The public offers on the Delta credit cards are back to their normal offers, but we’ve seen Delta seeding some targeted offers when you click through the links on this page that might be larger. We’ve got more on this below.
The best public Delta credit card welcome offers
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you make $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
Learn how to apply. (Click on Personal Cards at the top of the window to find this offer.)
This bonus is earned as Delta SkyMiles®.
Annual fee: $0
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after spending $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Learn how to apply. (Click on Personal Cards at the top of the window to find this offer.)
This bonus is earned as Delta SkyMiles.
This offer is the best offer we can link to directly, but you might find a better offer when making a booking at Delta.com.
Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
Earn 60,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Learn how to apply. (Click on Personal Cards at the top of the window to find this offer.)
This bonus is earned as Delta SkyMiles®.
Annual fee: $350
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $5,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Learn how to apply. (Click on Personal Cards at the top of the window to find this offer.)
This bonus is earned as Delta SkyMiles®.
Annual fee: $650
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
Earn 60,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Learn how to apply. (Click on Business Cards at the top of the window to find this offer.)
This bonus is earned as Delta SkyMiles®.
Annual fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $6,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
This bonus is earned as Delta SkyMiles®.
Annual fee: $350
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $12,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Learn how to apply. (Click on Business Cards at the top of the window to find this offer.)
This bonus is earned as Delta SkyMiles®.
Annual fee: $650
My take: Business cards are better. Business gold has the best public bonus.
If I had to pick a bonus to go after, I’d probably pick either the public bonus on the business gold card or the bonus that you might be able to get through a dummy booking on the Delta website on the Gold card. Relative to the cards’ first-year annual fee, those bonuses are the best AND, they don’t prevent you from earning bonuses on the higher-tier cards.
The business cards have higher bonuses and are generally (marginally) better cards. At every level, the business cards have a slightly higher welcome offer than the personal cards AND I think that they are better cards. If you dig into the details in our guide to the Delta credit cards, you’ll see the the benefits on the cards are substantively similar at every level, but the business cards offer more credits for Delta Stays.
Keep in mind that, if you are a Delta flyer collecting SkyMiles, which order you apply for cards in matters. On the personal side, the card bonus terms and conditions say that you are ineligible for a bonus if you’ve ever been a cardholder of the same card or one of the higher-tier cards before. This means that applying directly for the Delta Reserve card will prevent you from ever earning a bonus on either the Delta Gold or Delta Platinum cards.
Here’s what I’d do if I were starting out, considering the current bonus terms and conditions:
- Apply for the Delta personal gold card first, then the personal Delta Platinum, then the personal Delta Reserve. This way, you can earn a bonus on all three cards.
- If you haven’t yet had the personal Delta gold cards and want the main cabin companion certificate, apply for the small business Delta Platinum card.
- If you want Delta lounge access, but want to preserve your ability to earn a bonus on the personal Delta Platinum and Delta Gold cards, apply for the small business variant of the Delta Reserve card.
Remember, the small business cards only prevent you from earning a bonus if you’ve had the same card before, so on the small business side, going for a bonus on the Reserve card won’t prevent you from later earning a bonus for the Delta Gold or Delta Platinum small business cards.
Targeted offers: You can sometimes do better than the public offer
When we checked our links, we found that we were targeted for an increased offer on the Delta Reserve card. This seems to be random, but know that it might be possible to hunt down an even better offer.
Try click through our links above, visiting the American Express website directly, or searching on your favorite search engine for the card. And if you want to go all-out hunting down a better offer, do all of the above in incognito/private browsing mode and on different browsers.
Are you eligible to earn a Delta SkyMiles credit card bonus?
When it comes to the SkyMiles credit cards, the personal and business credit cards have different bonus eligibility rules.
On the personal side, you are ineligible for the bonus if you’ve ever had the same card or a higher-tier personal Delta credit card before. For example, if you’ve held the Delta Gold card before, you wouldn’t be eligible for a bonus on the personal Blue or Gold cards, but you may be eligible for a bonus on the personal Delta Platinum and Delta Reserve cards.
Here’s what the terms on the personal cards say:
You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Options Credit Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card or previous versions of these Cards. You also may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors. If you are not eligible for a welcome offer, we will notify you prior to processing your application so you have the option to withdraw your application.
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card offer terms
On the business side, only your current or previous card membership with the exact same product impacts your bonus eligibility. For example, if you previously had only the Delta Business Platinum card, you could get a bonus on either the Delta Business Gold card or the Delta Business Reserve card.
Here are the terms that you’ll find with the offers on the business cards.
You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card or previous versions of this Card. You also may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors. If you are not eligible for a welcome offer, we will notify you prior to processing your application so you have the option to withdraw your application.
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card offer terms
Both the business and personal cards include terms that essentially say that Amex can also exclude you from earning a bonus for any reason if it wants you, but Amex will tell you during your application if you’re ineligible for the bonus.
That said, even if you’re unsure if you’re eligible for a bonus, there’s little harm in starting your application. If you’re not eligible for a bonus, you’ll be able to withdraw your application with no impact to your credit.
Finally, anecdotally, Amex seems to “forget” that you’ve had a card after about 7 years, so you might be eligible even if you’ve had a Delta credit card in the distant past.
More on the Delta credit cards
If you’re a frequent Delta flyer, it probably makes sense to hold at least one Delta credit card, but which one is right for you will depend on your situation. Check out our article comparing all of the Delta credit cards for more to find the best card to keep long-term.
