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American Express has an excellent lineup of rewards-earning cards, including four consumer cards specifically intended for Delta Air Lines travelers. Among the many Amex Delta card options, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is a solid choice that can help you bank a large balance of SkyMiles and enjoy some Delta perks — all for a reasonable annual fee.
If you're looking for simplicity and a modest-annual-fee airline miles card, read on for our review of the Delta Gold Card to see if this might be the right card for you.
- Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Enjoy a $0 introductory Annual Fee for the first year, then $150.
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express 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.
- $200 Delta Flight Credit: After you spend $10,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can receive a $200 Delta Flight Credit to use toward future travel.
- Earn 2X Miles on Delta purchases, at U.S. Supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- You can check your first bag free on Delta flights, saving up to $70 on a round-trip Delta flight per person. For a family of four that's a potential savings of up to $280 per round-trip flight.
- Receive Zone 5 Priority Boarding on Delta flights; board early, stow your carry-on bag and settle in sooner.
- $100 Delta Stays Credit: Get up to $100 back per year as a statement credit after using your Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card to book prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays on delta.com.
- 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.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- 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
Page Contents
Delta Gold Card Pros
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 (Rates & Fees).
- Get your first checked bag free on Delta flights.
- Cardmembers receive 15% off award redemptions on Delta.
- Ability to earn a $200 Delta flight credit.
- No foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees).
Delta Gold Card Cons
- Delta does not have a published award chart, making it hard to get a good value from your SkyMiles redemptions.
- There are no bonuses or status boosts toward elite status.
- A recent annual fee increase corresponded with the addition of statement credits that may be tough to use.
Delta Gold Card Welcome Bonus
As a new applicant for the Delta Gold Card, you can earn 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
The Delta Gold Card has a varied offer history, but this offer is about average, considering the balance it strikes between a reasonable minimum spending requirement and a fair allotment of SkyMiles.
What is the Delta Gold Card welcome offer worth?
On average, AwardWallet users redeem Delta SkyMiles for 1.34¢ apiece. At this valuation, 80,000 bonus miles are worth over $1,000 toward award travel.
Delta Gold Card Benefits
The Delta Gold Card has a lengthy list of benefits that, if used, can help justify the cost of keeping this card long-term. Some of these were updated or added after changes to the card and its annual fee in February 2024.
First checked bag free
The free first checked bag is one of the best perks of the Delta Gold Card. Depending on how many checked bags you need, this benefit alone can justify getting the card.
Standard checked bag fees are $70 on a round-trip Delta flight, and this benefit provides tangible savings that add up quickly. As few as two round-trip flights with a checked bag will offset the card's second year $150 annual fee (Rates & Fees) — or one round-trip for two passengers.
The fee waiver applies for up to nine passengers traveling under the same reservation. That means you and up to eight travel companions on a single trip can all enjoy a free checked bag.
Priority boarding
With this card, you'll receive Zone 5 boarding on Delta flights, which allows you early access to the aircraft to get settled into your seat and stow your carry-on in the overhead bin sooner. This perk is also valid for up to nine passengers on the same reservation.
$0 introductory annual fee
The Delta Gold Card charges a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 (Rates & Fees). So, you get the welcome bonus without the annual fee for the first year, allowing you to increase your SkyMiles balance without investing lots of time or money. It also gives you time to see if you'll be able to get enough value out of the card to make the annual fee worth it.
Related: Top Rewards Cards With Introductory $0 Annual Fees
Save 15% on award travel
The Delta Gold Card is eligible for the TakeOff 15 award discount, which allows cardmembers to receive a 15% discount on Delta award travel when booking on delta.com or the Fly Delta app. This perk is available across all Delta American Express cards with the exception of the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card.
In-flight savings
Cardmembers receive 20% savings on eligible pre-purchased meals, plus in-flight food purchases, alcoholic beverages, and audio headsets on Delta-operated flights. The savings are issued as a statement credit when you charge in-flight purchases to your Delta Gold Card.
This benefit doesn't extend to in-flight Wi-Fi purchases, though the good news is that Delta is working on offering free onboard Wi-Fi for all SkyMiles members.
