The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is a good option for frequent Delta flyers.
The card offers a domestic companion certificate each year after renewing your card, a first free checked bag, priority boarding, and the ability to save SkyMiles on award flights.
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- 3X SkyMiles on Delta Purchases and Hotel Stays
- 2X SkyMiles at U.S. Supermarkets and at Restaurants worldwide (including takeout & delivery in the U.S.)
- Free First Checked Bag
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit
- 20% Statement Credit on Delta In-Flight Purchases
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- $250 Annual Fee (Rates & Fees)
Welcome Bonus
The Delta Platinum Amex currently offers the following welcome bonus:
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Earning SkyMiles
The Delta Platinum Amex earns:
- 3 SkyMiles per dollar on purchases made directly with Delta and at hotels;
- 2 SkyMiles per dollar on purchases made at restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.;
- 2 SkyMiles per dollar at U.S. supermarkets; and
- 1 SkyMile per dollar on other eligible purchases.
Annual Fee
The Delta Platinum Amex has an annual fee of $250 (rates & fees).
This fee can be offset by taking advantage of the free checked bag, priority boarding, annual companion certificate, and other travel protections.
Benefits on Delta Air Lines
The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card offers some nice benefits on Delta and other travel and purchase protections.
Free First Checked Bag
This Delta card gets you a first checked bag free for you and up to eight companions traveling with you on your reservation on a Delta or Delta Connection flight.
This helps save you $30 per person one-way or $60 round-trip for a single traveler, or $240 for a family of four round-trip.
You also don’t have to pay for your flight with your Delta Amex, unlike United co-branded credit cards. All you need is your SkyMiles number your reservation.
Priority Boarding
You can enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding on Delta flights, which is Group 5 in the boarding process.
This allows you to board before most of the main cabin customers and secure a overhead bin for your carry-on bag.
This benefit also applies to up to eight travel companions on the same reservation.
20% Back on In-Flight Purchases
You can get 20% back as a statement credit for eligible prepurchased meals and inflight purchases of food, alcoholic beverages and audio headsets on Delta-operated flights. However, it does not apply to Wi-Fi purchases.
Annual Companion Certificate
As the primary cardholder, you’ll get a companion certificate every year for a round-trip flight in Main Cabin upon renewing your Delta Platinum card.
There are some things you need to be aware of for the Annual Companion Certificate:
- It is only valid for roundtrip travel within the 48 contiguous United States, unless you live in Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- It’s only valid for travel in the L, U, T, X, and V fare classes for main cabin.
- You have to pay the government taxes and fees for your companion, which are capped at $75.
- You must complete the travel by the expiration date of the certificate.
This companion certificate is not as good as the certificates with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (review) and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card (review), which allows you to book Comfort+ and first-class tickets.
Access to Delta SkyClub for $50
Platinum cardmembers may buy access to the Delta SkyClub for $50 per person for you and up to two guests when traveling on Delta.
Alternatively, you could get in for free with The Platinum Card® from American Express (different from the Delta Platinum card) or the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card.
15% Award Discount
This card offers a 15% off award redemptions for Delta flights.
To get the discount:
- Search for Award Travel by selecting “Shop with Miles” in the search criteria on delta.com or in the Fly Delta app. Be sure to log into your SkyMiles account before searching for best results.
- Select an eligible flight. When you get to check out, you will see the miles savings applied for your itinerary.
- Use your Delta SkyMiles® American Express Card to earn miles with your Card on any taxes and fees for your itinerary.
Delta Pay With Miles
Delta SkyMiles credit cards unlock the ability to ability to “Pay with Miles” allowing cardmembers to pay for flights with SkyMiles at a rate of 1.0 cents per mile (in increments of 5,000 miles per $50).
It’s not the best deal for your SkyMiles, but it does allow you to earn elite miles for those flights.
Ability to Earn Elite Miles
You can earn 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after spending $25,000 in purchases in a calendar year.
If you spend $50,000 in a calendar year, you can earn another 10,000 MQMs.
Travel and Purchase Protections
The Delta Platinum Amex offers the following travel and purchase protections:
Secondary Rental Car Insurance*
Secondary rental car insurance covers any damage to a rental car not covered by your primary insurance when you pay for the rental using this card.
Other credit cards offer primary rental car insurance, which pays before your insurance and saves you the hassle of filing multiple insurance claims.
You still need to maintain liability car insurance to cover damage to another person or property.
Trip Delay Insurance*
This card offers trip delay insurance when you purchase your flight with this card.
This reimburses you for reasonable expenses things like hotels, food, transportation, and other necessary items.
Flights are increasingly delayed or canceled, and it is too risky to not use a card that offers free trip delay insurance.
Baggage Insurance*
Lost luggage reimbursement covers the cost to repair or replace your luggage and the contents inside if your bag is lost or damaged during a covered trip.
You must purchase the trip with this card, and it will also cover immediate family members traveling with you.
Purchase Protection*
Purchase protection could save you a lot of money if you bought an eligible item that is damaged or stolen within 90-days.
For example, if you accidentally dropped your new phone or laptop and broke the screen, you could file a claim to get it replaced if the item was purchased within the last 90 days.
Extended Warranty*
Credit card extended warranty protection adds up to an additional year of coverage for eligible purchases on manufacturer’s warranties up to 5 years.
For example, if you bought a TV with a manufacturer’s warranty of three years, this card would extend the warranty for free to the fourth year.
*(Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/
Other Delta Platinum Benefits
The Delta Platinum Amex also offers the following other card benefits:
Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check Credit
This card offers a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit like many other travel cards.
TSA PreCheck is a membership program offering dedicated airport security lines and faster security screening (typically 5 minutes or less) at more than 200 airports across the United States and includes over 81 airlines.
Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck and expedited immigration upon arrival from an international trip back to the United States.
Related Article: Best Credit Cards for Free Global Entry and TSA PreCheck.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
This card has no foreign transaction fees on purchases outside the U.S., which is helpful if you travel internationally to help you avoid paying a 3% fee on those international purchases.
Access to Amex Offers
This card has access to Amex Offers, which are deals that are linked to your card, allowing you to save money or earn extra points on shopping, dining, and travel.
For example, there could be an offer such as spending $200+ at Marriott Hotels and Resorts and receiving $50 cash back as a statement credit.
You can find all of your Amex Offers by signing into your American Express account. You will need to “Add to Card” each offer to be eligible for the special offer.
Complimentary ShopRunner Membership
This card offers a complimentary membership to ShopRunner, giving you free two-day shipping and free returns at 100+ online retailers.
Eligible stores include Bloomingdales, Under Armour, American Eagle, Saks Off 5th, Cole Hann, Fanatics, Vera Bradley, Jockey, Kate Spade, NFL Shop, NBA Store, MLB Shop, and Coach.
Redeeming Miles
Delta no longer publishes an award chart for its SkyMiles program. Award flights are instead priced dynamically based on many factors, including routes, travel dates, airline partners, and how far in advance you book the flight.
It is generally very difficult for people to get outsized value when using SkyMiles for business class, like many other points programs, but here’s a few of my recommended ways to redeem SkyMiles:
- Domestic economy flights starting as low as 4,500 SkyMiles.
- Booking one of Delta’s occasional flash sales.
- Flights to Canada on WestJet starting as low as 4,500 SkyMiles.
- Virgin Atlantic to London in Upper Class for 120,000 SkyMiles each way.
- Air France Business Class to Paris for 120,000 SkyMiles each way.
- LATAM Economy Class from the U.S. to South America starting at 25,000 SkyMiles each way.
Pros and Cons
Here’s a quick overview of this card’s advantages and disadvantages:
Pros:
- Priority boarding
- Free checked bags
- Annual companion certificate
Cons:
- Its companion certificate has restrictions.
- No free one-time lounge passes like the United℠ Explorer Card.
- The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card (review) is a better deal if you can’t use the companion certificate each year.
Alternatives to the Delta Platinum Card
Now that you know about this credit card’s various benefits and pros and cons, it’s time to see its alternatives.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
The The Platinum Card® from American Express (review) is a great premium travel rewards card for travelers who want airport lounge access, including Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta), Escape Lounges, Priority Pass lounges.
The American Express Platinum has a $695 annual fee, but you receive many annual statement credits when you enroll your card to offset the fee, including:
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Card.
- $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®.
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 in statement credits each month when you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card® at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
- $200 Uber Cash Credit: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Benefit renews annually.
- $155 Walmart+ Credit: Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) and receive a statement credit that covers the full cost each month.
- $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR® Plus at 45+ airports nationwide and get up to $189 back per year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Platinum Card®.
You also earn 5x Membership Rewards points when booking flights directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year) and 5x Membership Rewards points when booking prepaid hotels with American Express Travel.
On top of that, you automatically earn Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite and Hilton Honors Gold statuses, which offer points bonuses, room upgrades, late check-out, and other premier benefits.
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
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- 2X SkyMiles on Delta Air Lines, U.S. Supermarkets, and Restaurants worldwide (including takeout & delivery in the U.S.)
- Free First Checked Bag
- 20% Statement Credit on Delta In-Flight Purchases
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- $0 Intro Annual Fee for the First Year, Then $99 Per Year (Rates and Fees)
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card (review) is a cost-effective card with solid perks for Delta flyers, offering a free first checked bag, a $100 Delta flight credit, and a 20% statement credit on Delta in-flight food and drink purchases.
For a $0 introductory annual fee followed by $99 per year, this card earns 2x SkyMiles at at restaurants (including takeout and delivery in the U.S.) and U.S. supermarkets and 2x SkyMiles on Delta purchases.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
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- 3X SkyMiles on Delta Air Lines Purchases
- First Checked Bag Free
- Lounge Access to Delta Sky Club, Centurion Lounge, and Escape Lounges When Flying Delta
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit
- 20% Statement Credit on Delta In-Flight Purchases
- $550 Annual Fee and No Foreign Transaction Fees (Rates & Fees)
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (review) earns 3x SkyMiles on Delta purchases and comes with complimentary Delta Sky Club and The Centurion Lounge access, making it a stellar choice for frequent Delta flyers.
For a $550 annual fee, this premium card offers excellent Delta-specific perks, letting you earn 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles after spending $30,000 in a calendar year to get closer to Medallion Status.
Plus, it comes with an annual companion certificate that gets you a Domestic First Class, Delta Comfort+, or Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate upon renewing your card every year.
Other outstanding travel perks include a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, a 20% savings on Delta in-flight food and drinks, a free first checked bag, complimentary upgrades, and extensive travel protections.
Is the Delta Platinum Amex Worth It?
The Delta Platinum Amex is worth it if you can take advantage of the companion certificate.
If you can’t use the certificate or don’t fly Delta enough each year, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card (review) is a good option.
If you want airport lounge access, consider the combination of the Delta Gold Amex and the The Platinum Card® from American Express (review), or the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (review).
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- 3X SkyMiles on Delta Purchases and Hotel Stays
- 2X SkyMiles at U.S. Supermarkets and at Restaurants worldwide (including takeout & delivery in the U.S.)
- Free First Checked Bag
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit
- 20% Statement Credit on Delta In-Flight Purchases
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- $250 Annual Fee (Rates & Fees)
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, please click here.
