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The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card is the entry-level co-branded card from Amex and Delta. The card comes with a respectable welcome bonus and $0 annual fee (Rates & Fees). While the card doesn't offer some of the perks and benefits associated with more premium Delta cards, it is still a strong performer when you take into account that it charges no annual fee.
- Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- No Annual Fee.
- Earn 2X Miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- Earn 2X Miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases, and 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay with Miles: 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 a 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.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 2X Miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta
- 2X Miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 1 Mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases
The Delta SkyMiles Blue Card Welcome Bonus
The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card has a generous welcome bonus: Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months. While this is not in the same league as its premium stablemates, it offers plenty of value when you factor in that the Blue Delta Amex card charges $0 annual fee.
Delta offers several Amex cards that come with more generous welcome bonuses. Fortunately, if you opt to start off with the Blue Delta Amex, you are not disqualified from earning the welcome bonus on other Delta consumer or small business cards. So, you can start your journey with the Blue Delta Amex before applying for more premium cards as your travel goals and strategy evolves and develops.
Delta SkyMiles Blue Card Benefits
20% Statement Credit On Eligible Delta purchases
Receive a 20% statement credit on eligible Delta in-flight purchases. That's effectively a 20% discount on inflight purchases of food, beverages, and other in-flight purchases on Delta.
This may not seem a massive benefit, but the savings can add up. If you make $100 in drink and food purchases each year, you will end up saving $20 over the year. This is a significant saving for a card that carries no annual fee and makes the card an ideal companion for the infrequent Delta flyer.
Pay with Miles
Use your Delta miles to Pay with Miles. When paying cash for your ticket, you can remove increments of $50 off the price for 5,000 miles. This works out as a redemption rate of 1 cent per mile. That's less than the average redemption value of Delta miles, but it's another redemption option that you have for your SkyMiles.
To get the best value with Pay with Miles, it's best to use it on cheaper domestic flights. If you are looking to fly long-haul premium cabin flights, Pay with Miles is not your best option. Instead, you should keep your miles for a straight-up award booking.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
One of the biggest drawbacks of many credit cards is using them abroad. Foreign transaction fees can be expensive and add a substantial amount to the cost of your overseas purchases. The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card carries no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees). This eliminates any hidden surprises when you open your credit card bill at the end of the month.
This perk is typically associated with credit cards that charge an annual fee. So, it is a nice perk for a card with no annual fee (Rates & Fees).
Earning Miles on the Delta SkyMiles Blue Card
The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card is the entry-level Delta Air Lines card from Amex and earns:
- 2X Miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta
- 2X Miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 1 Mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases
While 2X miles isn't the best return on spending, it's nothing to be sneezed at. For a no-annual-fee card, 2X earning is on the high end and stands the card in good company compared to other no-annual-fee cards.
Redeeming SkyMiles
You have several options when it comes to redeeming Delta SkyMiles. If you're considering the entry-level Delta card, you are probably not accruing hundreds of thousands of Delta SkyMiles per year. So, your best choice for redeeming Delta SkyMiles is on short-haul domestic awards that set you back a few thousand miles.
Delta ceased publishing an award chart several years back. That means award prices generally vary with cash prices. Flights within North America (the U.S. & Canada) can cost as few as 3,000 miles at the lowest for one-way economy awards. While premium cabins will start around 11,500 SkyMiles at the lowest for one-way awards.
If you're considering the Blue Delta Amex, saving up your miles for a long-haul premium cabin award is not a great idea. Even though Delta SkyMiles don’t expire, saving up enough miles for a SkyMiles award in a premium cabin will take way too long and requires significant spending. You have much better options if you are willing to spend that much on your card.
Read more: Best Rewards Cards Offers This Month
Other Delta Co-Branded Cards
Delta offers an extensive variety of cards tailored to meet a wide range of customer profiles. Depending on your spending and travel patterns with Delta, you are certain to find the right fit card from the 4 consumer and 3 small business co-brand cards on offer:
- Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
Final Thoughts
If you don't fly Delta regularly, or you are just starting in the points and miles hobby, then the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card is an excellent starting point. The card provides a decent set of benefits and a relatively generous welcome bonus without the commitment of an annual fee (Rates & Fees).
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card (Rates & Fees)
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Any time a credit card product is fee free, it gets my attention.
For a no annual fee card I think this is a compelling option.
Not too bad – easy to get points that way with 0 AF!
It is good to see $0 AF cards with the ability to earn airline miles.
I hope other airlines also follow suit. $1/1 is good for a no annual fee card. I have some other cards which are no annual fee but are $2/1.
Looks like a good option, you can pay for a lot of luggage with the $95 fee of the regular Delta AX. I usually travel with carry on luggage that is usually gate checked for faster boarding anyway without the fees.
not a bad card.. I am due up to get something new…
“Ok” is probably the best way to describe it. May as well pick it up for the bonus if nothing else.
Typically no-fee mileage cards only earn 1 mile : $2, so it’s great to see a card with a 1:$1 rate, plus a bonus on dining. The massive down side though, is that you’re earning with Delta. I’d love to see this type if offer with SPG!
Good to see double points offered on some purchases, this one looks OK.
This is not like any Blue cards from Amex. This kind is not desirable.
not enough to redeem for anything… thanks for the info though.
I wonder if I can convert my AMEX Delta card to the new free card before the annual fee is due, instead of canceling it. I guess I’ll find out
I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that you could. Amex typically allows such changes, but it would be on a case by case basis.
There’s a no annual fee (United) MileagePlus card. It only gives one mile for every $2 spend, and none of the perks like the first bag free or 2 club passes, like the regular MileagePlus card. They don’t advertise it anymore, but if you know about it, you can convert the annual fee card to it, for example, before the annual fee is due
Only if it didn’t have foreign transaction fees…:(
Might consider this now it is available.
I’ll probably work my way though the Amex Delta Cards once I work through the 100K BA Bonus
Since I currently do not have a Delta credit card I may consider this one.
Thanks for the heads up!
I like the idea of a Delta card with no annual fee and double points at restaurants is excellent! So often with airline cards, the only way to earn extra points per dollar is to spend it with the airline.
That being said, since this card likely has foreign transaction fees and the restaurant bonus is only in the US, I’ll pass on this one and keep earning Membership Rewards points instead since those transfer to Delta (for a fee).
Agreed. The foreign transaction fee stinks 🙁
It’s interesting this card offers twice the miles at restaurants yet the ones with annual fees only get a single mile.
It is good indeed.