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January 14, 2025: Delta is still featuring a better welcome offer on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card during the booking process at Delta.com. In this article, we go over all of the available new cardmember offers on the Delta Gold Card so that you can earn the best bonus possible.
American Express heavily markets the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card with enticing welcome offers that can get you a bunch of new miles with your new card. But the offers you’ll see aren’t the same everywhere, and doing a little bit of work can get you an offer that’s substantially better than the public welcome offer.
Here are all of the details on the best welcome offers available on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card.
Best public welcome offer in January 2025: 50,000 SkyMiles after spending $2,000 in 6 months
Here are the details on the current Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card public welcome offer. Keep in mind that, while this is the standard offer available through most channels, it is likely not the best offer currently available. Continue reading for more on what else might be available.
Annual fee: annual_fees
(See Rates and Fees)
Online welcome offer: bonus_miles_full Learn how to apply.
This bonus is earned as Delta SkyMiles.
Better offer: Miles plus a statement credit on Delta.com
All information about non-affiliate offers on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card was collected independently by cardsandpoints.com.
For the last several months, it’s been possible to get what we consider a better offer on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card by making a booking through Delta’s website. Here’s how it works:
To start out, search for any flight at Delta.com. At some point during the booking process, you might see the SkyMiles Gold card advertised. Here’s what we saw:
But don’t click on the offer at this point! Because when we continued to checkout, we saw an even better offer:
If you see the offer including the $500 statement credit at checkout, this is the one you want to click on. If you tick the box on the page labeled “Learn More & Apply Now” you’ll be taken to the application process before you check out at Delta.com.
In our view, this offer is better than what is offered through affiliate networks and directly through the Amex website. Here’s how the offer compared to the current affiliate offers at the time:
- Delta.com offer during checkout: Earn a $500 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase on your card within your first 6 months. Plus earn 40,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 in purchases on your new card in your first 6 months.
- Offer through most other channels at the same time: Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
In our view, we’d happily trade 10,000 SkyMiles® for $500. That’s a deal we’d take all day long.
Tips on getting the best offer
The statement credit + bonus miles offer available during booking at Delta.com isn’t consistent. Sometimes we’ve seen a lower statement credit offer. Here are the tips we’ve figured out to finding the best offer.
- Try searching between two cities where Delta isn’t the dominant carrier, but where it has a significant presence. Seattle, Los Angeles, Austin, New York, and Washington, D.C. are good options.
- Be sure that the cost of your flight is at least $500. Anecdotally, we’ve seen that the amount of the statement credit is often lower if your flight prices out at a lower price.
Finally, realize that, while we were seeing this offer at our last update, it is always subject to change and may not even be available by the time you read this.
Earn points for your friend: Get the welcome offer through a referral link
American Express offers some cardmembers the ability to refer others to Amex cards and earn points. If you have a friend or a family member with an American Express card and they can generate a referral link, you may be able to get this same welcome bonus and earn some points for your friend.
Most American Express-branded and Delta-branded cards will allow you to refer someone to a Delta credit card and earn points if they are approved. But you won’t be able to refer a friend to a Delta credit card from another co-branded card like a Hilton credit card or Marriott credit card.
You are not allowed to apply through a referral link that you have generated yourself.
Eligibility: Are you eligible to get this welcome offer?
The new cardmember offer on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card contains American Express lifetime family language, which prohibits you from receiving a bonus on this card if you’ve ever had the same card or a higher-tier personal Delta credit card previously. Specifically, you’re ineligible for the bonus if you have or have ever had any of the following cards:
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
However, even if you may have had the Delta Gold card or another one of the above Delta cards before, it is generally safe to apply for a new American Express card. Prior to processing your application, Amex will notify you if you are ineligible for the welcome bonus and give you a chance to withdraw your application.
About the card: More on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Annual fee: annual_fees
Foreign transaction fee: foreign_transaction_fee
See Rates and Fees
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is a good choice for an occasional Delta travel without Medallion status. The card offers a free checked bag when traveling on Delta, plus up to a $100 Delta Stays credit.
Welcome offer
Online welcome offer: bonus_miles_full Learn how to apply.
This bonus is earned as Delta SkyMiles.
The offer above is the standard welcome offer you’ll find online, but we’ve found several much better offers that might still be available. If you want to earn more miles or a statement credit in addition to miles, check out our coverage of the best welcome offers available on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card.
Rewards
- 2x on Delta purchases made directly with Delta.
