Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business from American Express® Review

American Express Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business Credit Card Review

The American Express Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business Credit Card is a middle-of-the-road card on the Delta list that offers nice travel perks for a fair annual fee of $250. Alongside good miles rewards, you will also get such lucrative features as a free first checked bag, an annual companion certificate, a generous sign-up bonus, and a chance of getting a solid bump on your road to the Medallion® Status membership. The lack of foreign transaction fees is also significant for international travelers.

However, some entrepreneurs may feel the disadvantage of Delta biz because there is no free access to the Delta Sky Club®. The variable purchase APR rate is 20.99% - 29.99%. Those are average numbers among the travel credit cards that offer close-to-luxury travel perks. If you are a loyal Delta customer that spends much time during business trips with Delta Airlines - the credit card is one to consider. But you may still face the problem of choosing between better travel perks or lower annual fees.

American Express Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business Credit Card: pros and cons

American Express Platinum Delta Skymiles Business: rewards system in a nutshell

The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business credit card provides rewards in the form of miles for every purchase made. There are also some special categories where you can earn increased rewards like 3X miles on eligible Delta purchases, 3X miles on hotels, 1.5X miles on large purchases, and 1X miles on all other purchases. Large purchases are qualified if they are $5,000 or more. You may get up to 50,000 additional miles by making large purchases per calendar year. That means you can receive 0.5 extra miles on every dollar spent on large purchases up to $100,000 per year (0.5 miles * $100,000 = 50,000 additional miles).

Delta miles are estimated at about 1.5 cents apiece. That means you would be better off looking for options with this redemption rate to get the maximum benefit from the credit card.

In this regard, the best way is to get award flights and seat upgrades on Delta and its partners. You can do this at a good rate using the eCerts provided by the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business credit card. Just log in to your Delta SkyMiles banking account and search for the available eCerts. You can cover the cost of your ticket, upgrade your seat to the first or business-class cabin, etc. You may also use eCredits which you can use as payment toward the cost of a Delta ticket and any government-imposed taxes and fees, or buy Delta gift cards, but the redemption rate leaves much to be desired (1 cent per mile).

Another way of redeeming your miles is the “Pay with Miles” program. This program lets you upgrade your seats or book flights with Delta and its partners to more than 1,000 destinations domestically and internationally. You may use your miles to book vacation packages, hotels, car rentals, etc. In this case, the minimum redemption is 5,000 miles with 5,000 miles increments. The redemption rate is only 1 cent per mile which is not the best option with the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business credit card. There is also a “Pay with Miles + Cash” feature - you can get an award ticket using your miles in combination with U.S. dollars.

It's hard to say that the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Credit Card rewards system is the most lucrative card among airline credit cards. The rewards rate can not be considered high due to the lack of increased categories and extra miles on provided categories. The redemption ways are also too limited. However, the rewards system is not so bad. There are still some attractive redemption options at a good rate. Entrepreneurs who regularly make large purchases will appreciate the increased rewards, which can reach up to 50,000 miles per calendar year. That's $750 that can be redeemed by shopping at a beneficial rate. If you hit this gap - you will cover your one-round business trip airfare. Note that you may find some other cards with much higher rewards.

Who can benefit from the American Express Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business Credit Card?

The American Express Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business Credit Card is a middle-ground option for avid Delta travelers. The annual fee is $250, which may seem high at first, but the rewards and luxury perks will offset the annual fee. So, who can benefit the most from this credit card?

Two other cards in the AmEx Delta list are the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express® and the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express® with $550 and $99 annual fees. The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express® is a starter credit card for those who fly with Delta sometimes. The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express® is a card with luxurious perks such as free Delta Sky Club® access, a companion certificate, and many other features.

The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Credit Card, in turn, is an option for those who will have the lack of features and perks using the starter AmEx Delta credit card, and for those who can not cover such a jumbo annual fee of $250. However, you must be a regular Delta passenger to justify the annual fee and take advantage of all the benefits.

