Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express card review (2024)

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The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card is really only a good choice for Delta flyers who absolutely don't want to pay an annual fee but still want a co-branded Delta credit card. It doesn't come with perks like a free checked bag or priority boarding like other Delta credit cards do, but you'll still get inflight discounts and access to Delta's Pay With Miles feature as a cardholder.

Delta SkyMiles Blue card overview

Amex issues seven Delta credit cards, and the only one that doesn't charge an annual fee is the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card. As an entry-level card, it comes with a modest welcome bonus offer and fewer perks than other Delta cards, but if you're completely opposed to paying an annual fee it could be worth considering.

The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card currently offers 10,000 bonus miles after spending $1,000 in purchases on your new card in the first six months from account opening. That's worth around $110 in flights, based on Personal Finance Insider's valuations. It also earns 2x miles on eligible Delta purchases and on restaurants worldwide and takeout/delivery in the U.S. and 1 mile per dollar on everything else.

You won't get benefits like a free checked bag and priority boarding on Delta flights, but the card does come with a handful of perks, including 20% off Delta inflight purchases (as a statement credit), car rental insurance, and purchase protection. Having this card also qualifies you to use Delta's Pay With Miles feature, which gets you a flat rate of 1 cent per mile toward paid flights.

If you fly Delta with any regularity, you'll almost certainly do better with Delta cards that charge an annual fee, because they offer additional perks that can offset their yearly cost (and then some). For instance, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is just a step up from the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, with an annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, then $150. It's offering a welcome bonus of 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership.

This bonus is worth much more — around $440 in flights — and the card comes with elite-like benefits that include a free checked bag (usually $30) and priority boarding on Delta, and a $100 flight credit when you spend $10,000 or more in a calendar year.

How to earn miles from the Amex Delta Blue card

The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card has a fairly straightforward earning structure, but it doesn't offer many bonus categories for accruing extra miles. Cardholders earn:

• 2 miles per dollar on eligible Delta purchases (including purchases made through delta.com, the Fly Delta app, phone reservations, or ticket counters; upgrades, miles, seat selection, Delta Sky Club membership, and inflight purchases of food, alcoholic beverages, and audio headsets on Delta-operated flights)
• 2 miles per dollar at restaurants worldwide and on U.S. takeout and food delivery (bars, nightclubs, cafeterias, and convenience stores don't count, nor do restaurants located inside other venues like hotels or casinos)
• 1 mile per dollar on all other eligible purchases

How to use Delta miles

Delta SkyMiles are worth 1.1 cents each, on average, based on Personal Finance Insider's points and miles valuations, so if you get that rate or more when you book an award flight (compared to the cost of a paid ticket), you can be confident you're getting a decent deal.

You canuse Delta miles for award flights on Delta and its partners, both in and outside the SkyTeam alliance. These include Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and Korean Air. Because Delta doesn't have an award chart and prices awards dynamically, the number of points required for an award ticket varies depending on demand, paid ticket price, and season.

Delta occasionally offers flash sales with award tickets priced as low as 2,000 miles one-way within the US, and as little as 9,000 miles for international routes. Delta SkyMiles deals aren't normally announced in advance, so it's worth checking the website frequently to see if the flights you want are on sale.

All Amex Delta cardholders, including Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card members, can also use miles to directly reduce the cost of a paid ticket. The Delta Pay With Miles program allows cardholders to redeem at a rate of 1 cent per mile in 5,000-mile increments, so 5,000 miles is worth $50 off the cost of a paid ticket, 10,000 miles is worth $100, and so forth. This can be super useful if you don't have enough miles to fully cover an award flight, or want to make your miles go further by combining them with cash.

You don't absolutely have to redeem SkyMiles for flights, though you'll typically get the highest value when you use them that way. Other options usually offer a poor value in comparison:

• Seat selection and upgrades
• Delta Sky Club lounge memberships
• Certain Delta fees (like ticket changes and award ticket redeposit fees)
• Gift cards
• Magazines
• Tour vouchers
• Charity donations
• Delta Vacations packages
• Premium drinks in Delta Sky Club lounges
• Delta SkyMiles Experiences

Keep in mind that Delta miles don't expire, so you don't need to feel pressured to redeem them for an inferior value if you don't have immediate travel plans.

Delta SkyMiles Blue card benefits and features

The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card isn't packed with benefits like the other Delta cards — that's typical for a no-annual-fee card — but it does have a few perks that could prove handy and save you some money.

20% off Delta inflight purchases

When you use your Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card to pay for eligible inflight purchases on Delta flights, you'll receive 20% back as a statement credit within about 12 weeks of the transaction date. Qualifying purchases include pre-purchased meals and inflight purchases of food, and alcoholic beverages, but don't include inflight Wi-Fi or charitable contributions.

Car rental insurance

If you use your Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card to pay for your car rental and decline the rental company's collision damage waiver (CDW), you're eligible for up to $50,000 in coverage for damage to or theft of a covered vehicle. Coverage is secondary, which means it only kicks in after any other insurance policies (like your own automobile insurance) pay out, and rentals in some countries aren't covered.

Global Assist Hotline

Amex offers a Global Assist Hotline that cardholders can access when they're traveling at least 100 miles from home. Call the hotline at 800-333-2639 to get help with arranging things like lost passport replacement, translation services, missing luggage assistance, and emergency legal and medical referrals, but keep in mind any third-party costs are the cardholder's responsibility. A few countries are excluded as well.

Purchase protection

When you use your Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card to pay for an eligible item and it gets damaged or stolen within 90 days of purchase, you could be covered for up to $1,000 per item and $50,000 per card. Some items and situations are excluded.

Extended warranty

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card members also qualify for an extended warranty on eligible items when they use their card to pay — up to one additional year added to eligible US manufacturer's warranties of five years or less.

Access to Amex Offers

American Express cards, including the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, come with access to Amex Offers**. These are targeted discounts or bonus miles at participating merchants that can help you save on purchases you might make anyway.

Fees and costs

The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card has a $0 annual fee, so it's free to keep for the long term. Like other cards, it does charge interest (currently a 20.99% - 29.99% Variable APR) and fees for cash advances, late payments, and returned payments.

However, the card does not charge foreign transaction fees, making it a good choice to take with you on your adventures abroad.

Comparison: Delta SkyMiles Blue vs other Delta cards

Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express card frequently asked questions (FAQ)