American Express Gold Delta Card

The American Express Gold Delta Card is another one of those cards that has been around for some time and while it used to regularly offer 25k Skymiles, the norm is now 30k with the occasional 40k popping up every so often. Interestingly, Delta gives different offers to different people and to get an idea of what you might get, go here and enter your Skymiles account number.

Delta is part of Skyteam, the second largest of the major airline alliances, and is partnered with the likes of KLM, Air France and Korean Airlines. This makes Delta points more valuable especially if you live near a Delta hub or make frequent trips on Delta and its partners.

The Delta point redemption charts at first look similar to its US peers costing 25k for domestic US flights, 60k for flights from the US to Europe and at least 70k for flights to Asia but it should be noted that this is only valid for low season redemptions. For medium to high season, the award pricing is quite atrocious, demanding 60k Skymiles for domestic flights, 130k to Europe and a ridiculous 160k to Asia in economy class.

This particular credit card offer comes with:

• 30,000 points (or 40,000+ if you're targeted) after spending $1k in the first 3 months
• First checked bag free on Delta flights
• Zone 2 priority boarding on Delta flights
• Receive 20% discount on in-flight food & entertainment
• Pay with cash & miles
• 2  Skymiles per $1 on Delta purchases
• 1 Skymile  per $1 on everything else
• Annual fee of $95 waived the first year

Given the decent signing bonus (Delta hasn't seen any widely publicized card offers higher than 40k even amidst the 100k BA Avios and 75k AA offers), this card might be worth signing up to get the signing bonus especially since the T&C are quite favorable for churning. Aside from the initial bonus however, the earning structure is quite weak and the free checked bag and priority boarding are really nothing to write home about. Tack on the $95 annual fee after the first year and this make this card quite unpalatable for what you get in return, especially when compared to the comparably priced Chase United Explorer card which offers plenty more in comparison.

You can find the your customized Delta offer here.  Good luck!

Disclaimer: This card is only available to US residents.  Also, I am not paid by American Express to endorse their products.