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The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card earns 2X miles on dining purchases (including delivery and takeout purchases in the U.S.), 2X miles on purchases at U.S. supermarkets, 2X miles on direct Delta purchases, and 1X miles on other purchases.
What we think: The SkyMiles Gold card could be a good option for Delta loyalists, with a few valuable perks like free checked bags and priority boarding. However, it could be difficult for most people to get enough value out of the card to justify the annual fee.
The Delta Skymiles Gold card has an annual fee of $0 for the first year, then $150 per year.
You can earn a welcome bonus of 70,000 bonus miles on this card when you spend $3,000 within the first 6 months.
You’ll need at least good credit to get approved for this card.
SUMMARY
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is a competitive travel rewards card with an easy-to-earn welcome offer and simple rewards structure. It’s best for Delta loyalists, as you need to fly with the airline regularly to really max out reward values.
Keep reading for an in-depth review of this card to find out:
How you earn rewards miles and what you can use them for
How this card stacks up when it comes to rates and fees
What other perks you can enjoy as a cardholder
How the Delta SkyMiles Gold card compares with some other Amex products
Pros & Cons
Pros
Ability to earn a Delta Flight Credit
Generous welcome offer
Free checked bag
Cons
Comparatively high annual fee after the first year
Earn 2X miles on restaurant purchases (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.), 2X miles at U.S. supermarkets and on Delta purchases, and 1X miles on all other purchases. $0 annual fee for the first year, then $150
Is the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex worth it?
The Delta SkyMiles Gold credit card from American Express may be worth it if you can maximize the rewards and benefits. It’s easiest to do that if you fly with Delta regularly, as the rewards miles are meant to be used alongside the Delta SkyMiles program.
Pros of the Delta SkyMiles Gold Card
Lower annual fee than many travel credit cards, at $0 for the first year and $150 per year after that
Valuable Delta-specific perks that can easily outweigh the annual fee
Able to earn miles on both travel and non-travel purchases
A generous, easy-to-earn welcome offer
Cons of the Delta SkyMiles Gold Card
Doesn’t earn miles as quickly as some higher-end travel cards
The Delta Gold SkyMiles card comes with a number of benefits, even above and beyond the travel rewards you can earn on certain purchases. As with many Amex cards geared toward travel enthusiasts, many of the perks are related to flying and other travel arrangements.
Travel benefits
Amex is known as a leader in the travel rewards card market, and it certainly knows how to back these accounts with benefits frequent flyers are likely to use.
Some perks you’ll get when you have a Delta Gold SkyMiles card include:
1
Free checked bag
When you book Delta flights and pay with your Delta Gold card, the fee for your first checked bag is covered. That’s a potential $30 benefit each time you fly.
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2
Priority boarding
Delta Gold cardholders get Main Cabin 1 boarding status when flying with Delta Airlines. This convenience perk gets you onboard before many others while there’s still ample space in overhead storage for your carry-on.
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3
20% discount on inflight purchases
Depending on the location and length of your flight, you may be able to purchase a variety of items, ranging from bedding and comfort products to alcoholic beverages. When you use a Delta Gold card from Amex to cover these purchases, you get 20% back as a statement credit.
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4
Car rental insurance
If you pay for your entire car rental with the Delta Gold SkyMiles card, you’re covered for theft of or damage to the vehicle. That lets you save money by not buying extra insurance with the car rental company.
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5
$200 Delta flight credit
Each year you hold this card, you can earn a $200 credit toward a Delta flight purchase. To earn the credit, you must spend $10,000 within the calendar year.
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6
TakeOff 15
This perk helps you stretch your rewards miles further. When you book travel through the Fly Delta app or delta.com and use your miles, you get 15% off.
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7
Global Assist Hotline
Reach out for assistance with emergency and other services if you’re 100 miles or more from home. This hotline for Delta Gold SkyMiles cardholders can help you arrange cash wires, find appropriate legal or medical services where you are or deal with missing luggage.
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8
$100 Delta Stays Credit
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Card members can earn up to $100 back each year on eligible prepaid Delta Stays bookings on delta.com
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Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
Shopping benefits
This card also comes with some nice benefits when you use it at the retail register or when shopping online.
Plan It®. This is a buy now, pay later option that lets you break up larger purchases into monthly installments. It may be an option when making purchases over $100.
ShopRunner membership. This program lets you take advantage of free 2-day shipping when you shop at online retailers in the program. With more than 100 online stores enrolled, the opportunities for saving on shipping are not small.
Extended warranty. When you use this card to purchase an item in the United States that has a manufacturer warranty of 5 years or less, you can add up to a year of warranty coverage.
