Review: Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card From American Express

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This post comes from Logan Abbott, editor of the credit cards section of MyRatePlan.com.

For those looking for a generous airline mile credit card, and who don’t mind being restricted to just one specific airline, the Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express fits the bill pretty well.

Advantages

  • Bonus miles. Cardholders earn 30,000 bonus miles toward AmEx Award Travel when they spend $500 on purchases within the first three months that they have the card.
  • Earn miles by spending money. The card rewards cardholders with 1 mile for each dollar spent on purchases, and 2 miles for each dollar spent on Delta purchases.
  • First checked bag is free with Delta. The card grants cardholders a free checked bag on every Delta flight they take.
  • Premium travel perks. With the Gold Delta SkyMiles Card, cardholders are entitled to priority boarding and receive 20 percent off in-flight purchases of meals, beverages, movies and more.
  • Annual fee waived for the first year. The card requires an annual fee of $95, but it is waived in year 1.
  • Delta SkyMiles do not expire. Many airline rewards programs reward members with airline miles that expire after a certain period of time. Not so with Delta SkyMiles, which never expire.

Disadvantages

  • Foreign transaction fee. Although the credit card is geared toward travel rewards, it still charges a foreign transaction fee of 2.7 percent. Other cards like the Capital One Venture Rewards Card do not charge a foreign transaction fee for purchases made overseas.
  • Annual fee. Although the card waives the annual fee for cardholders in the first year, it charges $95 per year for every year thereafter.
  • No introductory APR period. The card offers a decent variable APR of between 15.24 percent and 19.24 percent, but there is no introductory 0 percent APR period for purchases or balance transfers that you can take advantage of.

Bottom line

Get it if: You have excellent credit, want solid travel rewards, and like flying Delta Airlines.

Forget it if: Your credit is less than excellent, you don’t like flying Delta Airlines, you want an intro period on purchases or balance transfers, or if you will be making a lot of international purchases.

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This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program. Also note that any terms, rates or other features described in this article can change without notice. Always double-check everything with the issuer before applying for any credit card.

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