Having a Delta Amex credit card will now save you 15% off award flights with new TakeOff 15 benefit
The Delta Gold, Platinum, and Reserve cards will save you miles when you book award tickets. Plus, they offer elevated welcome bonuses of up to 100,000 miles.
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- Amex and Delta have added a new benefit called TakeOff 15 to most of the Delta credit cards.
- Personal and business Delta Gold, Platinum, and Reserve cardholders now get 15% off award travel booked on Delta flights.
- There are also elevated welcome bonus offers on these cards of up to 100,000 miles for a limited time.
- Read Insider's guide to the best airline credit cards.
There's good news for flyers who like to redeem Delta miles for flights on the airline. Starting today, February 2, eligible Delta credit card holders can get 15% off when using miles to book award travel on Delta flights.
The new "TakeOff 15" benefit is permanent, and applies to the personal and small-business versions of the Amex Delta Gold, Delta Platinum, and Delta Reserve cards. If you're already a cardholder, this new perk is a great value add, especially if you book award flights on Delta frequently.
And if you're not yet a Delta credit card holder, it might be time to consider opening a new card. To sweeten the deal, there are limited-time offers on these Delta cards worth up to 100,000 miles — but only until March 29, 2023.
Here's what to know about the improvements to the Delta American Express credit cards to help you decide if you should apply. Amex is an Insider partner.
We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
Get 15% off award flights with Delta credit cards
The new TakeOff 15 benefit is included with all the annual-fee Delta cards:
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
The only card that isn't getting this perk is the no-annual-fee
Primary cardholders will receive 15% off the number of miles required for award flights on Delta when they book through Delta.com or the Fly Delta app. However, this discount doesn't cover partner-operated flights or the taxes and fees on award flights, and authorized users aren't eligible for the benefit.
There are a few other restrictions to keep in mind:
- Your entire itinerary must be on Delta and Delta Connection carrier-operated and ticketed flights
- You can't use this offer with Delta Pay with Miles, Miles + Cash, seat upgrades (purchased after the initial flight booking), or other Delta products or services
- You'll need to be signed in to your Delta account (linked to an eligible card) to qualify for the discount
- To take advantage of the discount, you'll need to have enough miles in your Delta account for the entire award ticket
- The discount isn't combinable with certificates, Delta eCredits, Delta Gift Cards, vouchers, or any other discounts or promotional offers
Saving 15% might not seem like much, but considering Delta prices its flights dynamically — meaning there's no award chart and the number of miles required varies depending on demand, season, and other factors — this could amount to considerable savings if you're booking pricey award flights. Delta has unfortunately become well known for charging exorbitant prices on some routes, so getting a 15% discount in those cases could be substantial.
The new benefit also makes opening a Delta credit card much more appealing — especially for folks who earn American Express Membership Rewards points from cards like
If you redeem Delta miles for Delta flights with any regularity, it might make sense to open a Delta card for this benefit. Plus, all of the eligible Delta cards offer other benefits that can save you money, including a free checked bag and priority boarding on Delta flights, inflight discounts, and other elite-like perks.
Elevated Delta credit card welcome bonus offers
Through March 29, 2023, you can earn increased welcome bonus offers from six Delta credit cards. Insider's points and miles valuations peg Delta miles as worth 1.1 cents apiece, on average, so you could get as much as $1,100 in travel from these bonuses:
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card - Product Name Only —Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card , worth aboutDelta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card in flights-
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card - Product Name Only —Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card , worth aboutDelta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card in flights Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card - Product Name Only —Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card , worth aboutDelta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card in flightsDelta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card - Product Name Only —Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card , worth aboutDelta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card in flightsDelta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card - Product Name Only —Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card , worth aboutDelta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card in flightsDelta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card - Product Name Only —Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card , worth aboutDelta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card in flights
Amex only allows you to earn the welcome bonus for each of its cards once per lifetime. So if you've had one of the above cards before, you're not eligible to earn a welcome bonus again. Because of this rule, it's good to wait until the bonuses are at their highest — and now's that time.
Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card
The
With an annual fee of
Other benefits include priority boarding for you and companions on your reservation, a $100 Delta flight credit after you spend $10,000 on the card in a calendar year, a 20% discount on inflight purchases, and no foreign transaction fees.
Review: Gold Delta SkyMiles Amex Card review
Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card
The
This card's previous bonus was 50,000 miles and 5,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after meeting minimum spending requirements. You'll now earn
The standout benefit of the card is its annual companion certificate, awarded after each account anniversary. When you reserve a coach flight for yourself within the continental US, you'll get a second ticket for only the cost of taxes and fees (usually very cheap). If you'll use this benefit each year, the card is worth the annual fee.
You'll receive the same checked bag, priority boarding, and inflight discount privileges as the Delta Gold card. You'll also get a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit of up to $100 and discounted Delta Sky Club lounge access.
Review: Platinum Delta Amex Card review
Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card
The
This card comes with a
- Access to Delta Sky Club airport lounges when flying Delta
- Access to Amex Centurion Lounges when you fly Delta and use your card to book the ticket
- 2 Delta Sky Club one-time guest passes each year
- Up to $100 for a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit
- Access to complimentary upgrades for non-elite Delta members
Plus, you'll get upgrade priority over non-cardholders with the same Delta elite status level and fare class grouping. And if you have no Medallion status, you'll get added to the complimentary upgrade list after those with elite status.
Review: Delta Reserve review
Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card
Even if you only fly Delta once or twice per year, the
You'll receive mostly the same perks as the personal
You'll pay a similar
The most noticeable difference between the personal and business versions is the bonus categories:
- 2 miles per dollar on eligible US purchases for advertising in select media
- 2 miles per dollar on eligible US shipping purchases
- 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases
- 2 miles per dollar on restaurant purchases
Review: American Express Delta Gold Business Card review
Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card
The
The card comes with
- Free checked bag
- Priority boarding
- Inflight discounts on Delta
- Annual companion certificate
This card isn't the greatest for regular spending, as it only earns 3 miles per dollar on Delta purchases and on purchases made directly with hotels. You'll also earn 1.5 miles per dollar on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (up to 50,000 additional miles per calendar year).
Review: Delta American Express Platinum Business Card review
Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business American Express Card
The badge of the highest Delta credit card bonus now belongs to the
While it's got a
The
Review: Amex Business Delta Reserve card review
Do you qualify for the Delta credit card bonuses?
There are a few American Express card rules you should know about before you decide to apply for one of these offers.
If you've ever opened one of these cards before, you won't be eligible to earn the bonus again. You can only earn one card bonus per lifetime. However, each card is considered its own product, so even if you've opened the
Also, Amex limits the total number of cards you can have. If you've got a wallet full of American Express cards already, you may not be approved.