There are all types of airline credit cards: some come with lounge access, others come with a fast track to elite status. Delta SkyMiles credit cards have a mix of benefits, depending on which one you get and what interests you most.
The most frequent flyers will find the premium Delta Reserve card to be more valuable, whereas occasional travelers may find the benefits of the Gold or Platinum tier cards to be enough.
Anyone that likes redeeming SkyMiles for award flights on Delta Air Lines or its partner airlines, including those in the SkyTeam alliance, may find the ability to earn a hefty signup bonus and extra miles for spending in certain categories valuable. After all, the more miles you have, the more trips you can take—or you can start taking them in the premium cabin.
Here’s a rundown of which Delta SkyMiles card fits which type of traveler.
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Comparing Delta SkyMiles cards
When it comes to earning miles, credit card spending can be an even faster path to building your mileage balance than flying. Nearly everyone has expenses, and paying for them with a Delta card can translate into SkyMiles.
Delta’s portfolio of American Express cards includes seven options: four personal and three business cards. Each one awards SkyMiles differently depending on certain categories of purchases.
Delta SkyMiles personal credit cards
Annual fee
$0.
$0 intro for the first year, then $150.
$350.
$650.
Welcome offer
Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months. Terms Apply.
You may be eligible for as high as 80,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Terms Apply.
You may be eligible for as high as 90,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Terms Apply.
You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $5,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Terms Apply.
Delta SkyMiles business credit cards
Annual fee
$0 intro for the first year, then $150.
$350.
$650.
Welcome offer
Earn 60,000 Bonus Miles after spending $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.
Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after spending $6,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.
Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.
Still not sure?
A Delta SkyMiles card might be right for you if...
You fly Delta often
Since all of the Delta American Express cards offer more than 1 mile per dollar spent, it makes sense to purchase your ticket with a Delta co-branded credit card.
You regularly book award travel using Delta SkyMiles
When redeeming Delta miles for Delta-operated flights, you can take advantage of the TakeOff 15 perk, which slashes 15% off the mileage cost of an award redemption. This benefit is exclusive to Delta co-branded credit cardholders with Gold and above, and it is automatically applied when searching and booking award travel on Delta’s website or the Fly Delta app. The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card doesn't offer this benefit.
Delta is notorious for charging more for business class flights than other airlines. For example, you might be able to find business class redemptions on American for 57,500 miles one-way from the U.S. to Europe on occasion whereas Delta may charge around 400,000 miles one way. United may charge 80,000 miles one way on its own flights, if you are flexible with your travel dates.
While Delta does run flash sales occasionally where it discounts its Delta One redemptions, you’re lucky if it drops down to around 100,000 miles one way. You are more likely to see these deals pop up either at the last minute or on newer routes that the airline has launched and is trying to build attention to it.
You fly often with SkyTeam airlines and Delta partners
Your SkyMiles can go far when traveling with airline members of the SkyTeam alliance and other airline partners. These include many top airlines like Aeromexico, Air France, Kenya Airways, KLM, Middle East Airlines, Saudia, Vietnam Airlines and Virgin Atlantic among others.
🤓Nerdy Tip
Keep in mind that the TakeOff 15 perk with 15% off of a SkyMiles redemption only applies to Delta flights. If you are hoping to redeem miles on Air France, for example, you won’t see the 15% off deal.By using the flex calendar search function on the Delta website and in the app, you can compare airports near each other and different dates to find the lowest redemption price. You can do this for Delta flights and those on partners.
Using third-party award search engine services might serve even better results. That’s because they search for award flights across a variety of redemption programs. You may be able to score the same Delta flight for fewer miles if you transfer to a partner program like Air France-KLM Flying Blue instead of redeeming Delta SkyMiles directly.
You fly with family or friends
With all Delta AmEx cards except the Blue version, checking your first bag on domestic itineraries for yourself and up to eight travel companions on the same reservation is complimentary. The cardholder can check a second bag at no cost as well.
Imagine how much you can save for a large family taking a cruise, for example, with a bag per person. Even if you just take one trip a year, that could represent substantial savings.
