Delta and American Express are looking to make a splash as travelers prepare to return to the skies, releasing the biggest-ever welcome offer bonuses on Delta SkyMiles credit cards on Thursday.
The bonuses vary from card to card, but bonuses of up to 90,000 SkyMiles are on the table. If you’ve already had (or still have) a Delta credit card, you can still apply for a different card and earn the bonus. But these bigger welcome offers are only available through April 28, 2021.
SkyMiles have taken a hit recently thanks to some major increases on flights with partner airlines. But from regularly cheap domestic fares to insanely cheap SkyMiles flash sales (hello, 10,000 SkyMiles roundtrip to Hawaii), there are still plenty of valuable ways to redeem SkyMiles for your future travels.
Read on for more details on the current Delta credit card offers, and everything you need to know about taking advantage.
Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card
- Earn 70,000 SkyMiles after spending $2,000 in the first three months of card membership. This limited-time offer ends April 28, 2021.
- Check your first bag free on every Delta flight – savings of up to $60 on each round-trip flight per person.
- Priority Boarding (even with a basic economy ticket)
- Earn 2x SkyMiles per dollar spent at both restaurants and U.S. supermarkets
- Earn 2x SkyMiles per dollar on eligible Delta purchases and 1x mile for all other spending. Though you can get an Amex offer to earn 5x miles per dollar.
- Earn a $100 Delta flight credit if you spend $10,000 on the card in a calendar year.
- Get $10 back each month through Dec. 2021 at U.S. restaurants via Amex Offers.
- Enjoy 20% off in-flight purchases such as food & drinks in the form of a statement credit
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year (then $99 per year).
Click Here to learn more about the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card.
Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card
- Earn 90,000 SkyMiles after spending $3,000 in the first three months of card membership. This limited-time offer ends April 28, 2021.
- Get a leg-up on earning Delta Medallion Status with Status Boost: Earn 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to twice a year.
- Check your first bag free on every Delta flight – savings of up to $60 on each round-trip flight per person.
- Priority Boarding (even with a basic economy ticket)
- Get a domestic main cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon card renewal – one of this card’s best benefits!
- Earn 2x SkyMiles per dollar spent at both restaurants and U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 3x SkyMiles per dollar spent on eligible Delta purchases, and at hotels. Though you can get an Amex offer to earn 5x miles per dollar on Delta purchases.
- Receive up to a $100 credit to cover the cost for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck once every four years.
- Get $15 back each month through Dec. 2021 at U.S. restaurants via Amex Offers.
- Get 20% off in-flight purchases such as food & drinks in the form of a statement credit
- Get into the Delta Sky Club when you’re flying Delta by paying $39 (and bring up to two guests for $39 each)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $250 annual fee (not waived for the first year of card membership).
Click Here to learn more about the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card.
Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
- Earn 80,000 SkyMiles and 20,000 MQMs after spending $5,000 in the first three months of card membership. This limited-time offer ends April 28, 2021.
- Work your way toward Delta Medallion Status faster with Status Boost, earning 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $30,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to four times per year.
- Check your first bag free on every Delta flight – savings of up to $60 on each round-trip flight per person.
- Priority Boarding (even with a basic economy ticket)
- Complimentary Delta Sky Club access when you are flying Delta. You’ll also get two, one-time guest passes each year to the Delta Sky Club.
- Complimentary access to the American Express Centurion Lounges when you are flying Delta on a ticket that was purchased with the card. You can also bring up to two guests in with you for a fee of $50 each.
- Receive a domestic main cabin or first-class round-trip companion certificate each year upon card renewal.
- Earn 3x SkyMiles per dollar spent on Delta purchases. Though you can get an Amex offer to earn 5x miles per dollar.
- Receive up to a $100 credit to cover the cost for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck once every four years.
- Complimentary space-available upgrades, even for non-Medallion members. A great way to improve your upgrade chances.
- Get $20 back each month through Dec. 2021 at U.S. restaurants via Amex Offers.
- Enjoy 20% off in-flight purchases such as food & drinks in the form of a statement credit.
- No foreign transaction fees
- $550 annual fee (not waived for the first year of card membership).
Click Here to learn more about the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card.
Should You Upgrade Your Existing Delta Credit Card Account?
If you already hold a Delta SkyMiles Gold or Platinum Card, does it make sense to upgrade your card to the next tier? The short answer is no.
