Get the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card to earn up to 35,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. We value these 35,000 points to be worth around $420. We will go over that in the section below.
To maximize your points, you can earn 2X Miles on Delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets; 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases. Use your points for hotel stays, merchandise, gift cards, and more! Plus, the $95 annual fee is waived for the first year (See Rates & Fees).
When you sign up, not only do you get the bonus miles, but you also get access to many of their benefits! Read on to find out more about this card!
Table of Contents
Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card Summary
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| Bonus Available | Earn 35,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.v |
| *Bonus Value | $420 |
| Travel Credit | Spend $10,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year and receive a $100 Delta Flight Credit. |
| Ongoing Rewards/Benefits | Earn 2 miles on every dollar spent on Delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. Earn 1 mile for every dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.First Checked Bag Free on Delta flights for you and up to 8 guests on the same reservation. Take up to $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you book on delta.com. Receive Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding on Delta flights. 20% savings in the form of a statement credit after you use your Card on eligible Delta in-flight purchases of food, beverages, and audio headsets. |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | No |
| Airport Lounge Access | N/A |
| Annual Fee | $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99. |
Recommended Free Credit Score (Get Free Score) 690 – 850 (Good – Excellent)
PROS
- Intro bonus offer
- Free checked bag
- Priority boarding
CONS
- Has an annual fee
- Good-Excellent credit needed to qualify
Editor’s Alternate Pick
 The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®! You'll earn 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. And when you redeem your points for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you'll get 25% more value! |
Gold Delta SkyMiles 35k Bonus Miles
Earn 35,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.
Here are some ideas if you have trouble meeting the spending requirement for the bonus:
| • Plastiq: Plastiq allows you to pay for expenses that you generally won’t be able to with your card like rent, tuition, auto lease, mortgage payment, and more. There’s a 2.5% processing fee for using your credit card. However, this’ll be worth the card bonus you’ll get. There’s also a referral program where you can earn “Fee-Free Dollars” to use towards processing fees. See our Plastiq review. |
| • Fund Checking accounts with your card: Many banks will allow you to fund the opening deposit with a credit card. Consider opening Checking accounts that also offer a sign-up bonus. This way, you can work towards bonuses from two different sources. Big banks like Chase, HSBC, Huntington, and TD Bank have great offers and allow credit card funding. You can generally fund anywhere from $50 to $1,000 towards the opening deposit with a credit card, depending on the bank. |
| • Buy gift cards: Consider buying gift cards with your credit card that you can then spend later at your leisure. Individual merchant cards (restaurants, gas stations, supermarkets, etc.) generally don’t have purchase fees, so this is a plus. On the other hand, American Express and Visa gift cards will have purchase fees. Amazon gift cards are a great idea as you can shop for almost anything there with no purchase fees either. Unfortunately, Citi credit cards tend to code gift card purchases as Cash Advances and there’ll be a fee. Call in to customer service and lower your Cash Advance limit to $0 before purchasing gift cards. You can also buy discounted gift cards as well from Raise or find gift cards on eBay. |
| • Everyday spending & bills: Always using your credit card for everyday spending, such as for dining, gas, groceries, etc. You can also use your credit card to pay for things like insurance bills, property taxes and income taxes. However, you’ll have to consider the convenience fees. |
Earning & Redeeming SkyMiles
With the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, earn 2X Miles on Delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets; 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
Redeem your miles for airfare, merchandise, gift cards, and special experiences, at the Delta SkyMiles MarketPlace.
Points are generally valued between 0.5 cents to 2 cents apiece. This calls for a pretty big variation. SkyMiles are typically worth less than a cent apiece when redeemed at the MarketPlace. However, minimum redemption thresholds are lower.
Thus, I recommend redeeming your accumulated miles for Delta airfare. Redemptions start at 10,000 miles for some domestic economy one-ways, and 12,500 miles for a broader range of domestic flights with more flexible travel dates. Delta’s redemption tables vary from time to time, thus certain travel dates and times may require more miles to redeem. For instance, peak-season weekend flights may cost more miles than off-season weekday flights to popular vacation spots.
Redeem Rewards
Redeem accumulated SkyMiles for Delta airfare, merchandise, gift cards, and experiences in the online SkyMiles MarketPlace.
