Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve Business American Express Card Review [2023]: Free Checked Bags and Other Travel Perks

Frequent Delta travelers should give the Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve Business American Express Card a close look. While this card charges a hefty annual fee, the cost isn’t out of bounds for a premium travel rewards card — and may be more than justified by the rewards and cardholder perks this card provides.

A generous welcome offer, airline lounge access, and Delta Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) are just some of the features that help the Amex Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card stand out within a crowded field. But unless you’re a regular Delta traveler, you’re likely better off looking elsewhere for a card that offers more generous travel perks that aren’t specific to this particular airline.

Not sure if this card is the one for you? This Amex Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card review will tell you everything you need to know to decide if this is the best airline credit card for you.

Triple miles on Delta purchases

Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve Business American Express Card

Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve Business American Express Card

Learn How to Apply

See rates and fees | Terms Apply

Current Offer

Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $12,000 in purchases in your first 6 months. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase within your first 6 months (limited time offer ends 10/25/2023)

Annual Fee

$550

Rewards Rate

3X miles for eligible purchases made directly with Delta; 1.5X miles per dollar after spending $150,000 in a calendar year; and 1X miles on all other eligible purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $12,000 in purchases in your first 6 months. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase within your first 6 months (limited time offer ends 10/25/2023)
• 3X points on eligible purchases made directly with Delta
• Complimentary Delta Sky Club and Centurion Lounge access
• $550 annual fee. Terms apply.

Drawbacks

• High annual fee

Card Details

• Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $12,000 in purchases in your first 6 months. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase within your first 6 months (limited time offer ends 10/25/2023)
• 3X miles for eligible purchases made directly with Delta; 1.5X miles per dollar after spending $150,000 in a calendar year; and 1X miles on all other eligible purchases
• Terms apply

Key takeaways

• $550 annual fee is comparable to other high-end travel cards.
• Best for those who fly Delta frequently.
• Complimentary Delta Sky Club*, Centurion Lounge, and Escape Lounge access.

* Effective 2/1/25, Reserve Card Members will receive 10 Visits per year to the Delta Sky Club; to earn an unlimited number of Visits each year starting on 2/1/25, the total eligible purchases on the Card must equal $75,000 or more between 1/1/24 and 12/31/24, and each calendar year thereafter

Who should get the Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve American Express Card

If you’re a business owner who flies often on Delta, wants elite status, and likes to travel in style, you should consider the Amex Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card. This is especially true if you’ll charge at least $30,000 on your card each year and earn extra upgrades with Delta’s Medallion program.

But if you don’t usually check bags, you don't care about airport lounge access, or you like to fly on different airlines, you might look elsewhere for a better deal. This card has a similarly large annual fee as more general-purpose travel cards that provide access to more airline lounges or offer much more flexibility in rewards earning and redemption. This card is likely worth getting only if Delta is your go-to airline for the vast majority of your flights.

Card basics

Why we like the Amex Delta SkyMiles Reserve: benefits and perks

• Generous welcome offer: Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $12,000 in purchases in your first 6 months. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase within your first 6 months (limited time offer ends 10/25/2023). 
• Status boost: Spend $30,000 on purchases to earn 15,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs); get an additional 15,000 MQMs and bonus miles once you hit $60,000, $90,000, and $120,000 in annual spending. You can achieve Silver Status once you reach 25,000 MQMs and $3,000 Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQD) or an MQD Waiver. Silver Status comes with the chance to earn 7 MQMs per dollar spent with Delta; you’ll also enjoy unlimited complimentary upgrades to First Class or Delta Comfort+, free checked bags, priority check-in, and a host of other perks. 
• Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: Earn a statement credit of $100 for Global Entry or up to $85 for TSA PreCheck. 
• Free checked bags and priority boarding: With this card, your first checked bag is free on Delta flights. This provides as much as $60 in savings on a round-trip flight. You can also board with Main Cabin 1 priority boarding, which gets you to your seat sooner. 
• Delta Sky Club access: Delta Sky Club airport lounges offer perks like complimentary drinks and beverages, free Wi-Fi, and entertainment, including satellite TV. With Sky Club, access comes with entry not only to Delta lounges but also to more than 250 partner lounges worldwide. You also receive two Delta Sky Club one-time guest passes. 
  
• Centurion Lounge access: If you book a Delta flight with your Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card, you receive complimentary access to The Centurion Lounge or to Escape Lounge - The Centurion Studio Partner.
• TakeOff 15: New and existing cardmembers can get a 15% discount when booking Award Travel with miles on Delta flights. This discount does not apply to partner-operated flights or taxes and fees.
  
