Enjoy a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. *Terms Apply.
- Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express: Limited Time Offer: Earn 70,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within your first 3 months. Offer expires on 9/19/2018. $195 Annual Fee. *Terms Apply.
Business Cards:
- Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express: Make business travel more rewarding. Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you make $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within your first 4 months. Offer expires on 9/19/2018. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. *Terms and limitations apply.
- Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business 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. $195 annual fee. *Terms and limitations apply. Offer expires on 9/19/2018.
Difference between Gold and Platinum versions:
While the Platinum cards have a higher annual fee, they also come with a few other perks that you do not receive with the Gold cards.
- 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. That is on top of the MQMs you receive for the limited time offer.
- With the Platinum card only, you’ll receive an annual companion certificate upon account renewal. The companion certificate will allow another person to fly with you on the exact same itinerary. It is valid for all roundtrip Delta, Delta Connection, and Delta Shuttle flights within the continental US. That means flights to/from Alaska and Hawaii are not eligible. Although, if you are a resident of Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the US Virgin Islands, you can use the companion certificate, but only to fly from home (that being Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands) to the continental US and back. You also must be booking in fare class L, U, T, X and V. You can learn more about the companion certificate here.
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.
- 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 more due to the higher annual fee. For the first year, you’ll ultimately be spending an extra $195 to earn another 10,000 miles (First year: $195 annual fee for Platinum Delta; $0 annual fee for Gold Delta). I personally do not value my Delta miles this high, so I would not apply for the Platinum card solely for the extra miles, unless you value your miles at 2 cents per mile or higher.
However, one main main reason to get the Platinum card over the Gold card is if you are looking to earn additional miles and MQMs to earn reach your desired status. While you will get an additional 10,000 MQMs upfront as part of the sign on bonus, there is then the ability to get more miles and MQMs on an annual basis. If you are able to put that much spend on your card, then the annual fee difference could absolutely 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 welcome bonus, then the Gold card is probably best.
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