Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: Review
Is the Delta SkyMiles Gold Card worth it?
Whether the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is worth it depends on how often you fly with Delta Air Lines and whether you can maximize the benefits it offers. This card will be most worthwhile if you can utilize the free checked bag and priority boarding benefits, as these are two of its most valuable perks. The free checked bag benefit can easily save you hundreds if you’re flying with a group but is even valuable if you’re traveling alone.
While this card does have a $150 annual fee ($0 the first year), the value of its benefits can easily outweigh the cost if you regularly fly Delta. However, for infrequent travelers or those who prefer to fly with other airlines, a more flexible travel rewards card might be a better fit.
▶︎ For general travel cards, see: Best Travel Credit Cards of 2024
Delta Gold Amex Card: Highlights
- The Delta Gold card has a $150 annual fee ($0 the first year)
- New cardholders can earn a welcome offer of 65,000 miles after spending $3,000 in the first 6 months after account opening
- This card earns 2X miles per dollar spent on qualifying restaurant purchases, including delivery and takeout in the U.S., 2X miles on purchases at U.S. supermarkets, 2X miles on Delta purchases made directly, and 1X miles per dollar spent on other eligible purchases.
- Comes with perks like a 20% in-flight discount, priority boarding, and free checked bags.
- No SkyClub access
Who is the Delta SkyMiles Gold Card best for?
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is best for semi-frequent to frequent Delta loyalists who can benefit from perks like priority boarding, free checked bags, and in-flight discounts. The ideal user would also be able to maximize this card’s bonus categories, primarily on restaurant purchases and at U.S. supermarkets, in addition to its rewards on Delta purchases.
SkyMiles® Gold Card: Rewards
Earning rewards
You can earn miles by using your Delta Gold Card to pay for purchases. You’ll earn:
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2X miles on each dollar spent on qualifying purchases at restaurants worldwide, including delivery and takeout in the U.S.
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2X miles on each dollar spent on purchases at U.S. supermarkets
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2X miles on every dollar spent on Delta purchases made directly
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1X miles per dollar spent on other eligible purchases
Delta miles are worth approximately 1.15 cents per mile when redeemed for Delta award flights.
Reward potential
To understand how the miles can stack up with this card, imagine a hypothetical scenario. Someone spends $350 per month on groceries at U.S. supermarkets, $150 per month on dining out at restaurants and $3,000 per year on qualifying Delta travel. That would be:
- $4,200 on groceries annually for 8,400 miles
- $1,800 on dining out for 3,600 miles
- $3,000 on Delta travel for 6,000 miles
That’s 18,000 miles, or around $207 in Delta travel rewards value.
Redeeming rewards
One way to redeem miles is to use the Delta Pay with Miles option. As long as you have at least 5,000 miles to use for the ticket, you can reduce the cost of the ticket with miles. For every 5,000 miles you opt to redeem, you reduce the cost by $50. That’s a reward of $50 per 5,000 miles or a penny per mile.
You can also use SkyMiles to book vacation packages or upgrade your flight. Miles can be used to cover expenses such as ticket change fees or pay for select magazine subscriptions. You can also gift your miles to others or donate them to charity.
The most value will come from redeeming your miles for award flights— we value Delta SkyMiles at approximately 1.15 cents per mile when you use those miles toward award flights. This can vary based on several factors, so your miles may be worth more or less than that depending on the flight.
Welcome offer
New card members can enjoy a welcome bonus of 65,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first 6 months after account opening.
This is a fairly easy welcome bonus to achieve because you only need to spend $500 a month for 6 months to do so. If you’re using this card for serious travel, you’ll likely hit that amount easily. But you can also get to $3,000 for the welcome bonus by using the card to cover your weekly shopping.
▶︎ See more: Best credit card sign-up bonuses
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Amex Card: Benefits
Travel benefits
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Free checked bag. When you book Delta flights and pay with your Delta Gold card, the fee for your first checked bag is covered. That’s a potential $35 benefit each time you fly.
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Priority boarding. Delta Gold cardholders get Zone 5 priority boarding status when flying with Delta Airlines. This convenience perk gets you onboard before many others while there’s still ample space in overhead storage for your carry-on.
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20% discount on inflight purchases. Depending on the location and length of your flight, you may be able to purchase a variety of items, ranging from bedding and comfort products to alcoholic beverages. When you use a Delta Gold card from Amex to cover these purchases, you get 20% back as a statement credit.
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Car rental insurance. If you pay for your entire car rental with the Delta Gold SkyMiles card, you’re covered for theft of or damage to the vehicle. That lets you save money by not buying extra insurance with the car rental company.
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$200 Delta flight credit. Each year you hold this card, you can earn a $200 credit toward a Delta flight purchase. To earn the credit, you must spend $10,000 within the calendar year.
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TakeOff 15. This perk helps you stretch your rewards miles further. When you book travel through the Fly Delta app or delta.com and use your miles, you get 15% off.
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Global Assist Hotline. Reach out for assistance with emergency and other services if you’re 100 miles or more from home. This hotline for Delta Gold SkyMiles cardholders can help you arrange cash wires, find appropriate legal or medical services where you are or deal with missing luggage.
