Here’s everything you need to know about the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card…
Overview
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is a nice option for occasional Delta fliers. With this card, you'll get a free checked bag, priority boarding, and a 15% award flight discount. The Delta Gold card is available as both a consumer card and a business card. And while the two versions of the Delta Gold card are nearly identical (other than slightly different bonus categories) they are considered different products and so it's possible to earn welcome bonuses for each. Those who fly Delta frequently may do better with a Delta Platinum card or Delta Reserve card.
Application Tips
Should you apply?
Many cards are worth getting for the welcome bonus alone. That’s often the case with this card. Welcome bonuses of 60,000 miles or more are common. If the welcome bonus is lower than that, I recommend waiting. Here are the current Delta Gold offers:
| Card Offer |
|---|
Limited Time Offer: Up to 80k miles 75k after $6k spend in first 6 months, plus an additional 5k miles after an eligible Delta purchase within the first 6 months. Offer ends 10/25/23. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees)$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Recent better offer: 75K after $2K spend in first 3 months [Expired 3/29/23] |
40K miles 40K miles after $2K spend in first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Recent better offer: 70K after $2K spending in first 3 months [Expired 3/30/23] |
This card is also worth considering if you plan to fly Delta and check bags more than once or twice a year. If so, the card’s free checked bag feature may quickly pay for itself.
If you’re a regular Delta flyer you may do even better with a Delta Platinum card. The Delta Platinum cards have a higher annual fee, but they include an annual main-cabin companion ticket that can be valuable, plus they add the ability to earn elite status through spend. See: Delta Platinum complete guide.
| Card Offer |
|---|
Limited Time Offer: Up to 100k miles 90k after $8k spend in first 6 months, plus an additional 10k miles after an eligible Delta purchase within the first 6 months. Offer ends 10/25/23. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees)$250 Annual Fee Recent better offer: 95K after $4K in first 3 months [Expired 3-29-23] |
50K miles 50K miles after $3K spend in 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$250 Annual Fee Recent better offer: 85K after $4K spending in first 6 months [Expired 8/2/23] |
If you’re also interested in SkyClub access and other high-end perks, an ultra-premium Delta Reserve card might be the best fit for you. See: Delta Reserve complete guide.
| Card Offer |
|---|
Limited Time Offer: Up to 110k miles 100k after $12k spend in first 6 months, plus an additional 10k miles after an eligible Delta purchase within the first 6 months. Offer ends 10/25/23. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$550 Annual Fee Recent better offer: Expired 8/2/23: 100K after spending $6K in first 3 months |
60K Miles 60K miles after $5K spend in first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$550 Annual Fee Recent better offer: Expired 8/2/23: 85K after spending $6K in first 6 months |
Are you eligible?
In most cases with Amex, if you’ve had the same card before, you can’t get a welcome bonus when signing up. Consider, though, that each variation of Delta card is considered a different product. Over time, it’s possible for you to earn the welcome bonus on all of the following cards since each one is a separate product:
| Card Offer Mini |
|---|
 Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card Limited Time Offer: Up to 80k miles ⓘ $938 1st Yr Value Estimate |
 Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card Limited Time Offer: Up to 100k miles ⓘ $914 1st Yr Value Estimate |
 Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card Limited Time Offer: Up to 110k miles ⓘ $676 1st Yr Value Estimate |
Here are additional Amex application tips:
Amex Application Tips
Check application status here. |
How to meet minimum spend requirements
In order to meet minimum spend requirements, people often look for options to increase spend in ways that result in getting their money back. These techniques are referred to as "manufacturing spend". American Express has terms in their welcome offers that exclude some manufactured spend techniques from counting towards the minimum spend requirements for the welcome bonus offer. For example, most new cardmember bonuses have terms like this:
Eligible purchases to meet the Threshold Amount do NOT include fees or interest charges, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, purchases of gift cards, person-to-person payments, or purchases of other cash equivalents.That said, many techniques for meeting minimum spend are perfectly fine. Here are some techniques that are safe for meeting Amex minimum spend requirements (click each link for more information):
Perks
Travel Perks
- 15% off award bookings: Cardholders get 15% off the mileage price of an award ticket when the entire itinerary is on Delta or Delta Connection.
- $100 Flight Credit: Spend $10,000 in purchases in a calendar year and receive a $100 Delta Flight Credit. Credit is valid for one year from the date issued. The credit is only valid for payment of tickets, including fare, surcharge and government-imposed taxes and fees imposed on the air transportation. It is not valid for other types of fees (including bag fees, change fees, upgrades or other ancillary purchases or fees with Delta)
- Priority boarding
- First checked bag free.
- 20% Back on In-Flight Purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
Travel Protections
- Baggage Insurance: Up to $500 per person for checked luggage, and up to $1,250 per person for carry-ons. Must pay transportation in full with your card to be covered. Details here.
- Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance: Secondary car rental insurance. Must pay for rental in-full with card. Details here.
