BEST Delta SkyMiles Credit Card Bonuses (March 2025)

by Daniel | Last Updated March 20th, 2025

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So If you’re like me and love scoring amazing travel deals, you’re going to want to stick around for this one. Right now, for a limited time, you can get an increased sign-up bonus on the Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum, and Reserve cards. 
And with more miles, you will have the opportunity to fly further for free with Delta.

Now you might be thinking: Which card is the best for me? And how do I make the most of these bonuses? 

Well don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. In this review, I’m going to break down each of these cards, highlight their unique benefits, and show you how to maximize these incredible offers while they last. 

Whether you’re a casual flyer looking for free flights or a seasoned traveler aiming for elite status, there’s something here for everyone.
But here’s the catch – these elevated bonuses won’t be around forever.

So stick around as I explore the finer details and find out which card will help you rack up the most SkyMiles and make your travel dreams a reality.

Who Are These Cards Good For?

Both the Amex Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum and Reserve cards cater to slightly different types of travelers, depending on what your needs and travel habits are. So here’s a simple breakdown of each card to determine who they are best suited for:

Delta SkyMiles Gold Card

Casual Delta Flyers

If you fly Delta a few times a year and want to save on baggage fees, the Gold card is perfect. It offers your first checked bag free, which can save up to $70 per round trip. Plus, you earn 2x miles on Delta purchases, helping you rack up SkyMiles faster.

Everyday Spenders Who Want Travel Perks

The Gold card rewards you with 2x miles on dining and U.S. supermarkets, making it great for those who want to earn miles while going about their daily spending. This is a great way to accumulate miles without needing to fly frequently.

Budget-Conscious Travelers Seeking Low Fees

With a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year (then $150 afterward), this card allows you to enjoy travel perks without immediate upfront costs. It’s ideal for those who want to test the waters of the SkyMiles program before committing to higher-tier cards.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card

Frequent Delta Travelers Seeking Status Boosts

The Platinum card is perfect for those aiming to achieve Medallion Status faster. With Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) boosts and Status Boost opportunities, cardholders can climb Delta’s elite status tiers more quickly, unlocking perks like upgrades and priority boarding.

Travelers Who Value Companion Tickets

Each year, cardholders receive a companion certificate that allows a friend or family member to fly with them for free (excluding taxes and fees). This benefit alone can offset the card’s annual fee and is ideal for those who enjoy traveling with a companion.

Big Spenders Looking for Higher Rewards

With 3x miles on Delta purchases and hotel stays, and 2x miles at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, this card is great for those who want to maximize their everyday spending while earning miles toward future flights.

Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card

Frequent Delta Flyers Seeking Elite Perks

The Reserve card offers complimentary access to Delta Sky Clubs and American Express Centurion Lounges, providing a luxurious airport experience with amenities like free food and drinks. This is perfect for travelers who value comfort and exclusivity during their journeys.

Travelers Focused on Earning Medallion Status

With the MQD Headstart and Status Boost, cardholders can accelerate their path to Delta’s elite Medallion Status. This is ideal for those aiming to enjoy benefits like complimentary upgrades and priority boarding.

High Spenders Who Want Premium Travel Benefits

The Reserve card rewards 3x miles on Delta purchases and comes with an annual companion certificate for First Class, Delta Comfort+, or Main Cabin, allowing a companion to fly for free (excluding taxes and fees). This benefit, along with the luxury perks, makes it perfect for those who frequently spend and travel with Delta.

Annual Fee And Sign-up Bonus 

Now from here, let’s take look at how valuable the increased sign-up bonus is and how much the annual fee will cost you each year for each card.

Delta SkyMiles Gold Card

Now currently it is possible to earn 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on the card within the first 6 months of opening the account. 
And with miles being valued at 1.2 credit per mile, this sign up bonus is worth $960.

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Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card

Now currently it is possible to earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on the card within the first 6 months of opening the account. 
And with miles being valued at 1.2 credit per mile, this sign up bonus is worth $1,080.

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Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card

Now currently it is possible to earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 on the card within the first 6 months of opening the account.
And with miles being valued at 1.2 cents per mile, the Reserve cards signup bonus is worth $1,200.

