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Next week, summer 2023 will officially begin. In turn, millions of Americans will be soaking up the sun and setting off on fun-filled vacations. So, to capitalize on this travel moment, Delta and American Express have rolled out new welcome bonuses for a number of their co-branded cards.
Now, new Delta SkyMiles cardmember can earn enhanced bonuses when they open SkyMiles Gold, Platinum, or Reserve cards. These bonuses include:
- Delta SkyMiles American Express Gold Card: Earn 65K Bonus Miles after spending $2,000 in purchases on the Card within the first 6 months
- Delta SkyMiles American Express Platinum Card: Earn 85K Bonus Miles after spending $4,000 in purchases on the Card within the first 6 months
- Delta SkyMiles American Express Reserve Card: Earn 85K Bonus Miles after spending $6,000 in purchases on the Card within the first 6 months
It should be noted that these offers will only be available for a limited time. Specifically, they are currently set to expire on August 2nd.
Check out all of the benefits of each card and apply in m9inutes.
As for what these cards have to offer, the Delta SkyMiles Gold card features 2x miles at restaurants in the U.S., 2x miles at U.S. supermarkets, and 2x miles on purchases made with Delta. This card comes with an annual fee of $99, but that’s waived for the first year. Additionally, that fee can be offset by the $100 Delta Flight Credit that cardholders can earn after spending $10,000 in purchases on their card within a calendar year.
Meanwhile, the $250 annual fee Delta SkyMiles Platinum retains the Gold card’s 2x at U.S. restaurants and supermarkets categories, offers 3x miles on Delta purchases, and also earns 3x miles on bookings made directly with hotels. Plus, among the card’s other perks, cardmembers enjoy a domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of their card.
Lastly, the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card is unique as its superpower is lounge access. With the $550 annual fee card, flyers can enjoy complimentary access to Delta Sky Club when they fly Delta. Additionally, cardholders can earn a domestic First Class, Delta Comfort+ or Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of their card.
On top of those features, each of the three cards entitles flyers to their first checked bag free. And, thanks to a relatively recent update, cardholders can take advantage of the TakeOff15 feature, meaning that they can save 15% off on award travel bookings made with miles for Delta flights. So, if a flight is normally 40,000 miles, the cardholder may only need to redeem 34,000 miles.
While these welcome bonuses are enhanced from what the “standard” offer is (depending on how you value MQMs versus regular miles), it should be noted that these aren’t the best offers we’ve ever seen for these cards. In fact, when the TakeOff15 feature was first unveiled, the welcome bonuses that accompanied that news was 5,000 miles higher than this later round. Of course, there’s no guarantee that similar or better offers will appear in the future — so it’s up to you whether it’s worth waiting or settling for this still-better-than-normal deal.
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