by Daniel | Last Updated April 14th, 2023
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Is the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card really worth more than twice the cost of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card?
With the Platinum card costing $250 for the annual fee, and then the Reserve card costing $550!
That’s quite a lot more to pay for such a similar, and it
It actually makes the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card look cheap in comparison and fantastic value!
So in this article, I’m going to be talking about two of the most exclusive Airline travel cards available today: the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card and the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card.
And I’m going to try and understand if it’s actually worth paying an additional $300 each year just to have the Reserve card.
I’ll also take a closer look into the benefits and perks of both cards, which should help to explain why it may be worth paying a premium price for the Reserve Card.
So, sit back and relax and get ready to learn everything you need to know about these two exclusive credit cards.
And trust me, by the end of this article, you’ll have a better understanding of what sets these cards apart and which one might be right for you.
Benefits and user perks
So let’s start with probably the most important information about both of these cards which is what benefits and user perks are currently on offer with each card.
This should give you a much better understanding of how much value you can squeeze out of each card, and which one makes more sense for your situation.
Now let’s start first by looking at the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card, and you will see that there are some pretty valuable benefits on offer.
The most valuable benefit that comes with the Reserve card has to the Delta Reserve Annual Companion Certificate.
This benefit provides you with the ability to get a free domestic First Class round trip each year upon renewal of the card.
Just this one benefit alone can be worth literally hundreds if not thousands of dollars and can quite easily cover the cost of the annual fee.
In comparison to this the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card also offers an Annual Companion Certificate, the only main difference is that it is only good for a Main cabin return domestic flight.
This is still worth at least a couple of hundred dollars and should be enough to cover the costs of the $250 annual fee
Now if you want to learn all the ins and outs of how Delta Companion certificates work, check out this article here where I’ll talk you through all of the details you will need to know before making a booking.
Now the next benefit offered with the Reserve card is access to both the Delta Sky Club and the Centurion Lounge.
This is a really nice benefit to have and is also quite valuable, especially if you tend to travel a fair bit.
Along with this, as a Reserve cardholder, you will also receive 2 one time guest passes that can be used at Delta Sky Clubs, and with access costing upwards of $50 per person, just this extra benefit is worth $100.
Now just note that access to either of these clubs will only be possible if you are flying on a same-day Delta-marked flight.
In comparison, with the Platinum card, you will only be able to gain access to the Delta Sky Club with up to two guests on a Pay per visit rate of $50 per person.
Now it’s nice to have access to the Delta Sky Club, but I personally don’t think it’s worth $50 per person to get in.
If lounge access is something that you do value a lot it makes more sense to opt for the Reserve card, as if you do pay $50 per person just to access the Delta Sky Club, you will only need to visit the club 6 times before you have technically made up the difference in the cost of the annual fee between the two cards.
And at least with the Reserve card, you also gain access to the Centurion lounge as well.
A relatively new benefit that was introduced back in February of this year with both of these cards is a benefit is called ‘TakeOff 15’ and with this benefit, it is possible to receive a 15% discount on Delta-operated award flights when using your own Delta SkyMiles.
This is a great option to have in my opinion, and should actually save you quite a bit of money if you do travel with Delta on a regular basis.
To make use of this benefit you will need to make your booking through either the Delta Website site or app and then log into your SkyMiles account to apply the discount.
And just note that this is only available for primary card holders, not authorized users.
Now with the Reserve card, there is Upgrade Priority, basically, this provides you with the ability to receive upgrade priority over other Medallion members that are within the same Medallion level and fare class grouping as you.
And if you don’t have Medallion status, you will automatically be added to the upgrade waitlist after any Medallion members.
Then if you spend at least $25,000 on the card in any 12-month period you will be able to waive the Medallion Qualification Dollar requirements towards either Platinum, Gold, or Silver Medallion Status.
Now if you manage to spend $30,000 on the Reserve card within a 12-month period you will then earn 15,000 MQMs, and it is possible to receive this up to 4 times in a given year.
So if you spend $120,000 on the card within 12 a month period, you will earn 60,000 MQMs.
In comparison, with the Platinum card, after you spend $25,000 on the card within 12 month period you will earn you will 10,000 MQMs, and this is only available 2 times per year, which means you are limited to earning a maximum of 20,000 MQMs each year.
Now both cards offer the following benefits:
- A $100 credit for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
- 20% Back on In-flight Purchases on Delta
- Your First Checked Bag Free on Delta Flights
So the main difference between the two cards is that the more expensive Reserve card offers a more valuable Companion Certificate, complimentary access to both the Centurion Lounge and the Delta SkyClub, Upgrade priority, and then the ability to earn more MQMs.
So if these benefits are important to you, this Reserve card may well make more sense for your situation.