So the more expensive Reserve card offers slightly more value from its sign-up bonus compared to the Platinum card, $120 more to be precise.
But you will need to spend an additional $2,000 on the card to actually receive the bonus miles.

Which Card Has The Best Miles Earning Potential?

Ok so now that I’ve gone over how much each card costs on an annual basis and what they are offering as a sign-up bonus, let’s that a look at the miles earning ability of each card.
And needless to say, this is a pretty important factor to consider when choosing a credit card.
If you are able to earn more miles through your everyday spending habits, you will end up receiving a lot more value over time. 

Delta SkyMiles Gold Card

Starting right at the top, it is possible to earn 2x miles from the following categories:

• Delta purchases
• Restaurants in the US
• US supermarkets

For all other purchases that are made on the card you will earn just 1 miles per dollar spent.

So if you spent say $25,000 in these categories over the course of a year you will earn 50,000 Delta SkyMiles that are worth $600.

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Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card

Starting right at the top, it is possible to earn 3x miles for all purchase that are more directly with Delta.
Along with this, it is also possible to earn 3x miles for any purchases that you make directly with hotels. 
So if you do happen to travel a fair bit, specifically with Delta, this will really help to boost your miles earning potential.

There is then the ability to earn 2x miles at restaurants that are located within the US.
It is also possible to earn 2x miles at US supermarkets, this is probably the easiest way to earn a decent amount of miles with this card, as pretty much everyone needs to buy groceries on a weekly basis,

Then finally, everything else the you use the card for will earn you just 1 mile per dollar spent.

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Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card

So the only choices you have to to earn miles are as follow:

3x miles on Delta purchase, then everything else earns you just 1 mile per dollar spent.

So as long as you travel quite frequently with Delta you should be able to earn quite a decent amount of Miles.
But if you don’t travel that much, you aren’t going to earn many miles. 

So the Reserve card is pretty disappointing when it comes to its miles earning structure and doesn’t come close to what the Platinum card has to offer.

Which Card Has The Best Benefits And Perks?

Ok so now that we know what the annual fee, sign-up bonus and miles earning potential of each card is, let’s take a look at the benefits that actually come with each card to see how they compare. 

Delta SkyMiles Gold Card

So the most valuable benefit on offer with the Gold card is the ability to receive a $200 Delta Flight Credit after you spend a total of $10,000 on the card within a calendar year.
Thats enough to cover the $150 annual fee and leave you with $50 in positive credit.

It is then possible to earn a $100 Delta Stays Credit if you book a hotel or vacation rental through Delta.com

Another benefit stat is really quite useful and easy to make use of is the ability to get you First Checked Bag Free on Delta flights.
This can save you approximately $70 per round trip per person, it also provides the ability to claim up to 9 people that are booked on the same reservation.
Thats a potential saving of $630.

Another benefits that is included with the Gold card is the TakeOff 15 benefit.
This basically provides you with a 15% discount off your booking when you use your own miles to book a flight.

You will also receive Zone 5 Priority Boarding, this is is a nice benefit to have, as it allows you to board the plane a little sooner than general boarding, which means you should have better access to the overhead bins to store your bags.

Then when you are flying on a Delta flight you will receive 20% back for inflight food and beverages purchases.

And each time you use at least 5,000 of your own Delta miles to book a flight through Delta.com, you will receive up to $50 off your flight. 

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Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card

This can potentially be worth a lot of money depending on when and where you fly.

But it’s important to know that it is only available to use once you have held the card for 1 full year and then paid for the following year of card ownership.

Now if and when you do use this benefit you will also be required to pay for government-imposed taxes and fees of between $22 and $250.

Then if you have an eligible Delta ticket you will be put on the Complimentary Upgrade List directly after any Delta SkyMiles Medallion Members and Reserve Card Members. 

There is then the TakeOff 15 benefit.
This basically provides you with a 15% discount off your booking when you use your own miles to book a flight.

Then when you are flying on a Delta flight you will receive 20% back for inflight food and beverages purchases.

You will also be able to get your first checked bag free of charge.
This can potentially save you quite a bit of money, as it can cost up to $70 per round trip for just one checked bag.

It is also possible to receive $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem through the Pay with Miles benefit.

There is then a $150 Delta Stays Credit, and this basically allows for a $150 credit when you make a booking through Delta Stays on delta.com.

