Delta SkyMiles Gold Business AmEx Review: Free Checked Bags, Solid Rewards

Bonus miles on shipping and advertising, free checked bags and a travel credit for those who spend enough on the card beef up this basic airline card for business operators.
Gregory Karp
By Gregory Karp 
Edited by Claire Tsosie

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Our Take

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
The bottom line:

If you’re a Delta flyer, this card is a valuable choice. Its benefits can far outweigh the annual fee.

Jump to: Full review
Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
Annual fee
$0 intro for the first year, then $150
Regular APR
20.99%-29.99% Variable APR
Intro APR
N/A
Rec. credit score
690-850 (Good - Excellent)
Apply now

on American Express' website

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Free checked bag

  • Early boarding

  • Bonus categories

Cons

  • Has annual fee

  • Limited redemptions

  • Requires good/excellent credit

Alternate Pick: Fancy option
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
NerdWallet rating 
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Luxury travel, with points that transfer to Delta

This card earns 5 points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through the American Express Travel website, among other rewards. Terms apply. Its perks also include access to several networks of airport lounges — including Delta Sky Club lounges. Annual fee: $695.

Read our review

Compare to Other Cards

NerdWallet rating 
NerdWallet rating 
Annual fee

$0 intro for the first year, then $150

Annual fee

$95

Regular APR

20.99%-29.99% Variable APR

Regular APR

21.24%-26.24% Variable APR

Intro APR

N/A

Intro APR

N/A

Recommended Credit Score
Recommended Credit Score
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Full Review

The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card is a practical asset for Delta Air Lines devotees with small businesses or side hustles. With an annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, then $150, it's the lowest-cost option in the family of small-business Delta credit cards. And it packs plenty of value.

The card's free-bag on Delta flights benefit is excellent, offering the perk to a whopping eight traveling companions. That alone could easily offset the annual fee. And you can earn extra miles for spending in bonus rewards categories that are useful to entrepreneurs.

While the card lacks certain benefits available on the higher-tier small-business Delta credit cards, such as annual companion certificates and access to Delta Sky Club lounges, it's a top choice for those seeking a small-business card with Delta perks and a relatively low annual fee.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card: Basics and benefits

To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, see this page.

Card type: Small business and airline.

Annual fee: $0 intro for the first year, then $150.

Welcome bonus: Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after spending $6,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 3/27/24. Terms Apply.

Rewards:

  • 2 miles per dollar spent directly with Delta.

  • 2 miles per dollar on U.S. shipping purchases and on U.S. advertising in select media on up to $50,000 in eligible purchases per category, per year.

  • 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases.

  • Terms apply.

NerdWallet values Delta miles at 1.2 cents each. This is a baseline value, drawn from real-world data on hundreds of economy routes, not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 1.2 cents or more in value from your Delta miles.

Foreign transaction fee: None.

APR: The ongoing APR is 20.99%-29.99% Variable APR.

Other benefits:

  • First checked bag free on Delta flights for you and up to eight others on your reservation.

  • Priority boarding for you and up to eight others on your reservation.

  • $200 Delta flight credit for future travel after spending $10,000 in a calendar year on the card.

  • In-flight discount. Get 20% savings in the form of a statement credit on such purchases as food, alcoholic beverages and audio headsets onboard. Note that in-flight wireless Internet access doesn't count.

  • Terms apply.

Highlights of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card

Free checked bags

The checked-bag benefit is especially generous with this card. You’ll get a first checked bag free on Delta flights for you and up to eight others on your reservation. Terms apply. You might rarely have that many traveling companions, but fully used, that’s a savings of up to $540 on a round-trip flight ($30 per person each way).

Even with just one traveling partner, you would break even on the annual fee after a single round trip, assuming you would have otherwise paid to check bags.

Flight credit

You'll earn a $200 Delta flight credit for future travel after spending $10,000 in a calendar year on the card. Terms apply. That's a relatively easy spending requirement to meet for many businesses. The credit can also make up for the annual fee.

Useful reward bonus categories

You can get value from this card without using it for everyday spending. But if your goal is to earn award flights or upgrades to a premium cabin, earning frequent-flyer miles from credit card purchases is key.

You'll earn 2 miles per dollar spent on purchases directly with Delta. You'll also earn double miles on

The card earns 1 mile per dollar on every eligible dollar spent on other purchases. Terms apply.

Priority boarding

Priority boarding that comes with the card — in this case, Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding — will get you on the plane earlier. Terms apply. That means you’re more likely to find overhead bin space for your roll-aboard. You'll also have time to get settled in your seat before the cabin fills.

Welcome bonus

New-cardholder bonuses can change periodically, but the card typically gives you enough miles to cash in for a domestic award flight, assuming you can meet the required spending. The current bonus: Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after spending $6,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 3/27/24. Terms Apply.

Note that if you've had this American Express credit card in the past, you may be ineligible for the bonus.

How it compares with other Delta business credit cards

In the family of small-business Delta credit cards, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card has the lowest annual fee and the least extravagant benefits. If you're looking for richer perks and don't mind paying more, take a look at its higher-end sibling cards:

Here's how these cards stack up.

Annual fee

$0 intro for the first year, then $150

$350

$650

Rewards on Delta purchases

2x

3x

3x

Rewards besides bonus miles on Delta purchases and 1x on everything else

2x on U.S. shipping purchases and U.S. advertising in select media (up to $50,000 per category, per year). Terms apply.

3x on hotels, 1.5x on purchases of $5,000 or more. Terms apply.

1.5x on all purchases after spending $150,000. Terms apply.

Companion certificate

No

Yes (main cabin)

Yes (main cabin, Delta Comfort+ or first class)

Sky Club airport lounge access

No

No

Yes, plus Centurion Lounge

Global Entry or TSA Precheck credit

No

Yes

Yes

Free first checked bag on Delta flights?

Yes

Yes

Yes

Early boarding?

Yes

Yes

Yes

Elite status boost?

No

Yes

Yes

Terms apply.

» MORE: Want a personal card instead? Read NerdWallet's comparison of consumer Delta credit cards.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card: Drawbacks and alternatives

Annual fee

The annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, then $150, is high for a. basic business airline card. Terms apply. But be sure you can extract more value from the card than you’re paying to hold it.

Rewards Tied to Delta

Typically, good redemption options for Delta SkyMiles are award flights and seat upgrades on Delta and its SkyTeam partners. That’s limiting compared with general travel business credit cards, which allow you to apply rewards to a wide range of travel-related expenses.

If you mix your flying with airlines other than Delta, a general travel card might be a better fit. The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a great option: Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year, Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases - with no limit to the amount you can earn. Points are worth 1.25 cents apiece when redeemed for travel through Chase, and can be transferred to several airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio. The sign-up bonus is potentially huge if you can spend enough to earn it.

Is the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card right for you?

If you fly with Delta often and want a card that gets your small business or side hustle basic airline perks — but not too many extras — the answer is yes. The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card offers useful rewards and perks for Delta business flyers that can quickly make up for the annual fee.

To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, see this page. To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, see this page. To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, see this page. To view rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.

on American Express' website

Methodology

NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.