text: American Express Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card Review - Dr. Credit Card
  American Express Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card Review (Personal & Business)
  Updated June 13, 2022. ​For the temporary benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, please see our featured review.
  ​The Facts
  This review covers both the personal and business versions of Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card.
  American Express Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card (Personal)
  Annual Fee: $250
  Signup Bonus: 90,000 miles after you spend $3,000 within 3 months of new account opening. Bonus is not available to applicants who have or had this card or previous versions of this card. Historical best bonus: (1) 90K miles + $200 home furnishing credits in 2021; (2) 90K miles + $200 with a Delta purchase in 2021; (3) 90K miles + 10K MQMs in 2021; (4) 90K miles in 2021; (5) 80K miles (upon signup) + 20K miles (upon renewal) in 2020; (6) 75K miles + 5K MQMs + $100 credit in 2019; (7) 70K miles + 10K MQMs + $100 credit several times in the past years.
  Personal Card Landing Page
  Rewards: 3x Delta & hotels, 2x dining & U.S. supermarkets, and 1x everywhere else.
  Best Use of SkyMiles: SkyMiles is the frequent flyer program of Delta Air Lines, a member of SkyTeam. Usually, Delta miles are best for redeeming for awards tickets on Delta or partner airlines. The value of miles depends on your itinerary; there used to be decent or great value especially when redeeming for premium cabins on international long haul flights; however, with devaluations over the years, it is getting harder to find value more than 1 cent per mile. With Amex Delta cards, you might also choose "Pay with Miles" option for Delta flights, which essentially provides fixed value at 1 cent per mile.
  Delta Benefits: (1) One free companion certificate (only valid in the contiguous U.S.) upon each anniversary, which is good on any economy fares - you can take your companion for free when you purchase your ticket and pay taxes and fees for your companion (up to $75). (2) Status Boost: receive 10,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQM) when you spend at least $25,000 in a calendar year, and additional 10,000 MQMs when you spend at least $50,000 in a calendar year. (3) Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) waiver: when you spend at least $25,000 in a calendar year, the MQD requirement towards Delta Silver, Gold, or Platinum elite status will be waived. (4) The first checked bag free for the primary cardholder plus 8 passengers on the same reservation. (5) Receive Main Cabin 1 priority boarding (same as Delta Silver Medallion elites) for the primary cardholder plus 8 passengers on the same reservation. (6) Receive 20% discount for in-flight purchases including food & beverage, headsets, etc. but excluding Wi-Fi or charitable donations. (7) Purchase Delta Sky Club day pass for $39.
  Other Benefits: (1) Reimbursement for Global Entry ($100) or TSA PreCheck ($85) application fees every four years. (2) Amex Offers - you receive savings in form of statement credit or earn bonus miles on select merchants when using your Amex card; you need to manually add an offer to your Amex card to be eligible for savings or bonus, and unlike other savings/bonus programs, you don't need to shop through a certain portal. (3) ShopRunner membership for free 2-day shipping with select merchants. (4) Waived foreign transaction fees and embedded EVM chip. (5) Entertainment Access including American Express Presale, American Express Preferred Seating, and Premium Access (Dining Access).
  History: In May 2014, Amex added waived foreign transaction fees and embedded EMV chip but increased the annual fees from $150 to $195. In January 2020, Amex added Delta & hotels as 3x categories, dining & grocery as 2x categories, and Global Entry / TSA PreCheck application reimbursement, removed redeemable miles booster for $25K or $50K spending (while keeping the MQM booster), and increased the annual fees from $195 to $250.
  American Express Delta SkyMiles Platinum BUSINESS Card
  The business version shares most of the features with the personal version with the following differences.
  Signup Bonus: 100,000 miles after spending $4,000 within 3 months of new account opening. Bonus is not available to applicants who have or had this card or previous versions of this card. Historical best bonus: (1) 90K miles + $100 statement credit in 2021; (2) 100K miles in 2022; (3) 80K miles upon signup + 20K miles upon renewal in 2020; (4) 80K miles + 5K MQMs + $100 credit in 2019.
  Business Card Landing Page
  Rewards: 3x Delta & hotels, 1.5x for each purchase over $5,000 (up to 50,000 additional miles per year), and 1x everywhere else.
  History: the business version used to have all the features of the personal version; however, starting January 2020, Amex started differentiating the two versions, albeit slightly for now.
  Our current valuation of SkyMiles is 1cent per mile, and obviously we won't recommend either card for general spending. The 3x, 2x, and 1.5x categories might make sense to some, but in general, you probably will be better off with a non-fee 2% cashback card such as Citi Double Cash or Fidelity Visa. After the first year, either card will only be valuable to those who can make use of the Delta benefits including annual companion certificate, MQM booster for $25K or $50K spending, MQD waiver towards Silver/Gold/Platinum for $25K spending, first bags free, priority boarding, etc.
  Delta Platinum Amex vs. Delta Gold Amex: The difference in annual fees is now $151. With that on Delta Platinum Amex, you receive one annual companion certificate which could be very useful if you fly Delta. In addition, Delta flyers who are short of MQMs and/or MQDs will find the MQM booster and/or MQD waiver valuable. The bottom line is that if you make use of the companion certificate, the MQM booster, or MQD waiver, you want to consider Delta Platinum Amex instead of Delta Gold Amex
  We could recommend Delta Platinum Amex after the first year only when you can make use of the annual companion certificate and other Delta perks.