Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card review

The card offers enough credits to provide significant value even after the welcome bonus is earned, but only if you’re able to take advantage of them. Here’s a basic breakdown based on a yearly spend of $48,000 with $16,000 being on Delta flights, $16,000 being on eligible transit, U.S. shipping, and U.S. office supply store purchases, and $16,000 on miscellaneous purchases:

The true meat of this card’s value comes from the premier travel benefits, elite status modifiers and luxury companion perks that you can’t get with any other Delta card.

Welcome offer: Bonus miles for business spending

New cardholders can earn 80,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 in their first six months of card membership. Although the spending requirement is high, it shouldn't be out of reach for the average small business owner (we estimate the average spend for a small business to be around $4,000 per month). If you were already planning to spend that amount or more to keep your business running, then being rewarded for it is icing on the cake.

Delta SkyMiles aren’t the most valuable miles on the market, but the current bonus has a decent value for a business travel card of its caliber, worth around $960 in Delta travel based on Bankrate’s latest point and mile valuations, which give Delta SkyMiles an estimated average value of 1.2 cents apiece. That said, some general travel card bonus offers may beat out the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business since you can transfer those rewards to multiple airline and hotel partners and potentially boost their value.

Benefits and perks: An abundance of statement credits

As the premier Delta credit card, Reserve Business cardholders receive a wealth of travel and purchase benefits that more than make up for the high annual fee. The statement credits available on the Delta Reserve Business total $980 with the inclusion of the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application reimbursement. You’ll only need to renew that once every four years, but the annual statement credits still add up to $860 worth of value without it. 

Plus you’ll save even more with perks like 20 percent back on Delta in-flight purchases (issued as a statement credit), an annual companion certificate after renewal, free checked bag on up to nine waivers per reservation and eligibility for the Complimentary Upgrade Program. This card offers a laundry list of luxury benefits and perks for Delta loyalists. The most notable being the annual companion certificate. 

You can bring a business partner, client or guest on a First Class, Delta Comfort+ or Main Cabin domestic, Caribbean, or Central American round-trip flight with your annual complimentary companion certificate. You'll only have to cover government-imposed taxes and fees of between $22 and $250, both for itineraries with up to four flight segments (Baggage charges and other restrictions apply).

Rewards: Solid travel rewards for Delta loyalists

The Delta Reserve Business card earns frequent flyer miles mainly on eligible Delta purchases. They aren’t the most flexible rewards in the world, but they definitely suit Delta loyalists.

You’ll earn: 

• 3X miles per dollar on eligible Delta purchases 

• 1.5X miles per dollar on eligible transit, U.S. shipping, and U.S. office supply store purchases, plus all eligible purchases (after you spend $150,000 on your card in a calendar year)

• 1X miles on all other purchases

If your purchase qualifies for a category that has a higher mileage accelerator, only the higher rate will apply (for instance, you’ll earn 3X miles on eligible Delta purchases instead of 1.5X miles). 

This is a pretty big requirement for a few more Delta miles, so utilizing the Reserve Business card’s other methods to earn miles can help maximize your spending until you reach that bar. Booking flights with any of Delta’s airline partners will also earn you 3X miles, plus the Delta SkyMiles Dining program can deliver up to 5X miles on business meals.

The Delta Reserve Business has a ton of marks in the plus column, but it might not be the best choice for annual fee-avoiders, or business owners who value flexibility.

Rates and fees: sky-high annual fee and no intro APR offer

All of the Delta Reserve Business card’s premium benefits notably come at a premium price: a $650 annual fee. This could be quite steep if your business expenses can’t maximize your reward miles. After all, you’d need to spend more than $15,000 per year on Delta flights to earn $650 worth of rewards (based on a 1.2-cent-per-mile value estimate). That’s a hefty spend, but keep in mind the value of other perks such as the companion certificate and free first checked bags. Those can make up more than the card’s annual fee if you take full advantage of them.

Another downside to the card is that it does not offer an intro APR period, so it won’t be of much help if you need to finance large expenses or free up cash flow. Meanwhile, the ongoing APR is 19.99% - 28.99% Variable, the low end of which is close to the current average interest rate.

Miles redemptions: limited options

The SkyMiles program’s biggest flaw is how rigid its redemption options are. The best use of your miles by far is to book travel or upgrade your seats.

Although Delta and its SkyTeam alliance partners have over 1,000 destinations with no blackout dates, you can’t fully transfer miles to partner airlines—only book with them through Delta.

The only other uses for miles are for travel experiences, merchandise, magazine subscriptions and gifting miles to another account or charity. Other travel rewards programs, such as American Express Membership Rewards, have more varied options that include cash back and additional travel booking methods.

Rewards value: Comes up short compared to other cards

This lack of flexibility could be why Delta SkyMiles only have a market value of 1.2 cents, according to Bankrate’s latest valuations. That’s pretty low compared to the 2.0 cents per point you may get with general Amex Membership Rewards.

Take The Business Platinum Card from American Express, for example. This card — similarly priced at $695 per year — offers an 150,000-point bonus after you spend $20,000 in your first three months. We estimate Membership Rewards points can be worth around 2.0 cents each based on an advantage of the issuer’s top travel transfer partners (giving this bonus a potential value of around $3,000). 

Plus, you’ll still have the option to book with Delta since rewards transfer 1:1 from Amex to Delta. While transferring from Amex to Delta might still only get you an average mile value of around 1.2 cents per mile, having the flexibility to book with airlines other than Delta and its partners makes a general Amex travel card much more attractive.

The SkyMiles Reserve Business outclasses the benefits and loyalty features of all other Delta business cards. However, you must decide whether a much lower annual fee and hotel, dining and advertising bonus categories are more in line with your business’ spending.

With the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business you earn the most in certain categories. If your business spending runs the gamut, you could miss out on valuable rewards without one of these cards to fill in the gaps.

This business card offers a lot of value in terms of statement credits and perks, but it has limited redemption options that may not work well for business owners who want more flexibility. You’ll likely get a lot of value out of this card if you’re a:

• Luxury business traveler: You already know your business spends big and you want to earn travel rewards for that. You love seeing those statement credits deducted from your balance for purchases you were going to make anyway and flying in Delta Comfort+, Business Class or First Class is your preferred way to travel.

• Delta loyalists: Transferring credit card rewards to an airline partner isn’t really appealing to you since you fly Delta wherever you go. You enjoy the added benefits of Medallion Status and the $2,500 in Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs) is the perfect headstart to more luxury perks. 

If you aren’t a Delta loyalist, applying the $650 annual fee toward the Amex Business Platinum Card instead would offer even more flexibility and similar luxury perks.

If you've decided that the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business isn't the right call for you, you might find a better fit with these alternatives:

Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Best for maximizing rewards at a more affordable annual fee

Capital One Spark Miles for Business

Best for flat-rate rewards and better flexibility

Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring business credit cards, including each card’s rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more.

We analyzed over 50 of the most popular business credit cards and scored each based on how its key features stacked up compared to those of other cards in its category.

Here are some of the key factors that gave this card its score:

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Business Platinum Card from American Express, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business, please click here.

 *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

(*)Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply.  Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

**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. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.