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Delta Air Lines credit card welcome bonuses: Back to business-as-usual offers.

Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.

Update 3/29/24: Delta Air Lines and Amex have ended their limited-time welcome offers. The current welcome bonuses on Delta Air Lines credit cards have reverted to their business-as-usual offers.

You might consider getting a Delta credit card, for benefits like a first free checked bag or the new Delta ridesharing credit. If you open a new Delta credit card, you can get a new cardmember welcome bonus when you meet minimum spending requirements. Here are the details on the current Delta Air Lines credit card welcome bonuses.

Current Delta Air Lines credit card welcome bonuses

Delta Air Lines and Amex offer welcome bonuses for new cardmembers who get a new Delta credit card and meet spending requirements. Here are the details on the best Delta Air Lines credit card new customer bonuses.

Delta Credit CardWelcome BonusFull Welcome Bonus
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card card art
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
Annual fee: $0
bonus_milesbonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card card art
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.
bonus_milesbonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card card art
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
Annual fee: $350
bonus_milesbonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card card art
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
Annual fee: $650
bonus_milesbonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card card art
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.
bonus_milesbonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card card art
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
Annual fee: $350
bonus_milesbonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card card art
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Annual fee: $650
bonus_milesbonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)
The best Delta Air Lines credit card welcome bonuses.

My take on the current Delta welcome bonuses

The current welcome bonuses for Delta Air Lines credit cards are the “business-as-usual” offers. Historically, Delta and Amex have offered a string of limited-time welcome offers, so if you can wait to get a Delta credit card, it might be worthwhile to wait for a bit in the hopes that a new offer is published again.

If I had to guess based on historical patterns, it will be a few months before any increased welcome bonus offers come around on Delta credit cards.

More details about the Delta Air Lines credit card welcome bonuses

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card welcome bonus

card_name welcome bonus:

bonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)

Our take on the welcome bonus: We know of no previous elevated welcome offers on this card, so if you’re planning on getting this card, there’s no reason to wait.

The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card card art

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards: 2x on Delta purchases. 2x at restaurants. 1x on other eligible purchases.
Benefits: 20% back on Delta in-flight purchases.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card welcome bonus

card_name welcome bonus:

bonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)

Click here to learn more and apply.

Our take on the welcome bonus: The current welcome offer is the business-as-usual offer. Since the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card has no annual fee in the first year ($150 thereafter), this is probably the best offer to pick up on the personal cards if you’re interested in SkyMiles.

The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card card art

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150.
Rewards: 2x on Delta purchases. 2x at restaurants. 2x at U.S. supermarkets. 1x on other eligible purchases.
Benefits: First checked bag free. $200 Delta flight credit after $10k in purchases in a year. Up to $100 annually in Delta Stays credits.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card welcome bonus

card_name welcome bonus:

bonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)

Click here to learn more and apply.

Our take on the welcome bonus: The current welcome bonus is the business-as-usual offer on this card.

The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card card art

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $350.
Rewards: 3x on Delta purchases. 3x on eligible hotel purchases. 2x at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets. 1x miles on other eligible purchases.
Benefits: First checked bag free. Annual main Cabin companion certificate upon renewal. MQD Headstart. MQD Boost.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card welcome bonus

card_name welcome bonus:

bonus_miles_full (See Rates and Fees)

Click here to learn more and apply.

Our take on the welcome bonus: The current welcome bonus is the business-as-usual offer on this card. The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card’s welcome offer requires quite a bit of spending. Unless you’re interested in the Reserve card’s benefits, it might be better to get the welcome bonus on the Delta SkyMiles Gold card.

The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card card art

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $650.
Rewards: 3x on Delta purchases. 1x miles on other eligible purchases.
Benefits: Sky Club access. Annual first class companion certificate upon renewal. MQD Headstart. MQD Boost.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card welcome bonus

card_name welcome bonus:

bonus_miles_full

Click here to learn more and apply.

Our take on the welcome bonus: The current welcome offer is the business-as-usual offer. You’ll earn more SkyMiles with the welcome bonus on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card than you will with the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, so this is probably the better offer.

The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card card art

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $150.
Rewards: 2x on Delta purchases. 2x at restaurants. 2x on up to $50k of U.S. purchases for advertising in select media. 2x on up to $50k of U.S. shipping purchases. 1x on other eligible purchases.
Benefits: First checked bag free. $200 Delta flight credit after $10k in purchases in a year. Up to $150 annually in Delta Stays credits.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card welcome bonus

card_name welcome bonus:

bonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)

Click here to learn more and apply.

