Delta Airlines: New Increased Welcome Bonuses and 15% off Awards for Cardholders

Delta just increased the welcome bonus on its personal and business co-branded American Express cards. These offers are good through March 29, 2023. Let’s take a look.

Delta Amex Cards

Personal cards:

Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex Card: Bonus is 70,000 miles after spending $2000 in the first 6 months. Annual fee waived first year. Benefits include first bag free, priority boarding and 15% off award flights on Delta.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex Card: Bonus is 90,000 miles after spending $4000 in the first 6 months. Annual fee is $250. Benefits include first bag free, priority boarding, 15% off award flights, round-trip domestic companion certificate, Global Entry credit, MQM earning toward status.

Delta SkyMiles Reserve Amex Card: Bonus is 90,000 miles after spending $6000 in the first 6 months. Annual fee is $550. Benefits include access to Delta Sky Club and The Centurian Lounge, MQM earning toward status, first bag free, priority boarding, 15% off award flights, round-trip first-class domestic companion certificate, Global Entry credit.

Business cards:

Delta SkyMiles Gold Business: Bonus is 75,000 miles after spending $3000 in first 3 months. Annual fee is waived the first year. Benefits include first bag free, priority boarding and 15% off award flights on Delta.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business: Bonus is 95,000 miles after spending $4000 in the first 3 months. Annual fee is $250. Benefits include first bag free, priority boarding, 15% off award flights, round-trip domestic companion certificate, Global Entry credit, MQM earning toward status.

Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business: Bonus is 100,000 miles after spending $6000 in the first 3 months. Annual fee is $550. Benefits include access to Delta Sky Club and The Centurian Lounge, MQM earning toward status, first bag free, priority boarding, 15% off award flights, round-trip first-class domestic companion certificate, Global Entry credit.

Note that these offers end March 29, 2023.

You can only receive the bonus on each Amex card once per lifetime. You CAN have multiple Delta credit cards, both personal and business. Customers can only apply for 2 cards every 90 days. You can own a maximum of 5 Amex credit cards at a time. See bank restrictions here.

New Cardholder Benefit: TakeOff 15

Delta just rolled out a new benefit for card holders of the above credit cards: TakeOff 15. Card members now get 15% off award flights on Delta flights (not partner flights). See here for all the details.

My Thoughts

Since you can only get the bonus on these cards once, the best time to apply to these cards are when the bonus offers are higher. Now is that time. Often, these bonuses are 30k-40k miles.

I’ve had both versions of the Gold card before. I ended up using the miles for gift cards because I never found decent deals with miles. BUT, I am based out of DFW, where Delta has a very small presence.

Sometimes Delta has some great redemptions in economy. Depending on where you live, you might find great value with Delta miles.

These Delta cards are not the first cards I’d recommend for newbies. Cards that have more flexible points, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Capital One Venture Rewards card, are better when you’re starting this hobby. But, if you already have those cards and live near a Delta hub, these Delta Amex cards are a great way to accumulate more miles.