The best way to redeem your SkyMiles is for Delta airfare. Airfare redemptions start at 10,000 miles for domestic economy one-ways. Certain travel dates and times may require more miles, depending on season and demand. For example, it generally costs more to fly to a popular vacation destination on a peak-season than an off-season. Airfare redemption point values generally range from $0.005 to $0.02.
Other redemption options fall below $0.01 per mile value. However, if you don’t have the minimum mileage requirement for airfare, merchandise redemptions start around 2,000 and go up from there.
To get the best value for your SkyMiles, use them for award travel with Delta or one of its many partners:
| Aeroflot | Aerolineas Argentinas | Aeromexico |
| Air Europa | Air France | Air Tahiti nui |
| Alitalia | China Airlines | China Eastern |
| China Southern | Czech Airlines | Garuda Indonesia |
| GOL | Hawaiian Airlines | Jet Airways |
| Kenya Airways | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines | Korean Air |
| Mandarin Airlines | Middle East Airlines | Saudia Airlines |
| Shanghai Airlines | Tarom Airlines | Vietnam Airlines |
| Virgin Atlantic | Virgin Australia | WestJet |
| Xiamen Airlines |
Delta SkyMiles Gold Benefits
Lounge Discount: If you’d like to take advantage of a Delta Sky Club lounge and enjoy a little luxury, you and up to two companions can get a reduced access fee of just $29 each.
Free Checked Bags: The first bag is free for you and up to 8 other people traveling on your reservation. Depending on the size of your family and how often you fly, this benefit can really be a substantial perk.
Delta Air Miles Never Expire: Many other airline miles expire after no activity for a certain period of time. However, Delta is different. They are the only significant US Airline to offer this.
No Blackout Dates: With some of the Delta SkyTeam transfer partners, you are subjected to specific dates in which you can and cannot redeem points for. With the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, you are not subject to these on Delta flights, making booking and redeeming easy and straightforward.
Delta SkyMiles Gold Perks
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card comes with useful perks for its cardholders. Some benefits for non-Delta flights include 24/7 global assistance, complimentary loss and damage insurance for rental cars, 24/7 roadside assistance, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Some notable Delta-related travel benefits for frequent Delta flyers are:
- Travel benefits: When you fly with Delta, you’ll get your first checked bag for free. This is available for up to 9 people in your party. Plus, you’ll receive priority boarding. Get reduced Delta Sky Club access at $29 per person (regularly $59 per person). In addition, get 20% off in-flight purchases.
- Flexible redemption: Redeem your miles for travel with Delta and more than 15 airline partners.
- No foreign transaction fees: Use this card while traveling to keep earning miles for your rewards. (See Rates & Fees)
Conclusion
Receive an outstanding welcome offer with the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card after completing spending requirements. The perks are great and you can easily earn bonus miles with Delta purchases.
Keep in mind of the Amex Lifetime Rule. This is where American Express restricts you to one sign up bonus per credit card, once per lifetime, even if you previously applied for the card without receiving a bonus. Some cardholders have reported being able to get the bonus if they’ve had the card many years ago, but YMMV.
If you frequently fly with Delta Airlines, this card will definitely be worth it. Find our complete list of Credit Card Promotions today!
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What’s The Competition?
A high value general rewards card is the American Express® Gold Card. Two other good cards not affiliated with an airline include the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card.
 The American Express® Gold Card offers 35,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 3 months. You'll have the opportunity to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points when you dine at restaurants worldwide & at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X); 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com. This card has an annual fee of $250 with no foreign transaction fees. Some benefits including earning up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. In addition, a $100 Airline Fee Credit: up to $100 in statement credits per calendar year for incidental fees at one selected qualifying airline. |
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®! You'll earn 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. And when you redeem your points for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you'll get 25% more value! |
 The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card offers a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening (equal to $500 in travel). Named ‘The Best Travel Card' by CNBC, 2018. You're able to earn 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Plus earn 10X miles on thousands of hotels, through January 2020; learn more at hotels.com/venture. This card does come with a $95 annual fee, however, there is a $0 intro annual fee for the first year. Enjoy no foreign transaction fees and receive up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔®. |
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