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The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card is a great card for small business owners who flies frequently with Delta. It comes with a solid welcome bonus and a plethora of travel benefits like free checked bags, priority boarding, and an annual companion certificate.
Delta actually offers three options in its lineup of Amex-branded business cards, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card , and the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card — with the Platinum card at the mid-tier level.
In this article, we’ll dive deeper into the benefits of the Delta Platinum Business Card. We’ll also help you figure out whether this card is for you or if you’re better off with the other Delta business cards. Without further adieu, let’s get into it!
Read More: Delta Partners That Lets Your Earn SkyMiles
Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card Highlights
- Welcome Offer: Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $8,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 Bonus Miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 6 months. Offer Ends 10/25/23.
- Status Boost
- Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding
- First Checked Bag Free
- Delta Sky Club® Access
- Companion Certificate
- In-Flight Savings
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- Travel protection
- $250 annual fee (see rates and fees)
- Terms and limitations apply.
Welcome Offer
New cardholders of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card will earn 90,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $8,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 Bonus Miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase with your new Card within your first 6 months. Offer Ends 10/25/23.
With an average 1.5 cents per point redemption value, the 100,000 bonus is worth around $1500 when redeemed through Delta awards.
Earning Rewards
The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card has a very simple yet solid rewards structure. Cardholders will earn:
Earn more miles on big purchases with 1.5 miles per dollar on single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (that’s an extra half mile per dollar), up to 50,000 additional miles per Calendar year. If your purchase qualifies for a category that has a higher mileage accelerator, only the higher accelerator will apply (ex. you would earn 3X miles on purchases made directly with Delta and hotels instead of 1.5X).
Take note that eligible Delta purchases include seat upgrades, seat selections, miles purchases, inflight meals and beverages, Delta Sky Club membership or passes, and even Delta Vacation packages (Delta Wifi is not included).
Status Boost
With Status Boost®, earn 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to 2x per year, getting you closer to Medallion Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion Status and are different from the miles you earn towards flights. Effective 1/1/24, this benefit will no longer be available, and there will be a new way to earn toward Medallion Status with the Card. Learn more at delta.com/skymilesprogramchanges.
Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding
The primary cardholder and up to eight guests will get Main Cabin 1 priority boarding on Delta-marketed and Delta-operated flights as long as they are under the same reservation. The advantage of having priority boarding is it lets you store your carry-on luggage in the overhead storage ahead of time so you won’t run out of space.
The Delta boarding priority is as follows (starting with the highest priority): Pre-boarding, Delta One, First Class, Diamond Medallion, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+, Sky Priority members, Main Cabin 1, Main Cabin 2, Main Cabin 3, and Basic Economy.
Panda Tips:
Delta-marketed flights are sold directly on the Delta website and app. Boarding passes will usually have the code “DL” on them (Ex. Flight No. DL 241).
Meanwhile, Delta-operated flights are marketed by other airlines but the aircraft and crew belong to Delta. This means that boarding passes will have a code of the airline that markets them. For example, a Virgin Atlantic-marketed flight that’s operated by Delta will have the “VS” letters on the flight number (Ex. Flight No. VS 603).
First Checked Bag Is Free
Delta baggage fees can cost around $30 per trip so getting your first checked bag for free is a nice perk that can save you lots of money. The benefit only applies to Delta-marketed and Delta-operated flights. Additionally, eight guests will also have the same benefit as long as they are under the same reservation as the primary cardholder.
Delta Sky Club Access
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card cardholders will get discounted rates to more than 50 Delta SkyClub Lounges and 250 partner lounges worldwide.
Delta Sky Club® Access – Get access to Delta Sky Club® at a rate of $50 per person per visit for you and up to two guests or immediate family while flying together on Delta. Effective 1/1/24, this benefit will no longer be available.
Anniversary Companion Certificate
You can receive a domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government-imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
The Companion Certificate is one of the main selling points of the Delta Platinum Business card as it can save you hundreds of dollars every year. However, you must be flexible with your trips since the policies are slightly restricting.
In-Flight Savings
Use your Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card when you purchase food, beverages, or audio headsets and get a 20% discount in the form of a statement credit. The discount doesn’t apply to Delta WIFI purchases.
Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
Get up to $100 statement credit when you apply for a Global Entry or TSA Precheck membership with your Delta Platinum Business card. This benefit is available every five years.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Pay ZERO transaction fees when you use your card to make purchases abroad. Foreign transaction fees typically cost around 3% per transaction. (see rates and fees)
Travel Protection
While the protections may not be as extensive as the American Express Platinum Card, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business card still comes with decent travel and buyer protections.
- Trip Delay Insurance: +Cardholders can get a reimbursement of up to $300 per trip (up to 2 claims per year) if their flight was delayed by involuntary reasons for more than 12 hours. The insurance only applies to round-trip flights that were paid entitled with your card.
- Baggage Insurance Plan: For any luggage that is lost, damaged, or stolen, cardholders can get up to $1,250 for a carry-on and up to $500 for a checked bag.
- Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance: If you used your card to pay entirely for a rental car and declined the rental company’s insurance, you’ll be covered with your card’s car rental loss and damage insurance. Basically, your card insurance acts as secondary coverage.
Terms Apply, Annual Fee $250 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.
All these protection benefits only apply to purchases made with your Delta Gold Business Card.
Pros
- Status Boost that lets you earn more MQMs with credit card spend
- Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit
- Annual companion flight certificate
- Free checked bag for you and eight guests
- Priority boarding for your and eight guests
- Terms Apply, Annual fee $250
Cons
- Low earning rates for non-Delta purchases
- Does not get you complimentary Delta lounge access
- Status Boost not relevant to those not going for Delta Status
Read More: Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card: Is It Good For Frequent Travelers?
Who Is This Card For?
You don’t have to be a big business tycoon to own the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card. The annual fee is only $250 (see rates and fees) which can be easily offset by the card’s travel companion certificate.
To be able to maximize the benefits of this card, you’d have to be a Delta frequent flyer and by that, we mean flying at least 10 times a year.
Take note that the Platinum Business card doesn’t have broad earning categories for business expenses so flying should be your main spending activity if you want to stack up on SkyMiles and redeem those miles for award travel on the Delta SkyMiles program.
Comparing The Delta Skymiles Platinum Business To Other Cards
If you’re not much of a flyer, you can opt for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card instead which allows you to earn SkyMiles from business expenses like advertising, restaurant purchases, and shipping. This means you can earn SkyMiles without having to set foot on a plane.
Now, if you want more flexibility, you can get The Business Platinum Card® from American Express which lets you earn Amex Membership Rewards points instead of Delta SkyMiles for every dollar you spend.
With Amex points, you can transfer them to other hotel and airline loyalty programs which expands your options for award redemptions.
Read More: Delta Clear Membership Offers Discounted Rates For SkyMiles Members
Bottomline: Is The Card Worth it?
It depends on your spending habits. If you’re a business owner whose spending is focused on Delta flights, then getting the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card would be worth it.
If you can manage to use the companion pass the annual fee could pay itself off just with that benefit alone. Furthermore, many of the benefits overlap with the Delta Gold Business Card which has a much lower annual fee.
However, if you don’t fly Delta very often and not interested in getting Delta Status, another card may be a better fit, as the annual fee is quite high. For more information we recommend you check out our article on which Delta Business Credit Card is the best fit for you.
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