Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card review

Small Business Card

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

Top Features

• Rewards
• Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on purchases at U.S. Shipping providers and at U.S. providers for Advertising in select media on up to $50,000 of purchases per category, per year. Earn 2 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and on every eligible dollar spent at restaurants. Earn 1 Mile on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases.
• Welcome Bonus
• Earn 55,000 Bonus Miles after spending $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Annual Fee
• $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150

Sponsored card

5.0

Credit Score: Good, Excellent

Apply Now

on American Express's secure website

See Rates and Fees

Terms and Limitations Apply

card_name essentials

Don’t yet have an airline that you call home? The CardName makes a compelling case for business travelers to give their loyalty to the nearly 100-year-old airline. In exchange for an attractive welcome offer and perks like priority boarding, Delta checks off many of the boxes on most business travelers’ must-have lists. American Express is a CardRatings advertiser.

CardName best features include:

• AnnualFees
• No foreign transaction fees
• Earn 55,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership
• Receive $200 off a Delta flight after you spend $10,000 on your card in a calendar year
• Earn 2X miles per dollar spent on purchases at U.S. shipping providers and at U.S. providers for advertising (in select media) on up to $50,000 of purchases per category, per year; 2X miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and on every eligible dollar spent at restaurants; and 1X mile on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases
• Get Main Cabin 1 priority boarding on Delta flights
• Use miles toward Delta flights or with more than 15 of its airline partners
• Card benefits include purchase protection and car rental insurance
• Access to American Express Open benefits, including ReceiptMatch^SM, account alerts and Open Forum®, which offers tools, advice and other resources for business professionals.
• See Rates and Fees

What we like best about the CardName

Delta flies to 900 destinations around the world – a business traveler’s dream. For members of this group who haven’t yet leveraged a loyalty credit card to enhance their travel experience, the CardName offers several perks and benefits to incentivize them.

The welcome offer allows cardholders to earn 55,000 bonus miles once spending $4,000 in the first six months of card membership. Most business travelers can meet this threshold easily and in return earn enough miles for multiple domestic round-trip flights (one-way award tickets start at just 10,000 miles) or to partially offset the cost of a Delta Comfort™ or first-class ticket.

The card comes with no foreign transaction fees, saving business travelers who fly internationally up to 3% on every purchase. The most attractive perks also help travelers avoid the typical grievances most people now have with airlines – checked baggage fees, expensive in-flight purchases and all the nickel-and-diming that further inflates ticket costs.

Checked baggage is $25 a bag on Delta, but with the CardName, your first bag flies free. Earn 2X miles per dollar spent on purchases at U.S. Shipping providers and at U.S. providers for advertising (in select media) on up to $50,000 of purchases per category, per year; 2X miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and on every eligible dollar spent at restaurants; and 1X mile on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases. Miles don’t expire, so you can redeem them anytime and take advantage of priority boarding, another card benefit.

Potential downsides of the CardName

Some travel rewards cards offer a redemption bonus when you redeem miles through their portals or online travels centers. Delta doesn’t offer this bonus.

Another significant drawback is the annual fee – AnnualFees. With a value of a little more than 1 cent per mile for most flights, you’d need to earn at least 9,900 miles a year or spend a little over $400 a month on Delta purchases to offset this fee. That said, this is a target that should be easy for business travelers to hit.

How do cardholders rate the CardName?

CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results for the CardName:

How does the CardName compare to other business cards?

CardName vs. CardName

discontinued_disclaimer

You can think of the CardName as the fancier sibling of the Gold version we’ve been discussing. The Platinum welcome offer allows you to earn 65,000 bonus miles after spending $6,000 in purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership. Furthermore, you will receive a companion certificate each year upon renewal of your card (tax and fees apply). This card, however, also comes at a higher cost: the annual fee is AnnualFees. Even with the higher annual fee, regular Delta business travelers could very likely realize the extra savings this card could mean.See Rates and Fees.

It’s easy to see how a big business spender and traveler could certainly make the CardName work for them. Cardholders earn 1.5X miles* on eligible transit and U.S. shipping purchases, plus single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (terms and miles cap apply). *If your purchase qualifies for a category that has a higher mileage accelerator, only the higher accelerator will apply. One mile on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases. Figure in priority boarding and other perks offered by the CardName, and you might find this is a better choice for you and your business needs.

CardName vs. CardName

discontinued_disclaimer

The CardName credit card offers a significant amount of flexibility for business travelers who aren’t committed to a particular airline for their travels. The CardName credit card’s annual fee is AnnualFees. The welcome offer is generous: Earn 50,000 miles – worth $500 in travel – after spending $4,500 in the first three months. You can also receive up to a $100 credit for one Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee.

With the CardName credit card, you’ll earn a flat two miles for every $1 you spend and five miles per $1 spent on hotel and car rental bookings through the Capital One portal, so there’s a good opportunity to rack up some miles toward upcoming trips. Furthermore, you aren’t tied to a particular airline with the CardName; in fact, there are no blackout dates or restrictions on when and how you can redeem your miles.

Still, because this is a general travel rewards card, you do miss out on a few airline-specific perks that you get with the CardName, such as a free checked bag on flights.

Who should get the CardName?

If you already fly with Delta, why not be rewarded for your loyalty? Any business professional who travels frequently with the airline can earn free flights and save a ton of money on checked baggage fees alone – at least $25 per trip. Delta flies to over 900 locations worldwide, so the CardName could help you stock up enough rewards for that dream vacation.

To see the rates and fees for the American Express cards featured in this post, please visit the following links: CardName (See Rates and Fees); CardName (See Rates and Fees)