Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Credit Card Review 2024

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is one of the premium card choices among the Delta SkyMiles credit card options and offers significant value to frequent Delta Air Lines flyers seeking a boost to the next elite status level.

New cardholders receive 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months of card membership as part of the welcome bonus.

The Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card now comes with a few available statement credits that could provide nearly $400 in combined value. These include an up to $150 Delta Stays credit, a $120 annual rideshare credit (up to $10 per month) and a $120 annual Resy credit (up to $10 per month). The rideshare and Resy credits require enrollment before you can begin earning the $10 monthly credits.

Each year you renew your card membership, you’ll receive a Delta Companion Certificate in your SkyMiles account—one of the best perks of this card. The certificate can be used to book a companion flight in the U.S., Caribbean or Central America for only the cost of taxes and fees. Previously, cardholders could only use this perk for flights within the continental U.S., so adding Alaska, Hawaii and international destinations significantly increases the utility of this card.

Only Main Cabin flights qualify for the companion ticket perk, which means you can’t fly in First Class, but you can still save a significant sum of money by booking two tickets for the price of one. To squeeze the most value out of this card, try to use the companion perk for a flight that costs at least $250.

• $350 annual fee
• Earn 3 miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2 miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets and 1 mile per dollar on other eligible purchases.
• Welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months of card membership.
• Free checked bag and priority boarding for you and up to eight companions traveling on the same reservation
• 20% statement credit for in-flight purchases made on your card
• Complimentary upgrade list
• Hertz Five Star Status
• Annual statement credits
• 15% off award redemptions on Delta flights

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is ideal for Delta loyalists who want some premium perks like a Companion Certificate but might not need Delta Sky Club access or don’t mind flying in the Main Cabin. It could also be a good fit if you use rideshares at least once per month and live near Resy restaurants as you’ll have the best chance of maximizing the card’s available statement credits. If you can fully utilize those statement credits as well as the Companion Certificate, you can easily receive more value from this card than its annual fee.

Earning Rewards

The Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card earns 3 miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2 miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets and 1 mile per dollar on other eligible purchases.

The card comes with a welcome bonus of 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first 6 months of card membership.

Remember that American Express welcome bonus rules are quite strict. If you received a welcome bonus on the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card before, you may not qualify to receive another offer on this particular card.

Redeeming Rewards

Delta’s loyalty program isn’t the most user-friendly when it comes time to redeem miles as SkyMiles no longer publishes award charts on its website. The program’s dynamic pricing model makes it hard to find outsized value on award tickets. In many cases, the higher a ticket’s cash price, the more it will cost in miles as well.

One of the best opportunities to redeem SkyMiles is through SkyMiles Deals. You’ll find that redemption rates are lower than usual to particular destinations during these sales. In the past, we’ve seen sales to Australia, the Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii.

Delta is a founding member of the SkyTeam Alliance, so you can redeem SkyMiles to book award seats on itineraries operated by other SkyTeam members, including Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeroméxico, Air France/KLM, China Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines and more.

Other less-valuable ways to use SkyMiles include Pay with Miles and enrolling in a Delta Sky Club membership. These are not recommended because the value per mile is reduced to just 1 cent, which is below the value you can often get when redeeming for flights.

Rewards Potential

To determine the rewards potential of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card we look at the bonus categories and calculate what an average household might spend in those areas. Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies to determine baseline income and spending averages across various categories. The 70th percentile of wage earners brings in $118,438 annually and we base spending on that number. The following breakdown assumes all airline purchases are made with Delta Air Lines.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card Rewards Potential
Category	Earning Rate	Estimated Annual Spend	Estimated Annual Earnings
Delta Airlines	3X	$770	2,310
Hotels	3X	$2,858	8,574
Groceries	2X	$7,243	14,486
Restaurants	2X	$4,622	9,244
All other purchases	1X	$23,844	23,844
			Total: 58,458 SkyMiles