Purchase Protections
Earn Miles
There are few ways to earn Delta SkyMiles with this card:
Welcome Bonus
Obviously, if eligible, you can earn miles by successfully signing up for this card and meeting the minimum spend requirements:
| Card Offer |
|---|
Limited Time Offer: Up to 80k miles 75k after $6k spend in first 6 months, plus an additional 5k miles after an eligible Delta purchase within the first 6 months. Offer ends 10/25/23. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees)$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Recent better offer: 75K after $2K spend in first 3 months [Expired 3/29/23] |
40K miles 40K miles after $2K spend in first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Recent better offer: 70K after $2K spending in first 3 months [Expired 3/30/23] |
Refer Friends
The refer-a-friend offer shown above for the Delta Platinum card was in effect when this post was first written. Offers can and do change over time. Consider this only an example of the type of offer you may find.
By logging into your American Express account, you should be able to find an offer to earn miles when referring friends. It's often the case, but not always, that your friends can get bigger bonuses through your referral link than through a public offer.
Note that your friends can use your referral link to apply for any Delta card. They are not limited to the one that you have. For example, a friend can use your Delta Gold or Delta Platinum friend-link to apply for the Delta Reserve card. Similarly, a Delta Reserve referral link can be used to apply for the Delta Gold or Delta Platinum card. Regardless of which Delta card they apply for, you will earn a referral bonus if they are approved.
Bonus Spend
It’s always possible to earn additional miles by using the card within it’s bonus categories. Note that the consumer and business cards offer slightly different bonuses. The consumer card offers 2X at U.S. Supermarkets whereas the business card offers 2X for U.S. advertising purchases in select media. Both offer 2X for dining and Delta spend:
| Card Info Name and Earning Rate (no offer) |
|---|
Earning rate: 2X Delta ⚬ 2X restaurants ⚬ 2X U.S. purchases for advertising in select media and U.S. shipping purchases (capped at $50k per year starting 1/1/24) |
Earning rate: 2X Delta ⚬ 2x restaurants worldwide ⚬ 2x US supermarkets |
Redeem Miles
You don’t need a Delta credit card to redeem Delta miles for award flights, but there are a couple of features that require having a Delta credit card: 15% discount and Pay with miles…
TakeOff 15 (15% Discount on Award Flights)
Delta offers a 15% award discount to members who have a Delta Gold, Delta Platinum, or Delta Reserve card. This discount is called “TakeOff 15.” Discounts do not apply to itineraries that include partner flights, but otherwise they are applied across the board.
We did some research to see whether Delta simply increased award prices for those without credit cards, but found instead that this is a true discount. Award prices relative to cash prices were pretty consistent before and after this feature was introduced and so we concluded that the 15% discount is real. See: No catch -- Delta’s 15% discount is real.
Pay with Miles
Delta's "Pay with Miles" feature is limited to primary cardholders of any Delta card (Blue, Gold, Platinum, or Reserve). This feature lets you pay for cash tickets in part or in full with Delta SkyMiles at a value of 1 cent per mile. You must pay in increments of 5,000 miles. Every 5,000 miles you apply decreases the ticket cost by $50. In other words, each mile is worth exactly 1 penny with this feature.
No miles earned: Flights that are paid for in this way earn full MQMs (Medallion Qualifying Dollars) and MQSs (Medallion Qualifying Segments). However, only the portion paid in cash earns redeemable SkyMiles and MQDs (Medallion Qualifying Dollars). The latter two issues reduce the value of the Pay with Miles feature.
Tip: Unless the full ticket amount is an exact multiple of $50, I recommend stopping short of paying the whole fare with miles since you'll get lower value from the last 5,000 miles. For example, if you want to use this feature and your ticket costs $228, I recommend paying 20,000 miles to decrease the cash cost to $28. Otherwise you would have to pay another 5,000 miles for that last $28 (which is a poor value).
Keep, cancel, or product change?
If you regularly make good use of the card’s free checked bags or the 15% award discount, then the card can be well worth keeping for either or both of these features. If that doesn’t apply to you, then when the second year annual fee comes due you’re probably better off cancelling or upgrading to a Delta Platinum or Reserve card (if you value the perks with those cards). Many other cards offer much better earnings on spend. See: Best cards for everyday spend.
