Earn up to 60,000 bonus miles with Amex Gold Delta SkyMiles cards

Summary

If you’re looking for a way to earn a large influx of airline rewards to use toward free travel, the Gold Delta SkyMiles cards from American Express may be your answer.

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If you’re looking for a way to earn airline rewards to use toward free travel, the Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express cards may be your answer – thanks to their welcome bonuses. Both the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card and the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card are currently offering attractive introductory bonuses.

The Delta SkyMiles Gold card is currently offering 50,000 bonus miles if you spend $2,000 in the first three months of card membership. With the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business you’ll have to spend a bit more to hit the bonus: the current offer is 60,000 miles after you spend $3,000 in the first three months. Both offers expire Oct. 28, 2020.

Which Delta SkyMiles card is better in the first year?

Besides the fact that one card is designed for consumers and the other for business owners, the Delta SkyMiles Gold cards are similar products. Both cards offer 2 miles per dollar on eligible purchases made directly with Delta Airlines, 2 miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide and 1 mile per dollar on everything else. Also, neither card charges an annual fee during the first year of card membership, then $99 annually.

See how else the cards compare in the table below.

Comparing Delta SkyMiles Gold cards

	Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card	Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card
Rewards rate	2 miles per dollar on eligible purchases made directly with Delta 2 miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases Terms apply	2 miles per dollar on eligible purchases made directly with Delta 2 miles per dollar on eligible U.S. purchases for advertising, U.S. shipping, and restaurants worldwide 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases Terms apply
Introductory bonus	50,000 miles if you spend $2,000 in first 3 months Terms apply	60,000 miles if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months Terms apply
Annual fee	$99, $0 intro rate in first year	$99, $0 intro rate in first year
Estimated earnings in first year	$1,166 (Based on $15,900 spend)	$1,854 (Based on $48,000 spend)

As you can see from the table, although the cards offer similar rewards structures, the business version offers more value in the first year of card membership.

That said, business owners typically charge a lot more on their cards than consumers, thereby earning more rewards. We estimate that the average business owner spends approximately $4,000 each month on office supplies, business travel and other company expenses – compared to the average consumer who spends around $1,325 each month on food, gas, clothing and general purchases.

Recent changes to the Delta SkyMiles cards

The Delta SkyMiles Gold cards’ introductory bonuses typically range between 30,000 and 60,000 miles.

Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card bonus history

Change date	Introductory bonus
Sept. 17, 2020	50,000 miles if you spend $2,000 in first 3 months Terms apply
April 2, 2020	35,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months Terms apply
Jan. 30, 2020	60,000 miles if you spend $2,000 in first 3 months 10,000 additional miles after your first cardmember anniversary Terms apply
Oct. 31, 2019	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase with your card in first 3 months Terms apply
Oct. 1, 2019	60,000 miles if you spend $2,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase with your card in first 3 months Terms apply
Aug. 16, 2019	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase with your card in first 3 months Terms apply
Aug. 1, 2019	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months Receive 50% back in the form of statement credits on purchases made directly with Delta within the first 3 months (up to $300 back) Terms apply
July 3, 2019	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase with your card in first 3 months Terms apply
May 30, 2019	60,000 miles if you spend $2,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase with your card in first 3 months Terms apply
April 4, 2019	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase with your card in first 3 months Terms apply
Feb. 28, 2019	60,000 miles if you spend $2,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase with your card in first 3 months Terms apply
Sept. 20, 2018	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase in first 3 months Terms apply
Aug. 1, 2018	60,000 miles if you spend $3,000 in the first 4 months Terms apply
April 12, 2018	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase in 3 months
March 1, 2018	50,000 miles if you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months Additional 10,000 miles if you spend an extra $1,000 in the first 6 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase in 3 months

Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card bonus history

Change date	Introductory bonus
Sept. 17, 2020	60,000 miles if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months Terms apply
April 2, 2020	40,000 miles if you spend $2,000 in first 3 months Terms apply
Jan. 30, 2020	60,000 miles if you spend $2,000 in first 3 months 10,000 additional miles after your first cardmember anniversary Terms apply
Aug. 16, 2019	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase in first 3 months Terms apply
Aug. 1, 2019	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months Receive 50% cash back in the form of statement credits on purchases made directly with Delta within the first 3 months (up to $300 back) Terms apply
July 3, 2019	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase in first 3 months Terms apply
May 30, 2019	70,000 miles if you spend $4,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase with your card in first 3 months Terms apply
Sept. 20, 2018	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase in first 3 months Terms apply
Aug. 1, 2018	60,000 miles if you spend $3,000 in first 3 months Terms apply
April 12, 2018	30,000 miles if you spend $1,000 in first 3 months $50 statement credit if you make a Delta purchase in first 3 months
March 1, 2018	50,000 miles if you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months Additional 10,000 miles if you spend an extra $1,000 in first 6 months

As you can see, the current introductory bonus on both cards is much higher than Amex’s previous offer. However, with the higher bonuses often come higher spend thresholds. For example, to earn the previous 35,000-mile bonus on your Delta SkyMiles Gold, you only had to spend $1,000 in the first three months. But to earn the current 50,000-mile bonus, you need to spend $2,000 in the first three months, which may be tougher to reach.

What can you get with 60,000 SkyMiles?

While Delta offers a variety of redemption options for your SkyMiles – including merchandise and gift cards – your best option, by far, is redeeming SkyMiles for airfare on Delta or with one of Delta’s 19 SkyTeam alliance partners. The number of required miles is closely linked to the cost of the fare, and you will find a good value with most flights and fare levels. We value SkyMiles at 1.61 cents per miles on average, so 60,000 bonus miles can get you close to $1,000 worth of airfare on Delta.

Redemption option	Average mile value (cents)	Value of 60,000-mile bonus
Flights	1.61	$966
Flight upgrades	2.2	$1,320
Miles + Cash	1	$600
Pay with miles	1	$600
Delta Vacations	1	$600
Car rentals	0.6	$360
Delta Sky Club Membership	1.1	$660
Merchandise	0.4	$240
Gift cards	0.3-0.5	$180-$300
Magazines	0.8	$480
Experiences	varies	—
Charity donation	1.61	$966

Who is eligible for the introductory bonus?

American Express has one of the strictest welcome bonus policies in the industry, restricting cardholders to earning the bonus on a particular card only once in a lifetime. If you currently own or have previously owned a Delta SkyMiles Gold card, you are not eligible for the bonus on that card.

Should you apply now?

Because American Express places a once-in-a-lifetime limit on introductory bonuses on its cards, it’s important to time your card application properly to earn the largest introductory bonus possible. While the current bonuses are not the most valuable offers the cards have ever seen, they come close, making now a great time to apply.

Editorial Disclaimer

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Tracy Kerscher-Brackman is a former CreditCards.com products writer.