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The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card is more or less exactly what you’d expect for a mid-tier airline co-branded business travel card.
You earn 2X SkyMiles per dollar on purchases made directly with Delta Air Lines, and that’s on top of the 5X miles you earn as a member of the free SkyMiles program.
You also get 2X SkyMiles for every dollar spent on U.S. purchases for advertising in select media, eligible U.S. shipping purchases, and dining, which makes the card a lot more interesting.
The card’s benefits include (but aren’t limited to) priority boarding, waived fees for first checked bags, and Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance. Some of these can prove very valuable for frequent business travelers.
Combine this all into one neat package, and what you’ve got is a solid business credit card with helpful reward categories that’s great for avid Delta flyers, and probably no one else.
The SkyMiles Gold Business card is one of three Delta co-branded business cards, which complement the airline’s four co-branded consumer cards.
Card | Annual Fee | Rewards |
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Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card (This review) | $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 |
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Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card (Review) | $250 (Rates & Fees) |
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Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card (Review) | $550 (Rates & Fees) |
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The information related to Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
We’re scoring the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business credit card at 4 out of 5 Stars. With solid rewards, good benefits, and a relatively low annual fee (that’s waived for a year), there’s not too much to complain about.
The Delta SkyMiles Gold Business offers a pretty straightforward reward structure.
You’re typically getting a 2%–3% cash back equivalent in the card’s non-Delta 2X categories, assuming a value of 1 to 1.5 cents per SkyMile.
If you’re using your Gold card to book Delta flights or make other Delta purchases, however, you’ll also get at least 5X SkyMiles per dollar just for being a SkyMiles member, upping the potential cash back equivalent to 7%–10% or more.
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If you’re contemplating a co-branded Delta credit card, then you shouldn’t have much trouble taking advantage of the Delta spending category. Book flights on the Delta website, and you’ll get 2X SkyMiles per dollar from the card and 5X SkyMiles from your basic SkyMiles membership status (members at higher Medallion tiers earn more miles per dollar).
There are some fairly specific restrictions to keep in mind for the other categories. Take U.S. advertising for example — purchases must involve online, television, and/or radio advertising. Direct mail services, like lead and list generation, are excluded.
As for the U.S. shipping category, you’ll only earn miles with U.S.-based courier, postal, and freight shippers. That does not include shipping charges associated with retail orders, or for moving services.
The restaurant category works pretty much as you’d expect, so you shouldn’t have much trouble there. Eat with clients or coworkers, and use your Delta card to earn SkyMiles. Easy.
In addition to the card’s typical reward structure, the Gold Business serves up an appetizing welcome bonus that can offset the card’s annual fee for several years if you can get it without carrying a balance and incurring interest charges.
Delta gives you quite a few redemption options. You can’t transfer miles, but you can redeem with a variety of SkyTeam partner airlines. That’s fairly normal for a co-branded airline card. Pick a general business travel card if you’d prefer to have a point transfer option.
You’ll generally get the best redemption value if you redeem your Delta SkyMiles for flights, rather than the other options we’ll list below. No surprise, seeing as Delta’s an airline.
When you redeem SkyMiles for flights, you’ll typically receive a value of between 1–1.5 cents per mile, and sometimes even more, depending on the specifics of the flight (class, route, time, etc.). That’s not too bad, about standard for airline miles.
You can redeem your SkyMiles for flights with both Delta and its partners on the Delta website. They make it easy, allowing you to view prices in either miles or cash, so you can weigh your options to find the best value.
There are a few other booking options, too: Miles + Cash and Pay With Miles. Both are fairly similar, and we don’t recommend either option over typical mile bookings.
Though similar in name, Miles + Cash and Pay with Miles work a bit differently.
For Miles + Cash, Delta uses a cash surcharge to lower the flight’s mile price.
Pay with Miles allows you to book airfare with miles (but only in 5,000-mile increments) and then cover the rest with cash.
Something to keep in mind is that Miles + Cash flights are considered award tickets, while tickets purchased via Pay with Miles are not. That means you’ll earn rewards on the cash portion of a Pay with Miles ticket, but not for Miles + Cash.
Let’s look at a few examples of standard flight redemptions.
Here, we have a round-trip itinerary from New York (JFK) to Austin and back, showing the cash and miles prices. It’s a Basic Economy ticket.
You’re getting a value of roughly 1.23 cents per mile, and that’s without factoring the cash fee into the mix. That’s not that great for an airline card, but it could be worse.
A markedly different ticket, here’s a Main Cabin itinerary from Los Angeles to Mexico City.
The per-mile value jumps up a bit here, rising to about 1.56 cents per mile. But with a trip like this, the cash fee you’re required to pay is much higher. Factor it in, and you’re only getting 1.21 cents per mile. Very close to the example above.
We’ve listed a few more examples below, just so you have a good idea of what you’re in for as a Delta cardholder. Keep in mind that you’ll have to pay a cash fee for every award ticket, and we haven’t included that in our value calculations. That fee can vary, and is typically much higher for flights that leave the United States.
Round Trip Route | Class | Cash Price | Miles Price | Value Per Mile |
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CVG to PHL | Basic Economy | $286.60 | 26,000 + $11.20 | 1.1 cents |
JFK to LAS | Main Cabin | $686.60 | 57,000 + $11.20 | 1.2 cents |
SEA to YVR | Comfort+ | $361.65 | 29,000 + $51.85 | 1.25 cents |
JFK to AUS | First | $718.40 | 53,000 + $11.20 | 1.35 cents |
Aside from flights, SkyMiles can be redeemed for:
We recommend you mostly avoid these options, because you’ll nearly always get a better value by redeeming miles for airfare.
