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Air travel can be pretty stressful, which is why if you find yourself having a great experience with one particular airline, you might feel pretty loyal to it.
If you frequently book with Delta, opening a Delta-affiliated credit card can give you the chance to earn miles and save on future flights.
With the , you can earn rewards when you book Delta flights and on everyday purchases without paying an annual fee. This means that as long as you pay off your balance in full each month, you can enjoy all the benefits of this card free of charge.
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express
Rewards Rate
- 2x miles on Delta purchases and at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 1x miles on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Offer
Earn 10,000 Bonus Miles after spending $1,000 in the first 6 months
Annual Fee
Overview of the Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card
If you travel frequently and want to earn miles by booking flights with Delta — but don’t want to pay a pricey annual fee — you may find the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card checks off all your credit card requirements.
Not only is there no annual fee, but you also don’t have to pay any foreign transaction fees on purchases you make while traveling internationally.
With this card, you can earn miles on Delta purchases and receive 20% back (in the form of a statement credit) on in-flight purchases of food, beverages, and audio headsets. Once you earn enough miles, you can take up to $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you book on delta.com.
The Delta SkyMiles Blue lacks some of the flashier perks that other airline rewards cards offer, like free lounge access, priority boarding, and free checked bags. However, many credit cards that come with perks like that also tend to come with expensive annual fees — so you may not mind skipping some of those extras to save hundreds of dollars a year.
Pros
- Miles don’t expire
- Discount on in-flight purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- No cap on reward-earning potential
Cons
- Unimpressive welcome offer
- No airline perks
Redeeming Rewards
You have a handful of options available to you when it comes to how you redeem the rewards earned with the Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card, but your rewards stretch furthest with Delta bookings.
When you redeem 5,000 miles with the Pay with Miles feature on flight bookings, you can take up to $50 off the cost of your flight.
You can also redeem rewards for things like gift cards, magazine subscriptions, seat upgrades, and a Delta Sky Club membership.
Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card Benefits
The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card doesn’t offer the most exciting suite of benefits — the credit cards with the best perks tend to also come with annual fees — but you do have some solid perks available to you:
- No foreign transaction fees
- 20% back on in-flight food and beverage purchases (as a statement credit)
- 24/7 access to the Global Assist® Hotline when you travel more than 100 miles from home*
- Free ShopRunner membership which gives you free two-day shipping and free return shipping on eligible items at 100+ online stores (enrollment required)
- Exclusive access to ticket presales and card member-only events with American Express® Experiences
- Purchase protection for accidental damage and theft*
- Extended warranty protection*
Who Should Get the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card?
Applying for the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card only makes sense if you fly Delta often. For example, if you fly the same route for business once a month and know that you can book with Delta for that flight, you will start to rack up a lot of miles just from your normal spending habits.
Take a look at the flight options for your local airports. If Delta flies in and out of your preferred airport often to a variety of destinations, you may be able to be loyal to this airline and save on future flights.
Who Shouldn’t Get the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card?
There are plenty of no-annual-fee credit cards on the market that better reward everyday spending, and if you don’t book flights with Delta regularly, you won’t get much use out of this credit card.
If you tend to book the cheapest flight available and not play favorites with a particular airline, you will want to look for a general travel credit card that allows you to earn miles and redeem them with a variety of airlines.
Alternatives to Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
For premium Delta benefits
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express
Rewards Rate
- 3x miles on Delta purchases
- 1x on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Offer
Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $5,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Annual Fee
$650 (rates and fees)
If the idea of earning Delta miles appeals to you, you can take things up a notch with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. You will have to pay a steep annual fee but will gain access to much more lucrative benefits than you would with the Delta SkyMiles Blue.
With the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card, you can get free access to the Delta Sky Club (must be flying same day with Delta and there is a max of 15 visits per year). Lounge access can make long travel days a lot more enjoyable, so if you are a frequent flier, you might really value this perk.
You will also enjoy a fee credit for a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application**, a companion ticket for a domestic, Caribbean, or Central American round-trip flight each year (taxes and fees apply; for itineraries with up to four flight segments) when you renew your card, and 15% off when using miles to book travel on Delta flights through delta.com.
For more benefits with a moderate fee
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express
Rewards Rate
- 2x miles on Delta purchases
- 2x miles at U.S. supermarkets
- 2x miles at restaurants
- 1x miles on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Offer
Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Annual Fee
$0 for the first year, then $150 (rates and fees)
If you want better Delta rewards than the SkyMiles Blue can offer but also don’t want to pay a sky-high annual fee, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express is worth considering.
With this card, you can check your first bag for free and enjoy priority boarding on Delta flights, plus 20% savings on in-flight purchases.
You also have the opportunity to earn a $200 flight credit for future travel when you spend $10,000 or more in a calendar year.
The Bottom Line
The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card is, not surprisingly, best suited to loyal Delta customers. You'll earn the most miles and get the best redemption value when you make Delta purchases — so if you tend to book with a variety of airlines, you may want to shop around.
That said, there's no annual fee, so it's an affordable card to keep in your wallet for when you do book Delta.
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* Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
** Receive either up to a $120 statement credit for Global Entry or a credit of up to $85 for TSA PreCheck after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. Only one credit will be given in a 4 year period for Global Entry or in a 4.5 year period for TSA PreCheck, depending on whichever application fee is charged to your eligible American Express® Card first.
Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
