Delta Reserve Business AmEx: Lounge and Luxury for Delta Loyalists
The card’s lounge access, annual companion certificate, rewards and perks make life easier for road warriors who avidly fly Delta Air Lines.
Overview
The bottom line:
The perks on this card — including lounge access and a boost toward elite status — can make up for its hefty annual fee. But if you don't frequently fly Delta, better options are available.
Credit card details
Annual fee
$650
Regular APR
19.74%-28.74% Variable APR
Intro APR
N/A
Rewards rate
1x-3x
After you spend $150,000 on your Card in a calendar year, you earn 1.5 miles per dollar (that’s an extra half mile per dollar) on eligible purchases the rest of the year. If your purchase qualifies for a category that has a higher mileage accelerator, only the higher accelerator will apply (ex. you would earn 3X miles on purchases made directly with Delta instead of 1.5X). Plus enjoy 3X miles per dollar on all eligible Delta purchases. Terms Apply.
Miles
Foreign transaction fee
0%
Intro offer
80,000
Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.
Miles
Pros & Cons
Pros
High rewards rate
New cardholder bonus offer
Generous free checked bag benefit
SkyClub and Centurion Lounge membership (terms apply)
Companion pass benefit
Cons
High annual fee
Limited reward redemption options
More details from American Express
- Welcome Offer: Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Members receive 15 Visits each Medallion® Year to the Delta Sky Club® and can unlock Unlimited Delta Sky Club Access after spending $75,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- Earn 3 miles per dollar on eligible Delta purchases.
- Get closer to elevated Status next Medallion® Year with MQD Headstart and MQD Boost: receive $2,500 Medallion® Qualification Dollars each Medallion Qualification Year and earn $1 MQD for each $10 on purchases with your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card.
- Enjoy a Companion Certificate on a Delta First, Delta Comfort, or Delta Main domestic, Caribbean, or Central American round-trip flight each year after renewal of your Card. The Companion Certificate requires payment of government-imposed taxes and fees of between $22 and $250 (for itineraries with up to four flight segments). Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. Delta Basic experiences are not eligible for this benefit.
- With the $240 Resy Credit, earn up to $20 per month in statement credits on eligible Resy purchases using your enrolled Card.
- Earn up to $10 back each month after using your enrolled Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card for U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers.
- Save 15% when booking Award Travel on Delta flights. Not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Not a Medallion Member? Card Members with an eligible ticket will be added to the Complimentary Upgrade list, after Delta SkyMiles Medallion Members.
- As a benefit of Card Membership, you can check your first bag free on Delta flights, saving up to $70 on a round-trip Delta flight per person. For a group of four that’s a potential savings of up to $280 per round-trip flight.
- When you purchase a Delta flight with your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card, you will receive complimentary access to The Centurion® Lounge or Escape Lounge.
- Receive Zone 5 Priority Boarding on Delta flights; board early, stow your carry-on bag and settle in sooner.
- Elevate your travel experience with an annual statement credit of up to $250 after using your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card to book prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays on delta.com.
- Enjoy travel without foreign transaction fees from American Express with your Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card.
- Terms and limitations apply.
Credit card comparison
Compare to other cards
5.0
NerdWallet rating
at American Express
4.2
NerdWallet rating
5.0
NerdWallet rating
Annual fee
$650
Annual fee
$350
Annual fee
$895
Regular APR
19.74%-28.74% Variable APR
Regular APR
19.74%-28.74% Variable APR
Regular APR
17.99%-28.74% Variable APR
Intro APR
N/A
Intro APR
N/A
Intro APR
N/A
Need more options? Check our picks for best business credit cards of 2025
Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Full review
Business owners who often fly out of Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati or other strongholds of Delta Air Lines should shortlist the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card.
Its marquee feature is access to Delta Sky Club airport lounges. But the card also offers an annual companion certificate, progress toward elite status and other perks that help offset its lofty $650 annual fee. Terms apply.
As with any co-branded card, paying a big fee likely won't be worth it if you spread around your airfare dollars. In that case, you'd be better off with a general card. Many luxury business cards include lounge access
If you avidly fly Delta, though, this is the business card to get. AmEx has multiple co-branded options with the airline. The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card is the most expensive. But even with its big price tag, we think it provides the most value.
This card is best for:
✔️ Delta loyalists.
✔️ Airport lounge access.
✔️ Companion certificate.
Card details: Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, see this page
💳 Card type: Business travel card
💲 Annual fee: $650
💰 Welcome offer: Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.
🎉 Rewards:
- 3 miles per dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta.
- 1.5x miles on eligible transit, U.S. shipping and U.S. office supply store purchases.
- 1.5x miles on all purchases after spending $150,000 in a calendar year.
- 1 mile per dollar spent on other purchases.
- Terms apply.
📈 APR: The ongoing APR is 19.74%-28.74% Variable APR.
📍 Minimum credit limit: Not disclosed.
💷 Foreign transaction fee: None.
Other benefits:
First checked bag free - Priority boarding. You'll be able to get on the plane early.
- Access to complimentary seat upgrades. Even without elite status, your card could add you to the complimentary upgrade list, depending on the fare you booked.