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• Free first checked bag. Check a bag for free for you and up to eight companions traveling on the same reservation on a Delta flight and save $30 per bag each way.
• Priority boarding. The cardholder and up to eight additional travelers on the same reservation can board with the Main Cabin 1 group.
• TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit. Receive a statement credit of up to $100 for the application fee for a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry membership.
• 20% statement credit on in-flight purchases. Receive 20% back on your statement when paying for in-flight snacks, drinks or entertainment with your card.
• TakeOff 15. Cardholders save 15% when booking award travel on Delta flights.
• Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) Headstart and Boost. With the MQD headstart, receive $2,500 MQDs each year to get closer to status. MQD Boost allows you to earn $1 MQD for every $20 you spend on your card each calendar year.
• $150 Delta Stays credit. Receive up to $150 as a statement credit after making eligible purchases through Delta Stays.
• $120 rideshare credit. Once enrolled, receive up to $10 per month as a statement credit for select U.S. rideshare purchases.
• $120 Resy credit. Once enrolled, receive up to $10 per month as a statement credit for purchases with U.S. Resy restaurants.
• Complimentary upgrade list. The cardholder will be added to the complimentary upgrade list after medallion members and Delta SkyMiles Reserve cardholders.
• Hertz Five Star status. Enroll in the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program and receive Hertz Five Star status, which offers travelers a number of benefits, like complimentary upgrades based on availability and bonus points.

Interest Rates

• Regular APR: 20.99%-29.99% Variable
• Purchase intro APR: N/A
• Balance transfer intro APR: N/A

Fees

• Annual fee: $350
• Balance transfer fee: N/A
• Foreign purchase transaction fee: None

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card vs. Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

The Platinum version of the Delta SkyMiles card isn’t quite as “premium” as the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (terms apply, see rates & fees), but it’s certainly a step up from its siblings, the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card.

The Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card is for those who prefer visiting Sky Clubs on their trips with Delta Air Lines. The card offers a Delta Sky Club individual membership (worth $695 annually) to passengers looking for a more comfortable airport experience (effective 2/1/25, cardholders will receive 15 Delta Sky Club visits per year; unlimited visits can be earned when total purchases exceed $75,000 in 2024 and each calendar year thereafter).

At $650 per year, the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card isn’t cheap, but it’s about what you’d pay for the Sky Club membership alone, plus you get all the perks, including free checked bags and a Companion Certificate in first class, Delta Comfort+® or main cabin for eligible flights (good for buy-one-get-one domestic flights, Caribbean or Central American roundtrip flights each year after card renewal, subject to taxes and fees). The card offers similar statement credits to the SkyMiles Platinum but at a slightly higher value—an up to $200 statement credit for Delta Stays and up to $240 as a statement credit for Resy restaurants. Cardholders receive upgrade priority over other medallion members within the same level and fare class. You also receive Hertz President’s Circle status.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card vs. American Express® Gold Card

Delta flyers don’t have to stick to co-branded Delta cards to be able to book award tickets. The American Express® Gold Card can do the trick as well. For a $250 annual fee (terms apply, see rates & fees), you’ll get access to Membership Rewards® points, which can be transferred directly to about two dozen programs, including Delta SkyMiles, Air France/KLM Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. This way you still can book Delta flights using miles, except you have more options to do it.

In addition to transfer partners, the points earned with the Amex Gold Card can be used to book flights with any airline via the Amex Travel portal at a rate of 1 cent per point.

The American Express Gold Card also offers dining credits for the foodies at heart: monthly $10 Uber Cash (up to $120 annually and can be used for Uber Eats orders and Uber rides in the U.S.) and monthly $10 credits toward orders at The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Grubhub, Milk Bar, Wine.com and at participating Shake Shack locations (enrollment required). Using these credits to their full potential can help you offset most of the annual fee. The card must be added to your Uber account to receive the Uber Cash benefit.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card vs. Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®*

If Delta isn’t the optimal carrier for your home airport, consider a different airline card, such as the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®*.

This card waives fees for the first checked bag on domestic flights (for up to five travelers on the same booking) and has no foreign transaction fees. After you spend $20,000 on the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select Card and renew your card, you’ll receive a $125 American Airlines flight discount —more than enough to offset the card’s annual fee of $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99.

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card delivers some useful benefits for a regular Delta flyer. If you make use of the companion ticket perk and the statement credits, you can easily break even with the card’s annual fee. But if you’re seeking greater flexibility with your earnings, or you want even more elite perks, consider a different card.

Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:

• Annual fees
• Welcome bonus offers
• Ongoing earning rates
• Value of individual points or miles
• Included travel or merchant credits
• Additional cardholder benefits

Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors came together to provide a star rating for each individual card.

Read more: How Forbes Advisor rates credit cards.

To view rates and fees for Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for American Express® Gold Card please visit this page.