Delta American Express Cards
Well, that didn’t last long. Just last September, I wrote about how my wife and I were indefinitely done with Delta American Express cards. But less than six months later, we’re most definitely back. Much changed within that timeframe, making our decision unexpectedly easy. Here’s what caused one of our bigger point and miles flip-flops in recent memory.
Changing Goals
I’ve previously talked ad nauseam about how my goals drive my points and miles decisions. I consider periodically revisiting, revalidating, and revising goals just as important. My wife and I did this last fall, but our priorities, both near- and longer-term, have changed yet again since. Our updated goals involve flying Delta metal more often than we previously planned. A couple involve more aspirational experiences with the airline (or perhaps I should say “air line” like Delta, something that oddly annoys me). Stay tuned for those future articles.
Flying Blue Faults
I hoard miles with Air France in their Flying Blue program for multiple reasons. One huge one is for flying Delta. Historically, I’ve been able to find better prices with Flying Blue than in Delta’s own currency. Savings have been substantial – many flights I’ve booked have come in at about half the price in Flying Blue miles. For whatever reason – destinations, timeframe, luck, etc – that seems to be changing.
More recently, Flying Blue rates on Delta flights aren’t as outstanding anymore. In some situations, the savings are relatively smaller. Other times, Flying Blue comes in higher, or worse, not at all. It’s now at the point where most of our initial searches come up blank, as in zero award options. Obviously, we can’t put all our eggs in the Flying Blue basket.
Other Options Don’t Fit
My wife and I have historically cashed out our Amex Membership Rewards points, and we continue to do so. We’re both still a bit away from each hitting the one million point annual cap for an Invest with Rewards valuation of 1.1 cents per point. And even after both reaching those thresholds, we’d rather pursue other cashout options at 1 cent per point. While many Business Platinum cardholders leverage the 35% Airline Bonus benefit to save on flights directly booked with Membership Rewards, our ASAP cashout strategy isn’t congruent with that perk, either.
Winning by Playing
A cliche I lean on more often than others is that I can’t win if I don’t play. Right now, my wife is in a position where she has fewer Amex cards to pick from. We like to play a high turnover game with Amex, knowing that we earn more rewards in aggregate when we open and subsequently close (aligned with the bank’s policies) more often. Given these circumstances, certain Delta cards rose higher up my wife’s priority list. In terms of her Amex credit card strategy, she came to the following conclusions:
- Apply for a Delta card
- Apply for a different card with an inferior welcome offer and ongoing benefits
- Do nothing
She took the potential for a solid win with a Delta application rather than the other two. Some rewards are better than nothing. Perfect is the enemy of good enough.
So which card did my wife pick?
Money Talks, along with the Miles
She settled on the currently-heightened offer on the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex. I find this card, along with the similar Business version, the best mix of SkyMiles and simplicity. Even better, the annual fees are waived on each for the first cardmember year. I picked up a solid 25k Membership Rewards points via referral for my wife’s approval. Taking into account the cashout of those points and the waived annual fee, that’s a $425 swing. She’ll enjoy that extra juice while earning 86k Delta SkyMiles over six months – an 80k signup bonus and another 6k miles by meeting $3k minimum spend requirement in the 2x categories.
Delta American Express Cards – Conclusion
With this decision, my wife will efficiently goose her SkyMiles balance – something we now prioritize, as everyday spending on Delta cards isn’t the most rewarding move. Will I follow suit? As of this writing, I don’t plan on doing so. My five Amex credit card slots are still busy enough with other flavors (hello, Hilton and Marriott), and I don’t expect that to change any time soon. But hey, as I’ve just illustrated, things can change more frequently than we expect in our hobby, and those who similarly adapt can do even bigger things. Reconsider and be rewarded!
How has your Amex strategy changed in the past few months?
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We each keep a Delta card for the free bags and 15% off miles redemptions, as well as the $150 or $200 of a room through Delta Vacations each year. At some points we’ll cancel and repeat in the 7 years…