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As vaccines roll out across the country, travel is beginning to pick back up and planes are starting to return to the skies. If you’re looking to get back on the road, you’ll want to have a pile of frequent flyer miles ready to go so you have the flexibility to hop on a flight as soon as you can.
Fortunately, American Express currently has some fantastic welcome offers available on its Delta credit cards, which means you can earn up to a whopping 90,000 bonus miles by signing up for a new personal or business Delta credit card right now.
But these offers are only available for a few more days, as they expire on April 28, 2021. So let’s start with a look at the personal Delta credit card offers, which break down like this (terms apply):
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card: Earn 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $500 in the first three months after opening the account.
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: Earn 70,000 bonus miles when you spend $2,000 in the first three months after opening the account.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: Earn 90,000 bonus miles when you spend $3,000 in the first three months after opening the account.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Earn 80,000 bonus miles and 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) when you spend $5,000 in the first three months after opening the account.
Delta uses a dynamic pricing scheme for its award flights instead of a fixed award chart, so you can expect to get a fairly consistent value for your miles. Frequent flyer website The Points Guy values Delta SkyMiles at 1.1 cents apiece, making these bonuses worth between $110 and a crazy-high $990.
The bonus MQMs offered on the Delta Reserve card can also be a big boost for anyone actively chasing Delta elite status, especially since Delta rolled all 2020 MQMs over to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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There are four different personal Delta credit cards available.
While all these cards are geared toward Delta flyers, the best Delta credit card for you will depend on your spending habits and how frequently you plan to fly with the airline as travel returns to normal.
If it’s simply bonus miles you’re after and you don’t want to pay an annual fee, then the Delta SkyMiles Blue Amex card is for you. It earns 2 miles for every dollar you spend on eligible Delta purchases and at restaurants worldwide, and 1 mile per dollar on everything else. It also offers a 20% discount on in-flight purchases, access to Delta’s Pay with Miles program and no foreign transaction fees.
Click here to earn Delta miles with no annual fee with the Delta Blue Amex card.
However, if you plan to fly Delta occasionally — even once per year — when planes are back in the air and don’t mind paying a $99 annual fee that’s even waived for the first year you have the card (see rates and fees), you’ll get a lot more value from the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex.
Aside from a much heftier welcome bonus, the Delta Gold Amex comes with more perks, including your first checked bag free when flying Delta (which normally costs $30 to $60 for economy passengers), priority boarding and a $100 Delta flight credit after you spend $10,000 in eligible purchases on your card in a calendar year.
And, in addition to earning 2 miles per dollar at US supermarkets, Delta Gold Amex card members earn 2 miles for each dollar spent at restaurants, including takeout and delivery, as well as 2 miles per dollar on eligible Delta purchases.
Save money with the Delta Gold Amex card with a free checked bag when flying Delta.
If you plan to go on more than a few trips each year after planes return to the skies and Delta is your carrier of choice, it’ll probably make more sense to go with one of Delta’s more premium credit cards. The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex and the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Amex have annual fees of $250 (rates and fees) and $550 (rates and fees), respectively, but are loaded with elite-like benefits and shortcuts to earning elite status to go along with them.
The Delta Platinum Amex has many of the same perks as the Gold version, such as a free checked bag on Delta flights and priority boarding. You’ll also earn 3 miles for every dollar you spend at hotels and on eligible Delta purchases, as well as the same 2 miles per dollar at restaurants and US supermarkets.
The card also comes with a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee credit worth up to $100 every four years (or four and a half years for TSA PreCheck) and a domestic main cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your card.
Related: Dig into more details with our guide to the best credit cards for Delta flyers.
For those chasing Silver, Gold or Platinum elite status, the Delta Platinum Amex waives Delta’s Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQD) requirement when you spend $25,000 on the card in a calendar year. Plus, Amex has expanded the card’s Status Boost feature for 2021.
When you spend $25,000 on the Delta Platinum Amex this year, you’ll earn 12,500 bonus MQMs toward elite status. That’s 25% more than the normal 10,000 MQMs offered with Status Boost on the card, and you can do it twice in a year, so you’ll get another 12,500 bonus MQMs if you get to a total of $50,000 spending in 2021.
Earn Delta elite status faster with the Delta Platinum Amex card.
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Delta MQMs earned in 2020 have been rolled over to 2021 to help you earn elite status for 2022.
Meanwhile, the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Amex comes with even more benefits, such as complimentary access to Delta Sky Clubs as well as the exclusive American Express Centurion Lounges — which have now all reopened across the country -— when you’re flying on a Delta flight, access to complimentary upgrades for non-elites and an annual companion certificate that can be used for first-class travel each year upon renewal of your card.
The card earns 3 miles for every dollar you spend on eligible Delta purchases and 1 mile for every dollar you spend on everything else. And with the Delta Reserve Amex, you’re also getting an enhanced Status Boost feature this year.
You’ll earn 18,750 MQMs for every $30,000 spent on the Delta Reserve Amex in 2021, up to four times within the calendar year. That’s 25% more than the usual 15,000 MQMs earned with each Status Boost, and if you earn all four possible boosts, you’ll get Delta Platinum elite status without even stepping on a plane.