Purchase protection. Get automatic coverage for items you buy with your card. If they’re stolen or damaged in an accident, you can get compensation up to $1,000 per incident. This coverage caps at $50,000 per calendar year.
American Express Experiences. As a cardholder, you get exclusive access to presales on tickets and unique events.
Amex offers. As an Amex cardholder, you can get access to special deals and coupons. You access them via your online account and add them to your card to save.
Terms Apply.
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Delta SkyMiles Gold card rewards
Already, the benefits of this card are stacking up. However, when it comes to travel rewards credit cards, the most critical benefits typically relate to rewards.
Delta SkyMiles Gold Welcome offer and bonus
New card members can enjoy a welcome bonus when they’re approved for this card and spend $2,000 within the first 6 months. Once you complete the qualifications for the welcome bonus, you get 40,000 bonus miles.
This is a fairly easy welcome bonus to achieve because you only need to spend less than $350 a month for 6 months to do so. If you’re using this card for serious travel, you’ll likely hit that amount easily. But you can also get to $2,000 for the welcome bonus by using the card to cover your grocery budget.
Earning miles on the Delta SkyMiles Gold card
You can also earn regular miles by using your card to pay for purchases. You’ll earn:
2x miles on each dollar spent on qualifying dining purchases, including delivery and takeout purchases in the U.S.
2x miles on each dollar spent on purchases at U.S. supermarkets
2x miles on every dollar spent on Delta purchases made directly
1x miles per dollar spent on any other purchase
To understand how the miles can stack up with this card, imagine a hypothetical scenario. Someone spends $350 per month on groceries, $150 per month on dining out and $3,000 per year on qualified Delta travel. That would be:
$4,200 on groceries annually for 8,400 miles
$1,800 on dining out for 3,600 miles
$3,000 on Delta travel for 6,000 miles
That’s 18,000 miles, or around $180 in travel rewards value.
Redeeming miles on the Delta SkyMiles Gold card
One way to redeem miles is to use the Delta Pay with Miles option. As long as you have at least 5,000 miles to use for the ticket, you can reduce the cost of the ticket with miles. For every 5,000 miles you opt to redeem, you reduce the cost by $50. That’s a reward of $50 per 5,000 miles or a penny per mile.
You can also use SkyMiles to book vacation packages or upgrade your flight. Miles can be used to cover expenses such as ticket change fees or pay for select magazine subscriptions. You can also gift your miles to others or donate them to charity.
Delta Gold Amex fees, rates & limit
All the goodies of a rewards credit card are only great if you get them without a lot of extra cost. When considering a travel rewards card for your wallet, make sure you scope out fees, rates and other financial factors. We’ve gathered some of the most critical data about the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex below.
Delta Gold card fees
The Delta Skymiles Gold card doesn’t have any foreign transaction fees, which is beneficial for anyone who travels internationally.
Late and returned payments will cost you up to $40 each. If you use the card to get a cash advance, you’ll pay 5% of the cash advance amount or $10 if the percentage is less than that.
Delta Gold card interest rates
Regular APR: 20.99% to 29.99% variable (based on your creditworthiness)
Cash advance APR: 29.99% variable
Penalty APR for late or returned payments: 29.99% variable
Introductory APR for purchases or balance transfers: not offered with this card
Delta Gold card annual fee
This card comes with a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year. After that, you pay an annual fee of $150. That’s fairly low compared to other high-end travel rewards cards, and if you cash in on the free checked bag benefit and redeem some miles each year, you more than make back the fee.
American Express is more than just a credit card issuer
The first step in growing and maintaining consistent savings is to understand your personal finances through checking and savings accounts, credit cards, and more.
How the Delta Gold Amex card compares to other cards
This Delta credit card isn’t the only option offered by Amex, and it’s definitely not the only travel rewards card on the market.
Some strengths of the SkyMiles Gold card compared to other travel rewards cards include the relatively low annual fee, a welcome bonus that’s easy to earn and plenty of Amex travel perks.
However, when it comes to earning miles or points, there are other cards that let you earn rewards faster when spending on certain categories. The travel rewards for this card are also Delta-specific, so if you’re not a Delta loyalist or don’t have the option to fly Delta from your local airport, a card with general travel rewards may be better for you.
Delta SkyMiles Gold vs Delta SkyMiles Platinum
The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is, in many ways, a slight step up from the Gold card. You get 3x miles on purchases with Delta and eligible hotels and access to Sky Club with the Platinum card. You can also earn Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs), which work alongside Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) to help you reach Medallion Status to get the most out of Delta miles.
