Increased Bonus Offers On Delta Amex Cards

It looks like Delta wants to get in the game a little bit with the limited-time bonus offers. It is about time, too, because there offerings on the Delta Amex cards have been pretty weak. So, what are these increased offers and does it make sense to apply?

Disclaimer: I do not receive a commission on any of these cards.

Increased Bonus Offers On Delta Amex Cards

First of all, if you have ever had either of these personal cards before, then these offers are not for you! American Express has become quite strict with dishing out bonuses to card members who have received them before. In the past, it did not matter if you had ever received it, then they started only allowing it if you had not held the card for 12 months, and this past spring, they changed it so that you cannot get the bonus if you have ever held the card.

Ok, if that is not you, then here are the offers!

Gold Delta Skymiles Credit Card

Application Link – Gold Delta Skymiles Credit Card – Annual Fee $95 (waived the first year)

The increased 50,000 mile bonus offer

The normal offer for the Gold Delta card is 30,000 miles. There have been some targeted offers of up to 100,000 Skymiles, but that was not for everyone. Now, the increased offer sits at 50,000 miles after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. This offer is valid through September 8, 2014.

This offer is an excellent offer. True, Delta Skymiles can be somewhat hard to use unless you make a lot of schedule compromises at times, but they still have a lot of value. The strange thing is that most of the value lies in not using Skymiles to fly on Delta outside of the US! Delta has some very good foreign partners and they have some pretty good service. Not only that, but they often have better availability than Delta-operated flights.

But, even if you are of the opinion that Skymiles are absolutely worthless, you cannot argue with the minimum value of this card. That is because of the Pay with Miles feature available only to Delta credit card holders. This allows you to use your Skymiles at a 1:1 ratio for the cost of a flight. For example, if you are flying to Europe and the ticket costs $850, you can use these 50,000 miles to chop off $500 of that ticket price. Because of that nice feature, we know our miles are worth at least 1 cent a piece – making this a $500 credit card offer.

What Else Does the Card Offer?

In addition to the miles, you will also receive a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase within the first 3 months. You will also have the annual fee ($95) waived for the first year.

Other than those two points, the best perks of the card is the ability to get one checked bag free for up to 9 people on the reservation! Also, you will have the privilege of priority boarding (which can help when overhead bin space fills up quickly).

Platinum Delta Skymiles Credit Card

Application Link – Platinum Delta Skymiles Credit Card – Annual Fee $195 (not waived)

The increased offer of award miles and elite miles

The Platinum Delta Amex card is probably the strongest of the Delta/Amex suite. It is situated between the Gold card and the high-priced Reserve card and offers some pretty strong perks at less than 50% of the annual fee of the Delta Reserve.

The increased bonus offer on the Platinum Delta card (not to be confused with the non-Delta Platinum card) is now at a huge 50,000 bonus miles and 15,000 MQMs (Medallion Qualifying Miles , or elite miles that count towards status). That is fantastic! It only takes 25,000 MQMs to achieve Delta Silver status and then 50,000 for Gold, 75,000 for Platinum, and 125,000 for Diamond. Those bonus 15,000 MQMs from this card offer should definitely help you get to the next status level. Plus, you get all of that by only spending $1,000 in the first three months.

What Else Does the Card Offer?

In addition to the bonus miles, you will also receive a $100 statement credit after making a Delta purchase in the first 3 months. Also, you will get the same checked bag benefit as the Gold card offers and something quite valuable – a free companion ticket. This companion ticket can be used for travel for domestic travel as part of a regular, paid ticket in the reservation. All that the companion ticket needs to pay for is around $35 in taxes.

Another perk of the card is that you can receive another 10,000 MQMs if you spend $25,000 on the card in a calendar year and an additional 10,000 if you spend another $25,000. So, if you can put $25,000 on this card by the end of the year, you will have earned yourself Delta Silver status (the 15K sign-up bonus + the spending bonus).

And what does all of this cost you? A steep annual fee of $195 that is not waived the first year. The only way I would go for this card over the Gold card is if you can take advantage of the companion ticket or if you value the elite miles. Otherwise, go for the Gold’s 50,000 miles and no annual fee for the first year.

Summary

I call both of these offers very strong offers and each of them possess a value of at least $500 in actual travel. Of course, if you can put the award miles to use, they can be worth a lot more than that. With Delta’s new policy of one new bonus per lifetime, many people may feel hesitant about making a move on these cards. Be assured, this is one of the higher public offers that has been made on these cards. I would not wait around for a better offer to come out if you want these miles.