Our take on the welcome bonus: The current welcome bonus is the business-as-usual offer on this card.

The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card card art

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $350.
Rewards: 3x on Delta purchases and eligible hotel purchases. 1.5x on single eligible purchases of $5k or more (terms and mile cap apply.) 1.5x on up to $100k of eligible transit. 1x on other eligible purchases.
Benefits: First checked bag free. Annual Main Cabin companion certificate upon renewal. MQD Headstart. MQD Boost

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card welcome bonus

card_name welcome bonus:

bonus_miles_full
(See Rates and Fees)

Click here to learn more and apply.

Our take on the welcome bonus: The current welcome bonus is the business-as-usual offer on this card. For the amount of SkyMiles you get, the spending requirement is quite high. Unless you’re getting this card specifically for its suite of benefits, going for the welcome bonus on the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business card is probably a better bet.

The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card card art

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card at a glance:
Annual fee: $650.
Rewards: 3x on Delta purchases. 1.5x on U.S. shipping, U.S. office supply stores, and eligible transit. 1.5x on eligible purchases for the rest of the year after you spend $150,000 on your card. 1x on other eligible purchases.
Benefits: Sky Club access. Annual first class companion certificate upon renewal. MQD Headstart. MQD Boost.

Those are the details on the welcome bonuses. To compare the benefits and earning rates in bonus categories on these cards, check out our overview of Delta credit cards.

A few notes on applying for American Express credit cards

Here are a few things that you should know about applying for American Express cards.

  • Amex will let you know if you’re ineligible for the welcome bonus when applying. If you don’t qualify for a welcome bonus for any reason, American Express will inform you during the application process and let you withdraw your application before they perform a “hard pull” on your credit report. If you withdraw your application, the withdrawn application will have no impact on your credit score.
  • No hard pull if they deny you. If Amex denies your credit card application, they usually won’t issue a hard pull on your credit report. This means that your credit score won’t decrease because of the denied application.
  • One bonus per card per “lifetime”. Most Amex card terms say that you’re ineligible for a welcome bonus if you’ve ever had the card before. Some targeted offers do not have this lifetime language. Readers and other blogs have reported that Amex may internally define “lifetime” as 7 years—if it’s been 7 years since you’ve had a card, you might be eligible to get a welcome bonus again.
  • Some cards allow one bonus per card “family”. Some American Express cards, like the personal Platinum card or the Charles Schwab Platinum card have language that prohibits you from earning a welcome bonus if you’ve ever had a card from the same card family before.
  • Maximum 5 Amex credit cards and 10 pay-over-time cards. You can have a maximum of 5 American Express credit cards at one time. In addition, you can hold up to 10 American Express pay-over-time cards (like the Platinum, Gold, and Green cards.) These limits are known to occasionally be flexible for some cardmembers, some of the time.
  • You might be able to get a better welcome offer than the public offer. American Express offers some customers targeted offers. See our post on how to get the best welcome offers from American Express and try those methods before applying for an American Express card. You might be able to get an elevated welcome bonus.
  • Check your application status online. You can check the status of your American Express card application online through the Amex website.

Frequently asked questions

Do Delta credit cards earn status qualifying miles?

Delta no longer uses MQMs to determine your frequent flyer status. You earn Delta Medallion status by earning Medallion Qualifying Dollars. Both the business and personal variants of the Platinum and Reserve cards give you a MQD boost and let you earn Medallion Qualifying Dollars.

Can I earn a welcome bonus on Delta SkyMiles credit cards twice?

You can only earn a welcome bonus once on most American Express cards. But you can earn a welcome bonus if you already have a Delta card if you apply for a different product. For example, you can earn a welcome bonus for the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, even if you already hold a Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card. Amex will let you know during the application process whether you qualify for. abonus.

Can I earn a welcome bonus on both business and personal cards.

Yes. The small business and personal Delta SkyMiles cards are separate products. So you can earn welcome bonuses on both. As an example, you can earn a welcome bonus on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card even if you have already had the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card.

Do I need a Delta credit card to qualify for Medallion status?

You don’t need a Delta credit card to qualify for Medallion status, but it can help. You can earn MQDs by spending on the either the business or personal variants of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum and Reserve cards.

Rates and fees for Delta Air Lines credit cards
  • For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees; terms apply
  • For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees; terms apply
  • For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees; terms apply
  • For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees; terms apply
  • For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
  • For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
  • For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees

Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.