Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Welcome Offer

If you’re looking for a premium airline card with a strong welcome offer, and are willing to pay a premium annual fee to carry it, the Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express is a card that can help you travel in style.

Earn 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles and 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. There’s a $450 annual fee ($550 if application is received on or after 1/30/2020).

Let’s dive into whether you’re eligible for the welcome offer, how you can use it after you earn it and why this card may or may not be a good fit for your wallet.

In this article: 

• Are you eligible for the Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express welcome offer?
• How can you use your welcome offer?
• Transferring rewards
• Other ways to earn rewards
• The bottom line

Are you eligible for the Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express welcome offer?

The first thing you should know is that American Express has a once-per-lifetime rule governing its welcome offers. This means if a customer has had a specific Amex card and received a welcome offer for that Amex card — even if the card was canceled at some point — they will not be eligible to receive another welcome offer for that card in their lifetime.

Second, you’ll need to meet the spending requirement. Just make sure to pay attention to when your account is officially considered open and when charges post to your account as you might not have a full three months from the time the card arrives in the mail.

Read our full review of the Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express.

How can you use your welcome offer?

Since there are two parts to this welcome offer, let’s take a look at what you can do with each.

Miles. You can book award travel using your miles to more than 1,000 destinations. The cost of a ticket will vary depending on where you want to go and when you want to travel, but as a starting point, round-trip tickets within the United States can cost as little as 25,000 miles.

In addition to flying Delta, you can book with your miles on the following partner airlines:

• Aeromexico
• Aerolineas Argentinas
• Air Europa
• Air France
• Air Tahiti Nui
• Alitalia
• China Airlines
• China Eastern
• China Southern
• Czech Airlines
• Garuda Indonesia
• GOL
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Kenya Airways
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
• Korean Air
• Mandarin Airlines
• Middle East Airlines
• Saudia Airlines
• Shanghai Airlines
• Tarom Airlines
• Vietnam Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin Australia
• WestJet
• Xiamen Airlines

Medallion Qualifying Miles. If you’re interested in earning Medallion Status with Delta, which comes with a variety of perks, here are a few terms you should know:

• Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) are earned based on distance flown and your fare class.
• Medallion Qualifying Segments (MQSs) are earned based on the number of flights you take.
• Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs) are earned based on what you spend with Delta (and some partner airlines).
• An MQD Waiver can be earned for Silver, Gold, and Platinum after spending $25,000 a year on eligible purchases using an eligible Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express. For Diamond, you can earn a waiver for spending $250,000 in eligible purchases.

There are four tiers to Medallion Status:

• Silver, requiring 25,000 MQMs or 30 MQSs — and $3,000 MQDs or an MQD Waiver.
• Gold, requiring 50,000 MQMs or 60 MQSs — and $6,000 MQDs or an MQD Waiver.
• Platinum, requiring 75,000 MQMs or 100 MQSs — and $9,000 MQDs or an MQD Waiver.
• Diamond, requiring 125,000 MQMs or 140 MQSs — and $15,000 MQDs or an MQD Waiver.

Some of the benefits you can get with Medallion Status, depending on your tier, include:

• Priority check-in and boarding
• Expedited baggage service
• SkyTeam Lounge access
• Exclusive pricing on a CLEAR membership (which can speed up going through security)

Transferring rewards

You can transfer your miles to another SkyMiles member — however, doing so will cost you 1 cent per mile transferred and a $30 processing fee per transaction. This means it’s not cost-effective to transfer miles between accounts, and if you want to help a friend or family member get a Delta ticket, you’d be better off simply using your miles to buy a ticket for them.

If you do decide to transfer your miles, here are a few things to be aware of:

• You’ll need the name and SkyMiles number of the person receiving your miles.
• It’s possible to transfer miles to up to four people at once. There’s no limit on how many transfers you can complete annually.
• A SkyMiles member may receive a minimum of 1,000 miles and a maximum of 30,000 miles per transaction. Transfers take place in mileage increments of 1,000.
• Up to 150,000 SkyMiles can be transferred out of an account per calendar year.
• A SkyMiles member can receive up to 300,000 miles per year via transfer.
• Transferred miles will not help the recipient qualify for Medallion Status.

Other ways to earn rewards

Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta. Earn 1 mile for every eligible dollar spent on purchases.

Even better, on Jan. 30, 2020, the rewards rate will increase to 3 miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta, and 1 mile for every eligible dollar spent on other purchases.

Read: Keep or Cancel Your Delta SkyMiles Credit Cards After Recent Changes?

The bottom line

If you’re a jet-setting traveler who flies Delta frequently, the Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express is a luxury card that can reward your travel habits with a strong welcome offer and good ongoing rewards. Just make sure you’re OK with the pricey $450 annual fee ($550 if application is received on or after 1/30/2020).

And if you’re not quite sure this is the card you need, take a look at our recommendations on the best airline credit cards available.

The information related to the Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express has been independently collected by CompareCards and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply to American Express credit card offers. See americanexpress.com for more information.