What the Delta SkyMiles Card Does
The Delta SkyMiles American Express card is a co-branded rewards card that earns points on every purchase you make. Those points convert to airline miles you can use for Delta flights, seat upgrades, and checked baggage fees. The card comes with an annual fee — currently $95 for the basic version — and that fee is charged to your account every year you keep the card open.
The card's main appeal is that it accelerates how fast you accumulate miles if you fly Delta regularly or spend money on everyday purchases. You earn bonus miles on Delta purchases (like tickets and seat upgrades), higher earning rates on dining and gas, and a one-time welcome bonus when you first open the account. The welcome bonus typically requires you to spend a set amount within the first few months.
Unlike some airline cards, the Delta SkyMiles card does not come with a free companion ticket or a statement credit toward airfare. It also does not waive the annual fee in any year — you pay it whether you use the card or not. The value of the card depends entirely on whether the miles you earn outweigh the $95 annual cost plus any interest you pay if you carry a balance.
Key Takeaways
- The Delta SkyMiles card charges a $95 annual fee every year and earns bonus miles on Delta purchases, dining, and gas stations.
- The welcome bonus requires you to spend a minimum amount in the first few months, and the bonus miles are deposited into your SkyMiles account after you meet that threshold.
- Miles earned through the card can be used for Delta flights, seat upgrades, and baggage fees, but they do not transfer to other airlines or convert to cash.
- Carrying a balance on the card costs you interest, which can quickly erase the value of the miles you earn, so paying the full statement balance each month is important.
- The card is most valuable if you fly Delta at least once or twice per year and spend money regularly on dining and gas.
How Miles Earn and What They're Worth
Every dollar you spend on the card earns miles at different rates depending on the category. Delta purchases (flights, seat upgrades, baggage fees paid to Delta) earn the most — typically 2 miles per dollar or more. Dining, gas stations, and transit earn 2 miles per dollar. All other purchases earn 1 mile per dollar. The exact rates change periodically, so check the card issuer's website for the current earning structure.
The miles sit in your Delta SkyMiles account, which is separate from your credit card account. You log into SkyMiles to search for award flights and book them using miles instead of cash. A Delta flight that costs $300 in cash might cost 25,000 miles, depending on the route, season, and how far in advance you book. The real value of a mile varies — sometimes a mile is worth less than a penny, sometimes more — so the $95 annual fee is only worth paying if you can redeem miles regularly.
Miles do not expire as long as you have some account activity at least once every 24 months. Activity includes earning miles, redeeming miles, or flying Delta. If your account goes inactive, Delta will close it and you lose the miles. Miles also do not transfer to other airlines, and you cannot convert them to cash or statement credits.
Annual Fee, Interest, and When the Card Costs Too Much
The $95 annual fee is non-negotiable. American Express does not waive it for any customer, and it renews automatically each year on your card anniversary. If you close the card before the anniversary, you still pay the fee. If you close it after the fee posts, you cannot get it refunded.
Interest charges can erase the value of your miles quickly. If you carry a balance and pay interest, you are paying extra money that the miles you earned do not offset. For example, if you earn 10,000 miles in a month but also pay $50 in interest charges, you have lost money on the deal. The card only makes financial sense if you pay the full statement balance every month and never carry a balance forward.
The card is not worth keeping if you do not fly Delta at least once per year or if you cannot redeem your miles because award availability is poor on your preferred routes. Some routes have very few award seats released, which means your miles may sit unused. Before opening the card, check whether Delta flies your regular routes and whether award seats are typically available.
Welcome Bonus and First-Year Value
When you open a Delta SkyMiles card, American Express offers a welcome bonus — usually 50,000 to 75,000 bonus miles after you spend a certain amount in the first few months. The spending requirement is typically $2,000 to $3,000 within the first three months. The bonus miles post to your SkyMiles account after the spending requirement is met, not when ready.
The welcome bonus is the main reason people open the card. Those bonus miles can cover a domestic round-trip flight or a significant portion of an international ticket. However, the bonus only makes sense if you were already planning to spend that amount on the card anyway. If you open the card and then spend money you would not normally spend just to hit the bonus, you have lost money.
