Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card From American Express Review

THIS OFFER IS EXPIRED AND IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Last Reviewed: 5/9/2013

The Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express is a niche card made for the Delta frequent flyer. As the entry level Delta SkyMiles® card, this card is geared towards the occasional traveler who prefers Delta flights and offers a number of rewards and perks at a low cost.

 

Quick Overview Of Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card From American Express

Value of the Perks and Benefits

If you and a partner fly Delta just once per year, the $100 round trip savings for both of your checked bags will more than offset the annual fee. On top of the free first bag, you and up to nine passengers per reservation also get bumped up to Priority Group 1 boarding on all of your flights, free of charge. This adds up pretty quickly if you travel with family or friends, but it also makes it difficult to quantify this perk as a dollar value.  Add in the 2 SkyMiles® per dollar spent on anything related to Delta Airlines and the value of this card quickly rises above the annual cost. Our Card Rank system rates this card as a middle of the pack card.

Value of Delta’s SkyMiles®

Delta’s SkyMiles is a comprehensive rewards program where you can redeem your SkyMiles® for domestic and international flights. We covered the value of Delta’s SkyMiles® in an article“What is the Value of Delta SkyMiles® Points”. We estimated the final value of SkyMile® to be around $.0111 per mile. With domestic tickets starting at 25,000 miles, you can redeem your first ticket right after you sign up for this card.

Callout: Sign-Up Bonus of 30,000 miles

The 30,000 mile bonus for signing up and spending $500 in the first three months is a very good offer that’s worth a little more than $300, or a one way domestic ticket. This pretty much covers the first four years of fees for this card and makes this card even more attractive.

SkyMiles® Medallion System

Other than SkyMiles, Delta has Medallion Qualification Miles, or MQMs. MQMs are earned by flying on Delta airlines with a ticket that you paid for. They cannot themselves be redeemed reward tickets. Instead they act as a counter to determine when you reach the next Medallion level, a multiple tier rewards system (silver, gold, platinum, diamond) that gives you additional perks and bonuses. Our review of the Delta SkyMiles® Medallion System goes into the details behind this system, which can get quite confusing for anyone new to Delta. MQMs aren’t really worth it unless you plan on traveling with Delta a lot every year. The Gold card doesn’t offer any bonuses or perks that boost your MQMs so it isn’t the best way to go if you plan on reaching a higher Medallion level.

GetDebit’s Final Word on the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card

If you fly Delta airlines with luggage, the Gold Delta SkyMiles® card should be a credit card in your wallet. However, you should realize that this isn’t a card that you would want to use as a main credit card. Unless you plan on flying a lot, there are no earning bonuses for other spending categories, and converting your SkyMiles® to any other rewards program significantly lowers the value of the points.

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