Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Credit Card Review

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The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card is a great travel card for business owners who are fans of Delta Air Lines. Additionally, if you’re a regular Delta flyer, this card can help you earn Delta elite status even quicker with its Status Boost feature.

The card also gives rental car insurance, no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees) and several other travel-related benefits, making your business or leisure trips that much easier.

Below, Select breaks down the rewards, benefits and fees associated with the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card to help you decide if it’s the right card for your needs.

With the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, you can earn: 60,000 bonus miles, 5,000 Medallion^® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and a $100 statement credit after spending $3,000 in purchases on your new card in the first three months.

SkyMiles can be used to purchase flights on Delta and its partners. The MQMs will go towards earning Delta Medallion status. But if you don’t fly Delta often the MQMs won’t make much of a difference in your travel experience. The $100 statement credit will go towards your first statement (essentially knocking $100 off your bill) after meeting the minimum spend threshold.

If you value SkyMiles at a conservative price of 1 cent each, you’ll get $600 worth of value from 60,000 miles. Once you add in the statement credit you’ll earn a net total of $700 in value from the bonus.

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card is ripe with benefits. When you’re approved for the card, you will have access to these perks:

Earning miles for spending

When you spend on the card, you will earn:

• 3X Delta SkyMiles per dollar spent on eligible purchases directly with Delta and hotels
• 1.5X Delta SkyMiles per dollar spent on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more in a calendar year, up to 50,000 additional miles per calendar year
• 1X Delta SkyMiles per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases

Status Boost

If you aim to earn Delta Medallion elite status, the Delta Amex Platinum Business Card will ‘boost’ your status by adding MQMs to your balance after meeting certain spend thresholds. You can earn 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion Status.

So if you plan on spending heavily on the card and value Delta elite status, this card can get you there even quicker.

Airport lounge access

When you’re flying on Delta, you will have access to Delta SkyClub airport lounges for you and your companions. However, there is a $39 per person fee.

And if you have employees working for you, you can add them as authorized users, and they will also receive the same discounted price for Delta SkyClubs.

Other benefits

The card includes a number of other benefits that are beneficial for those flying Delta, including:

• Companion pass for Main Cabin ticket upon card renewal
• Main cabin 1 priority boarding
• First checked bag is free when flying on Delta for up to nine passengers on the same reservation
• 20% savings in the form of a statement credit on eligible Delta in-flight purchases

Plus, you’ll receive other travel-related perks:

Select calculated how many points the average American can earn in a year when using their Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card. We worked with the location intelligence firm Esri, who provided us with a sample annual spending budget of $22,126.

The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). Here’s what the average consumer would earn using this card:

• Groceries: 5,174 Delta SkyMiles
• Gas: 2,218 Delta SkyMiles
• Dining out: 3,675 Delta SkyMiles
• Travel: 6,732 Delta SkyMiles (Assuming all travel dollars are spent with Delta Air Lines or hotels directly).
• Utilities: 4,862 Delta SkyMiles
• General purchases: 3,953 Delta SkyMiles

With all spending considered, this would give a cardholder 26,614 Delta SkyMiles in the first year, and if you include the 60,000 miles welcome bonus, 86,614 SkyMiles. Over a five year period, cardholders could earn 193,070 Delta SkyMiles. Cardholders could earn more (or less) miles depending on their annual spending habits.

Earning Delta SkyMiles

There are two main ways to earn Delta SkyMiles: flying on Delta Air Lines and their partners, as well as spending (and earning welcome bonuses) on Delta cobranded cards.

When you fly with Delta, you will earn SkyMiles based on how much you spend on your ticket, and any applicable status level you have. You’ll earn five miles for every dollar spent on Delta flights in Main Cabin or above. And if you have Delta Medallion status, those earnings go up to 11 miles per dollar spent on tickets.

Also, if you hold a Delta cobranded card, or even a card that has transferable miles to the Delta SkyMiles loyalty program — you can build your SkyMiles balance for free flights.

