Our Take
4.1
NerdWallet rating
The bottom line:
If you travel often for business and fly Delta, the rewards and perks on this card could easily make up for the annual fee. But if you're not tied to Delta, this might not be a match for you.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
Annual fee
$350
Regular APR
20.24%-29.24% Variable APR
Intro APR
N/A
Apply now
on American Express' website
More details from American Express
- Welcome Offer: Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after spending $6,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Enjoy a Companion Certificate each year after renewal of your Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card. The Companion Ticket requires payment of the government-imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights and no more than $250 for roundtrip international flights (both for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Earn 1.5X miles* on eligible transit and U.S. shipping purchases, plus single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more. Terms and miles cap apply. *If your purchase qualifies for a category that has a higher mileage accelerator, only the higher accelerator will apply.
- Get closer to elevated Status next Medallion® Year with MQD Headstart and MQD Boost: receive $2,500 Medallion Qualification Dollars each Medallion Qualification Year and earn $1 MQD for each $20 of purchases with your Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card.
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card Members save 15% 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.
- With the $120 Resy Credit, earn up to $10 per month in statement credits on eligible Resy purchases using your enrolled Card.
- Earn up to $10 back each month after using your enrolled Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card for U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers.
- Not a Medallion Member? Card Members with an eligible ticket will be added to the Complimentary Upgrade list, after Delta SkyMiles Medallion Members and Reserve Card Members.
- Receive Zone 5 Priority Boarding on Delta flights; board early, stow your carry-on bag and settle in sooner.
- Elevate your travel experience with an annual statement credit of up to $200 after using your Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card to book prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays on delta.com.
- Terms and limitations apply.
View Rates & Fees
Pros & Cons
Pros
- High rewards rate
- Free checked bag
- Early boarding
- Companion benefit
Cons
- Has annual fee
- Requires good/excellent credit
Compare to Other Cards
at American Express | at Chase | at American Express |
Annual fee $350 | Annual fee $95 | Annual fee $375 |
Regular APR 20.24%-29.24% Variable APR | Regular APR 20.74%-26.74% Variable APR | Regular APR 18.74%-27.74% Variable APR |
Intro APR N/A | Intro APR N/A | Intro APR 0% intro APR on purchases for 6 months from the date of account opening |
Recommended credit score 690-850good - excellent | Recommended credit score 690-850good - excellent | Recommended credit score 690-850good - excellent |
Full Review
For small-business owners looking for a credit card with Delta Air Lines benefits, the
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
may glide to the top of the list.In the family of Delta AmEx business cards, it's the middle option, offering valuable — and in some cases, hard-to-find — travel benefits for an annual fee of
$350
. And you don’t need to have a hardcore business with a storefront or employees to qualify. A side hustle might qualify you.The card is not as flexible for earning and redeeming points as a general travel card. But if you’re tied to Delta for business-trip flights, the card’s companion certificate and raft of rewards and perks can defray travel costs and hassles, all while giving you signficant boosts toward elite frequent-flyer status.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card: Basics and benefits
To view rates and fees of the
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
, see this page.Card type: Small business and airline.
Annual fee:
$350
Welcome bonus:
Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after spending $6,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.
Rewards:
- 3 miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta.
- 3 miles per dollar spent on hotels.
- 1.5 miles on transit, at U.S. shipping providers and on eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (up to $100,000 of combined eligible purchases per year).
- 1 mile per eligible dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Terms apply.
NerdWallet values Delta miles at
1.2 cents
each. This is a baseline value, drawn from real-world data on hundreds of economy routes, not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 1.2 cents
or more in value from your Delta miles.Foreign transaction fee: None.
APR:
The ongoing APR is 20.24%-29.24% Variable APR
.Other benefits:
- Companion certificate: Covers a traveling partner. Terms apply.
- Boosts toward elite status. The card helps you achieve the flying and spending requirements for elite status. Beginning January 1, 2024, 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.
- The first checked bag free for you and up to eight others on your reservation.
- Priority boarding, which allows you to get on the plane early.
- Credit for the application fee for TSA Precheck or Global Entry. Card members are eligible to receive either one $120 statement credit every 4 years for the application fee for Global Entry or one $85 statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA Precheck.
- Terms apply.
Highlights of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
Companion certificate
The
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
is one of the few airline cards to feature an annual companion certificate, which covers a travel partner's airfare. This valuable feature alone can make up for the card's annual fee.Say you were buying round-trip tickets for you and a colleague at $800 apiece, plus taxes and fees. If you redeemed this benefit, you wouldn't have to drop more than $1,600 on that getaway; aside from paying the taxes and fees on the ticket (which are capped at $75), you'd essentially get your trip for half the price.
You can redeem the companion benefit for a round-trip ticket in the main cabin departing and arriving in the 48 contiguous United States. (There are exceptions to this rule for cardholders who live in Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands.) You would need to book flights with your companion that have the same times and dates, and make the purchase using the
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
. You'll get this benefit annually when your card is renewed. Terms apply.Path to elite status
Not all airline cards give you a way to reach elite status faster, but the
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
allows you to earn Medallion Qualifying Dollars with your credit card spending. You get elite status on Delta by spending money with the airline (called Medallion Qualifying Dollars or MQDs) and by flying. You can qualify for the lowest tier of elite status, Silver, with 25,000 MQMs. The card gives you a head start and status boost:
- Receive $2,500 MQDs each Medallion Qualification Year.
