Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card review

With the opportunity to earn status miles, this card goes above and beyond for the most loyal Delta customers out there. Plus, earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership.

Written by
Brooklyn Lowery
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Key Features

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Editor Analysis:

Pros
  • Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership.
  • Earn 3X the miles on purchases directly with Delta as well as on purchases directly with hotels and 2X the miles on purchases at restaurants (including delivery and takeout in the U.S.) and at U.S. supermarkets. Earn 1X mile on all other eligible purchases.
  • Rack up extra MQDs by meeting specific spending thresholds on your card each year (details below).
Cons
  • As with any airline-branded card, this option is only right for you if you're truly loyal to the brand. If you're someone who prefers to shop for the lowest fare rather than stick with a consistent airline, a more general travel rewards card is likely a better option.
ALTERNATE CARD TO CONSIDER

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card_name benefits

The CardName combines the benefits of a travel rewards credit card with flying perks that may make you feel like a jetsetter. American Express is a CardRatings advertiser.

As a welcome bonus, new CardName cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership. Plus, receive $2,500 MQDs each medallion qualification year and get closer to status with MQD Headstart. Card members also get 15% off when using miles to book award travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. (Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.)

CardRatings Tip

The card’s Delta SkyMiles and the airline’s Medallion® Qualification Dollars (MQDs) can help you save on flights and gain even more benefits. Use your Delta SkyMiles to get discounted or free flights on Delta; as long as you have at least 5,000 miles per passenger, you’re able to book your flight and get a discount. For instance, if you have 5,000 miles, you can get $50 off. If you have 10,000 miles, that’s $100 off.

Meanwhile, the MQD program is a status program for Delta’s most loyal customers. Gaining Medallion Status lets flyers gain more perks, such as complimentary upgrades and waived fees such as baggage fees.

The MQD program has four levels: Diamond, Platinum, Gold and Silver. As Medallion Status members gain MQDs, they move up to the next level with more perks.

Learn more in our guide to Delta SkyMiles.

On an ongoing basis, cardholders earn 3X miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2X miles at restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets, and 1X mile on all other eligible purchases.

You can also enjoy fee reimbursement for a Global Entry or PreCheck application (enrollment required). There is a AnnualFees annual fee, but the card’s many benefits easily help to offset it. See Rates and Fees.

card_name travel perks

The CardName offers a generous rewards program, particularly when it comes to the opportunity to regularly earn MQDs, but another aspect that sets this card apart is its travel-related perks. Some major travel benefits include:

No foreign transaction fee

If you frequently travel abroad you’ll be pleased to know that this card doesn’t charge fees on foreign transactions. Some cards charge as much as 3% on foreign transactions, which could really add up if you spend in a foreign currency often. For example, say you spend $10,000 abroad a year, you’d be looking at an extra $300 in fees each year if you were using a card that charged a 3% foreign transaction fee. With the card_name, that’s money in your pocket. See Rates and Fees.

Companion ticket

Receive a Companion Certificate on a Main Cabin round-trip flight within the U.S. and to Mexico, the Caribbean, or Central America each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Ticket requires payment of the government-imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for round-trip domestic flights and no more than $250 for round-trip international flights (both for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee reimbursement

Stay focused on getting where you need to go with complimentary Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership (enrollment required). Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($120) or a statement credit every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) and pay the application fee with your card. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.

Baggage insurance

This card also gives you peace of mind when traveling thanks to included baggage insurance. When you purchase the entire fare for a common carrier ticket on your card, the card provides coverage for lost, damaged or stolen carry-on baggage.

Resy credit

Earn up to $10 per month in statement credits on eligible Resy purchases using your enrolled card.

Rideshare credit

You can earn up to $10 back in statement credits each month on U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers after you pay with your card. (Enrollment required.)

Potential downsides of the card_name

The CardName charges a AnnualFees annual fee. Unlike some cards, this one doesn’t waive the first year’s fee so you’ll have to decide whether the card’s generous rewards program and perks offset that higher-than-typical (but still not exorbitant) annual fee. This card is also specifically for Delta flyers, so a different travel rewards card might be better for you if you don’t often fly Delta.

How do cardholders rate the card_name?

Cardaratings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results for the CardName:

 Current ScoresPrevious Score
Overall Score81.486.2
Features Satisfaction88.7
Customer Service8.48.8
Website/App Usability8.28.5
Likelihood of Continuing to Use8.68.4
Recommend to a Friend/Colleague8.18.3
Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

How the card_name compares to other cards

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Learn More

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Rewards
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Annual Fee
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card_name vs. CardName

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If you fly Delta and want a Delta-affiliated card, but the Platinum card’s annual fee is a little too much for your budget, there is another option.

The CardName has a much cheaper annual membership fee of AnnualFees It earns a bit less on purchases, but in similar categories: earn 2X miles on Delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. See Rates and Fees.

The welcome offers are different as well. With the CardName, new cardholders can earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new card in your first six months. Additionally, earn a $200 Delta Flight Credit to use toward future travel after you spend $10,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year. Otherwise, the CardName doesn’t offer as many travel perks as its Platinum cousin, but that’s to be expected considering the differences in annual fees.

card_name vs. card_name

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If Delta is your go-to carrier and you’re really looking for a way to benefit most from the airline, you might want to consider the most premium option of the SkyMiles bunch: the card_name.

The card_name comes with the highest annual fee of the SkyMiles cards (annual_fees; See Rates and Fees), but it also comes with the most perks. A few of those perks include: complimentary access to the Delta Sky Club®; complimentary access to The Centurion® Lounge when you book a Delta flight with your card; a Companion Certificate on a Main Cabin round-trip flight within the U.S. and to Mexico, the Caribbean, or Central America each year after renewal of your card; and more.

New cardholders can earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $5,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first six months of Card Membership.

Is the card_name worth it?

The CardName was made for the regular Delta customer. The card offers miles that you can use to board Delta flights, but what really makes this card stand out is the opportunity to earn some bonus status miles, MQDs in Delta-speak. Any frequent flyer knows that status miles are as good as gold.

If you regularly fly Delta you may find having the CardName will make travel that much easier, and that offsetting the annual fee will be a cinch thanks to its numerous travel perks.

Frequently asked questions

No, complimentary Delta Sky Club access is not a perk of the CardName.
No, the CardName earns Delta SkyMiles which can be redeemed for Delta flights, upgrades and flight amenities, vacations and experiences, and merchandise purchased in the SkyMiles marketplace.

Our Methodology

Survey methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September 2023 to conduct surveys among 1,869 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2023 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents’ scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. "Current Scores" reflect scores from the most recent survey (2023); "Past Scores" reflect scores from the 2022 survey.

Disclaimer:The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.


This content is not provided by any company mentioned in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any such company. CardRatings.com does not review every company or every offer available on the market.


To see rates and fees of American Express cards mentioned in this post, please see the following links: CardName (See Rates and Fees); CardName (See Rates and Fees)

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