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Delta and American Express have made it official. Delta SkyMiles co-branded credit cardholders now receive a 15% discount on award tickets when booking flights operated by Delta Air Lines.
The benefit, “TakeOff15“, is available on all the Delta co-branded cards, with the exception of the entry-level Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card.
- Earn 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Enjoy a $0 introductory Annual Fee for the first year, then $99.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights.
- Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 2X Miles on Delta purchases, at U.S. Supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- $100 Delta Flight Credit: After you spend $10,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, receive a Credit to use toward future travel.
- Want even more flexibility? 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 on eligible Delta in-flight purchases after using your Card.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- With Send & Split®, you can send money and split your Card purchases with any other Venmo or PayPal user, directly from the Amex App. Enroll today.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 2X Miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta
- 2X miles per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets
- 2X Miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 1X miles on all other eligible purchases
When the 15% discount first surfaced, it appeared to only apply to the consumer version of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card card. However, this didn't end up being the case. Instead, most Delta co-branded credit cards now get this benefit.
Here is what Delta SkyMiles American Express cardholders need to know about this benefit.
Confirmed: 15% Award Ticket Discount for Most Delta SkyMiles American Express Cardholders
This benefit originally appeared as the result of an error on American Express' part. In late January, the card issuer published information on its website, which included details related to the “TakeOff15” benefit. At the time, the benefit was only listed as being offered to Delta Reserve cardholders.
While American Express quickly scrubbed any mention of this benefit from its website, it appeared to confirm that at least one of the SkyMiles co-branded cards would get this benefit sometime in the near future.
Now, just a week later, the 15% award ticket discount is available to most Delta SkyMiles American Express cardholders.
What is the “TakeOff15” Award Discount?
The TakeOff15 benefit is available to select Delta SkyMiles American Express cardholders. The benefit allows cardholders to receive a 15% discount on eligible SkyMiles award redemptions. This benefit can be used an unlimited number of times with no blackout dates.
- Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
- Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- Get access to Delta Sky Club® at a rate of $50 per person per visit for you and up to two guests or immediate family when traveling on a Delta flight from now until 12/31/23. Effective 1/1/24, this benefit will no longer be available.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Official Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Earn 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Delta Platinum Card, up to two times through 12/31/23. Effective 1/1/24, this benefit will no longer be available, and there will be a new way to earn toward Medallion Status with the Card. Learn more at delta.com/skymilesprogramchanges.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 3X miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta
- 3X miles per dollar at hotels
- 2X miles per dollar at U.S. supermarkets
- 2X Miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
Which Delta SkyMiles Credit Cards Offer the TakeOff15 Benefit?
Most of Delta's co-branded American Express credit cards now offer the TakeOff15 benefit to cardholders. Here is the full list of credit cards that offer the TakeOff15 award discount benefit:
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
The only co-branded Delta SkyMiles card not receiving this benefit is the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card. However, this is no surprise as the Blue Delta Amex Card charges $0 annual fee — and thus doesn't offer many benefits.
Related: How to Choose The Right Delta SkyMiles Card
How Will Delta Cardholders Redeem the TakeOff15 Award Discount?
To redeem this benefit, eligible cardholders must ensure that they've saved their card to their SkyMiles profile. Once they've saved their card to their SkyMiles profile, the 15% discount will appear on eligible itineraries when searching for SkyMiles awards.
Which Flights Will Be Eligible for the Delta Award Discount?
Eligible itineraries will be limited to flights operated by Delta Air Lines and its regional affiliates (i.e. Delta Connection flights). Itineraries that include codeshare flights and partner award tickets will not be eligible for the 15% discount. It's also worth noting that the discount will not apply to taxes and fees. However, on the majority of routes operated by Delta, these taxes and fees are usually less than $10 each way, with domestic flights incurring taxes and fees of just $5.60.
TakeOff15 Award Discount Examples
While it might not seem like much, 15% off award tickets can go a long way. This is especially true given that there is no limit to the number of times you can use the benefit. Here's what a 15% discount looks like when applied to some sample Delta award redemptions:
New York City (JFK) to Frankfurt (FRA) via Detroit (DTW) in Business Class
- SkyMiles Required: 375,000
- 15% Discount: 56,250
- Discounted Price: 318,750
Atlanta (ATL) to Miami (MIA) in Basic Economy
- SkyMiles Required: 4,500
- 15% Discount: 675
- Discounted Price: 3,825
Los Angeles (LAX) to Boston (BOS) in Comfort+
- SkyMiles Required: 27,000
- 15% Discount: 4,050
- Discounted Price: 22,950
Related: The Unofficial Delta SkyMiles Award Chart
- Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Enjoy Delta Sky Club® access at no cost and bring up to two guests or immediate family at a rate of $50 per person per visit. Effective 2/1/25, Reserve Card Members will receive 10 Visits per year to the Delta Sky Club; to earn an unlimited number of Visits each year starting on 2/1/25, the total eligible purchases on the Card must equal $75,000 or more between 1/1/24 and 12/31/24, and each calendar year thereafter.
- Enjoy complimentary access to The Centurion® Lounge when you book a Delta flight with your Reserve Card.
- With Status Boost®, earn 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $30,000 in purchases on your Card through 12/31/23, up to four times per year getting you closer to Medallion Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion Status and are different from the miles you earn towards flights. Effective 1/1/24, this benefit will no longer be available, and there will be a new way to earn toward Medallion Status with the Card. Learn more at delta.com/skymilesprogramchanges.
- Eligible Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Receive a domestic First Class, Delta Comfort+® or domestic Main Cabin round trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Official Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $550 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 3X miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta
- 1X miles on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
The Bottom Line
Just a week after the benefit leaked, Delta and Amex launched the Delta credit card “TakeOff15” benefit. With the launch of this benefit, most Delta co-branded American Express credit cardholders now receive a 15% discount on SkyMiles award tickets.
The 15% discount on award tickets is only available for itineraries in which all flights are operated entirely by Delta Air Lines or Delta Connection affiliates. Additionally, the benefit can be used an unlimited number of times, and there are no blackout dates.
To take advantage of this benefit, eligible cardholders must ensure they've saved their card to their SkyMiles profile. Once they've saved their card to their profile, all eligible awards will appear with the 15% discount.
What do you make of this benefit? Do you plan on taking advantage of this benefit?
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card (Rates & Fees), Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card (Rates & Fees), and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
For hub captives who hold this CC, this could be an easy way to save some miles. But for the rest of us, spending $550 annually to save 15% miles on redemptions is not attractive. Between the lines, is this a feature to attract more people to the Amex Delta Reserve card? Or is Delta now realizing that their redemptions are priced too high and without admitting that, this new feature gives their best customers a small discount? I can’t see anyone going hogwild over a 15% discount!
It certainly isn’t gamechanging for all travelers, but the savings could add up for Delta frequent flyers. If someone would otherwise redeem 250k SkyMiles, the 37,500-mile savings would equate to $450 at 1.2 cents per mile. That would definitely change the math on this card.