Purpose of Delta SkyMiles American Express Platinum Card

As I mentioned in this post, every credit card needs to have a purpose to hold. Here, let us discuss the Delta SkyMiles American Express Platinum Card (which is different from the American Express Platinum Card).

The annual fee of the Delta Platinum card is $350. The rewards are:

• 3 miles per dollar for direct Delta and hotel purchases,
• 2 miles per dollar for dining,
• 1 mile per dollar for other purchases.

The value of a Delta SkyMile is just above 1 cent. The cashback rates of my other cards are:

• 5% for flight tickets and prepaid hotels with the American Express Platinum Card,
• 3% for dining with the Costco Anywhere Visa Card, and
• 2% for all purchases with the Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card.

Therefore, the rewards of the Delta Platinum card are dominated by my other cards.

Then why do I hold the Delta Platinum card? The reason is other tangible and intangible benefits:

• 2,500 Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQD) headstart
• Zone 5 priority boarding
• First checked bag free
• $120 rideshare credit ($10 per month)
• $120 Resy credit ($10 per month)
• $150 hotel credit booked through the Delta website
• 15% discount in miles when booking Delta award tickets
• Annual Companion Certificate

and so on. Among these benefits, the one I care about most is the 2,500 MQD headstart. In 2025, I qualified for Gold status thanks to this benefit. With Gold status, I get Zone 4 priority boarding, a high probability of seat upgrade, and lounge access when traveling internationally, etc. (Among these benefits, I only care about the upgrade, as my American Express Platinum card gives me lounge access pretty much everywhere.) The value of benefits other than the 2,500 MQD headstart is mixed. The $150 hotel credit is easy to use. The $10-per-month rideshare credit can only be used for rideshare, not Uber Eats, so it is difficult to use during the off-season. I often let the $10-per-month Resy credit expire because the amount is too small relative to the opportunity cost of searching for and visiting a Resy restaurant. I haven’t used the Annual Companion Certificate yet, so we will see whether it is valuable.

Overall, I am not that excited about this card, and I rarely use it, but I will likely keep it as long as I fly Delta often.