- Credit for the application fee for
TSA Precheck and Global Entry - 20% discount on in-flight purchases. You must use your card, and the discount comes in the form of a statement credit.
- Lounge access when flying Delta. Get 15 visits per Medallion® Year to the Delta Sky Club. Make $75,000 in purchases in a calendar year to unlock unlimited access. Card holders also get access to The Centurion® Lounge and Escape Lounge for Delta flights purchased with their card.
- Companion certificate. Covers airfare for a traveling partner.
- Progress toward elite status. Medallion Qualifying Dollars perks can get you to Medallion elite status quicker.
- Credit for Delta Stays. Get up to $250 in statement credits for new prepaid hotel or vacation rental booking made via the Delta Stays platform.
- Terms apply.
Benefits and perks
Lounges, lounges, lounges
Excellent premium travel cards abound. The reason to get this one is that it includes access to Delta Sky Clubs, the airline’s airport lounges. These feature a slew of amenities
Every year, you'll also get four one-time guest passes to the lounges. After that, you can buy additional guest passes for $50 each (which must be charged to the card). Terms apply.
In addition to Delta Sky Clubs, your card will get you into the highly regarded American Express Centurion Lounges — as well as the Escape Lounges — when you fly Delta. You can bring up to two guests at a per-visit rate of $50 per person, per location.
💬 From our Nerds: Mind the cap
"The annual fee of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card is cheaper than just getting an individual Sky Club membership. That will cost you $695, as of this writing.
"Good deal, right? After all, you'll save money on lounge access and get a slew of extras with the card.
"Lounge access isn't the same as lounge membership, though. The card previously offered the latter, but Delta changed this benefit effective Feb. 1, 2025.
"Now, you're capped at 15 Sky Club visits per Medallion year. You can unlock unlimited access — if you make $75,000 in purchases on your card. That will remove your cap for the rest of the calendar year through Jan. 31 of the next one." (Terms apply.)
— Ryan Lane, assigning editor covering small business
Companion certificate
You can essentially get a two-person business trip for half-price with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card. Its annual companion certificate covers a travel partner's airfare, though you still pay taxes and fees on the ticket. (Those can't exceed $80.)
You can redeem the companion benefit for a round-trip ticket in domestic Delta First, Delta Comfort, or Delta Main cabins as well select Caribbean and Central American flights. Deltic Basic experiences are not eligible. Terms apply.
This is a distinction, because many companion certificates apply only to economy class, including the companion certificate on this card’s little brother, the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
This perk alone could make up for the card's annual fee — after your first year. That's because this benefit doesn't kick in until you've renewed your card. So don't count on immediate savings.
Welcome bonus
New-cardholder bonuses can change periodically. But this card typically gives you enough miles to earn a domestic award flight, assuming you can meet the required spending. The current bonus: Earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.
Note that if you've had this American Express credit card in the past, you’re unlikely to qualify for the bonus. And you might be rejected for the bonus because of other account history with American Express.
How it compares with other Delta business credit cards
If you definitely want a Delta Air Lines business credit card, you have three options. Examining basic card features side by side helps when choosing.
| Annual fee | $0 intro for the first year, then $150 ( see | $350 ( see | $650 ( see |
| Rewards on Delta purchases | 2x | 3x | 3x |
| Rewards besides bonus miles on Delta purchases and 1x on everything else | 2x on restaurant dining, 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 single eligible 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 consumer card instead? Read NerdWallet's comparison of consumer Delta credit cards.
Drawbacks and alternatives
Annual fee
The annual fee of $650 isn’t unusual for a business card with airport lounge access. Still, it’s not a small number. The key is to be sure you can extract more value from the card than you’re paying to hold it.
If you can’t stomach the annual fee, a cheaper travel business credit card might be in order.
A good example is the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Limited spending rewards
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card seems designed for big spenders. You'll need to surpass non-insignificant thresholds to earn progress toward elite status, unlimited Sky Club lounge access and its welcome bonus.
But the straight-up spending rewards on this card are lackluster.
You earn 3 miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta; 1.5 miles per dollar on eligible transit, U.S. shipping and U.S. office supply store purchases; and 1 mile per dollar on everything else. The base rewards rate rises to 1.5 miles per dollar for all purchases after you put $150,000 on the card in a calendar year. Terms apply.
If your goal is to rack up points for travel — and not Delta-specific miles — other business credit cards will serve your better.
Reward redemptions
The best redemption choices 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. Maybe the ideal fit for Delta flyers is The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Its annual fee of $895 is steep. But the card gets you into Delta Sky Clubs and many others. It also features a hefty bonus offer for new cardholders and provides hundreds of dollars a year in travel credits and perks. Terms apply ( see rates and fees
How we evaluated the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
NerdWallet's business credit card experts compared the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card to other business airline cards, evaluating how the card's rewards, perks, fees and features stack up to its peers. We also surveyed American Express, the card's issuer, gathering information about employee cards, spending controls, credit limits and how often cardholders are considered for a credit limit increase. This data, alongside feedback from business owners — solicited directly and gathered via online forums like Reddit — helped inform our review of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business American Express.
Notes from card issuers