The Platinum card doesn’t come with the $200 Delta flight credit when you spend $10,000 in a calendar year. However, you do get a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit.
The extra benefits of the Platinum card do come at a cost, though. The annual fee for this card is $350 (see rates and fees), so the Platinum card is only worth it over the Gold card if you can max out rewards to make up for the higher fee.
Delta SkyMiles Gold vs Other Delta Cards
There are four Delta SkyMiles cards to choose from, and the Delta SkyMiles Gold and Platinum are the middle-tier options.
The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card are also available. Delta Gold is going to have more perks and better rewards than the Delta SkyMiles Blue card, but Blue will win out for budget-minded travelers since it is a credit card with no annual fee (see rates and fees).
Delta SkyMiles Reserve is the most elite option. This comes with a higher rewards rate and a lot of luxury perks like access to the Delta Sky Club® and The Centurion® Lounge. It also comes with a hefty annual fee of $650 (see rates and fees), so many travelers might find the Delta Gold to be a more affordable option while maintaining good rewards and perks.
The main difference between the Delta SkyMiles Gold and American Express® Gold Card is that the first is a co-branded airline credit card targeted to Delta loyalists and the second is a general rewards card.
With the Amex Gold, you can earn:
4x points when spending at restaurants and supermarkets
3x points when booking flights through Amex Travel
1x points on other purchases
The Gold card offers a welcome bonus and a number of perks, including a $120 dining credit and up to $120 in Uber Cash each year. Terms apply.
The annual fee is $250 with this card (see rates and fees), but the potential credits almost cover that amount before you even start adding up the value of any rewards you earn. The Amex Gold might be a better choice if you’re not a frequent traveler or if you don’t fly with Delta much.
The Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card is a worthy travel rewards card for individuals who participate in the Delta SkyMiles program or travel regularly with Delta. If you don’t fly a lot or never fly with Delta, however, you may want to look for a rewards card that better fits your preferences.
American Express alternatives to the Delta SkyMiles Gold card
American Express offers many of the best credit cards available on the market. If the Delta Gold card isn’t the right fit for you, there are plenty of other options to explore.
If you’re still interested in travel benefits but don’t want to be tied down to one airline, The Platinum Card® from American Express may be a good alternative. It offers luxury perks like airport lounge access and elite hotel status, but earns Membership Rewards® points that can be redeemed for flights, hotel rooms, or even statement credits.
Travel rewards aren’t always for flights. Amex also has several hotel credit cards available with partners like Hilton and Marriott that let you save up points to redeem for free nights or room upgrades.
You need a good (or better) credit score to get approved for this card. Typically, if your score isn’t in the high 600s or higher, this may not be the card for you. Some people with scores in the mid-600s may qualify if their overall credit profile is otherwise strong.
If you do have good or excellent credit, however, and decide that this is the right card for you, you can learn more about this card and apply online.
Delta Gold Amex FAQs
Does Delta Gold card get lounge access?
No, the Delta Gold card doesn’t ensure access to the Delta Sky Club lounge as the Platinum and Reserve versions of this card do. However, that doesn’t preclude you from the Sky Club. You may be able to earn entry with other programs or your Medallion status.
Is the Delta Gold Amex card a charge card?
The Delta SkyMiles Gold card is a credit card, not a traditional Amex charge card. Some Amex charge cards don’t allow you to carry a balance over from statement cycle to statement cycle, meaning you have to pay the balance off each month. The Delta Gold card works like a credit card, however, and allows you to carry over a balance — though that does mean you pay interest expenses.
How hard is it to get the Delta Gold card?
While you need a good (or better) credit score to get approved for this card, it’s not as hard to get as some other rewards cards or even some other Amex cards. Learn how to get Amex pre-approval.
What is the Delta Gold Card credit limit?
Your credit limit depends on a variety of factors, including your credit history, current debt load and income. Common credit limits for this card range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands.
Sarah Stasik is well versed in personal finance thanks to her previous role as a Revenue Cycle Manager for a Fortune 500 healthcare company. Using her inside knowledge and expertise, Sarah often covers topics ranging from insurance and the economics of private healthcare to personal finance and small business management.
Over the past 12 years, Sarah has contributed to numerous publications in the personal and small business finance sector, including content on budgeting, bankruptcy, small business accounting, and financial tech. Her writing focuses on making complex or seemingly daunting financial topics more accessible and providing helpful, relevant resources for readers.
* Opinions expressed here are those of the LA Times Compare Cards Team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser or entities included within this content. See our editorial policy for more details.
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