A big question for many regular Delta Air Lines flyers is whether they should get the carrier's Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card or apply for a general travel credit card that offers more flexibility for redeeming rewards.
So we'll pit the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card (see rates and fees) against both the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, two top general travel cards with similar ongoing annual fees.
The quick answer for those deciding between a branded airline card like this one for Delta and a general travel card: If you fly frequently with one airline, you might get more value from an airline card, especially if it lets you avoid checked-bag fees. If you want flexibility in your airline choices, though, a general travel card is the way to go.
At a glance
Annual fee
- $0 intro for the first year, then $150
- $95
- $95
Welcome offer
Earn 70,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 or more in purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership and an additional 20,000 bonus miles after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months, starting from the date that your account is opened. Offer Ends 07/15/2026. Terms Apply.
Earn a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Rewards
2 miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets; and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases.
2 miles per dollar spent on purchases, and 5 miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
5 points per dollar spent on travel booked through Chase; 3 points per dollar spent on dining, select streaming services, online grocery purchases, gas and EV charging and on vacation rentals booked directly with brands like AirBnB and VRBO; 2 points per dollar spent on all other travel; and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Perks (see reviews for full list)
Free first and second checked bag free for primary cardholder, priority boarding and 20% off some in-flight purchases. Terms apply.
Up to a $120 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck.
$100 annual credit for hotel stays booked through Chase; up to $120 credit every four years for the application fee for TSA PreCheck, Global Entry or Nexus.
Learn more
Terms apply.
Why general travel cards are better for most people
We’ll approach this seemingly backward because it will make more sense to talk first about how you can redeem rewards, then talk about how you earn those rewards in the first place.
Spending rewards
All three cards essentially give you credit toward future travel, either in points or miles. A big differentiator is flexibility.
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card really offers only one good redemption option: Delta flights (or seat upgrades) either with Delta or its partners in the SkyTeam alliance. Miles are worth 1.2 cents a piece according to NerdWallet's valuations.
General travel cards, on the other hand, let you redeem rewards for lots of different types of travel, although in different ways.
- The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is simpler. Miles can be redeemed for 1 cent apiece on travel purchases.
- The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers a chance at a higher redemption. In general, this card’s Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are worth 1 cent each. But if you redeem them for travel booked through Chase, you can get a value of up to 1.5 cents apiece on select flights and hotel stays.
Earning rewards
You acquire points or miles from the credit cards in two primary ways.
Welcome offer for new cardholders
The potential bonuses for new customers of the cards can change often. But all three cards give you a lucrative cache of rewards to start with if you spend enough to earn the bonus. It’s worthwhile to try.
The value is typically enough to score at least one free domestic airline ticket.
Ongoing rewards
In the chart above, you can see how two of the cards offer extra rewards for certain types of spending. Here’s a quick evaluation.
If you’ll use the card for most purchases, the most valuable rewards rate goes to the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. That’s because its rate of 2 miles per dollar spent applies to pretty much all spending. This is also the simplest card.
Next most valuable is probably the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. It offers the useful bonus categories of travel, restaurants, gas/EV charging, online grocery (terms apply) and streaming, which earn 2 to 3 points per dollar, with the potential to get more value per point in Chase's travel portal.
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card has maybe the most useful bonus categories for everyday spending because it includes U.S. supermarkets, as well as restaurants worldwide and Delta purchases. However, the rate is just 2 Delta Skymiles per dollar spent in those categories. Terms apply. It lags the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, which doesn’t restrict double points to certain categories of spending.
Conclusion
The general travel cards are better for rewards than the Delta card. But rewards don’t account for all the value a card can offer.
Where the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card excels
Checked bags make a big difference
If you're a regular flyer and live in a Delta hub city or travel on Delta the vast majority of the time, the decision might flip the other way. That's because of the perks you get with an airline card, especially free checked bags.
Primary cardholders get a free first and second checked bag if they use the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card to pay for the flight, and their companions also get one free checked bag on the same reservation, up to nine people. Terms apply. Bag fees on Delta usually are $45 each way, so checked bags on one round trip with a family member or friend on the same itinerary would cost $180. Getting that for free makes up for the card's annual fee quickly. Multiply that by several flights a year, and it becomes a huge value, potentially outpacing value from the general travel cards.
Cardholders and companions on the same reservation also get early boarding. That means if you have carry-on luggage, you're more likely to find room in the overhead bin. Of course, you have to decide what value that holds.
Additionally, the card gets you 20% off some in-flight purchases, but that is probably of minor value for most people. Cardholders can also earn a $200 Delta flight credit when they spend $10,000 on the card in one calendar year.
Terms apply.
Which card should you get?
So the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card could be the right choice if you regularly fly from airports in such cities as Atlanta, Minneapolis, Detroit and Cincinnati, where you have few choices other than Delta — and if you value free checked bags and priority boarding. But if you fly mostly from places like Chicago or Dallas, where Delta has a minor presence, or if you seldom check bags, the general travel cards become better choices.
To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, see this page.
