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The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card is a small business card, giving business owners the ability to earn Delta SkyMiles for their purchases. The rewards earned can be redeemed for flights on Delta Airlines and its partners, in addition to vacations and gift cards to various retailers. And as cardholders spend, they will have the ability to use several card benefits, including checked bag fee waiver and priority boarding when flying Delta.
Below, Select breaks down the rewards, benefits and fees associated with the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card to help you decide if it’s the right card for your needs.
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Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card review
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
On the American Express secure site
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Rewards
Earn 2X miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta, on every dollar spent on eligible U.S. purchases for advertising in select media, on every dollar spent on eligible U.S. shipping purchases, on every eligible dollar spent at restaurants. Earn 1X mile on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases.
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Welcome bonus
Earn 50,000 bonus miles, and a $50 statement credit after spending $2,000 in purchases on your new card in your first three months.
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Annual fee
$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99
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Intro APR
None
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Regular APR
15.74% to 24.74% variable
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Balance transfer fee
N/A
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Foreign transaction fees
None
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Credit needed
Excellent/Good
Welcome bonus
With the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, you can earn: 50,000 Delta SkyMiles and a $50 statement credit after spending $2,000 in purchases on your new card in your first three months.
Even at a modest value of one cent per point, this gives cardholders $500 in value. However, you should be able to find redemptions where you can earn more than one cent per point. And adding in the $50 statement credit, this welcome offer delivers at least $550 in value after meeting the spending requirements.
And the prerequisite of spending $2,000 in three months is on the lower side compared to other airline credit cards, giving cardholders a simple path to earning a valuable welcome bonus.
Benefits and perks
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card comes with several great benefits you can take advantage of.
Earning miles for spending
When you spend on the card, you will earn:
- 2X Delta SkyMiles per dollar spent on eligible purchases directly with Delta, select advertising expenses, eligible shipping purchases and restaurants.
- 1X Delta SkyMiles per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases
Other benefits
The card includes a number of other benefits that are beneficial for those flying Delta, including:
- Main cabin 1 priority boarding
- First checked bag is free when flying on Delta for up to nine passengers on the same reservation
- 20% savings in the form of a statement credit on eligible Delta in-flight purchases
- $100 Delta flight credit after spending $10,000 in purchases in a calendar year
- No foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees)
- Baggage insurance
- Rental car insurance
- Integration with Quickbooks® for simple accounting
Select calculated how many points the average American can earn in a year when using their Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card. We worked with the location intelligence firm Esri, who provided us with a sample annual spending budget of $22,126.
The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). Here’s what the average consumer would earn using this card:
- Groceries: 5,174 Delta SkyMiles
- Gas: 2,218 Delta SkyMiles
- Dining out: 7,350 Delta SkyMiles
- Travel: 4,488 Delta SkyMiles (Assuming all travel dollars are spent with Delta Air Lines or hotels directly).
- Utilities: 4,862 Delta SkyMiles
- General purchases: 3,953 Delta SkyMiles
With all spending considered, this would give a cardholder 28,045 Delta SkyMiles in the first year, and if you include the 50,000 miles welcome bonus, 78,045 SkyMiles. Over a five year period, cardholders could earn 190,225 Delta SkyMiles. Cardholders could earn more (or less) miles depending on their annual spending habits.
How to earn and redeem Delta SkyMiles
Earning Delta SkyMiles
You can earn Delta SkyMiles in several ways, but largely, consumers will find themselves building their mileage balance in two ways: flying with the airline or spending on a cobranded credit card.
As you fly and spend, you will earn miles that can immediately be redeemed. And what’s more is that you don’t need a ton of miles to fly for free with Delta, as some flights start as low as 5,000 miles.
And you can even have multiple Delta cards to earn several welcome bonuses to jumpstart your balances. The other Delta cards available are:
Personal
- Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
Business
- Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Redeeming Delta SkyMiles
Once you earn enough miles to redeem for a flight, you will have a long list of redemption options, including: complimentary flights (less taxes and fees), Delta gift cards, seat upgrades, Delta vacation packages, magazine subscriptions or a SkyMiles in-person experience.
Additionally, you’ll have access to booking flights with Delta’s partners, including airlines in the SkyTeam alliance. So if you’re searching for flights internationally on Delta’s website, you may find flights for one of the following airlines: Aeroflot, Aerolineas Argentinas, AeroMexico, Air Europa, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Czech Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, ITA Airways, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, LATAM, MEA, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia and Xiamen Air.
Rates and fees
Card comparison
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card can provide great value for business owners, but is it the best travel-rewards card for you and your business?
Select analyzed two other premium travel credit cards to see how they match up with the Delta Gold Business Amex.
Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card vs. United℠ Business Card
The United℠ Business Card is similar to the Delta Gold Business Amex, except it gives small business owners the ability to earn United miles. The card mimics the annual fee model of the Delta Gold Business, it’s $0 intro for the first year, then $99 thereafter.
The United Business Card comes with a great welcome offer of 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
Each card offers very similar benefits, including free checked bags and flight credits, so if you’re deciding between the two cards, you should decide which card is better for you based on where you fly out of and what airline you prefer. For example, if you live in Atlanta, the Delta card may be more beneficial for you. Whereas if you live in Denver or Los Angeles, both United hubs, the United card might be a better option.
Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card vs. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a large step-up from the Delta Gold Business Amex in terms of benefits, features, welcome offer and annual fee. The card comes with a long list of perks including spending credits for travel, comprehensive travel insurance, automatic hotel loyalty status and more.
However, the card comes with a steep annual fee of $595 (until 1/12/2022, where it will increase to $695; see rates and fees). Additionally, it has a large welcome bonus with a hefty spending requirement. You can earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of card membership. And the Membership Rewards points earned can be transferred directly to Delta at a 1:1 ratio. The Business Platinum card also gives you access to Delta SkyClub lounges when flying Delta.
These two cards are very different, making them difficult to compare side-to-side. But if you fly with Delta regularly, but want luxury benefits and flexibility to fly with other airlines, and can budget for the steep annual fee — the Business Platinum card from Amex may be worth considering. But if you simply want to earn Delta SkyMiles and avoid paying checked bag fees, the Delta Gold Business Amex may be a suitable fit.
Who the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card is best for
The Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Amex is a solid option for small business owners wanting to earn airline miles for their day-to-day purchases and enjoy basic, but useful, travel benefits when flying Delta. The card comes with concise spending categories so cardholders can know quickly how many miles they will earn with each purchase. Additionally, this card is great for people who travel internationally as the card has no foreign transaction fees.
However, keep in mind that this card is designed for people who enjoy ‘no-frills’ travel that doesn’t include airport lounge access or the possibility for seat upgrades. If you’re looking for those types of features, you may want to look at one of the other personal or business Delta credit cards mentioned above.
Bottom line
The Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Amex is one of the many cobranded Delta cards giving consumers and business owners the chance to earn Delta SkyMiles for their purchases. In the case of the Delta Gold Business Amex, this cards caters to small business owners wanting to earn miles, save on checked bag fees and have priority boarding.
However, even though there is a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, it’s important to always ensure you’re spending responsibly. Because it’s never a good idea to spend more for the sake of earning rewards, and maintaining a sturdy budget for your business is more important than earning airline miles.
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For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, click here
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, click here
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, click here
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, click here
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, click here
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, click here
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.