- 2x on dining at restaurants, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 2x on groceries at U.S. supermarkets.
- 1x on other purchases.
Rewards are earned as Delta SkyMiles.
Benefits
Delta travel benefits
- $200 Delta flight credit after you spend $10,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year.
- $100 Delta Stays credit.
- TakeOff 15.
- First checked bag free.
- Priority boarding (Zone 5).
- Pay with miles.
- 20% back on in-flight purchases.
Consumer insurance benefits
- Purchase protection.
- Extended warranty.
Travel insurance benefits
- Baggage insurance plan.
- Car rental loss and damage insurance.
- Global Assist® hotline.
Partner benefits and statement credits
- ShopRunner. Enrollment required.
- Amex Offers. Enrollment required.
Terms apply to all benefits.
Maximizing value: Get the most from the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
You’ll get the most value from the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card if you travel on Delta with some frequency and would otherwise pay for checked bags. Here are our tips for getting the most value from the Delta Gold card.
- Book together and share the free checked bag benefit. When you travel with others on the same reservation, up to 8 other people can enjoy your free checked bag benefit when they travel with you.
- Book at least one hotel stay a year through Delta Stays to capture the full value of the $100 Delta Stays credit.
- Spend $10,000 on the card each calendar year and no more. There are better cards that will get you more rewards on general purchases, on airline tickets, at U.S. supermarkets, and on dining. But spending $10,000 on the card in a calendar year will get you a $200 Delta flight credit, making it worthwhile to hit that spending threshold.
About SkyMiles: Value and best uses
With the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, you can earn Delta SkyMiles from both the welcome offer and from using the card for spending.
We consider Delta SkyMiles to be worth about 1.14 cents each if you hold a Delta credit card that offers the TakeOff 15 discount. This number is lower than what you’ll see on other sites because we apply a discount factor to account for SkyMiles not being redeemable for cash.
Here are a few things we learned from our analysis of Delta SkyMiles:
- SkyMiles provide consistent value—10,000 Delta SkyMiles can usually get you a ticket on Delta priced around $126-$148.
- Most SkyMiles tickets are priced dynamically—the price of the ticket in miles correlates with the cash price of the same itinerary.
- Delta SkyMiles are easy to use for domestic travel within the U.S. and international travel on Delta.
- Some of the most lucrative uses of Delta SkyMiles can be found during Delta’s SkyMiles flash sales. Occasionally Delta will offer unpublished SkyMiles specials in business class alongside its flash sales.
- It is uncommon to get outsized value from SkyMiles through premium cabin redemptions.
My take: Either wait for a better offer or look on Delta.com first
We’ve been tracking the welcome bonus on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card for this site for several years. Delta and Amex usually increase the offer on this card every few months, and the last limited-time offer ended October 24, 2024.
But the existence of the better offer on Delta.com means that you shouldn’t get the card through our links if the offer is still available. We’ll always direct you to the better offer, even if it means we don’t make money through our affiliate links.
Bottom line: You can get a stellar offer from Delta directly
The standard offer on the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is decent, but you’ll do much better if you go to Delta.com and walk through the booking process. As of the last time we updated this article, you could get slightly fewer miles, plus a massive statement credit—a much better deal than the public offers you’ll find elsewhere.
American Express card disclosures
- For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
- For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
- For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
Amex Basic Purchase Protection benefit disclosure: When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase with their Eligible Card, Purchase Protection can help protect their Covered Purchases for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date if it is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited to up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Amex Extended Warranty benefit disclosure: When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase to an Eligible Card, Extended Warranty§ can provide up to one extra year added to the Original Manufacturer’s Warranty. Applies to warranties of five (5) years or less. Coverage is up to the actual amount charged to your Card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Amex Basic Baggage Insurance Plan benefit disclosure: Baggage Insurance Plan coverage can be in effect for Eligible Persons for eligible lost, damaged, or stolen Baggage during their travel on a Common Carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus) when the entire fare for a Common Carrier Vehicle ticket for the trip (one-way or round-trip) is charged to an eligible Account. Coverage can be provided for up to $1,250 for carry-on Baggage and up to $500 for checked Baggage, in excess of coverage provided by the Common Carrier (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus). For New York State residents, there is a $10,000 aggregate maximum limit for all Covered Persons per Covered Trip. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Amex Basic Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance disclosure: Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible Card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the Commercial Car Rental Company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. Geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
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.