Though we don't recommend redeeming for anything other than flights, you may still want an idea of the value you'll get with some of these alternatives.
Delta gift card redemptions are a great first example. They'll typically give you 0.9 cents per mile at best, and that’s only if you redeem for a $1,000 gift card. The smaller the gift card, the lower the redemption value.
Redeeming for Delta Sky Club access is a marginally better deal, offering a flat 1 cent per mile. Swap 84,500 miles for a one-year Executive Membership (normally $845) or 54,500 for a one-year Individual Membership (normally $545).
However, if airport lounge access means that much to you, you’re probably better off just applying for the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business, which gets you into Delta Sky Club and Centurion Lounges for free.
You’re not getting anything out of the ordinary when it comes to Gold’s credit card benefits, but some of these perks can be pretty useful. They include:
Purchase APR | Balance Transfer APR | Cash Advance APR |
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15.74% - 24.74% Variable | None | 25.24% Variable |
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$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 | None |
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None | Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater. |
Penalty APR | Late Fee | Returned Payment Fee |
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29.24% Variable | Up to $39 | $39 |
The SkyMiles Gold card’s annual fee is waived the first year, which can be very useful. That gives you a chance to evaluate just how well the card actually fits your spending habits.
Plus, like many great travel rewards cards, the SkyMiles Gold Business charges no foreign transaction fee. The catch? Because it’s an American Express card, its acceptance will probably be limited abroad anyway.
Read more Best Business Credit Cards With No Foreign Transaction FeesLove flying Delta? Love scoring rewards on flight purchases and common business expenses? It’s tough to go wrong with the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card. Perfectly suited for Delta enthusiasts, the card packs enough into its reward structure and benefits package to justify its annual fee, but only if you’re flying Delta (or its partners) frequently.
It’s not the flashiest business travel rewards card in the industry by any means, but if you’re not keen on a card with a several-hundred-dollar annual fee, the SkyMiles Gold Business is worth your consideration.
You can apply for the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business by clicking the “Apply Now” button below. Then, fill out and submit the application, which requires both personal and business information. American Express will conduct a hard inquiry, and will likely let you know whether you’re approved or denied immediately.
In some cases you may have to wait while Amex evaluates your application, or you may be asked for more information before a decision can be made.
The Delta SkyMiles Gold Business card is geared toward cardholders with good personal credit. That’s a score of at least 670 with FICO, and 700 or higher for VantageScore.
Credit scores that meet (or exceed) these standards won’t guarantee approval, however. Each decision incorporates a variety of additional information, like your income, and you may be denied if you don’t quite meet the credit card issuer’s requirements.
The information related to Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
While the SkyMiles Gold Business is a good credit card for its target audience, it may not be an exact fit for your business. We’ll discuss a few high-quality alternatives here, including other options for Delta devotees, and more generally focused travel cards that nonetheless allow you to redeem points for flights.
The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card (Review) is a higher-end sibling of the SkyMiles Gold Business. It’s pretty simple — you pay a higher annual fee, and you get different rewards and enhanced benefits.
This is another card that’s only for Delta die-hards. If that sounds like you, the Platinum Business is a powerful contender.
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This card’s reward structure is surprisingly different from the Gold’s. Instead of earning SkyMiles in various business-focused categories, the Platinum ramps up your earnings with Delta, and then adds 3X per dollar at hotels. It’s a more traditional travel rewards card in this respect.
The information related to Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
Rounding out Delta’s selection of business credit cards, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card (Review) flaunts a somewhat stripped-down reward structure in exchange for a healthy batch of premium benefits, including airport lounge access.
It’s expensive, but if you spend a ton of time in airports, it could easily be worth it.
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The Reserve carries over the Platinum’s 3X reward rate on direct Delta purchases, but that’s the only bonus category. Otherwise, the only time you’ll get more than 1X SkyMile per dollar is if you spend $150,000 in a calendar year. After you reach that $150K threshold, you’ll get 1.5X SkyMiles per dollar on everything (aside from Delta purchases) until that year ends.
The information related to Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
If you’re looking for a business credit card with excellent rewards and solid benefits that won’t cost you hundreds of dollars annually, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Review) is about as good as it gets.
There’s an annual fee, but what you get for the price is good enough that it’s basically a non-issue. The card’s key downfall is the $150,000 annual spending limit on its 3X categories.
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It’s likely no surprise why the Ink Business Preferred is such a hit with small business owners. The 3X category is impressively diverse, covering a plethora of purchases considered essential by businesses around the world.
The card’s $150,000 spending limit isn’t awful, either — certainly a step up from the $50,000-ish limits you see with most no annual fee business cards.
The American Express® Business Gold Card (Review) looks a bit like the Ink Business Preferred at first glance. Its spending categories are similar, and those categories even feature the same $150,000 combined annual spending limit.
With that said, there are several important differences. The Amex Gold’s annual fee is much higher, for example, and its reward structure works differently.
Last, but certainly not least, the Gold is naturally part of the American Express Membership Rewards program rather than Chase Ultimate Rewards. Partner loyalty programs differ, and your most valuable redemption options may vary between each program, though both types of points tend to lean toward the more valuable side.
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The Business Gold tailors itself to your spending habits. Wherever you spend the most out of the above categories is where you earn 4X points.
The information related to American Express® Business Gold Card has been collected by Credit Card Insider and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, please click here.
The Delta SkyMiles Gold Business credit card offers rewards on direct Delta purchases, plus several business essentials, as well as a handful of helpful benefits. It’s a great pick for frequent business travelers who prefer to fly Delta.
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