• Companion certificate: Each year, upon renewing your card, you’ll also receive a companion ticket. This ticket could provide a round-trip domestic First Class, Delta Comfort+, or main cabin flight for just the cost of fees, taxes, and baggage charges. Fees are capped at $75 for round-trip domestic flights with itineraries with as many as four flight segments.
• Cell phone protection: Your cell phones are covered against theft and damages when you pay your cell phone bill in full with this card. You get up to $800 per claim and up to two claims per card account per 12-month period. A $50 deductible per claim may apply.¹
  
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance: If your flight is canceled because of sudden illness, inclement weather, jury duty, or even terrorist activities, you’ll be entitled to up to $10,000 of reimbursement.³
  
• Trip delay insurance: If your flight is delayed more than 6 hours, you can also be reimbursed for up to $500 in unexpected expenses per trip.²
• Note that enrollment or activation may be required for select benefits. 

What we don’t like about this card: drawbacks

• High annual fee: While the Delta Reserve Business Amex does come with a lot of perks, the annual fee of $550 is still a bit steep.
• Limited use: This card is truly designed for Delta loyalists. If you like to change up your airline of choice, this card is not for you.

Earning & redeeming

Best ways to earn

Delta Reserve Business Amex cardholders earn 3X miles for eligible purchases made directly with Delta; 1.5X miles per dollar after spending $150,000 in a calendar year; and 1X miles on all other eligible purchases. 

In addition, if you qualify for Delta Medallion status, you can earn tons of extra bonus Medallion Miles per dollar spent with Delta. Remember, these Medallion Qualifying Miles help you score generous perks every time you fly with Delta, including free upgrades. You can earn:

• 7 Medallion Miles per dollar with Silver Medallion status
• 8 Medallion Miles per dollar with Gold Medallion status
• 9 Medallion Miles per dollar with Platinum Medallion status
• 11 Medallion Miles per dollar with Diamond Medallion status

You could try to earn Medallion status as early as possible by using your card often and concentrating your flights at the beginning of each year. Signing up for the card right before large purchases or a big trip can be very helpful in earning Medallion status ASAP as well as scoring extra Medallion Miles faster.

Maximizing your redemptions

You can redeem your points for free and get discounted flights on Delta Air Lines using Pay with Miles. Pay with Miles allows you to apply miles you have to lower the cost of your ticket so you don’t have to wait until you have enough miles for an entirely free ticket to redeem.

Miles can also be redeemed with partner airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, Air France, and KLM. Or you can use your miles to book vacations or buy gift cards, but these may not provide as much value as miles redeemed directly for trips with Delta or its partner airlines.

FAQ

Other cards to consider

Other cards you may want to look at if you’re considering the Delta Skymiles Reserve Business Card include:

• Delta SkyMiles^® Gold Business American Express Card: This card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, $99 per year thereafter, which is lower than the Delta Skymiles Reserve Business Card. But you also get fewer bonus miles with the welcome offer — earn 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $6,000 in purchases in your first 6 months. plus, earn an additional 5,000 bonus miles after you make an eligible delta purchase within your first 6 months (limited time offer ends 10/25/23).
  
  While you’ll get a first checked bag free, there’s no companion ticket with this card. And although you still earn two miles per $1 spent at Delta, the card doesn’t provide the chance to earn bonus MQMs after hitting spending thresholds like the Delta Skymiles Reserve Business Card does.
• Delta SkyMiles^® Platinum Business American Express Card: This card offers a $250 fee. Earn MQMs via an annual miles boost once spending thresholds are met. A free checked bag is also a perk of this card, as is a free companion pass — but it can’t be used for a first-class flight, unlike the Reserve’s companion pass.

Triple miles on Delta purchases

Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve Business American Express Card

Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve Business American Express Card

Learn How to Apply

Why We Like It

Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $12,000 in purchases in your first 6 months. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase within your first 6 months (limited time offer ends 10/25/2023)

See rates and fees | Terms Apply

Learn How to Apply

See how these cards compare:

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

• Earn 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $6,000 in purchases in your first 6 months. Plus, earn an additional 5,000 bonus miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase within your first 6 months (limited time offer ends 10/25/23)
• Earn 2X points on purchases at Delta, restaurants, eligible U.S. shipping, and eligible advertising in select media
• First checked bag free + priority boarding
• No foreign transaction fees
• $0 intro annual fee for the first year, $99 per year thereafter annual fee. Terms apply.
• See rates and fees | Terms Apply

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card

• Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $8,000 in purchases in your first 6 months. Plus, earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles after you make an eligible Delta purchase within your first 6 months (limited time offer ends 10/25/23)
• Earn 3X points on purchases made directly with Delta and on eligible hotel purchases
• Annual companion certificates
• Free checked bag + priority boarding
• No foreign transaction fees
• $250 annual fee. Terms apply.
• See rates and fees | Terms Apply

Author Details

Christy Rakoczy Christy Rakoczy has a Juris Doctorate from UCLA Law School with a focus in Business Law, and a Certificate in Business Marketing with an English Degree from The University of Rochester. As a full-time personal finance writer, she writes about all things money-related but her special areas of focus are credit cards, personal loans, student loans, mortgages, smart debt payoff strategies, and retirement and Social Security. Her work has been featured by USA Today, MSN Money, CNN Money and more, and you can learn more at her LinkedIn profile.

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