Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card review: A top mid-tier pick for Delta loyalists

• Delta flight benefits

  When you travel Delta, you can get your first checked bag free (a $35 value for a regular-sized item, up to $70 for roundtrip) and receive Zone 5 priority boarding. You can also earn 20 percent back on purchases like beverages, food and headsets made during your flight when you use your card. This can help reduce the amount you spend on those expenses, which are often costly.

• Companion ticket

  Upon renewal of your card every year, you'll be eligible to receive a Main Cabin round-trip companion ticket within the U.S. and to Mexico, the Caribbean, or Central America (applicable fees apply). These companion tickets are always sought after on travel cards as they can pay for an entire flight minus associated fees. This is an excellent bonus for card membership and could help you save a few hundred dollars or more depending on where you fly.

• Travel insurance and protections

  Trip delay insurance is a great perk on any travel rewards credit card. It provides up to $300 in reimbursement if your flight is delayed more than 12 hours under a covered reason (maximum two claims per 12-consecutive month period). The car rental damage and loss insurance covers damage or theft when you reserve and pay for a rental with the card. If your bag is lost or damaged while traveling, the baggage insurance will reimburse you up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage per covered trip. Also, the 24/7 American Express global assist phone hotline is available to help you with any travel issues that may arise while abroad. These coverages bring a ton of value to this card — not just monetary value, but peace of mind as well. 

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

Bankrate Score

Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5

4.7

See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply

Apply now

on American Express's secure site

Annual fee

$350

Intro offer

Earn 60,000 Bonus Miles

Earn 60,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

Rewards rate

1X - 3X

Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels. Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets. Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

Bankrate Score

Rating: 4.6 stars out of 5

4.6

Annual fee

$99, waived for first 12 months

Intro offer

50,000 miles

Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening

Rewards rate

2X - 2X

Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants. Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Bankrate Score

Rating: 4.8 stars out of 5

4.8

Apply now

on Chase's secure site

Annual fee

$95

Intro offer

60,000 bonus points

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Rewards rate

1x - 5x

5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠. 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries. 2x on all other travel purchases. 1x on all other purchases.

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

• Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card vs. Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

  Suited for American Airlines travelers, the  Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offers comparable benefits to the Delta SkyMiles Platinum but for a lower annual fee. For the first 12 months, you won't have to pay any annual fee; then, the card's annual fee costs a relatively low $99. However, this card also comes with a welcome offer worth a bit less than the Delta SkyMiles Platinum: 50,000 bonus miles after spending $2,500 in purchases within the first three months. Based on Bankrate's valuations, this offer could be worth around $500. You'll also earn 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases as well as purchases made at restaurants and gas stations. 

  Similar to the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card, this card comes with your first checked bag free for you and up to four travel companions on the same booking, preferred American Airlines boarding and a 25 percent in-flight discount on food and beverages. However, according to Bankrate's valuations, American Airlines miles have a lower average value than Delta SkyMiles at 1.0 cents each, and you won't earn as much for airline purchases. But if you prefer to budget and pay a lower annual fee while still enjoying some travel perks, the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select could be a better choice. 

• Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

  If you want travel benefits but don’t want to be tied to one airline, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card credit can be an excellent fit. The card has an annual fee of $95, but the welcome offer could be worth up to $750 when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel℠. Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months. While less than the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card, the welcome offer is still a solid bonus. You also get 5X points on travel purchased through the Chase travel portal, 3X points on dining and 2X points on all other travel purchases. 

  On top of that, you can earn 10 percent of the points you redeemed in the previous year back on your account anniversary. This means if you redeem 50,000 points in one year, when your next account anniversary rolls around you’ll automatically receive 5,000 points. Plus, you’ll earn 25 percent more value on travel purchases through Chase Travel. With these benefits, you might be able to shake a ton of value out of the Sapphire Preferred.

  However, you would miss out on all the extra airline-specific perks you would get with the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card. If you prefer these extra travel benefits, such as first checked bag free, choosing the Platinum Card might be a more attractive option.

• Chase Sapphire Preferred

  Besides being an overall terrific card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred does two things well to help complement the Delta SkyMiles Platinum. The first is offering a rewards program that allows you to transfer points to travel partners, providing much-needed flexibility to dip into flights outside of Delta when you see a good deal.

  The second feature it brings to the table is stronger rewards. Not only does the Chase Sapphire Preferred have more reward categories, but the points you earn are worth more on average: Bankrate’s latest valuations place Chase Ultimate Rewards points at about 2.0 cents a piece, compared to Delta’s average of 1.2 cents apiece. And since the Chase Sapphire Preferred doesn’t offer much in the way of travel perks, the Delta SkyMiles Plus still pulls its weight in your wallet. 

• Citi Double Cash® Card

  The Citi Double Cash Card is a much simpler complement to the Delta SkyMiles Platinum compared to the Chase Sapphire Preferred. It earns a flat 2 percent cash back rate on all eligible purchases (1 percent when you make a purchase and another 1 percent when you pay your balance). This makes it an excellent choice for any other purchase you make that isn’t covered by the SkyMiles Platinum. 

• Frequent Delta flyers

  The Delta SkyMiles Platinum card’s numerous Delta perks — like the companion pass upon renewal — are the real draw of the card. They’re well worth the price of the $350 annual fee, especially if you don't want to pay the much higher annual fee for the luxury Delta SkyMiles Reserve card.

• Rewards strategists

  If you already carry a cash back card and want to take advantage of airline-specific perks like first checked bag free and statement credits for expedited airport security screenings, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum could be a welcome addition to your pocket. As long as you fly often with Delta, this airline card can add your earnings. 

• Rewards value

  The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

  To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

  Based on this data, we determine a “chargeable” spend (which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards). This includes the following spending by category:

  • Groceries: $5,200
  • Dining out: $3,000
  • Entertainment: $2,500
  • Gas: $2,100
  • Apparel and services: $1,700

  Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 23 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

  This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value

  With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

• Rates and fees

  We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

  To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

  We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

  We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

  With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

• Flexibility

  We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

  Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

• Perks

  We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

  We break down these tiers as follows:

  • Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
  • Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
  • Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
  • Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
  • Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

• Is the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card hard to get?

  The recommended credit score for the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card is  good or higher (670+).  

• Does Delta SkyMiles Platinum get lounge access?

  No, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum no longer offers free or reduced-cost lounge access. 

What cardholders think

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

4.6

47 ratings

In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers.

96% of customers recommend this card

Score breakdown

5 stars

60%

4 stars

36%

3 stars

4%

2 stars

0%

1 star

0%

Score by category

Overall 4.6 / 5

Extra perks 4.3 / 5

Customer service 4.4 / 5

Online portal or mobile app 4.0 / 5

Intro APR length 4.1 / 5

Intro APR value 3.9 / 5

In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder’s product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these cards.