The
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card is worth considering if you regularly use Delta for business travel. It’s especially rewarding the first year, when its intro annual fee is
$0 (
$150 after) and you have the chance to earn an initial bonus of
60,000 miles after spending $4,000 in the first 6 months.
This card has modest ongoing rewards, however, giving
1 - 2 miles per $1 on purchases. It doesn’t offer much in the way of air-travel luxuries, either. The main benefits in that regard are the first checked bag free and Zone 5 priority boarding on Delta flights. A high APR is another valid knock against the Delta Gold Business Card, but you can avoid interest charges by paying the bill in full every month.
Below, you can find a quick rundown of the key things you should know if you’re thinking about applying for the Gold Delta SkyMiles Card.
What I Like About the Amex Delta Gold Business Credit Card
Good initial bonus
New cardholders earn
60,000 miles after spending $4,000 in the first 6 months. That offer is flying at a far higher altitude than the
average initial bonus offer.
Solid ongoing rewards in bonus categories
You will earn
2 miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases and at restaurants, 2 miles per $1 spent on U.S. purchases for advertising in select media and on U.S. shipping (up to $50,000 spent per category per year), 1 mile per $1 on other purchases. The maximum earn rate compares favorably to the
1.19 points/miles offered by the
average rewards card. You probably want to earn much more than average, though, and you’ll only do that when you use this card for purchases in its
2 miles / $1 categories.
$200 Delta flight credit
You can receive this credit by charging $10,000 in purchases to your card in a calendar year. That more than offsets the annual fee.
No foreign-transaction fee
No-foreign-fee credit cards aren’t as rare as they once were, and there are many highly rewarding offers currently available. But it’s still good to know that you won’t face such a fee with this card if you’ve got any international business trips on the horizon. This saves you
1.58% on every purchase processed abroad relative to the average credit card.
What I Don’t Like About the Amex Delta Gold Business Credit Card
$150 annual fee, starting the second year
An annual fee definitely isn’t a deal-breaker, as many of the best rewards cards have fees, which they more than make up for with extra-generous earning rates. But the fact that the Delta Gold Business Card will be about six times more expensive than the average credit card offer from the second year on shouldn’t be overlooked, either.
Definitely not the best choice for financing
The Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card doesn’t offer 0% intro rates, and its regular APR range skews higher than the averages for people with good credit and excellent credit. Besides, business credit card issuers can jack up the interest rate on a card’s balance whenever they feel like it. The same is not true of general-consumer cards, however. So if you want a card to help you save money on big-ticket company purchases, get a
personal 0% credit card.
Good credit or better recommended
Your personal credit standing dictates whether you are eligible for a business credit card. Since you need good or excellent credit to be eligible for the Gold Delta Business Card, that puts it out of reach for roughly 45% of potential applicants. So it’s a good idea to
check your latest credit score before submitting an application.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.