- Earn $1 MQD for every $20 spent on yourDelta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card.
- Terms apply.
Free checked bags
The checked-bag benefit is especially generous. You’ll get a first checked bag free for you and up to eight others on your reservation. Terms apply. You might rarely have that many traveling companions, but fully used, that’s a savings of up to $630 on a round-trip flight ($35 per person each way). You would break even on the annual fee with just a few traveling partners, assuming you would have otherwise paid to check bags.
Priority boarding
If you don’t typically check bags, then it’s nice to have the priority boarding that comes with the card. It will get you on the plane earlier — in this case, Zone 5 Priority Boarding. Terms apply. That means you’re more likely to find overhead bin space for your roll-aboard. Some flyers like to board earlier to get settled in their seat before the cabin fills. Either way, priority boarding can be a welcome perk.
» MORE: NerdWallet's best airline cards
Welcome bonus
New-cardholder bonuses can change periodically, but the card typically gives you enough miles to snag a domestic award flight, assuming you can meet the required spending. The current bonus:
Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after spending $6,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.
Note that if you've had this American Express credit card in the past, you’re unlikely to qualify for the bonus. And you might be rejected for the bonus because of other account history with American Express.
Other perks
- In-flight discount. Get 20% savings in the form of a statement credit on purchases such as food, beverages and audio headsets onboard. Note that inflight wireless internet access does not qualify for a discount.
- $120 Rideshare credit. Earn up to $10 in monthly statement credits when you use yourDelta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Cardto pay for U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers.
- No foreign transaction fees. Good travel cards generally don’t charge this fee — 3% is common — for making purchases abroad. This Delta card doesn’t, either. However, this card operates on the American Express network, which isn’t as widely accepted abroad as Visa and Mastercard.
- Terms apply.
Business-friendly features
Like all of AmEx’s business credit cards, the
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
features a suite of benefits designed for business owners, including:- The American Express Business App. This feature allows you to add receipts and notes to your transactions on desktop or mobile.
- Employee cards. There’s a $0 fee for adding employee cards to your account. You can set individual spending limits on these cards and set up various alerts to monitor spending.
- Year-end summary. This report, typically available in January, will show purchases made on your account during the previous calendar year.
- Terms apply.
These features make it easy to track your company’s spending and can come in handy at tax time.
How it compares with other Delta business credit cards
Delta and American Express offer three credit card options for business owners, each at a very different annual fee. Examining card features side by side helps when choosing.
Annual fee | $0 intro for the first year, then $150 (see rates and fees) | $350 (see rates and fees) | $650 (see rates and fees) |
Rewards on Delta purchases | 2x | 3x | 3x |
Rewards besides bonus miles on Delta purchases and 1x on everything else | 2x on U.S. shipping purchases and U.S. advertising in select media (up to $50,000 per category, per year). Terms apply. | 3x on hotels, 1.5x on purchases of $5,000 or more. Terms apply. | 1.5x on all purchases after spending $150,000. Terms apply. |
Companion certificate | No | Yes (main cabin) | Yes (main cabin, Delta Comfort+ or first class) |
Sky Club airport lounge access | No | No | Yes, plus Centurion Lounge |
Global Entry or TSA Precheck credit | No | Yes | Yes |
Free first checked bag on Delta flights? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Early boarding? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Elite status boost? | No | Yes | Yes |
» MORE: Want a consumer card instead? Read NerdWallet's comparison of consumer Delta credit cards.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card: Drawbacks and alternatives
Annual fee
The annual fee of
$350
is middling for this type of business airline card — not a fee associated with a basic card, but also not the huge $500-plus fee you see on luxury credit cards or ones with airport lounge access. Terms apply. Be sure you can extract more value from the card than you’re paying to hold it.An example of a travel credit card with a lower annual fee is the
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
. It earns 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each year, and 1 point per dollar on everything else. Points are worth 1.25 cents apiece when redeemed for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal. It has a jumbo welcome bonus and a more palatable fee.Reward redemptions
Typically, the best redemption options for Delta SkyMiles are award flights and seat upgrades on Delta and its SkyTeam partners. That’s limiting compared with general travel business credit cards, which allow you to apply rewards to a wide range of travel-related expenses.
If you mix your flying with airlines other than Delta, a general travel card might be a better fit.
A good choice for small businesses is the
Capital One Spark Miles for Business
. It earns an unlimited 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar on all other purchases. Miles can be redeemed for statement credit against any travel purchase. Book however you want, then use miles to pay for it, with no blackout dates or restrictions.No lounge MEMBERSHIP
As of January 1, 2024, this card includes no lounge benefit (it previously offered discounted access). To get access to Delta Sky Clubs and Centurion lounges, you'll need to upgrade to the
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
, which has an annual fee of $650
. (Day passes to the lounge are no longer openly available to all Delta flyers but used to cost $59.)You can also get into Delta Sky Clubs with a great general travel card for business,
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
, with an annual fee of $695
. Terms apply (see rates and fees).Is the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card right for you?
The
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
offers a lot of value for avid Delta flyers, especially if you're chasing elite status on the airline. But you have to extract enough value from the card to make up for the annual fee. If you fly several airlines, consider a general travel card for business.To view rates and fees of the
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
, see this page. To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
, see this page. To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
, see this page. To view rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
, see this page.Apply now
on American Express' website
New elevated offer
