Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card – Review

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card is an airline credit card for frequent Delta flyers who like to travel in comfort and style. The rewards scheme is similar to the Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card from American Express, with the important addition of a loyalty component that accelerates heavy spenders’ progress toward Delta’s coveted Medallion status tiers.

Used properly, the Medallion benefit can be incredibly valuable, and arguably alone makes this card worthwhile. Aside from the rewards program, this card has a host of generous perks and benefits that collectively outshine those of many competing cards.

On the other hand, this card’s generous travel rewards come at a price: a $350 annual fee, charged from the first year onward. If you don’t take ample advantage of this card’s rewards and benefits, it may wind up costing more than it’s worth. On the other hand, if you use this card as it’s meant to be used, you’ll reap the rewards (literally).

Key Features

The key features of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business card include a generous welcome offer, a strong rewards program, and ongoing benefits for frequent flyers.

Welcome Offer

Delta Medallion Program

Prospective cardholders need to understand how Delta’s Medallion status program works.

The program has four tiers: Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. All are designed to reward frequent Delta flyers with benefits such as priority boarding, waived fees (such as baggage and standby fees), complimentary class and preferred seating upgrades, and accelerated MQM and SkyMiles earnings. Benefit generosity increases with each status tier, with Diamond members enjoying complimentary Delta Sky Club membership and two complimentary Global Entry application vouchers.

To achieve these tiers, you need to earn requisite combinations of MQMs (multiples of total flight distance flown on each flight, usually 100% of distance flown on economy flights and 200% of distance flown in first class) or Medallion Qualification Segments (MQSs, or Delta flight segments) and Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs, or certain fare dollars spent with Delta: base fares, surcharges, and some upgrades) within a calendar year. Once earned, Medallion status remains in force for the remainder of the current year and the entire following year.

Status level requirements are as follows:

• Silver Medallion Status: 25,000 MQMs or 30 MQSs and $3,000 MQDs
• Gold Medallion Status: 50,000 MQMs or 60 MQSs and $6,000 MQDs
• Platinum Medallion Status: 75,000 MQMs or 100 MQSs and $9,000 MQDs
• Diamond Medallion Status: 125,000 MQMs or 140 MQSs and $15,000 MQDs

Earning SkyMiles

All eligible Delta purchases (airfare, in-flight purchases, Sky Club airport lounge passes, and other incidental expenditures) earn 3 Delta SkyMiles per $1 spent. Earn 1.5 SkyMiles per $1 spent on eligible transit and U.S. shipping purchases (Terms & Mile Cap Apply), plus single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more.

Redeeming SkyMiles

The best way to redeem your SkyMiles is for Delta airfare. Redemption thresholds generally start at 10,000 SkyMiles for certain domestic economy one-ways, or 12,500 SkyMiles for a wider range of domestic flights on flexible travel dates. However, redemption requirements are subject to change, and some travel times, dates, and destinations (such as peak-season weekend flights to popular vacation destinations) require more SkyMiles.

SkyMiles’ redemption values vary, generally falling between $0.005 to $0.02 per mile at redemption, but sometimes higher or lower. Delta’s new Pay With Miles feature, an exclusive benefit for SkyMiles Gold and Platinum cardholders, lets you use SkyMiles for partial airfare redemptions and pay the remainder of the ticket value with cash. Such redemptions always value SkyMiles at $0.01 each and require at least 5,000 SkyMiles – for example, a 5,000-SkyMile Pay With Miles redemption produces a $50 fare reduction.

You can also redeem SkyMiles at the Delta SkyMiles MarketPlace for merchandise, special experiences (such as musical performances), and gift cards. Miles redeemed for MarketPlace purchases are usually worth less than miles redeemed for airfare – in some cases, far less than $0.01 apiece. On the bright side, MarketPlace redemption sometimes require as few as 2,000 SkyMiles.

Companion Certificate Benefit

Every year your card account remains open and in good standing, you receive one companion certificate. Companion certificates can be redeemed for one domestic economy round-trip fare, provided the flyer travels with the primary cardholder and both tickets (or, in the companion fare’s case, government taxes and fees) are purchased with the primary cardholder’s Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business card.