Even though you won’t get a free Delta Sky Club® access, there are still myriad travel benefits like a free annual Companion Certificate, a free first checked bag for you and up to 8 persons on your reservation, a good rewards rate, a priority boarding option, a sign-up bonus of 60,000 Bonus Miles and 5,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs), and lots of other benefits.

If you're seeking the Medallion® Status, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Credit Card can help you do just that: you will earn 10,000 qualifying Medallion® miles (MQMs) when you spend $25,000 on credit card purchases in a calendar year. You can collect this bonus up to 2 times a year. In combination with a sign-up bonus, that is 25,000 bonus MQMs. Bonus miles will help you obtain the Silver Medallion® Status. The Silver Status holders have the following options: 7x miles per $1 spent on eligible purchases (+40% bonus), complimentary free seat upgrades to First Class or Comfort+ (24 hours before departure), and no baggage fees.

But for those seeking Gold, Platinum, or Diamond status, we recommend the American Express Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Credit Card. It will also give you bonus MQMs, but these award miles can reach up to 70,000!

It is also worth mentioning that some travel benefits can already cover the annual fee. Thus, with an annual companion certificate, you can make up your annual payments a few times since the cost of the round-trip business trip will likely exceed $500. Companion certificate is only redeemable towards a round-trip ticket in the main cabin departing and arriving in the 48 contiguous United States. A free first-check bag may also save you a lot of money. If you travel with 8 companions on the same reservation - you can save up to $540 on a round trip. Of course, people usually don't have many companions, but if you travel often, the amount you can save is also decent.

To make the long story short, we can say that if you are a frequent Delta flyer and don’t need free Delta Sky Club® access or Gold and higher Medallion® Status - the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Credit Card is a good option. You will still get lucrative travel perks that will help you to cover the annual fee and earn good rewards. But if you are looking for comfort while traveling with Delta and want to reach the higher Medallion® Status, consider the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card. Also, non-Delta flyers won’t find this card as a good travel credit card. We recommend you other familiar travel credit cards with cash-back rewards. Or, if you are loyal to another airline company - see if there are options for you that will give you this company’s miles. For example, if you are loyal to American Airlines - you may look at the AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® and get good mileage benefits for the fair annual fee of just $99.

Are there any other benefits?

Here, you can find some other benefits:

• Priority boarding. Receive the privilege of main cabin 1 priority boarding for you and up to 8 people on the same reservation. If you do not usually check bags - this feature can save you a lot of time.
• Statement credit for TSA Precheck or Global Entry application fees. Get a $100 statement credit every 4 years after applying for global entry or up to $85 statement credit, or every 4.5 years after applying for TSA PreCheck.
• In-flight discount. Get a 20% discount on in-flight purchases in the form of a statement credit if you pay with your Delta credit card.
• AmEx business mobile app. American Express provides a Delta credit card app for their customers where you can make online transactions, see your rewards, monitor your transactions, and get instant 24/7 customer support in one click.
• $0 annual fee employee cards. Add employee cards to your Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business Card for free. You can set limits and monitor all the transactions to avoid overspending.
• Year-end summary. At the end of each year, you will receive a complete categorized summary that will help you to track your business expenses. All the purchases are sorted by month and type of transaction.
• Travel protections. Travel protections include trip delay insurance, baggage insurance, car rental loss, and damage insurance, extended warranty, and purchase protection. All these features may save you a lot of money.
• Customer support services. Beyond the familiar AmEx customer support service that will help you 24/7, you will also have special customer support services for your travel and business needs - Global Assist® Hotline if you need help while traveling and Relationship Care® Service if you need professional support for your business issues.

Conclusion

We might say that the American Express Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business Credit Card does not provide the best mileage bonuses, but if you are committed to Delta Airlines and its partners - this credit card deserves your attention. Alongside with a number of airline perks, there are also numerous travel protections, useful business perks, and a convenient mobile application. The hefty annual fee can be easily defrayed just by the annual companion certificate, which is a rarity among travel credit cards. But if you are tied to another airline company, this Delta business credit card won’t work for you well. In this case, choose other travel or airline credit card options.