As an Atlanta-based flyer, I was particularly interested in the revamp of the Delta American Express cards that was announced yesterday. The annual fees were also raised on all the cards (except the Blue card with no annual fee which really offers no benefits anyway).

Before I discuss the new benefits and new sign-up bonuses, let me just remind you that even if you fly Delta a lot, you really should start with transferable currencies like Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards before worrying about airline or hotel co-brand credit cards. Airline cards can be an important part of your strategy but focus on transferable rewards for flexibility before you start worrying about co-brand cards.

However, if you are looking for a Delta card, the new sign up offers are interesting but they all have increased annual fees as well. Let’s start with the elevated sign up bonuses and annual fees:

Personal:

Gold: Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after spending a total of $3,000 in the first 6 months. Annual Fee: $150 ($0 first year)

Platinum: Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles after spending a total of $4,000 in the first 6 months. Annual Fee: $350

Reserve: Earn 100,000 Bonus Miles after spending a total of $6,000 in the first 6 months. Annual Fee: $650

Business:

Gold: Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after spending a total of $6,000 in the first 6 months of membership. Annual Fee: $150 ($0 first year)

Platinum: Earn 100,000 Bonus Miles after spending a total of $8,000 in the first 6 months of membership. Annual Fee: $350

Reserve: Earn 110,000 Bonus Miles after spending a total of $12,000 in the first 6 months of membership. Annual Fee: $650

Obviously, the business cards require more spend but have higher sign-up bonuses. In addition, getting a business card will not affect your eligibility for Chase cards under the 5/24 rule. One of the Gold cards may work pretty well for folks who fly Delta and need to check a bag as they provide a free checked bag benefit. It used to be pretty easy to make that annual fee back in 2 round trips but now it will actually take more flying based on the annual fee increase (after the first year).

Credits:

All six of the cards have new varying annual credits for DeltaStays which is Delta’s hotel booking platform. Only use this if you see value and you are booking an independent hotel or don’t care about status with Hyatt/Marriott/Hilton etc. They should get decent rates through the Expedia platform that Delta uses. Business cards have slightly higher credits so again a good reason to grab one of these over a personal card if you’re eligible.

Platinum and Reserve cards also have a monthly rideshare credit which should be fairly easy to use and could offset the increase in the annual fees. They also have a monthly Resy credit which seems harder to use unless you live in a big city and regularly eat at restaurants on the Resy platform.

All of these credits create more of a coupon book (similar to the Amex Platinum and Business Platinum cards) which is basically Amex’s way of hoping you’ll either forget to use the credits or set your Delta card as the way you pay for all rideshare and Resy charges. Either way, they win unless you use the exact amount of the credit each month.

Companion Certificates:

Platinum and Reserve cards also come with round-trip 2 for 1 companion certificates and these are much improved. Platinum companion certs can now be used for First Class, Comfort Plus or Main Cabin similar to the Reserve. The even bigger news is that they can all be used for Hawaii, Alaska, the Caribbean and Central America in addition to the continental US. This is a huge improvement and may allow more people to use the certs or at least give them away to friends and family so they get used every year. Remember that certain fare classes must be available so it’s not as straightforward as just booking any round-trip flight. Also keep in mind that taxes and fees may be higher for some of the added locations and those must still be paid for the “free” companion ticket.

There’s a few other new perks including some small spending bonuses (1.5x) on the business cards in common business categories like shipping (which I don’t really recommend worrying about unless you spend a ton and are trying for status).

Elite Status:

Remember that the new SkyMiles program is only tracking MQDs for status. You need $5kMQD for Silver, $10kMQD for Gold, $15kMQD for Platinum and $28kMQD for Diamond. The Platinum cards earn $1MQD per $20 spend and Reserve earn $1MQD per $10 spend. Both cards (business and personal) get a $2500MQD boost per year for holding the card. Even if you also want the Platinum card for the boost and companion cert, put spend on the Reserve card for status purposes. In theory you could hold both Platinum and Reserve cards and earn Gold without stepping on a plane (although why would you bother if you’re not flying Delta or its partners?) For those who held the Reserve card before yesterday, they received a $1kMQD boost in addition to the annual boost.

I’m sure Delta will continue to “enhance” these cards as they see how their numbers are by the end of 2024. Don’t forget that the Reserve card gets unlimited access to SkyClubs this year (and Centurion Lounges when flying Delta) and then there is a limit to 15 visits starting 2/1/2025 (a visit is basically however many clubs you can visit in one travel day).

If you have questions about this post, let me know in the comments or send me an email at emptynestermiles@gmail.com. If you are thinking about opening a new credit card, please use one of my links.