Comparing Amex Delta SkyMiles Business Cards – Which One Is Best For You?

by Daniel | Last Updated October 22nd, 2021

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If you’re interested in learning more about travel credit cards that offer a great sign-up bonus, priority boarding, seat upgrades, and many other benefits, then one of these cards might be right for you.

In this article, I’m going to compare the Gold, Platinum, and Reserve Amex Delta SkyMiles Business Cards.
I’ll go over what each card costs on an annual basis, what they offer in terms of benefits and user perks, and then I’ll decide if they are worth it.

https://youtu.be/ZzrgsBHyBlE

1. Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card

So starting with the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card you will receive the first year of card ownership for free and then after this, it will cost you $99 annually.

And for all of the cards in this review, the APR is between 15.74% and 24.74% on purchases depending on different factors such as your creditworthiness and what the Prime Rate is.

Sign-up Bonus

So until 11/10/2021 all of these cards are offering an increased sign-up bonus.
For the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card, you will earn 70,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 within the first 3 months of card ownership, along with this you will also earn a $50 statement credit along with the bonus miles.

With Delta SkyMiles being worth approximately 1.1 cents per mile, the 70,000 Bonus miles are worth $770, and with the $50 statement credit, this brings the total value to $820.

Earning Miles

With the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card you will be able to earn 2x miles per dollar spent on the following purchases:
Purchases made with Delta, US purchases for advertising in select media, US shipping purchases, and dining at restaurants.
All other purchases will receive 1 mile per dollar spent

Redeeming Miles

When it comes to redeeming miles there are a few options.

The most beneficial way to use your miles will be by using them on Delta or through Delta’s SkyTeam airline alliance, which has 19 different airlines to choose from.

There is also the option to use miles for seat upgrades which can always be nice if you have the spare miles to use.
And finally, you can use Skymiles for things such as online shopping or gift cards, but it is not likely to offer as much value as using the miles for flights.

Perks and User Benefits

Now when it comes to the perks and user benefits of this card, there are a few decent offerings.

First of all, you will get your first checked bag for free, which will save you up to $60 on a round trip with Delta.

You will also get priority boarding on Delta flights which means that you can board when Main Cabin 1 priority boarding is called, and this can help you secure a place for your carry-on luggage before the rest of the plane boards.

There is a 20% in-flight savings on all Delta flights which covers food, alcohol, and audio headsets, and this is given to you in the form of a statement credit.
And similar to most decent travel credit cards there are no foreign transaction fees.

Next up you are covered by a baggage insurance plan which covers up to $1,250 for carry-on and $500 for checked baggage if it is lost, damaged, or stolen.
And for this to be valid, you must purchase the entire fare with the card to receive this coverage, and it can be for flights, trains, ships, or bus travel.

You will also have access to car rental loss and damage insurance, and this will cover you for up to $50,000 in the event of either damage or theft of the rental vehicle.

For this to be valid you must pay for the entire rental with the card and also decline the collision damage waiver that is offered by the rental agency.

There is also an ‘extended warranty’ that will give you an additional 1 year of coverage on purchases that are made in the US and have a warranty of 5 years or less.

You will also get purchase protection that gives you up to 90 days of coverage from the date of purchase, and this gives you up to $1,000 per item and up to a total of $50,000 per calendar year.

And finally, you will receive a $100 Delta Flight Credit after you spend $10,000 on the card within a calendar year.

Is It Worth It?

If you don’t want to spend too much on a credit card, I think the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card is a good option, it’s free for the first year of card ownership and then only $99 per year thereafter.
And with the sign-up bonus being worth $820 I think it presents great value.

2. Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card

The second card on this list is the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card, and this card has an annual fee of $250, which is more than 2.5 times the cost of the Gold Card, but it does have more benefits.

Sign-up Bonus

For the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card, you will earn 90,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles after you spend $3,000 within the first 3 months of card ownership, along with this you will also earn a $100 statement credit along with the bonus miles.

With Delta SkyMiles being worth approximately 1.1 cents per mile, the 90,000 Bonus miles are worth $990, and with the $100 statement credit, this brings the total value to $1090.

The 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles are put towards earning Delta elite status.

There are 4 different status tiers with Delta, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.

Silver status requires 25,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (also known as MQMs), Gold status requires 50,000 MQMs, Platinum status requires 75,000 MQMs, and finally Diamond status requires 125,000 MQMs.

Delta elite status comes with a wide variety of benefits such as complimentary first-class upgrades when available, waived baggage fees, and the ability to select preferred seats for free.
And with each tier, you unlock extra benefits.

Earning Miles

With the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card you will earn 3 miles per dollar spent on purchases made with Delta, and for purchases made directly with hotels worldwide.

You will also earn 1.5 x miles per dollar spent on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, up to a total of 50,000 additional miles per calendar year.
And all other purchases will receive 1 mile per dollar spent.

Redeeming Miles

Redeeming miles with the Platinum card is the same as the Gold Card. 

You can use the points with Delta or any airlines that are part of the SkyTeam alliance, which currently has 19 participating airlines.

Perks and User Benefits

With the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card, you will receive a few more valuable benefits that you won’t get with the Gold card.

The first benefit is a companion certificate, and this will give you a domestic main cabin round trip certificate each year upon renewal of your card.
Along with this comes some government-imposed taxes and fees that can cost up to $75.
You will also get a fee credit of up to $100 for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.

Another added benefit that you will receive is access to the Delta Sky Club for you and two traveling companions at an exclusive rate of $39 per person.
And this is available on the same day you are traveling on a Delta flight.

