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The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is one of four personal co-brand Delta cards offered by American Express and represents substantial value for cardmembers that can take advantage of the perks and benefits the card offers. Highlights include a round-trip domestic coach companion certificate on account anniversary, bonus Medallion Qualification Miles (MQM’s) when you reach spending thresholds, free checked bags, and priority boarding.
(Effective 1/1/24, the Status Boost benefit and MQD benefit will no longer be available, and there will be a new way to earn toward Medallion Status with the Delta cards – Learn more.)
- 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.
Welcome Offer
New cardmembers can earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months. Like the other Delta credit cards, the Platinum Delta Amex occasionally runs increased welcome offers. The current offer is the standard offer for this card, so you may want to wait until the next limited-time offer rolls around.
Earning Potential and Category Bonuses
The Platinum Delta Amex improved its bonus categories in January 2020. You’ll now earn 3x miles for Delta purchases and at hotels and you'll also earn 2x miles at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets in addition to one mile per dollar on all other purchases. Despite the changes, there are still many other cards that earn more (or more valuable) miles in these categories, so this is a card to hold for the benefits rather than the points earned on everyday spending. Fortunately, the card provides plenty of benefits to compensate for the annual fee of $250. (Rates & Fees).
Platinum Delta Amex Feature Benefits
The Platinum Delta Amex is best suited to cardholders based in Delta hubs, or those that fly Delta on a regular basis but struggle to reach or maintain elite Medallion status. The recently rebranded “Status Boost” feature will help you earn extra MQM’s (when you reach spending thresholds). And taking advantage of free checked bags for the primary account holder and up to eight companions can readily account for the out-of-pocket expense of holding the card.
Status Boost
Earn 10,000 MQMs after you spend $25K in a calendar year, plus an additional 10,000 MQMs after you spend $50,000 in a calendar year. That’s potentially 20,000 MQMs! And while not everyone has the spending capacity to put $50K on a personal card, $25K is an achievable target for those folks attempting to reach status with Delta.
(Effective 1/1/24, the Status Boost benefit and MQD benefit will no longer be available, and there will be a new way to earn toward Medallion Status with the Delta cards – Learn more.)
First Checked Bag Free
One of the pains of modern air travel is the associated add-on fees levied on everything from checked bags and in-flight entertainment to food and blankets. Holding the Platinum Delta Amex can help negate a significant portion of these fees when flying Delta by providing the first checked bag free of charge for the primary cardholder and companions traveling on the same reservation. For example, checked baggage fees for a family of four, at $30 per bag, will net you savings of $120 each way or $240 per round-trip flight.
Annual Companion Certificate
The certificate allows another passenger to fly with you free of charge, paying only fees and taxes of no more than $75 for round-trip domestic economy flights. Only the primary traveler accrues miles for the companion fare. Seats are limited to specific fare booking classes and companions traveling on a Delta Companion Certificate are eligible for complimentary upgrades.
Priority Boarding
Cardholders and companions traveling on the same reservation receive zone 1 priority boarding on Delta flights. While it may not appear a big-ticket perk, for those that value prime overhead real estate to store carry-on luggage, having your bag where you want it is a sweet perk. Priority boarding is limited to a maximum of nine passengers traveling on the same reservation.
In-Flight Savings
The Platinum Delta Amex entitles cardmembers to 20% off eligible pre-purchased meals, and in-flight purchases of food, alcoholic beverages, and audio headsets, on Delta-operated flights. The savings are issued in the form of a statement credit when you charge in-flight purchases to your Platinum Delta Amex.
The card also advertises reduced fees for Delta Sky Club access as a feature benefit. However, you still pay $50 for the privilege, whereas you can get complimentary access to Sky Club when flying Delta with other cards (Effective 1/1/24, this benefit will no longer be available – Learn more.).
Ancillary Benefits and Insurance
Visit the feature & benefits page of Amex’s website for policy particulars on each of the listed benefits.
- 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.
- Trip Delay Insurance – Covers delays of more than 12 hours for up to $300 per covered trip. (maximum of 2 claims per 12 consecutive months)
- Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance – Coverage is secondary up to a maximum of $50,000 per rental (we cover cards offering primary auto rental cover in this post)
- Extended Warranty – Extends warranty coverage on purchases that come with an original U.S. manufacturer's warranty of 5 years or less for up to 1 additional year, 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, max $50,000 per calendar year
Application Restrictions
As with all Amex credit and charge cards, you can only earn the welcome offer on the Platinum Delta Amex card once.
“Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.”
If you have held this card in the past, there is zero chance of you receiving the welcome offer for the second time.
The good news is that Delta is the most generous legacy carrier when it comes to the number of co-brand cards available, and holding one Delta co-brand card does not preclude you from applying for either the business version of the same card or another card in the Delta Amex lineup. The other Delta cards on offer include:
- Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Amex also counts some restrictions on the overall number of credit cards you can hold at any one time which we cover in more detail in our post explaining credit card application restrictions.
Final Thoughts
The Platinum Delta Amex is our personal favorite of the Delta co-brand cards. With the opportunity to earn additional MQMs when you cross spending thresholds, the Platinum Delta Amex can help boost your chances of reaching Medallion elite status. The card is one of the only ways of earning MQMs outside of butt-in-seat miles on Delta flights. The free checked bags for cardholders and companions can easily offset the annual fee of $250, and the companion certificate can be a valuable perk if you can navigate the modest restrictions on redemptions.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Delta SkyMiles® Platinum 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.
Flying to London in October to see Eagles/Jaguars and go around UK.
have miles at both American and Delta. flying from SFO. any advantage to using one over the other? thanks!
Use whichever one costs less.
This was a terrific card until this year’s devaluation of its capacity to facilitate a waiver on the amount of money spent to achieve Diamond Medallion status. The spend requirement went from $25K to $250K.
My Delta Co-Branded Platinum card consequently went from daily use to useless. The account is now downgraded to a “Blue” level, and the card will soon be fed to the shredder.
Thanks for the review!
As Howie said, the annual fee is not waived. However, it’s possible to get $25 off the fee plus an extra 2K miles. By making a purchase on Delta’s website you get a $100 statement credit. My purchase was to buy 2K Delta miles at the somewhat high price of $75. After that my $100 credit kicked in. So I got a total of 72K Delta miles and the annual fee was reduced to $170. ($195+$75, minus $100)
IMHO, 70K bonus miles has to be taken fairly seriously, especially as I like to travel in the pointy part of the plane when going to Europe. 🙂
I am not sure if delta miles are worth earning beyond the sign up bonus.
Thanks for the info
I have this card and also have the delta gold. Is it worth keeping both when it is time to renew? I don’t travel that much maybe 2 or 3 times a year.
If the benefits don’t cover the cost of holding the card then it’s worth considering your options. These cards are best suited to folks regularly traveling Delta that can take advantage of the free checked bags, priority boarding, etc.
Don’t see how this card makes sense at 1 mile per dollar. Sure you get 10k bonus at a 25k spend but that means you’ve given up 25k points on another card that gives 2x per dollar let alone some other cards that give 3 or 5x for some categories. This is a one and done card for the initial signup bonus only then cancel.
signed up 2 years ago and got the bonus! haven’t found a use for the miles though. Thanks!
I have the Gold Delta Skymiles card. I only use it to purchase Delta tickets once or twice a year. I keep this credit card to avoid baggage fees.
Not a bad offer for frequent Delta flyers
We do have this card and enjoy the companion pass and extra perks for spending on it. Wish they would not have made the Diamond status unattainable via spend. 🙁
Lots of appealing things for those that carry everything with them….free checked luggage and priority boarding to get your hand baggage up in the locker before others do!
Exactly the card I’m applying for next.
This appears to be a pretty decent value offer.
I assume the annual fee isn’t waived the first year, since you didn’t mention it. Can the companion certificate be transfered (Is it a code or printable coupon?), or is it tied to your Delta credit card?
Thanks.
The annual fee is not waived. The companion certificate can be used by anyone, however, the fare must be purchased with an American Express card. It is an electronic code.
good review.
The 70K is a good offer. It appears they’ve been trying to boost up the sign in bonuses lately, I recall seeing a 60K on the gold one.
Yeah Amex seems to do 60/70k once a year of late.
Although I might get this Card someday for the sign up bonus, I agree it would be nice to have bonus categories or something to get better value from regular spend. I only travel with a carryon bag that fits under the seat. So waived checked bag fees and priority boarding are not benefits.
So, another article on Delta, interesting.
Gotta get the info out there. We had nothing on this card and given its benefits, it made sense. I say this as a diamond with delta and a million miler.
LTOs for this 70k bonus occur fairly regularly, but that said, it’s still the highest ever offered, AFAIK. Regardless, any time one can earn enough miles for an int’l RT in main cabin, or OW in J, it’s a good sign-up offer.
no objections here.