In your first year, you pay the $95 annual fee upfront or shortly after opening the account. The welcome bonus needs to be worth more than $95 for the card to break even in year one. A 50,000-mile bonus is typically worth $500 to $750 in airfare value, so the first year is usually profitable if you redeem the miles. After year one, you need to earn enough miles through regular spending to justify keeping the card and paying the annual fee again.
How to Decide If This Card Fits Your Spending
Start by calculating how much you spend per month on categories where the card earns bonus miles: Delta purchases, dining, and gas. If you spend $500 per month on dining and gas combined, you earn 1,000 bonus miles per month, or 12,000 miles per year. At a conservative value of 1 cent per mile, that is $120 in annual value — enough to cover the $95 fee with $25 left over.
Add in any Delta flights you book directly through Delta.com. If you buy one $400 Delta ticket per year and earn 2 miles per dollar, that is 800 miles, or roughly $8 in value. If you fly Delta twice per year, that number doubles. The more you fly Delta and the more you spend on dining and gas, the more the card pays for itself.
If you spend less than $300 per month on bonus categories and fly Delta fewer than once per year, the card is unlikely to pay for itself. You would be paying $95 per year for miles you cannot redeem or that are worth less than the fee. In that case, a no-annual-fee rewards card that earns cash back might be a better choice.
Comparing This Card to Other Airline Cards
Other airline cards charge similar annual fees but offer different benefits. The United Club Infinite card charges $650 per year but includes airport lounge access and a $100 annual travel credit. The American Airlines AAdvantage card charges $99 per year and includes a checked baggage fee waiver. The Southwest Rapid Rewards card charges $69 per year and includes two free checked bags per flight.
The Delta card does not include a free checked bag or lounge access, so you are paying purely for miles earning and the welcome bonus. If you value lounge access or free checked bags, another airline's card might deliver more value. If you only care about earning miles and redeeming them for flights, the Delta card is competitive with other airline cards at the same price point.
If you do not fly any single airline regularly, a general rewards card with no annual fee — such as a cash-back card — might be a better choice than any airline card. You would earn rewards on all purchases without paying an annual fee, and you could use the rewards however you want instead of being locked into one airline's award chart.
What Happens After You Open the Card
After your account is approved, you receive the physical card in the mail within 7 to 10 business days. You can also request a digital card number when ready to start earning miles right away. Your SkyMiles account is linked to the card automatically, so miles post to your account as you spend.
You can check your miles balance and search for award flights by logging into Delta.com with your SkyMiles account number. Award availability changes daily, so the flight you want today might not be available tomorrow. Delta releases award seats in waves, and popular routes fill up quickly. Booking further in advance usually gives you more options.
Your annual fee renews on the same date each year. About 30 days before the anniversary, American Express sends a reminder. If you want to close the card before the fee posts, you must call American Express and request closure before the anniversary date. If you close the card after the fee posts, you cannot recover it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my miles on flights I book through a travel website instead of Delta.com?
No. Miles can only be redeemed through Delta.com or by calling Delta directly. If you book through Expedia, Kayak, or another travel site, you must pay cash. Some travel sites allow you to earn miles on cash purchases, but you cannot use miles to pay for those bookings.
What happens to my miles if I close the card?
Your miles stay in your SkyMiles account. Closing the credit card does not delete your miles. However, if your SkyMiles account has no activity for 24 months, Delta will close the account and delete the miles. You can keep the account active by earning or redeeming miles, or by flying Delta.
Do I have to pay the annual fee if I do not use the card?
Yes. The annual fee posts automatically every year, whether you use the card or not. If you want to avoid paying it, you must close the card before the anniversary date. There is no way to suspend the card or skip a year of fees.
Can I transfer my miles to someone else?
Miles cannot be transferred to another person's account. You can book a flight for someone else using your miles, but the miles must stay in your SkyMiles account. Some airlines allow mile transfers between family members, but Delta does not.
What if I cannot find award availability on the flights I want?
Award seats are limited, and popular routes often have few or no seats available. You can set up alerts on Delta.com to notify you when award seats open up on specific routes. You can also call Delta and ask about waitlisting for award flights. If you cannot redeem your miles, they sit in your account until availability improves or you close the account.