Related Cards
Here’s a full list of Delta branded cards available in the United States:
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
FM Mini Review: Good choice for frequent Delta flyers who can make use of annual companion certificate $250 Annual Fee Earning rate: 3X Delta ⚬ 3X purchases made directly with hotels ⚬ 1.5X on purchases of $5K or more (max 50K extra miles per year) Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: Spend $25,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year and earn 10,000 Medallion(R) Qualification Miles (MQMs); spend a total of $50,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in a calendar year and earn an additional 10,000 MQMs (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Medallion Qualifying Dollar waiver up to Platinum status with $25K spend across one or more Delta cards or $250K spend for Diamond status (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Terms and limitations apply. Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Domestic economy companion certificate (subject to taxes & fees) each year upon card renewal ⚬ Priority boarding ⚬ First checked bag free on Delta flights ⚬ Terms and Limitations Apply. (Rates & Fees) |
FM Mini Review: Good choice for frequent Delta flyers who can make use of annual companion certificate $250 Annual Fee Earning rate: 3X Delta ⚬ 3X purchases made directly with hotels ⚬ 2X restaurants ⚬ 2X US Supermarkets Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: Spend $25,000 in purchases on the Card in a calendar year and earn 10,000 Medallion(R) Qualification Miles (MQMs); spend a total of $50,000 in eligible purchases on the Card in a calendar year and earn an additional 10,000 MQMs (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Medallion Qualifying Dollar waiver up to Platinum status with $25K spend across one or more Delta cards or $250K spend for Diamond status (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Terms and limitations apply. spend across one or more Delta cards (or $250K spend for Diamond status) ⚬ Terms apply. Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Domestic economy companion certificate (subject to taxes & fees) each year upon card renewal ⚬ Priority boarding ⚬ First checked bag free on Delta flights ⚬ Terms and Limitations Apply. (Rates & Fees) |
FM Mini Review: Excellent choice for frequent Delta flyers who can make use of SkyClub access and companion certificate. Also a good choice for big spenders seeking Delta elite status. $550 Annual Fee Earning rate: 3X Delta ⚬ 1.5X on all eligible purchases per calendar year after spending $150K Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: Earn 15K MQMs (towards elite status) after $30K spend up to four times per year (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Medallion Qualifying Dollar waiver up to Platinum status with $25K spend across one or more Delta cards or $250K spend for Diamond status (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ After you spend $150K in a calendar year, earn 1.5X miles per dollar on eligible purchases for the rest of the year (excludes Delta purchases after you meet the $150K requirement) ⚬ Terms and limitations apply. Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Domestic economy or first class companion certificate (subject to taxes & fees) after card renewal ⚬ SkyClub access (starting 2/1/25, 10 visits per year or unlimited visits after spending $75K/calendar year on the card) ⚬ 2 Delta SkyClub one-time guest passes ⚬ Centurion Lounge access when you book your Delta flight with your Reserve card ⚬ Complimentary upgrades ⚬ $100 Global Entry fee credit every 4 years (or 4.5 years for TSA Precheck) ⚬ Priority boarding ⚬ First checked bag free on Delta flights. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees) See also: Delta Reserve complete guide |
FM Mini Review: Excellent choice for frequent Delta flyers who can make use of SkyClub access and companion certificate. Also a good choice for big spenders seeking Delta elite status. $550 Annual Fee Earning rate: 3X Delta Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: Earn 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $30,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to four times per year (ends 1/1/24) ⚬ Complimentary upgrades ⚬ $100 Global Entry fee credit every 4 years (or 4.5 years for TSA Precheck) ⚬ Medallion Qualifying Dollar waiver (up to Platinum status) with $25K (ends 1/1/24) spend across one or more Delta cards (or $250K spend for Diamond status) ⚬ Terms apply. Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Domestic economy or first class companion certificate (subject to taxes & fees) after card renewal ⚬ SkyClub access (starting 2/1/25, 10 visits per year or unlimited visits after spending $75K/calendar year on the card) ⚬ 2 Delta SkyClub one-time guest passes ⚬ Centurion Lounge access when flying Delta ⚬ Complimentary upgrades ⚬ One statement credit every 4 years for the $100 Global Entry application fee or one statement credit every 4.5 years for the $85 TSA Precheck application fee ⚬ Priority boarding ⚬ First checked bag free on Delta flights. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees) See also: Delta Reserve complete guide |
FM Mini Review: Priority boarding and first checked bag free make this a reasonably good option for Delta flyers who do not have elite status. However, those who can make use of an annual companion certificate would do better with the Delta Platinum card. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Earning rate: 2X Delta ⚬ 2X restaurants ⚬ 2X U.S. purchases for advertising in select media and U.S. shipping purchases (capped at $50k per year starting 1/1/24) Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: $100 Delta flight credit after $10K in purchases in a calendar year Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Priority boarding, and first checked bag free on Delta flights. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees) |
FM Mini Review: Priority boarding, and free checked bag make this a reasonably good option for Delta flyers who do not have elite status. However, those who can make use of an annual companion certificate would do better with the Delta Platinum card. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 Earning rate: 2X Delta ⚬ 2x restaurants worldwide ⚬ 2x US supermarkets Card Type: Amex Credit Card Big spend bonus: $100 Delta flight credit after $10K in purchases in a calendar year Noteworthy perks: 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) ⚬ Priority boarding and first checked bag free on Delta flights. Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees) |
FM Mini Review: This card offers an OK welcome offer for a no-fee card, but many/most other cards offer better return for spend. No Annual Fee Earning rate: 2X restaurants worldwide ⚬ 2X Delta ⚬ 1X on all other eligible purchases Card Type: Amex Credit Card Noteworthy perks: 20% statement credit on in-flight purchases of food, beverages, and headsets Terms and limitations apply. (Rates & Fees) |
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Does the $200 in statement credits for home furnishing store purchases count toward the $2k minimum spend for the card itself?
To be clear: The $200 one spends that comes back as a statement credit…
My guess is yes, but I’d recommend spending the extra $200 just in case.