And then there are the annual companion certificates that come with four Delta SkyMiles cards. These are good for bringing someone with you when the certificate holder pays an eligible fare for a domestic, Caribbean or Central American destination. They travel at no cost with the exception of paying government-imposed taxes and fees.
These cards offer this annual money-saving benefit:
The complimentary checked bags perk is a real money saver, even for solo travel, but there are more discounts available with Delta co-branded credit cards. All of them offer 20% off inflight food and beverage purchases. It comes as a statement credit on your monthly credit card invoice.
Now, most Delta cards (Blue card excluded) have $120 in rideshare credits that offer a monthly $10 statement credit when hailing a ride using a participating rideshare app and paying with an eligible card. This can save money and compensate for paying an annual fee. While hardly an earth-shattering perk, it's a good way to benefit from your credit card when you’re not flying Delta. Be sure to activate the credit in your American Express account before booking a ride.
You value elite status and need more ways to earn
Since four of the cards offer elite status-type perks and Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) earning based on your spending habits, you will get closer to Medallion status before even leaving the ground. This part is a great reason for frequent business travelers to consider a Delta co-branded card. These are the four cards that offer MQD earning:
The annual boost shows up on your account based on your spending patterns. These are the current offers:
- Reserve cards provide a $2,500 MQD head start each year, plus 1 MQD per $10 spent.
- Platinum cards offer the same $2,500 head start, plus 1 MQD per $20 spent.
Looking more generally at earning elite status in airline programs, Delta is in the middle of the pack when it comes to reaching the top status through credit card spending.
The least expensive program is American Airlines, where you can earn Executive Platinum status by spending $200,000 in a calendar year on one of its co-branded credit cards.
With Delta’s Platinum American Express cards, you would need to spend $510,000 to reach Diamond Medallion; using the Reserve cards, you would need to spend $255,000.
On United, it would cost between $397,500 and $560,000 to get to top-tier United 1K status using some of United’s co-branded cards, plus taking four United flights.
You enjoy lounge access
When flying Delta, the Reserve cards include 15 annual visits to a Delta Sky Club. If you spend $75,000 within a calendar year, you get an unlimited number of visits for the rest of the year when you earned it plus the following Medallion year.
Another option that comes with transferrable points and 10 Delta Sky Club visits per year is the American Express Platinum Card®. You earn Membership Rewards points, which can be redeemed like cash for travel on any airline or for a hotel or transferred to partners (including Delta SkyMiles, but you’ll have to pay $0.0006 per point, up to $99).
An even better perk is that cardholders who spend over $75,000 can unlock the annual cap on visits for unlimited access. And you and authorized users can visit a Sky Club when flying Delta as many times as you like. This access lasts for the rest of the calendar year when it is earned, plus the next year and then through Jan. 31 the following year. This card is a better fit for frequent Delta flyers who value the freedom and flexibility of Membership Rewards.
A Delta SkyMiles card may not be for you if…
Here are a few scenarios that highlight when these cards are not the best option:
- Delta is not a major operator at your local airport or doesn’t go where you want to go. Even with its long roster of partner airlines, you might be able to travel more expeditiously with another carrier or alliance.
- You are a Delta Medallion member already, and these benefits add few extra perks to what you already get.
- Transferrable points are more appealing to you for their flexibility to use across airlines and hotels instead of being locked into Delta SkyMiles, which have a lower mileage valuation than other programs, according to NerdWallet’s latest analysis.
- You usually don’t check bags or buy onboard food and drinks. If you’re going to buy something in the airport instead, why bother with a credit card that only gives you a discount in the air?
- Cash back cards or statement credits provide more value to your bottom line than airline miles that can lose value with time. If you are an infrequent traveler, you may be better off returning some cash immediately to your pocket.
- You're an infrequent traveler. People who don’t fly often will extract fewer perks from an airline card than someone who takes to the skies regularly.
If one of the situations above describes you, flexible travel rewards cards or cash-back cards might provide better value. There is an opportunity cost to not earning flexible miles and points that can be redeemed like cash or transferred to another program. But if Delta or SkyTeam are your travel focus, then a Delta card can still make sense for you.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2026:
- Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
- Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Luxury perks: American Express Platinum Card®
- Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
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