American Express doubles the sign-up bonuses for Delta SkyMiles cards

In addition to generous sign-up bonuses, Delta SkyMiles cards offer a variety of ways to earn rewards.

Gold Delta SkyMiles cardholders can earn the following:

• $50 statement credit – Receive a $50 statement credit after making a Delta purchase within the first four months. Offer ends July 5, 2017.
• 2X miles – Earn 2 miles per dollar on purchases made directly with Delta Airlines.
• 1X miles – Earn 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.

Platinum Delta SkyMiles cardholders can earn the following:

• 10,000 MQMs bonus – Receive 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles after spending $4,000 in the first four months. Offer ends July 5, 2017.
• $100 statement credit – After making a purchase within the first four months, receive a $100 statement credit. Offer ends July 5, 2017.
• Annual bonus – Earn up to 10,000 miles and 10,000 MQMs after spending $25,000 in a calendar year. Earn an additional 10,000 miles and 10,000 MQMs (for a total of 20,000 miles and 20,000 MQMs) after spending $50,000 in a calendar year.
• 2X miles – Earn 2 miles per dollar on Delta purchases.
• 1X miles – Earn 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.

Additional card perks include no foreign transaction fees and no charge for your first checked bag.

Time to sign up for a Delta SkyMiles card

At 60,000 and 70,000 miles, the sign-up bonuses for the Gold Delta SkyMiles card and the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card are among the highest currently available for an airline rewards credit card.

See how these cards compare to similar airline rewards cards:

The British Airways Visa Signature card currently offers the most generous and most valuable sign-up bonus, maxing out at 100,000 Avios for cardholders who manage to meet the spend requirements in the first year. However, those spend requirements are steep: You would have to spend an average of $1,667 per month on the card over 12 months in order to earn the full bonus.

For travelers looking for an ample sign-up bonus with very reasonable spend requirements, the Gold Delta SkyMiles card rivals the AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard as one of the best offers available at the moment.

Which of these offers is better? It depends. AAdvantage miles seem to be worth more on average than SkyMiles, and we estimate a higher value for the bonus on the AAdvantage card, but here’s the rub: The Gold Delta SkyMiles card is issued by American Express, which has a policy of restricting sign-up bonuses on its individual cards to once in a cardholder’s lifetime. For cardholders who like to collect large sign-up bonuses, it is best to spring for an American Express card when the card’s sign-up bonus is elevated. Now may be the ideal time to apply for the Gold Delta SkyMiles card, if you haven’t held the card previously.

Note that the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card also offers the opportunity to earn a bonus of up to 20,000 miles – worth $270 – and 20,000 MQMs each year. While an extra $270 never hurt anyone, keep in mind that, in order to receive that annual bonus, you also have to make $50,000 in purchases using your credit card each year.

See related: Delta SkyMiles members can earn up to 3X miles with Lyft, Citi launches limited-time 60k offer for AAdvantage Platinum Select cards, Chase and British Airways boost sign-up bonus to 100k Avios