[Final Hours For Increased Offers, Now Earn Status Without Flying Or Spending] After Unprecedented Devaluation, Delta Releases Increased Business Credit Card Welcome Bonus Offers; Updated Card Comparison Chart

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Update, 10/25: Delta has partially rolled back their devaluation and added new card benefits that mean you can get elite status just for having Delta cards!

The offers below end at 9:59pm ET tonight!

Originally posted on 9/14:

Delta card offers and post-devaluation timing:

American Express has released limited-time offers on their portfolio of Delta business credit cards through 10/25:

• Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express
• Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express
• Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card

Airlines used to time devaluations to occur after limited time card bonuses, but I guess that has changed as United released limited time offers just after devaluing a few months ago and now Delta is doing the same.

While it might no longer make sense to spend on Delta card, it may be worth opening one for the bonus points or cardholder benefits. Or you may want to stick to options that don’t devalue as often as Delta does.

Welcome bonus and card highlights:

• Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express:
  • Earn up to 80,000 bonus miles. Earn 75,000 miles after spending $6,000 in the first 6 months of card membership. Plus, earn an additional 5,000 Bonus Miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase with your new card within your first 6 months.
  • $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99.
  • After you spend $10,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you will earn a $100 Delta Flight Credit to use toward future travel.
  • Earn 2 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta, on every dollar spent on eligible U.S. purchases for advertising in select media, on every dollar spent on eligible U.S. shipping purchases, and on every eligible dollar spent on dining at restaurants.
  • For rates and fees of the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express, please visit here.

• Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express:
  • Earn up to 100,000 bonus miles. Earn 90,000 miles after spending $8,000 in the first 6 months of card membership. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 Bonus Miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase with your new card within your first 6 months.
  • If you spend $25,000 in 2023 you’ll receive 10,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles. If you spend $50,000 in 2023 you’ll receive another 10,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles.
  • Effective 1/1/24, earn 1 MQD for every $20 spent.
  • Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit.
  • Earn 3 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta and on every eligible dollar spent on purchases made directly with hotels.
  • Earn 1.5 miles per dollar on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, up to 50,000 additional miles per year. 1 Mile on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases.
  • Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card.
  • $800 of Cell phone protection when previous month’s cell phone bill is paid on card.
  • $250 annual fee.
  • For rates and fees of the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express, please visit here.

• Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card:
  • Earn up to 110,000 bonus miles. Earn 100,000 miles after spending $12,000 in the first 6 months of card membership. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 Bonus Miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase with your new card within your first 6 months.
  • In 2023, earn 15,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles with every $30,000 spent, up to 60,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles.
  • Effective 1/1/24, earn 1 MQD for every $10 spent.
  • Upgrade priority for elite members.
  • Access for non-elites to get complimentary upgrades on Delta domestic flights.
  • Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit.
  • Earn 3 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta.
  • After you spend $150,000 on your Card in a calendar year, you earn 1.5 Miles per dollar on eligible purchases the rest of the year.  Eligible purchases after spending $150,000 do not include Delta purchases.
  • This card includes a Domestic annual Companion Certificate that is valid for a round-trip First Class, Delta Comfort or Main Cabin Companion ticket.
  • In 2023, complimentary Delta Sky Club® Access and complimentary access to The Centurion Lounge when flying on a same-day Delta-marketed or Delta-operated flight. You’ll also receive two Delta Sky Club One-Time Guest Passes each year.
  • Starting 2024, 10 annual complimentary Delta Sky Club® visits and complimentary access to The Centurion Lounge when flying on a same-day Delta-marketed or Delta-operated flight. You’ll also receive two Delta Sky Club One-Time Guest Passes each year. Spend $75K annually to unlock unlimited Delta Sky Club® visits.
  • $800 of Cell phone protection when previous month’s cell phone bill is paid on card.
  • $550 annual fee.
  • For rates and fees of the Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card, please visit here.

Comparison Chart:

Here is a current breakdown on Delta card benefits:

Benefits offered on all Delta Gold, Platinum, and Reserve cards:

• Offer a free checked bag for the primary cardholder and up to 8 companions on the same reservation. You do not need to book tickets on your Delta card for this benefit, you only need to have your Skymiles number in the reservation. That allows you to buy airfare on a card that offers more points per dollar on airfare.
• Have no foreign transaction fees.
• Offer Zone 1 Priority Boarding on Delta flights for the primary cardholder and up to 8 companions on the same reservation so that you won’t have to gate-check your carry-ons.
• Offer free priority boarding along with a free carry-on and checked bag even on a Basic Economy fare. That can equal major savings on domestic and international basic economy deals.
• Offer a 20% savings in the form of a statement credit on eligible pre-purchased meals, in-flight purchases of food, alcoholic beverages and audio headsets, and movies, shows and video games accessed via Delta’s seatback in-flight entertainment system, on Delta-operated flights.
• Offer free additional cardholders (up to 99 per account). Additional cardholders are each eligible for American promotions like AMEX Offers.

Spend Threshold:

If you need a little help to meet the threshold, you can pay your federal taxes for a 1.85% fee). If you overpay your taxes you can request a refund or apply it to your next year’s taxes.

My local natural gas company allows me to prepay up to $1,000 per transaction on a credit card for a $1.65 flat fee. That’s a great way to earn miles and help meet a spend threshold. My electricity supplier allows me to pay with a credit card for free as long as I am enrolled in autopay.

American Express benefits:

The cards carry American Express’ awesome top-notch protections that are light-years better than any other banks. Most other banks always look for a way to get out, but that’s not the case with American Express.

Benefits include warranty coverage, dispute resolution, car rental insurance worldwide-including in Israel, purchase protection, and more. The Reserve card also comes with lost item and return protection.

AMEX cards offer free Shoprunner membership for 2nd day free shipping and returns from dozens of stores.

See this post to see just how amazing some of the AMEX protections can be.

Best Uses Of Delta Miles:

Delta doesn’t publish award charts anymore as they feel that an uneducated customer is their best customer. That’s beyond frustrating.

They don’t charge a close-in award fee, but it can be tough to find saver award space available within 3 weeks.

However there are still plenty of good uses of Delta miles. Plus, Delta miles never expire.

Delta has also lowered the cost of some domestic saver awards from a flat 12.5K to as low as 4.5K, depending on the route.

They frequently run flash sales, and sometimes those cover business class. I flew to Amsterdam for just 49K Delta miles each way in Delta Suites:

You can read the Amsterdam trip report and my thoughts on Delta A350 suites here.

If you actually want to collect Delta miles you’ll do better spending on the The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express which earns 2 points per dollar everywhere. Plus you can transfer those points to other airlines or Delta on demand as you need them.

However the MQD bonuses can make it worth spending on the Delta Platinum/Reserve cards if you want to earn elite status.

Which of the Delta AMEX cards will you apply for?

• For rates and fees of the Delta Business Gold AMEX, click here.
  
• For rates and fees of the Delta Business Platinum AMEX, click here.
  
• For rates and fees of the Delta Business Reserve AMEX, click here.