The other Delta cards available are:

Personal

Business

Redeeming Delta SkyMiles

Once you earn the miles, you can use them for different redemptions, including free flights.

If you’re wondering how much a specific flight is going to be, you can search on Delta’s website quickly. When you’re searching for flights, be sure to click the checkbox saying ‘shop with miles’. Keep in mind that Delta is part of an airline alliance called SkyTeam, so when you are searching flights, you may come across different airlines — especially if you’re searching for an international flight.

Delta has a long list of airline partners you can use your SkyMiles with. They are: Aeroflot, Aerolineas Argentinas, AeroMexico, Air Europa, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Czech Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, ITA Airways, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, LATAM, MEA, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia and Xiamen Air.

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card can provide great value for consumers who enjoy traveling and want perks to make their flying experience even better. But, is it the best travel-rewards card for you?

Select analyzed two other premium travel cards to see how they match up with the Delta Platinum Business Amex.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a solid travel rewards credit card for consumers as it earns Ultimate Rewards points, which can be transferred to a number of different airline and hotel loyalty programs. While they cannot be transferred directly to Delta SkyMiles, they can be sent to members of SkyTeam, which include Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or Flying Blue (Air France/KLM). From there, you can book flights on Delta.

As for the benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you will have: Access to the Chase travel portal to book travel where your points will be worth 25% more, complimentary DashPass subscription (activate by March 31, 2022), a $50 credit for hotel stays purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, comprehensive travel insurance, no foreign transaction fees and great spending categories. And the card comes with a modest $95 annual fee.

Both cards are great cards to add to your wallet, but if you’re debating between the two, keep in mind these few points:

Do you live in a Delta hub-city or fly Delta often? If so, the Delta Platinum Business Amex could be a better deal.

Do you fly with Delta enough to possibly earn elite status? If you don’t fly multiple times per year, the Sapphire Preferred could be a better choice as it provides more flexibility for travelers not loyal to one airline.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card vs. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

The Business Platinum Card from American Express is a premium travel card for small business owners that comes stacked with a long list of benefits, including: complimentary airport lounge access (including Delta SkyClub access when flying Delta), shopping credits, comprehensive travel insurance, complimentary hotel loyalty program status, rental car benefits and more. And if you enjoy flying with Delta, the American Express Membership Rewards you earn can be transferred directly to Delta SkyMiles at a 1:1 ratio.

But which is better between the two? Well, it comes down to whether or not you are able to use the benefits of the more expensive card, which is the Business Platinum Amex at $595 annual fee (applications received after 1/12/2022 will be $695) (see rates and fees). With the Delta Platinum Business Amex, you’ll pay $250 for fewer benefits that are primarily related to Delta, and the many spending credits can easily reduce the annual fee of the Amex Business Platinum — so it could be very worth it to pay the premium.

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card is a great fit for a small business owner who is looking to earn Delta SkyMiles on their purchases, also while saving on their Delta travel costs such as in-flight purchases and checked bag fees. It’s also worth looking at if you want to fast-track your Delta elite status by earning MQMs for spend.

Keep in mind that if you’re a regular Delta flyer, you don’t need to be ‘tied’ to using a Delta cobranded card. You may consider using a credit card with transferable rewards to give you even more flexibility.

Lastly, this card is great for someone who is open to paying an annual fee, but doesn’t want to spend excessively for additional benefits. At a $250 annual fee, it is much more manageable than the higher annual fee, Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card,.

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card is worth considering for regular Delta flyers that want to save on their checked bag fees, in-flight purchases and earn Delta SkyMiles and elite credits along the way.

However, it’s important to reflect on the financial needs of your business to see if a credit card is appropriate to have. While the $250 annual fee may be manageable, a credit card is only useful for your business if it can help you save money — and give you benefits to help you run your business more efficiently.

So before applying, be sure to analyze several business credit cards available to find the best one for your needs.

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For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card, click here.

For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, click here

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, click here

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, click here

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, click here

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, click here

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, click here