The Amex Gold Delta SkyMiles® Card

Published August 11, 2016

Travelers are paying attention to the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Card from American Express, a SmartAsset.com advertiser. If travel is a big spending category in your budget, you may be wondering if you could get more for your money by switching to a different travel rewards credit card. There are plenty of travel cards available and new ones are coming to market all the time. It can be hard to choose! For frequent fliers with good to excellent credit, this card may help you travel more for less.

The Amex Gold Delta SkyMiles® card lets you earn miles on Delta Air Lines, all SkyTeam® Global Alliance Partners and other SkyMiles partners. Whatever your destination, there’s a good chance that one of Delta’s dozens of SkyMiles partners can get you there. These partners include Aeroflot, Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Czech Airlines, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia Airlines, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.

Rewards and Bonus Offers

OK, now on to the rewards. When booking your next trip you can already be saving up for the trip after that. For every dollar you spend with Delta you’ll earn two miles. All other eligible purchases earn you one mile for every dollar spent. Your first checked bag on every Delta flight will be free so heavy packers will reap up to $50 in savings per person, per flight. This applies to all passengers traveling on the same reservation, so a family of four could save as much as $200 on a single flight. Hate waiting in line? Your card will entitle you to Zone 1 Priority Boarding at the gate for your Delta flights.

The Amex Gold Delta Skymiles® Card also has a bonus offer. If you use your new card to spend $1,000 in your first three months as a cardholder you’ll get 30,000 bonus miles. That could be enough miles to get you three one-way award tickets within and between the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada (you will pay some taxes and fees). Purchases made by you or any authorized user you add to the card account all count toward that $1,000 total needed to trigger the bonus miles. However, fees, interest charges, balance transfers, cash advances, purchase of prepaid cards or purchase of traveler’s checks won’t count toward the $1,000.

But wait – there’s more. If you make a Delta purchase within your first three months as a cardholder (starting from the date of approval) you’ll get a statement credit of $50. The purchase must be made directly through Delta. You’ll also get a 20% savings (in the form of a statement credit) on eligible pre-purchased meals, in-flight food and drink purchases, audio headsets and seatback entertainment purchases on Delta-operated flights. There are no blackout dates for using your card and miles to book a Delta flight.

Fees and Interest

Now onto the fees and interest rates you can expect with this card. In your first year as a cardholder the annual fee is waived, but after the first year you’ll pay an annual fee of $95 (an annual fee is a common feature among travel rewards cards). Whether or not this is worth it will depend on factors like how often you use the card and how many rewards you rack up.

What about interest? The Amex Gold Delta Skymiles® Card has a variable APR of between 15.49% and 19.49%. Miss a payment and you could face a variable penalty APR of up to 29.49%. If this penalty rate is triggered it will apply for at least six months. There is also a penalty fee of up to $37 for each late or returned payment.

If you use your credit card to get a credit card cash advance there’s a variable APR of 25.49%. Cash advance transactions come with a fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater

There’s no intro APR on the Amex Gold Delta Skymiles® Card, which means it’s not necessarily an ideal candidate for a balance transfer for other credit card debt you may have. If you do decide to go ahead with a balance transfer to your new card you’ll pay a balance transfer fee of either 3% or $5 of the amount of each transferred balance, whichever is greater.

Who Should Apply for the Amex Gold Delta SkyMiles® Card?

If you are a frequent traveler with good to excellent credit, the Amex Gold Delta Skymiles® Card may earn you more trips faster. Whether or not a credit card is right for you and which credit card is right for you depends on your spending patterns and your ability to manage your finances responsibly.

Check out our American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles® Card review to learn more and apply for the card today.