American Express Gold vs Amex Delta Gold: Which is Best?

Andy Medearis
Updated: August 17, 2023

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The American Express® Gold Card and Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card are two popular credit card options.

The Amex Gold is a great card for earning points at restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and flights booked directly with airlines. Cardholders can also enjoy dining credits, Uber Cash, and travel benefits.

The Delta Gold is a card designed for Delta flyers with a first free checked bag, priority boarding, 15% award discount, 20% back on in-flight purchases, and more.

This article will compare each card based on several factors to help you make an informed decision on which card is the best to add to your wallet.

Full Reviews: American Express® Gold Card and Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card.

Overview of Each Card

4x Points at Restaurants and Supermarkets

American Express® Gold Card

bonus_miles_full
4x Points at U.S. Supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar)
4x Points at Restaurants (including takeout and delivery in the U.S.).
Up to $120 Uber Cash Credit (Add your Gold Card to your Uber account, and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S.)
$120 Dining Credit (up to $10 in monthly statement credits at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, & select Shake Shacks)
$250 Annual Fee (Rates and Fees)

Learn More Our Review

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Free Checked Bag

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

bonus_miles_full
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)

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Welcome Bonus

The Amex Gold currently offers the following welcome bonus:

bonus_miles_full

The Delta Gold Amex currently offers the following welcome bonus:

bonus_miles_full

Earning Rewards

The Amex Gold earns Membership Rewards points and offers some very nice points multipliers to help you earn a lot of points:

4 points per dollar on dining at restaurants (including takeout and food delivery in the U.S.).
4 points per dollar on up to $25,000 in purchases at U.S. supermarkets per calendar year (then 1 point per dollar).
3 points per dollar on flights booked directly from the airline or through the Amex Travel.
1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.

The Delta Gold Amex allows cardholders to earn:

2 SkyMiles per dollar on purchases made with Delta;
2 SkyMiles per dollar on dining at restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.;
2 SkyMiles per dollar at U.S. supermarkets; and
1 SkyMile per dollar on all other eligible purchases.

Winner: The Amex Gold wins this category with great rewards at restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and airlines.

Card Benefits and Perks

The American Express Gold Card offers the following benefits for its cardholders:

Up to $120 annual dining statement credit: Earn up to $10 in monthly statement credits when you pay with the Amex Gold Card at participating dining partners, including Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment is required.
Up to $120 in annual Uber Cash: Earn up to $10 in Uber Cash monthly for Uber Eats and Uber rides in the U.S. when you enroll and add the card to the Uber app.
Up to $100 in hotel credits: Cardmembers who use their card to book a stay of two nights or more through Amex’s The Hotel Collection receive a $100 on-site credit for qualifying activities.
Trip delay insurance ($300 for a delay of more than 12 hours)*
Lost luggage reimbursement*
No foreign transaction fees
Secondary rental car insurance*
Return protection*
Purchase protection*
Extended warranty

* Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions, and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

The Delta Gold Amex offers the following benefits for cardholders:

First checked bag-free and priority boarding for you and up to eight travel companions on your reservation when flying Delta;
20% back on inflight purchases as a statement credit;
15% off award redemptions for Delta flights (when paying taxes and fees with this card);
$100 Delta Flight credit after spending $10,000 or more in a calendar year;
No foreign transaction fees;
Secondary car rental insurance;*
Lost luggage reimbursement;*
Purchase protection;* and
Extended warranty.*

* Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions, and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

Winner: The Delta Gold Amex since it offers great benefits on Delta Air Lines.

Value of the Annual Fees

The American Express Gold has a $250 annual fee (rates and fees), which is offset by the $240 in credits, trip and purchase protections, and extra points on dining, flights, and U.S. supermarkets.

The Delta SkyMiles Gold has $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 (rates & fees).

This allows you to try out the card risk-free for the first year to see if you can offset the annual fee in subsequent years by taking advantage of the free checked bag, priority boarding, 20% statement credit for in-flight purchases, and travel protections.

Winner: It depends on how much you fly Delta Air Lines to take advantage of the Delta benefits, including free checked bags, priority boarding, and award redemption.

It will also depend on whether you can consistently take advantage of the Amex Gold’s statement credits, which require work each month.

Redeeming Rewards

American Express Membership Rewards is a popular rewards program that offers a variety of redemption options, including travel, merchandise, gift cards, and more.

However, to get the most value out of your rewards, it’s important to use them strategically.

One of the best ways to use Amex Membership Rewards is through transfer partners.

The program partners with over 20 airline and hotel partners, including ANA, Air Canada Aeroplan, Iberia Avios, and Avianca LifeMiles.

By transferring your points to these partners, you can often get more value per point and enjoy a wider range of redemption options.

Membership Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
Aer Lingus Avios	AeroMexico [1 to 1.6]
Air Canada Aeroplan	Air France/KLM Flying Blue
ANA	Avianca LifeMiles
British Airways Avios	Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Delta SkyMiles	El Al [1,000 to 20]
Emirates	Etihad Guest
Hawaiian Airlines	Iberia Avios
JetBlue [250 to 200]	Qantas
Qatar Airways	Singapore KrisFlyer
Virgin Atlantic	Choice
Marriott Bonvoy	Hilton Honors [1 to 2]

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.

Winner: Amex Gold is the winner because Membership Rewards provide more flexibility and value than Delta SkyMiles.

The Verdict

Both the Amex Gold and Delta Gold are good options, and both could work well in your wallet.

The Amex Gold is one of my all-time favorite cards due to its great rewards at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets. But the statement credits require work each month to help offset the annual fee.

The Delta Gold Amex is a great card for Delta flyers to hold for the benefits, but I wouldn’t recommend it as your go-to spending card.

Ultimately, the Delta Gold is a card you hold for the benefits and the Amex Gold is a card you hold to rack up valuable rewards.

Which card are you going to choose?

4x Points at Restaurants and Supermarkets

American Express® Gold Card

bonus_miles_full
4x Points at U.S. Supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar)
4x Points at Restaurants (including takeout and delivery in the U.S.).
Up to $120 Uber Cash Credit (Add your Gold Card to your Uber account, and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S.)
$120 Dining Credit (up to $10 in monthly statement credits at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, & select Shake Shacks)
$250 Annual Fee (Rates and Fees)

Learn More Our Review

American Express is a Deals Points advertiser. Terms Apply; Enrollment is Required for Some Benefits

Free Checked Bag

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

bonus_miles_full
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)

Learn More Our Review

American Express is a Deals Points advertiser. Terms Apply

Andy Medearis

Andy is the founder of Deals Points and he is also an attorney. He loves to travel the world using miles and points. Have a comment or question? Please send me an email at [email protected].

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American Express Gold vs Amex Delta Gold: Which is Best?

Overview of Each Card

Welcome Bonus

Earning Rewards

Card Benefits and Perks

Value of the Annual Fees

Redeeming Rewards

The Verdict

Andy Medearis

Deals Points

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