Annual MQDs Bonus (Status Boost)

Receive $2,500 Medallion^® Qualification Dollars each Medallion Qualification Year, plus earn $1 Medallion Qualification Dollar after you spend $20 on your Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Card.

15% Discount on Delta Award Travel

Eligible cardholders may earn a 15% discount on Delta award fares with TakeOff15. This offer does not apply to partner-operated fares, nor to taxes and fees.

Delta Travel Benefits

In addition to the companion certificate benefit,  Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business has other valuable Delta travel benefits:

• One free checked bag for the cardholder (a $60 value per round trip)
• 20% off all in-flight purchases (including food and entertainment) when you pay with your American Express Delta card
• Main Cabin 1 priority boarding

Additional Business Benefits

This card has some non-travel benefits for business owners, including:

• Digital receipt storage
• The flexibility to designate an employee as your account manager, whose privileges include the ability to resolve transaction disputes with merchants
• Category-based expense tagging and tracking

Important Fees

There is a $350 annual fee. Cash advances cost the greater of $5 or 3%. Late and returned payments both cost up to $39.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, please visit this rates and fees page.

Credit Required

This card requires good to excellent credit.

Advantages

The top advantages of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business card include MQD bonuses and free companion airfare every year.

1. MQD Bonuses Dramatically Accelerate Medallion Status Progress. Receive $2,500 Medallion Qualification Dollars each Medallion Qualification Year and earn $1 MQD for each $20 of purchases with your Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
2. Free Companion Airfare Every Year. This card awards a complimentary companion airfare certificate every year your account remains open and in good standing. This benefit is redeemable for any domestic round-trip fare, pegging its potential value at several hundred dollars. Companion fare benefits are distressingly rare in the business travel card space, and those that exist – such as Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Business’s $121 companion fare – aren’t as attractive.
3. Great Welcome Offer. This card has an unusually generous welcome offer for new cardmembers.

Disadvantages

The biggest drawbacks of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business card include its high annual fee, limitations on SkyMile redemptions, and mediocre earnings on most non-airfare spending.

1. High Annual Fee. This card’s $350 annual fee is higher than many competing business cards’, and isn’t waived during the first year your account is open. To make this recurring charge worthwhile, you need to use this card (and its non-SkyMiles benefits) heavily.
2. Airfare Rewards and Redemption Aren’t Versatile. SkyMiles aren’t the most versatile travel rewards currency in the world – they’re only good for award travel on Delta. If you don’t want to feel pressured to remain loyal to Delta, or don’t live near an airport served by Delta, consider a general purpose travel card such as American Express Business Platinum or Capital One Spark Miles for Business.
3. Non-Delta Spending Earns Rewards Slowly. Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business accrues just 1 SkyMile per $1 in most eligible non-Delta spending (except on eligible transit and U.S. shipping purchases, plus single eligible purchases of $5,000 or more which earn 1.5 SkyMiles). That’s a decidedly mediocre rate. If earning rewards quickly is important to you, look for a business travel card that earns 1.5 points per $1 spent (Capital One Spark Miles Select) or 2 points per $1 spent (Capital One Spark Miles) on all spending – though remember that SkyMiles can be worth more than Capital One’s No Hassle Miles.
4. MarketPlace Redemptions Offer Poor Value. The SkyMiles MarketPlace is usually not a good place to redeem your accumulated SkyMiles. That’s because MarketPlace redemptions often value points at well under $0.01 apiece, compared with upwards of $0.01 apiece (in many cases) for airfare redemptions. It only makes sense to redeem SkyMiles at the MarketPlace if you don’t plan to travel anytime soon – and, if that’s the case, you should strongly consider ditching this card anyway.

Final Word

Many U.S. business owners live close to an airport served by Delta, a huge airline with three principal U.S. hubs, several major “focus” cities, and hundreds of domestic and international destinations. If you’re one of them, you probably won’t have trouble earning and redeeming SkyMiles with the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card.

On the other hand, if you don’t live near a Delta airport, another business travel credit card (perhaps a more general card, such as Capital One Spark Miles) is probably a better bet. And, if your credit isn’t in excellent shape or you’re just not sure you’ll earn rewards fast enough to offset this card’s annual fee, a less costly (and less generous) card is likely to suit you better.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, please visit this rates and fees page.