Sign-up Bonus
Now interestingly enough both of these cards are currently offering a very similar sign-up bonus which is a little unusual given the added cost of the Reserve card.
So with the Reserve card, it is possible to earn 50,000 bonus miles and 10,000 MQMs after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first 6 months of card ownership.
And with Delta SkyMiles being worth 1.2 cents per mile, this sign-up bonus is worth $600.
Now with the Platinum card, it is possible to earn the same 50,000 bonus miles as the Reserve card, and best of all you will only need to spend $3,000 within the first 6 months of card ownership to receive the bonus miles.
One main difference is that you will not receive the 10,000 bonus MQMs which is a bit of a bummer.
So the value of this sign-up bonus is also worth $600.
Now if you are considering getting either one of these cards I would recommend trying out the card match tool on the website Creditcards.com.
This will see if you are able to receive a better sign-up bonus.
If this doesn’t work out, it may be worth waiting for an increased offer from Amex, as the sign-up bonus for Delta SkyMiles cards changes on a relatively regular basis, and I have seen offers up to 90,000 miles for both the Reserve card and the Platinum card which represents an additional $480 in value.
Annual Fee
Now as I mentioned at the start of this video the Reserve card has an annual fee of $550 which is pretty pricy, and it means that it costs more than twice the price of the Platinum card which has an annual fee of just $250.
If you look at the cost on a monthly basis it doesn’t look quite so expensive.
Basically, the Reserve card will cost just over $45 a month whereas the Platinum card costs a little over $20 a month.
And with the current sign-up bonus of both cards being worth $600, it totally covers the cost of the Reserve card for the first year of card ownership, and then it covers the cost of the Platinum card for just over 2 years.
Miles earning potential
Now another interesting fact with both of these cards is the fact that the Platinum card actually offers a way better Miles earning potential than the Reserve card, which is somewhat unusual given the price difference between the two cards.
So with the more expensive Reserve card, there are only 2 options for earning miles.
The first is the ability to earn 3x miles on Delta purchases made directly with Delta.
Then all other purchases made on the card will earn you 1 mile per dollar spent.
Now with the Platinum card, you get the same 3x miles for purchases made directly with Delta.
It is also possible to earn 3x miles for purchases that are made directly with hotels.
Then you will earn 2x miles at restaurants which includes takeout and delivery services in the US.
Purchases made at US grocery stores will also earn 2x miles.
And then all other purchases that are made on the card will earn 1 mile per dollar spent.
So if you are planning on spending a fair amount of money on your credit card, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card has a much better opportunity to earn a ton of miles from a wider range of merchants.
Insurance coverage
Now both cards come with a pretty extensive list of insurance-rated coverage which includes the following:
- Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance
With the Platinum card, the coverage is up to $50k, and then with the Reserve card this increases to $75k, and this is secondary coverage. - Cell Phone Protection
Both cards come with cell phone protection that covers you for up to $800 per claim with the ability to make 2 claims per year.
And each claim will incur a $50 deductible fee. - Trip Delay Insurance
With Trip delay Insurance the Reserve card offers up to $500 per covered trip, whereas the Platinum card offers $300.
And each card allows for up to 2 claims per card per 12-month period. - Baggage Insurance Plan
The baggage insurance plan that comes with each card is identical and offers up to $1,250 for carry-on luggage and up to $500 for checked luggage. - Extended Warranty
Both cards also offer the same extended warranty protection of 1 additional year of coverage on warranties that are 5 years or less.
And this covers up to $10k per covered purchase and a total of $50k per card per year. - Purchase Protection
Finally, both cards have purchase protection that provides up to 90 days of coverage from the date of purchase and covers up to $1,000 per covered purchase for the Platinum card and up to $10,000 for the Reserve card, and both cards offer a total coverage of $50k per year.
So both cards offer pretty similar insurance protection, with the only main difference being the Reserve card offers a higher protection level with both the Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance and the Trip Delay Insurance.
Final Thoughts
So after going through all of this information I can start to see why the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card has a higher annual fee than the Platinum card.
With compliments lounge access, upgrade priority and the ability to receive a free first-class domestic round trip flight each year, I would personally lean towards to Reserve card as I really value these benefits a lot due to my constant travel schedule.
Although, if you’re happy enough flying in the Main cabin as opposed to first class with your annual companion Certificate, and don’t care much for airport lounge access, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card offers fantastic value.
It also has a much better miles-earning potential that the Reserve card due to the fact you can earn miles from a wider range of businesses.
So at the end of the day, it really just depends on what you value more from your credit card.
And if you do make use of most of the benefits these cards both offer, you will easily cover the cost of the annual fee and be left with a ton of nice benefits.
And if you’d like to learn everything there is to know about Delta SkyMiles Companion Certificate, check out this article here.