Upgrading your current Delta card is usually not a good idea, as it will make you ineligible to earn the big welcome bonus offers these cards have right now.
With American Express, you can simply apply outright for a new account to earn the huge SkyMiles bonus and then close out an older account after you are approved. That’s because American Express lets you earn a welcome bonus on all of their credit cards once per lifetime.
For example, you can apply for the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card even if you’ve already got the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card in your wallet. If you take the upgrade offer, you’ll be ineligible for the huge bonus.
Related reading: The Best Ways to Earn Delta SkyMiles in 2021
What About the Delta Business Credit Cards?
Own a small business? You are also eligible to earn the business version of each of these card offers. And the limited-time welcome offer bonuses are just as massive.
Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card: Earn 70,000 bonus SkyMiles and a $50 statement credit after spending $2,000 in the first three months of card membership. This limited-time offer ends April 28, 2021.
Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card: Earn 90,000 bonus SkyMiles and a $100 statement credit after spending $3,000 in the first three months of card membership. This limited-time offer ends April 28, 2021.
Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business American Express Card: Earn 80,000 bonus SkyMiles and 20,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after spending $5,000 in the first three months of card membership. This limited-time offer ends April 28, 2021.
Our Take on These Delta Credit Card Offers
These latest Delta credit card offers are the biggest we’ve ever seen from Delta. And that means they’re certainly worth your attention if you haven’t had one of these cards yet.
The best time to open a new travel credit card is when they’re offering a bigger welcome bonus – and when it makes sense financially for you to do so, of course. We’ve never seen bonuses of 70,000 to 90,000 SkyMiles on the Delta Gold and Platinum cards, respectively.
Delta SkyMiles can get a bad rap, especially after a slew of devaluations that drastically increased the costs of flying economy or business class on partner airlines like Air France, KLM, or Korean Air. But these miles are still far from worthless.
We regularly see domestic fares under 10,000 SkyMiles roundtrip. But the real value of SkyMiles come from frequent SkyMiles flash sales. Just take a look at some of the SkyMiles flash sales we’ve found and sent to Thrifty Traveler Premium members.
- 10,000 SkyMiles from Seattle (SEA) to Hawaii roundtrip!
- Nationwide flights to Hawaii from just 14,000 SkyMiles total
- Costa Rica for 11,000 SkyMiles!
- A flash sale to Argentina for just 30,000 SkyMiles roundtrip
Critically, SkyMiles never expire. With the current ability to easily cancel and get your miles back – plus any taxes and fees – we think SkyMiles are one of the best ways to book travel right now.
Whether the Gold, Platinum, or Reserve Card is right for you can be a tough call. The value of the companion ticket on the Delta Platinum Card can be huge, easily offsetting the card’s $250 annual fee. You essentially get a BOGO ticket for flights within the mainland U.S. after your first full year with both the Platinum and the Reserve card.
Read more: How to Maximize the Companion Ticket on Your Delta Platinum Card
Earning 70,000 SkyMiles on the Gold Card is tough to beat – especially since you won’t have to pay an annual fee in your first year with the card.
Finally, with the current Amex Offers available on all of these cards to earn $10, $15, or $20 back each month at U.S. restaurants through the end of the year, you can cover a large majority of the card’s annual fee. That’s a fantastic deal, and perhaps reason enough to justify grabbing one of these Delta credit card offers now.
Not sure if you are eligible to earn the bonus? See our post on the Amex welcome offer eligibility tool. And make sure to read our guide on Understanding Delta SkyMiles before you book your next trip.
Make sure to read our post on the best credit cards for Delta Flyers in 2021.
Bottom Line
These are some of the biggest bonuses we’ve seen from Delta and American Express. But they’ll only be around through April 28, 2021. So if SkyMiles fit your travel plans, don’t pass up this chance to earn up to 90,000 SkyMiles before it disappears.
Is there a downside for you and your spouse to open up 2 separate accounts for the bonus miles? Other than the annual fee? Or is it not allowed….
It’s most certainly allowed. As long as you can be responsible with the line of credit, there isn’t a downside. Double your mileage 😎
Is there a way to check whether or not you’ve received a bonus in the past? I thought I recall seeing comments on previous posts that if you apply for the card, there is a screen at some point that tells you if you are ineligible. Is that true?
Hey Paul. If you apply and are not eligible to receive the welcome bonus, American Express will give you a pop-up warning before you submit the application and give you a chance to cancel it. If you don’t receive that pop-up, you are good to go!