You will get Trip delay insurance, which is not offered with the Gold card, and this covers you for up to $300 per trip if your trip is delayed for more than 12 hours, and you can use this benefit a maximum of 2x per 12 consecutive month period. 

The Platinum card also offers ‘Status Boost’, and this gives you the opportunity to earn an additional 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles if you spend $25,000 within a calendar year, and it can be used twice per year.
So If you are able to spend more than $50,000 in a calendar year, you can earn up to 30,000 MQM’s with the sign-up bonus which I think is really good value.

And similar to the Gold card you will get the following benefits:

*Priority boarding
*First checked bag free
*In-flight savings of 20% on Delta flights
*No foreign transaction fees 
*Baggage insurance
*Car rental loss and damage insurance
*Extended warranty and,
*Purchase protection 

Is It Worth It?

With the sign-up bonus being worth $1090, a credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, a companion certificate each year, and the ability to earn up to 30,000 MQM’s, I think this card presents great value, and the sign-up bonus alone easily covers the annual fee.

3. Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card

The last card on this list is the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card.
And this is the most exclusive and expensive card on this list with an annual fee of $550, and this is more than twice the cost of the Platinum card, but as expected it does offer even more benefits that help to outweigh the extra cost.

Sign-up Bonus

For the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card, you will earn 80,000 bonus miles and 20,000 Medallion Qualification Miles after you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months of card ownership, along with this you will also earn a $200 statement credit along with the bonus miles.

With Delta SkyMiles being worth approximately 1.1 cents per mile, the 80,000 Bonus miles are worth $880, and with the $200 statement credit this brings the total. value to $1080, which interestingly enough is $10 less than what the Platinum card is offering, But keep in mind that you get twice as many MQM’s than the Platinum card.

Then the 20,000 MQMs will bring you even closer to Delta’s elite status.

Earning Miles

Now when it comes to earning miles with the Reserve card, it is a little bit different than the Platinum card.

You will get the same 3x miles per dollar spent directly with Delta, but you will not get the added miles for hotel bookings.

There is the ability to earn 1.5x miles per dollar spent only after you have spent more than $150,000 within a calendar year, and the increased earnings will only remain until the end of the calendar year.
So this is only useful if you know you will spend at least $150,000 within the year.

And all other purchases will receive 1 mile per dollar spent.

Redeeming Miles

Redeeming miles with the Reserve card is the same as the previous two cards. 
You can use the points with Delta or any of the 19 airlines that are part of the SkyTeam partners.

Perks and User Benefits

Now as the Reserve card costs $550 on an annual basis, you would expect it to have more benefits than the previous two cards, and thankfully it does.

The first benefit that is exclusive to this card is that you get access to both the Amex Centurion Lounge and Escape Lounge when you purchase a Delta flight with your card.

You will also have access to a concierge service that can help to make specific bookings to things such as restaurants, tickets to special events or even finding the perfect gift.
Another benefit of the Reserve card is that you will have access to complimentary upgrades.

Each year you will also receive 2 complimentary guest passes to the Delta Sky Club.

The Reserve card also offers ‘Status Boost’, and this gives you the opportunity to earn an additional 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles if you spend $30,000 within a calendar year, and it can be used four times per year.

So If you are able to spend more than $120,000 in a calendar year, you can earn up to 75,000 MQM’s with the sign-up bonus, which is enough to get you Platinum Elite Status, and I think that this is really good value, obviously, you will need to have the cash flow from your business to be able to achieve this, but if you know you do spend this much each year it’s defiantly worth considering this card.

You will also receive a companion certificate each year, but unlike the Gold card, you will have the added benefit of using it for a Domestic First class, Delta Comfort +, or Main Cabin round trip.

Another benefit that only comes with this card is trip Cancellation and Interruption insurance.
This coverage is in case of an unexpected cancellation or interruption to your trip that has been paid for with your card.

And this will cover you for up to $10,000 per trip and up to $20,000 per eligible card per 12 consecutive month period.

You will also get a higher coverage on the car rental loss and damage insurance.
With up to $75,000 in coverage, it is $25,000 more than what the Gold card offers.

You get a similar purchase protection plan which covers the same 90 days as the other two cards, but it offers up to $10,000 per item (not$1,000) and up to $50,000 per calendar year.

There is a better trip delay insurance plan than the Gold card, first of all, you can receive up to $500 per trip if your flight is delayed by more than 6 hours, (The Gold card requires a delay of 12 hours and will cover up to $300 per trip), and this is available up to a maximum of 2x per 12 consecutive month period. 

And similar to the Platinum card you get the following benefits 

*Baggage insurance 
*Up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
*No foreign transaction fees
*First checked bag free and,
*Main Cabin 1 Priority boarding

Is It Worth It?

Clearly, the Reserve card is most beneficial for businesses that spend a fair amount of money, as you will need to spend $5,000 to receive the sign-up bonus and to take full advantage of the Status Boost you will need to spend over $120,000 within a calendar year.

If you know that you will spend a similar amount to this or more through your business then I think the Reserve card is fantastic value, the sign-up bonus alone is worth more than twice the annual fee, and all of the travel-related benefits that come with this card are really nice to have, especially all of the insurance-related coverage that you get whilst traveling.

Final Thoughts

So what are my overall thoughts about the Delta SkyMiles Business cards?

I think if you travel with Delta Airlines quite often and want to build your Delta elite status, then these cards are all worth looking into, they all offer a decent range of benefits and have the ability to earn Medallion Qualification Miles.

If you don’t use Delta airlines much there are quite a few different business cards that you can benefit from such as the Amex Platinum, Gold, or Blue Business cards.