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$100 Delta Stays Credit. Delta SkyMiles® Gold Card members can earn up to $100 back each year on eligible prepaid Delta Stays bookings on delta.com
Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
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Plan It®. This is a buy now, pay later option that lets you break up larger purchases into monthly installments. It may be an option when making purchases over $100.
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ShopRunner membership. This program lets you take advantage of free 2-day shipping when you shop at online retailers in the program. With more than 100 online stores enrolled, the opportunities for saving on shipping are not small.
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Extended warranty. When you use this card to purchase an item in the United States that has a manufacturer warranty of 5 years or less, you can add up to a year of warranty coverage.
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Purchase protection. Get automatic coverage for items you buy with your card. If they’re stolen or damaged in an accident, you can get compensation up to $1,000 per incident. This coverage caps at $50,000 per calendar year.
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American Express Experiences. As a cardholder, you get exclusive access to presales on tickets and unique events.
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Amex offers. As an Amex cardholder, you can get access to special deals and coupons. You access them via your online account and add them to your card to save.
- Terms Apply.
Delta SkyMiles® Gold: The fine print
Fees
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Annual fee: $0 introductory fee for the first year, then $150
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Foreign transaction fees: None
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Late payment fee: $40
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Cash advance fee: 5% of the cash advance or $10, whichever is greater
Interest rates
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Regular APR: 20.99% to 29.99% variable (based on your creditworthiness)
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Cash advance APR: 29.99% variable
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Penalty APR for late or returned payments: 29.99% variable
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Introductory APR for purchases or balance transfers: Not offered with this card
- (See rates and fees)
Credit limit
American Express sets your Delta SkyMiles® Gold Card credit limit based on your income, credit history, etc. Cardholders report limits between $1,000 and $20,000 or more. You can request a credit limit increase every three months online or through the Amex mobile app.
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Card: Drawbacks
High annual fee
In February 2024, the Delta Gold Card’s annual fee was increased from $99 after the first year to $150 after the first year. For infrequent travelers, this fee increase could be a deal breaker, as it may be difficult to get enough value out of the card to justify that cost. Delta does offer a no-annual-fee alternative (see rates and fees), the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, but it doesn’t offer quite as many perks as the Gold.
▶︎ Read more: Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card Review
Lower earning potential
As this is a co-branded Delta card, the main reward-earning category of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Amex Card is Delta flights, earning 2X miles per dollar spent. You can also earn 2X miles at U.S. supermarkets and restaurants worldwide, and 1X miles on all other eligible purchases. While these rates aren’t terrible, if you don’t spend a lot on flights, groceries, and restaurants, it may be difficult to to earn enough points to cover an award flight.
Limited redemption options
Along the same lines as above, this card has limited redemption options available. You can use your miles toward award flights, Delta Vacations, seat upgrades, checked bags, Delta Stays, and charities, but that’s about it. This card’s co-branded nature makes redeeming miles less flexible than it would be with a general travel card, so it’s meant for true Delta loyalists.
How Delta SkyMiles® Gold compares
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card vs Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is, in many ways, a slight step up from the Gold card.
With the SkyMiles Platinum, you get additional perks like:
- 3X miles on purchases with Delta and eligible hotels, 2X miles at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets, and 1X miles on all other eligible purchases.
- The ability to earn Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs), which work alongside Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) to help you reach Medallion Status to get the most out of Delta miles.
- An annual Companion Certificate, good for a roundtrip flight in the Main Cabin for one of your traveling companions. Terms apply.
- Up to $100 fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
However, the Delta Platinum card doesn’t come with the $200 Delta flight credit when you spend $10,000 in a calendar year. The extra benefits of the Platinum card do come at a cost, though. The annual fee for this card is $350 (see rates and fees), so the Platinum card is only worth it over the Gold card if you can max out rewards to make up for the higher fee.
▶︎ Read more: Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card Review
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card vs American Express® Gold Card
The main difference between the Delta SkyMiles Gold and American Express® Gold Card is that the first is a co-branded airline credit card targeted to Delta loyalists and the second is a general rewards card.
With the Amex Gold, you can benefit from:
- 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X) and restaurants (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.), 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, and 1X points on other eligible purchases.
- $120 annual dining credit (enrollment required)
- $120 in Uber Cash each year (to receive this benefit you must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber App and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be a method of payment on your Uber account. This benefit may only be used in the United States).
- $100 experience credit when you book a two-night stay with the Hotel Collection through Amex Travel
- Terms apply.
The annual fee is $250 with this card (see rates and fees), but the potential credits almost cover that amount before you even start adding up the value of any rewards you earn. The Amex Gold might be a better choice if you’re not a frequent traveler or if you don’t fly with Delta much.
▶︎ Read more: Amex Gold Card review
Other Delta Cards
There are four Delta SkyMiles cards to choose from, and the Delta SkyMiles Gold and Platinum are the middle-tier options. Additionally, the The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card are available.
▶︎ Read more: Best Amex Delta SkyMiles Cards and Best No-Annual-Fee Travel Credit Cards