$100 Delta Stays credit
Receive up to $100 in statement credits annually for prepaid bookings made on delta.com/stays. No prior enrollment is required for this benefit. All you have to do is use your Delta Gold Card to pay for it.
$200 Delta flight credit
After you spend $10,000 in purchases in a calendar year, you will receive a $200 Delta flight credit that can be used for airfare on a Delta-marketed flight. The eCredit will be deposited to your Delta account. The credit expires within one year from the date of issuance and must be redeemed on or before the expiration date.
No foreign transaction fees
Use your card abroad without incurring foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees).
Insurance benefits
The Delta Gold Card also offers cardmembers the following travel and purchase protections:
- Baggage insurance plan: Covers up to $1,250 per person for carry-on or $500 for checked baggage, including up to $250 for high-risk items. This is in excess of coverage provided by your carrier.
- Car rental loss and damage insurance: Coverage is secondary to any other coverage you have, up to $50,000 per rental.
- Extended warranty: Adds another year of warranty coverage on an original U.S. manufacturer's warranty of five years or less, up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per calendar year.
- Purchase protection: Covers purchases made with the card against theft or accidental damage for up to 90 days and $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per calendar year. Coverage is limited to $500 in event of a natural disaster.
Delta Gold Card Earning Rates
The Delta Gold Card awards SkyMiles on a variety of purchases, including:
- 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
As a SkyMiles member using your Delta Gold Card to purchase Delta fares, you'll earn at least 7 miles for every dollar spent. This figure comes from the 5 miles earned for being a SkyMiles member, as well as the additional 2 miles for making the purchase using your Delta Gold Card.
As you move up the status ladder and climb the tiers toward Diamond Medallion status, you can earn up to 13 miles per dollar spent, factoring in both bonus SkyMiles from elite status plus the miles you earn from using your Delta Gold Card.
Redeeming SkyMiles Earned From the Delta Gold Card
One of the biggest downsides of the SkyMiles program is its lack of a publicly available award chart. It's frustrating to invest money, time, and effort being loyal to a rewards program, only to have them strip all transparency from how awards are priced. There isn't even a range of possible prices with Delta SkyMiles. All tools that show whether we're getting good value for our miles have been taken away, so it's hard to know how good a redemption is compared to others.
Redeem for award travel
Still, compared to all the ways to redeem SkyMiles, Delta award travel is your best option. Delta SkyMiles can be redeemed on Delta-operated flights plus on more than 20 partner airlines, including Air France, Aeromexico, KLM, Korean Air, LATAM, and more.
Delta's switch to fully dynamic pricing has disappointed many travelers. If you're wondering how many miles you can expect to redeem for a Delta award, we have assembled an unofficial Delta redemption chart to help remove the mystery of what you might pay for an award booking.
The upside to dynamic pricing is that Delta doesn't have blackout dates on its own flights. This means you can always use miles to fly Delta. However, partner awards are subject to the award availability released by each partner airline. We run through some of the best Delta sweet spots in our post on high-value SkyMiles redemptions.
Pay with Miles benefit
Pay with Miles allows you to redeem SkyMiles for any flight sold by Delta. Instead of paying the full cash price, you can redeem SkyMiles in blocks of 5,000 miles worth $50 towards the ticket price. Any portion of the ticket not covered by miles can be paid with your Delta Gold Card. You're effectively getting 1 cent per mile.
Given that SkyMiles are worth a little over a cent apiece on average based on AwardWallet user data, this isn't the best way to use your miles.
Other SkyMiles redemption options
In addition to flights, you can also redeem SkyMiles for the following:
- Booking a Delta Vacations package.
- Bidding on a SkyMiles Experiences auction.
- Upgrading your seat to Delta One, First Class, Delta Premium Select, or Delta Comfort+.
- Premium drinks in the Delta Sky Club®.
- Products and services, such as selecting Preferred Seats, ticket change fees, same-day confirmed fees, and external ticket charges.
- Checked bag fees.
- Delta gift cards.
