All Delta AmEx Cards Will Relaunch in 2020 With New Benefits
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The offers described in this article have expired. See our details pages on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card for updated offers.
If you have a Delta Air Lines credit card or are thinking about getting one, major changes will soon be appearing on your radar — and many of them are positive.
The airline and its issuing partner, American Express, are overhauling the benefits offered by the seven cards in the Delta portfolio, to take effect Jan. 30, 2020. The changes should make these airline cards more useful for everyday spending. But be aware that some benefits are being dropped, and some annual fees will rise.
In conjunction with the announcement of the new benefits, most Delta cards are also getting beefed-up bonus offers for new cardholders, although those offers are in effect only for October 2019. Read about those bonus offers here.
Here's what you need to know about the changes coming in January 2020.
What's changing for consumer cards
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
The $0-annual-fee Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card will earn 2 miles per dollar on all restaurant spending instead of only on "U.S." restaurant spending, as is currently the case. The rest of the card's earnings structure is unchanged: 2X miles on eligible Delta purchases and 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.
The card is eliminating its foreign transaction fee, currently 2.7%.
Cardholders will gain access to Delta's "Pay With Miles" feature, which offers a different way to use miles for travel. Under Pay With Miles, you can redeem miles toward the cash price of a ticket — 5,000 miles equals $50.
Terms apply.
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card will begin earning 2 miles per dollar spent at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, in addition to the 2X miles it currently earns on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. Other purchases will still earn 1 mile per $1.
You'll get a $100 Delta flight credit for future travel after spending $10,000 a year on the card.
You'll no longer be able to access Delta Sky Clubs. (Currently, you can get in for a rate of $29 per visit.)
The card is eliminating its "Medallion Qualification Dollar waiver." (You earn elite "medallion" status in Delta's frequent-flyer program by spending money with Delta and taking Delta flights. Currently, you can get a waiver for the spending requirement by putting a certain amount on your Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card each year. That waiver is being eliminated, effective Jan. 1, 2020.)
The annual fee will be $0 intro for the first year, then $150. Currently, it's $0 intro for the first year, then $95.
Terms apply.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card will earn 3 miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta; 3 miles per dollar on eligible hotel purchases; 2 miles per dollar at restaurants; and 2 miles per dollar at U.S. supermarkets. (Currently, the card's only bonus earning opportunity is 2X miles on eligible purchases made directly with Delta.) Other purchases will still earn 1 mile per $1.
Fee credit for either Global Entry or TSA Precheck.
Discounted access to Delta Sky Club will be $39 per visit. (Currently, you can get in for $29 per visit.)
The "Miles Boost" feature is changing its name to "Status Boost," and its rewards are being reduced. Currently, when you spend $25,000 in a year with this card, you earn 10,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles (which count toward elite status) and 10,000 bonus miles (which can be redeemed for flights). Spend an additional $25,000 in a calendar year, and you earn another 10,000 MQMs and another 10,000 bonus miles (for a total of 20,000 of each). Once the changes take effect in January 2020, you'll still earn the MQMs when you hit these spending thresholds, but you will not earn the bonus miles. (Other Delta cards with Miles/Status Boost have different earning thresholds and different boost amounts, but in all cases, the MQMs will still be awarded, while the bonus miles will not.)
The annual fee will be $350. Currently, it's $195.
Terms apply.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card will earn 3 miles per dollar on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. (Currently, the card offers 2X miles on eligible purchases made directly with Delta.) Other purchases will still earn 1 mile per $1.
Fee credit for either Global Entry or TSA Precheck.
You'll get complimentary access to American Express Centurion Lounges when you use the card to book a Delta flight. (This is in addition to the access the card gives you to Delta's own Sky Club lounges.)
You'll get two one-time guest passes to Delta Sky Clubs annually.
You'll get up to four status boosts annually, plus access to complimentary upgrades even if you don’t have elite or "medallion" status in Delta's frequent-flyer program.
You'll no longer be able to use Sky Priority Security Lane Access.
The "Miles Boost" feature is changing its name to "Status Boost," and its rewards are being reduced so that the boost earns only Medallion Qualifying Miles and not bonus miles. See the description above under the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card.
The annual fee will be $650. Currently, it's $450.
Terms apply.
What's changing for small-business cards
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card will begin earning 2 miles per dollar on U.S. shipping and U.S. advertising in select media, plus 2 miles per dollar at restaurants, in addition to the 2X miles it currently offers on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. Other purchases will still earn 1 mile per $1.
You'll get a $100 Delta flight credit for future travel after spending $10,000 a year on the card.
You'll no longer be able to access Delta Sky Clubs. (Currently, you can get in for a discounted rate of $29 per visit.)
The card's Medallion Qualification Dollar waiver is being eliminated. See the description above under the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card.
The annual fee will be $0 intro for the first year, then $150. Currently, it's $0 intro for the first year, then $95.
Terms apply.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card will earn 3 miles back at hotels; 3 miles on purchases made directly with Delta; and 1.5 miles back on every purchase of $5,000 or more. (Currently, the card's only bonus earning opportunity is 2X miles on eligible purchases made directly with Delta.) Other purchases will still earn 1 mile per $1.
Fee credit for either Global Entry or TSA Precheck.
Discounted access to Delta Sky Clubs will be $39 per visit. (Currently, you can get in for $29 per visit.)
The "Miles Boost" feature is changing its name to "Status Boost," and its rewards are being reduced so that the boost earns only Medallion Qualifying Miles and not bonus miles. See the description above under the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card.
The annual fee will be $350. Currently, it's $195.
Terms apply.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card will earn 3 miles back on purchases made directly with Delta and 1.5 miles back on purchases after you spend $150,000 on the card in a calendar year.
Fee credit for either Global Entry or TSA Precheck.
You'll get complimentary access to American Express Centurion Lounges when you use the card to book a Delta flight. (This is in addition to the access the card gives you to Delta's own Sky Club lounges.)
You'll get two one-time guest passes to Delta Sky Clubs annually.
You'll get up to four status boosts annually, plus access to complimentary upgrades even if you don’t have elite or "medallion" status in Delta's frequent-flyer program.
You'll no longer be able to use Sky Priority Security Lane Access.
The "Miles Boost" feature is changing its name to "Status Boost," and its rewards are being reduced so that the boost earns only Medallion Qualifying Miles and not bonus miles. See the description above under the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card.
The annual fee will be $650. Currently, it's $450.
Terms apply.
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