Best Delta Credit Cards

The best Delta business credit card is the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card because it has a $0 annual fee the first year ($99 after), and offers a 40,000-mile bonus when you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months. Plus, you'll earn 2 miles / $1 on all Delta purchases, on eligible U.S. purchases for advertising in select media, on eligible U.S. shipping purchases, on dining at restaurants and 1 mile / $1 on everything else. 

For big-spenders looking to get the most value possible, the Delta Reserve Business card is best because it gives 45,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months. Reserve for Business also gives cardholders Delta Sky Club access. But this Delta business credit card costs $550 per year. 

There's also a middle option: the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business card. It boasts a 45,000-mile bonus, plus a $100 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase in the first 3 months, and has an annual fee of $250 per year.

All of the Delta business credit cards have a few benefits in common. They all offer a free checked bag and priority boarding on Delta flights. And they give a 20% statement credit on eligible Delta in-flight purchases. 

Best Delta Business Credit Cards

• Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card: Best for Low Annual Fee
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: Best for Sky Club Access
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card: Best for Initial Bonus

The best Delta Business credit card for you depends on how much you're willing to pay in fees and how frequent of a traveler you are. If you're a big spender and a frequent traveler, you'll probably like Reserve's Delta Sky Club access. But if you're only an occasional flyer, Gold SkyMiles is probably the way to go. Platinum SkyMiles is the perfect in-between. 

You need at least 6,500 Delta miles for a free one-way flight and 9,000 miles for a free round-trip flight on Delta. The exact miles you need for a free Delta flight depend on where you want to go and when. Those minimums apply to flights from Los Angeles to Las Vegas booked months in advance. Delta stopped disclosing its Award Miles Chart, so there are no published minimums and maximums for various routes.

Examples of How Many Delta Miles Are Needed for Free Flights:

• One-way flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas: 6,500+ award miles
• One-way flight from New York City to Chicago: 7,000+ award miles
• One-way flight from Los Angeles to New York City: 8,000+ award miles.
• One-way flight from New York City to Seattle: 8,500+ award miles
• One-way flight from Miami to Boston: 10,500+ award miles

To get a free flight for the fewest number of Delta miles, you'll want to book the flight far in advance, and be open to different dates. In many cases, you could pay at least 10,000 miles less for a flight if you're flexible on your departure date.

If you're a loyal Delta flyer and looking to earn miles faster for more free flights, you should look into a Delta credit card. The Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express is an excellent option with a signup bonus of 30,000 miles after you spend $1,000 in the first three months. And if you make a Delta purchase within that same timeframe, you'll earn an additional $50 statement credit. Altogether, that's worth roughly 1-5 free Delta flights.

There are several good Delta credit card deals available right now. The Platinum and Gold SkyMiles cards are both offering big bonus miles deals. The Platinum SkyMiles card offers 35,000 miles and 5,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) when you spend $1,000 in your first three months. The Gold card earns you 30,000 miles when you meet those same spending requirements.

Exclusive to Delta Airlines, both SkyMiles cards offer great perks like airline statement credits up to $100 and double miles on Delta purchases.

Here is some more information on Delta credit card deals:

• Earn 35,000 bonus miles and 5,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) with the Platinum SkyMiles card when you spend $1,000 in your first three months; 30,000 miles with the Gold SkyMiles card. Deals effective as of April 2018. The Platinum's 70,000 mile and the Gold's 50,000 mile bonuses expired in March.
• The Platinum's total bonus miles are worth around $473 (not counting the up-front $195 annual fee). The Gold's are worth around $405, with the $95 annual fee waived for the first year. Both SkyMiles cards give 2 miles per $1 on Delta purchases.
• Receive a $100 airline statement credit when you make a Delta purchase with The Platinum card in your first three months. Get a $50 credit when you make a similar purchase with the Gold card. Purchase must be made directly through Delta. You will receive statement within 8-12 weeks after the purchase.
• American Express allows an initial bonus on a particular card once in a lifetime. If you have previously owned a Gold or Platinum Delta SkyMiles card, you are not eligible for either of those bonuses.

If the current Delta credit card deals aren't for you, there are a number of cards to choose from with higher initial bonuses. The Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard and American Express Platinum both get you 60,000 bonus miles when you meet minimum spending requirements.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve cards earn you 50,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in your first three months. Bonus points for both cards provide better potential redemption value than the two SkyMiles cards.

