Delta Reserve Business AmEx: Lounge and Luxury for Delta Loyalists
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Our Take
5.0
If you travel often for business and fly Delta, the perks on this card — including lounge membership and a boost toward elite status — could easily make up for the hefty annual fee. But if you frequently fly airlines other than Delta, you might look elsewhere.
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Quick Facts
Pros & Cons
Pros
High rewards rate
Luxury perks
Lounge membership
Companion benefit
Cons
Has annual fee
Requires good/excellent credit
Compare to Other Cards
Annual fee$650 | Annual fee$95 |
Regular APR21.24%-26.24% Variable APR | |
Intro APRN/A | Intro APRN/A |
Full Review
Business operators who want a new credit card and continually 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 a Delta Sky Club airport lounge membership, but it also offers an annual companion certificate, progress toward elite status and other perks that can justify its lofty annual fee of $650. Terms apply. And you don’t need to have a hardcore business — an S-corp or employees — to qualify. A side hustle could get you approved.
The card might not be worth it for business owners who spread around their airfare dollars. They would be better off with a general travel card, even a luxury one that also offers lounge access.
But for entrepreneurs who avidly fly Delta and enjoy comfort and productivity benefits while traveling, the decision to choose this Delta card is as easy as alpha, beta, gamma.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: Basics and benefits
Card type: Small business and airline.
Annual fee: $650
Welcome bonus: Limited Time Offer: Earn 110,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 10/23/24. 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.
Lounge membership: Membership to Delta Sky Clubs and AmEx Centurion Lounges (or Escape Lounges) when flying Delta. Terms apply.
Companion certificate: Covers airfare for a traveling partner. Terms apply.
Progress toward elite status: Medallion Qualifying Dollars perks can get you to Medallion elite status quicker. Terms apply.
Foreign transaction fee: None.
APR: The ongoing APR is 20.99%-29.99% Variable APR.
Other benefits:
First checked bag free for you and up to eight others on your reservation.
Priority boarding allows you 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. Card members are eligible to receive either one $100 statement credit every 4 years for the application fee for Global Entry or one $85 statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA Precheck.
20% discount on in-flight purchases. You must use your card, and the discount comes in the form of a statement credit.
Terms apply.
Highlights of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
Lounges, lounges, lounges
Excellent premium travel cards abound. The reason to get this one is that it includes full membership to Delta Sky Clubs, the airline’s airport lounges. There, you'll have access when flying Delta to a slew of amenities, including complimentary drinks, Wi-Fi, showers and more. Every year, you'll also get two one-time guest passes to the lounges. After that, you can buy additional guest passes for $39 each (which must be charged to the card). Terms apply.
In addition to Delta Sky Clubs, your card will also get you into the highly regarded American Express Centurion Lounges — as well as the Escape Lounges (the Centurion Studio Partner) — when you're flying Delta. You can bring up to two guests at a per-visit rate of $50 per person, per location.
The card’s annual fee of $650 might seem high, but it makes sense considering a comparable Sky Club membership costs $545 per year. Terms apply.
Companion certificate
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card is among the few airline cards with an annual companion certificate, which covers a travel partner's airfare. This perk alone can make up for the card's annual fee. Aside from paying taxes and fees on the ticket (which are capped at $80), you can essentially get a two-person business trip for half-price.
You can redeem the companion benefit for a round-trip ticket in domestic First Class, Delta Comfort+ or the regular Main Cabin. 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.
Regarding the companion certificate benefit: You must depart and arrive in the 48 contiguous United States. There are exceptions to this rule for cardholders who live in Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. You must book the same flights with your companion with the same times and dates, and make the purchase using the card. You'll get this benefit annually each year your card is renewed. Terms apply.
Welcome bonus
New-cardholder bonuses can change periodically, but the card typically gives you enough miles to earn a domestic award flight, assuming you can meet the required spending. The current bonus: Limited Time Offer: Earn 110,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 10/23/24. 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.
Business-friendly features
Like all of AmEx’s business credit cards, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card features a suite of benefits designed for business owners, including:
The American Express Business App. This feature allows you to add receipts and notes to your transactions on desktop or mobile.
Employee cards. There’s a $0 fee for adding employee cards to your account. You can set individual spending limits on these cards and set up various alerts to monitor spending.
Year-end summary. This report, typically available in January, will show purchases made on your account during the previous calendar year.
Terms apply.
These features make it easy to track your company’s spending and can come in handy at tax time.
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 | $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 consumer card instead? Read NerdWallet's comparison of consumer Delta credit cards.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: Drawbacks and alternatives
Annual fee
The annual fee of $650 isn’t unusual for an airline card that comes with an airport lounge membership. 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. It earns 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each year, and 1 point per dollar on everything else. Points are worth 1.25 cents apiece when redeemed for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal.
Limited spending rewards
True, if you spend a lot on the card, you can earn some perks, like progress toward elite status. But the straight-up spending rewards are a bit lackluster, especially for smaller business spenders.
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, which is nice for high spenders. Terms apply.
Other business credit cards will have either higher flat-rate rewards for all purchases, or for certain spending categories — such as advertising and office supply stores — that earn bonus rewards and are relevant to small-business owners. And some business airline cards have started adding useful bonus categories, like restaurants and hotels.
A business card that offers higher spending rewards is another one by AmEx, the American Express® Business Gold Card. You'll earn 4 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent in the top two eligible bonus categories from a list of six where you spend the most each month (up to the first $150,000 in combined purchases per year; then 1 point back). The card gives back 25% of your points after you use them for all or part of an eligible flight booked with Amex Travel (up to 250,000 points back per calendar year). Terms apply (see rates and fees). The annual fee is $375.
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, with an annual fee of $695. The card also gets you into Delta Sky Clubs and features a hefty bonus offer for new cardholders; earns 5X points on eligible travel purchases; provides hundreds of dollars a year in travel credits; and carries lots of perks. Terms apply (see rates and fees).
Is the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card right for you?
If you can handle the annual fee, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card can be the ideal credit card for the frequent Delta flyer. Its lounge access, companion certificate and progress toward elite status can make life on the road more palatable. But if you’re flying many different airlines and don’t necessarily want lounge access, you have other good choices.
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.
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