Related: Earn Delta elite status in 2021 without even flying by using this credit card perk.
You can also waive Delta’s MQD requirement for elite status up to the Platinum level by spending $25,000 in a calendar year on the Delta Reserve Amex, or the MQD requirement for Diamond status by spending at least $250,000.
Access the Amex Centurion Lounge when flying Delta using the Delta Reserve Amex card.
If you own a business, you might want to consider getting one of the Delta business credit cards, which come with slightly different perks and bonuses than the personal cards. Here’s a look at the welcome offers currently available on the three Delta business cards, which are also only available through April 28, 2021 (terms apply):
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card: Earn 70,000 bonus miles and a $50 statement credit when you spend $2,000 in the first three months after opening the account.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card: Earn 90,000 bonus miles and a $100 statement credit when you spend $3,000 in the first three months after opening the account.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: Earn 80,000 bonus miles and 20,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs), plus a $200 statement credit when you spend $5,000 in your first three months after opening the account.
Similar to the personal version, the Delta Gold Business Amex comes with a free checked bag and priority boarding on Delta flights, a 20% discount on eligible in-flight purchases, access to Delta’s Pay with Miles program, up to $100 in Delta flight credit after you spend $10,000 in eligible purchases on your card in a calendar year and no foreign transaction fees.
But it earns miles a little differently. In addition to earning 2 miles for each dollar spent on eligible Delta purchases and at restaurants (including takeout and delivery), the Delta Gold Business Amex earns 2 miles per dollar on US shipping purchases and US purchases for advertising in select media. And like the personal version, the business version waives its $99 annual fee for the first year (see rates and fees).
Earn Delta miles for your small business with the Delta Gold Business Amex card.
The Delta Platinum Business Amex also has perks and benefits that are similar to its personal card counterpart, including the same bonus categories, the same free checked bag and priority boarding on Delta flights, the same ability to earn 25% more bonus MQMs in 2021 and the same $250 annual fee (rates and fees).
But the business version also earns 1.5 miles per dollar on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, which is an extra half point per dollar, up to 50,000 additional miles per year.
Similarly, the Delta Reserve Business Amex matches the high-end travel perks of the personal Delta Reserve card, including complimentary access to Delta Sky Clubs and American Express Centurion Lounges when you’re flying on a Delta flight, and up to four enhanced Status Boosts in 2021.
Related: Read CNN Underscored’s guide to the best credit cards for Delta business flyers.
The Amex Centurion Lounge in Seattle is now open, along with 12 other Centurion Lounges.
You’ll also get the same access to complimentary upgrades for non-elites, an annual companion certificate that can be used for first-class travel each year upon renewal of your card, 3 miles for every dollar you spend on eligible Delta purchases and a $550 annual fee (rates and fees).
But the business version of the card also has another feature: After you spend $150,000 on your card in a calendar year, you’ll earn 1.5 miles per dollar on all your eligible purchases for the rest of the year, except eligible Delta purchases, which continue to earn 3 miles per dollar.
Fly in first class with complimentary upgrades when you have the Delta Reserve Business Amex card.
All seven Delta credit cards top CNN Underscored’s benchmark credit card, the Citi® Double Cash Card, on several of our criteria. They offer welcome bonuses, bonus categories and travel benefits, and they don’t charge foreign transaction fees. If you’re a regular Delta flyer, you’ll likely find value in at least one if not all of these areas.
On the flip side, aside from the Delta Blue Amex, all the Delta cards have annual fees either right off the bat or after the first year, which our benchmark card doesn’t. And since Delta SkyMiles are worth 1.1 cents apiece, according to The Points Guy, unless you’re really good at maximizing Delta SkyMiles, the Citi Double Cash card’s 2% return — 1% when you make a purchase, and another 1% when you pay it off — beats the Delta cards when it comes to everyday spending. You can read more about our methodology and our benchmark credit card concept here.
For people who think they’ll really utilize the Delta travel benefits on these cards once the airline is back to full service, or who regularly spend a lot of money in one or more of the bonus categories, the pros of these cards likely make the annual fees worth the cost. But if you don’t find yourself on a Delta flight very often, even in the best of times, you might want to choose a card that aligns better with your needs. In that case, check out our guide to the best credit cards of 2021 for other options.
You may be starting to think about travel right now for the first time in a while, and getting an airline credit card could be a first step to getting back on the road. These are some of the highest welcome bonuses we’ve ever seen on these Delta credit cards, but they’ll only be around for a few more days. So if you’re looking to get as many miles as possible, grab either a personal or business Delta credit card before these offers disappear.
For Delta personal credit cards:
Learn more and apply for the Delta SkyMiles Blue Amex.
Learn more and apply for the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex.
Learn more and apply for the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex.
Learn more and apply for the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Amex.
For Delta business credit cards:
Learn more and apply for the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Amex.
Learn more and apply for the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Amex.
Learn more and apply for the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Amex.
For more credit card info:
CNN Underscored’s guide to the best credit cards of 2021.
CNN Underscored’s guide to the best credit cards for Delta flyers.
Get all the latest personal finance deals, news and advice at CNN Underscored Money.