One of the best Delta credit card promotions is 40,000 miles for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. It also offers a round-trip companion certificate every year. There's free Delta Sky Club access too. This card charges a hefty $550 annual fee, however.

Another good Delta credit card promotion is 40,000 miles for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months with the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card. It also gives a free companion certificate every account anniversary when you renew the card.

The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card provide a free first checked bag and priority boarding. All Delta SkyMiles cards also offer a 20% statement credit on food, alcohol and audio headset purchases made on Delta flights. And those are just some of the Delta credit card promotions the airline currently offers.

Delta Airlines Credit Card Promotions:

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: 40,000 miles and 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. 3 miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases. Free Delta Sky Club access for the cardholder and discounted $39 per-visit rate for up to two guests. Free companion certificate every account anniversary.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: 40,000 miles and 5,000 MQMs after spending $2,000 in the first 3 months. 3 miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases and 2 miles at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets. $100 statement credit after making a Delta purchase in the first 3 months. Discounted Delta Sky Club rate ($39 per visit) for the cardholder and up to two guests. Free companion certificate every account anniversary.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: 35,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. After you spend $10,000 in purchases in a calendar year, you will receive a $100 Delta Flight Credit. 2 miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases.

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card: 10,000 miles after spending $500 in the first 3 months. 2 miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases and at U.S. restaurants, and 1 mile on all other eligible purchases.

If you're not familiar with Medallion Qualification Miles, know that the more you have, the higher your status is in the SkyMiles loyalty rewards program. And the higher your status, the better perks you get on Delta flights. The levels are Silver (25,000 MQMs), Gold (50,000), Platinum (75,000) and Diamond (125,000). Diamond status gives the highest upgrade priority and premium boarding.

After a thorough Delta credit card comparison, the Gold Delta SkyMiles card is the best Delta Airlines card because it offers 35,000 miles when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months. The Gold's card's annual fee of $0 for the first year ($99 after) is a huge plus, especially if you plan on spending a lot during those first 12 months.

When comparing Delta credit card offers, it's important to focus on annual fees, initial bonuses and extra perks. That's where the biggest differences are.

• All Delta SkyMiles cards have some sort of initial bonus
• Most Delta credit cards have annual fees.
• Some offer priority boarding and free first checked bags.
• All of them feature the same APR range.
• All require a good credit score or better to qualify. All give at least 1 mile per $1 on all purchases.

But the devil is in the details. By framing your comparison of Delta's credit card offers in terms of your own spending and payment habits, you can confidently determine which card is best for you. It really comes down to how frequently you fly Delta and which perks you'll want when you travel. If a Delta credit card has an annual fee, you'll have to decide if you fly Delta frequently enough to cover the cost, which is as high as $550 for the SkyMiles Reserve card.

The Delta Amex foreign transaction fee is 0%. All 4 Delta American Express credit cards have no foreign transaction fees.

That means you won't be charged an extra 2%-4% on purchases made through foreign merchants abroad or online, as would be the case with a lot of other cards. So, if you're planning on taking a Delta Amex with you overseas, you'll be fine, as long as the merchant accepts American Express cards, that is. American Express isn't as widely accepted worldwide as Mastercard and Visa cards.

The best Delta credit card bonus is 35,000 miles bonus after spending $1,000 with the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card in the first 3 months. Cardholders can also get a $100 Delta Flight Credit after spending $10,000 in purchases in a calendar year. The Delta Gold Card's annual fee is: $0 intro 1st yr, $99 after. That's a big reason why this card comes out on top of the other Delta credit card offerings.

Another close contender is the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card. It offers 40,000 miles bonus and 5,000 Medallion-Qualifying Miles (for higher status in Delta's frequent flyer program) for spending $2,000 in the first 3 months. But it also gives a $100 statement credit for making a Delta purchase within 3 months. However, at $250, the annual fee for the Amex Delta Platinum card is much higher than what the Delta Gold Card card charges.

Even with the higher statement credit from the Amex Delta Platinum card, travelers will get the best value from the Delta Gold Card card, especially in the first year.

The value of Delta miles is 1.37 cents per mile, on average. That means 10,000 Delta miles have a value of roughly $137. Delta miles are more valuable than the average airline miles, which are worth almost 1.3 cents each, as a result.

It's important to remember that the value of Delta miles depends on how they are redeemed. They have the most value when used for SkyMiles flights. In addition, one of the best ways to increase the number of Delta miles that you earn is to apply for a Delta credit card.

Delta Miles vs The Competition