You will also receive a $120 Resy Credit that is given to you in $10 allotments each month offer the course of the year.

Along with this you will also receive a $120 Rideshare Credit that is also provided in $10 allotments each month.
And this can be used on rideshare services such as Uber or Lyft.

There is also a $120 credit that can be used for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

Then with the MQD Headstart benefit, you will receive $2,500 Medallion Qualification Dollars each Medallion Qualification Year.

Along with this you will also have he ability to earn $1 Medallion Qualification Dollar per $20 spent on the card.
This essentially helps to bring you closer to the next level of Medallion status. 

And finally you will receive Hertz Five Star Status, which provides you with a few nice benefits when renting a car from Hertz.

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Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card

So the most valuable benefit on offer with the Reserve card is the Annual Companion Certificate, and this basically provides you with either a First class, Delta Comfort+ or main cabin domestic ,Caribbean, or Central American round trip fare.

This can easily be worth thousands of dollars depending on when and where you fly.

But just like the Platinum card it’s important to know that it is only available to you once you have held the card for 1 entire year and then payed for the following year of card ownership.

Then another valuable benefit that comes with this card is access to both the Delta Sky Club and the Amex Centurion Lounge.

But there are a few restriction that you should know about.

With the Delta Sky Club you will only be provided with 15 visits each year.
Also, if you are flying on Basic Economy, you will not be allowed access in to the lounge.

Now if you want to visit a Delta Sky Club more than 15 times in a given year, you will need to spend $75,000 on the card within the year, this will then allow for unlimited visits for the remainder of the year.

Then with the Amex Centurion Lounge you will have access as a card member, and you will also have the ability to bring along 2 guests, but it will cost you $50 per guest.

It is also worth noting that to gain access to either of these lounges, you must be flying on a same day Delta flight.
If your not on a delta flight, you wont be able to access either of these lounges. 

Now another benefit that comes with this card is a $200 Delta Stays credit.
This basically provides you with a $200 credit when you book either a hotel or vacation rental through Delta Stays at delta.com.

There is then a $240 Resy credit which is provided in $20 allotments each month
and this can be used at US based Resy Restaurants.

To use it credit, all you need to do is create a Resy account and then make a reservation via either the website Resy.com or through the Resy app.

You will then receive a $120 Rideshare credit that is provide to you in $10 allotments.
And this can be used through the following businesses:

• Uber
• Lyft
• Curb
• Revel
• Alto

There is then a $120 credit that can be used for either Global Entry or TSA Precheck.

You will then earn $2,500 Medallion Qualification Dollars each Medallion Qualification Year.
Along with this you will also be able to earn able to earn $1 Medallion Qualification Dollar per $10 spent on the Reserve card.

There is then access to Hertz President’s Circle Status.

Then when flying on Delta you will receive 20% back on in flight purchases.

Along with this you will be eligible for the Complimentary Upgrade List, and Priority Boarding.

Just like the Platinum card you will also receive your first checked bag free of charge.

Then when using your own Delta miles to book a flight, you will receive a 15% discount via the ‘TakeOff 15’ benefit. 

And finally, there is the ability to receive $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem through Pay with Miles.

Final Thoughts

Ok so that covers just about everything you need to know about the Amex Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum and Reserve card, and as you can see, they all come with some unique benefits that offer quite a lot of value. 

So when it comes to choosing which card is the best card for you it really depends on what you are looking for in a card and which benefits you will actually use.

If your looking for a low cost option that provides you with the ability to earn decent amount of Delta SkyMiles and comes with a few nice benefits, then the Delta SkyMiles Gold card is a good choice. 

If you want to get a free first class companion certificate each year and the ability to access to both the Delta Sky Club and the Centurion lounge, then the Reserve card is the obvious choice.

But it’s hard to go past the overall value that comes with the Platinum card.
First of all it offers a much better ability for users to earn miles from everyday spending than both the Gold and Reserve card, which will end up providing you with a lot more value.

The only real downside of this card, in my opinion is the fact that it doesn’t offer any lounge access.
One way around this would be to purchases a Priority Pass Membership.
And if you use this link you can receive up to $50 off a membership. 

And if you want to learn more about how the Delta Companion Certificate actually works, make sure to check out this article here.