Although it's nice to have many ways to redeem your miles, none of these redemption options will get you as much value as redeeming SkyMiles for award flights.
Delta Gold Card Application Restrictions
You're only eligible for a welcome bonus once ‘per lifetime' for each American Express card. This means you won't be eligible for the welcome offer if you've received a bonus before on the Delta Gold Card.
This also means it's important to apply when there's an increased welcome bonus. To help take the guesswork out of this, we compiled a full American Express card offer history with the best-ever offers and notes on when you should apply.
It used to be possible to apply and be approved for all four of the consumer Delta credit cards. However, Amex recently added a “family” rule for Delta cards. These new rules may make you ineligible for a welcome bonus on a new Delta card if you've previously had certain other Delta cards.
Per the Delta Gold Card application:
You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card or previous versions of these Cards.
Because of these new limitations, the Delta Gold Card may be the best Delta card to get first. Should you get the Delta Gold Card now and later decide a different version is a better fit, you'll be eligible to earn the welcome bonus on a higher-tier Delta card. The way the language is written, going from lower tier to higher tier Delta credit cards is the best approach.
Or, if you want to maintain your credit history, you can typically upgrade your card. Sometimes, Amex may offer bonus SkyMiles for doing so, but this depends on your account standing with the issuer.
Cards That Compete With the Delta Gold Card
Considering the Delta Gold Card, but want to make a more detailed choice? Here are three cards worth comparing it to:
- If you're a regular Delta flyer and want to earn a boost toward Medallion status, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card may be a good fit. The card has a $350 annual fee (Rates & Fees) but offers several more benefits than the Delta Gold Card. These include a companion certificate, a Delta elite status accelerator, statement credits for your application fee to airport security programs, and a lot more. Learn more in our Platinum Delta Amex review.
- If you're interested in more flexible travel rewards and are under 5/24, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees) is an excellent travel card that charges a $95 annual fee. Cardholders earn 5X on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ (2X on all other travel purchases); 3X on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries; and 1X on all other purchases. The Chase Sapphire Preferred also offers an annual $50 statement credit for hotel bookings through the Chase Travel℠ portal. However, we should note that Delta Air Lines is not one of the transfer partners. Read our full Sapphire Preferred review for more details.
- If you want flexible points you can transfer to Delta and other airlines, then consider the American Express® Green Card, which charges a $150 annual fee . Cardholders earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on all eligible travel, plus 3X Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide, and you can transfer those points to 21 airline and hotel partners. For more details, see our full Amex Green Card review.
(Terms apply)
- 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.
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
- 3x Membership Rewards® on travel
- 3x Membership Rewards® at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 3x Membership Rewards® on transit including trains, buses, ferries, subways, and more
- 1x Membership Rewards® on other purchases
Related: All Delta Credit Card Options, and How To Choose the Right Card for You
Bottom Line
The Delta Gold Card is a good choice for travelers who occasionally fly with Delta Air Lines and want a credit card with a modest annual fee and some useful benefits. The free first checked bag is one of the card's highlights and can offset the annual fee in as little as two round-trip flights. Plus, the 15% award discount makes the card a must-have for Delta flyers with large SkyMiles balances.
The card allows travelers to rack up SkyMiles which can then be used to fly with Delta or any of its partners in an extensive international network. Although SkyMiles are not some of the most valuable airline miles, they are still worth earning, especially is Delta is your carrier of choice.
- Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Enjoy a $0 introductory Annual Fee for the first year, then $150.
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express 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.
- $200 Delta Flight Credit: After you spend $10,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can receive a $200 Delta Flight Credit to use toward future travel.
- Earn 2X Miles on Delta purchases, at U.S. Supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- You can check your first bag free on Delta flights, saving up to $70 on a round-trip Delta flight per person. For a family of four that's a potential savings of up to $280 per round-trip flight.
- Receive Zone 5 Priority Boarding on Delta flights; board early, stow your carry-on bag and settle in sooner.
- $100 Delta Stays Credit: Get up to $100 back per year as a statement credit after using your Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card to book prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays on delta.com.
- 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.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- 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
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 Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees)
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