Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card rewards
The Delta Reserve Business card is an excellent rewards credit card for frequent travelers.
It comes with a generous welcome bonus and gives you several ways to earn miles when you use your card. Here’s what you need to know about earning and redeeming your rewards.
Welcome bonus
For a limited time, new cardholders can earn 110,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12,000 within six months of opening their account. This offer ends 10/23/24.
The value of the welcome bonus depends on how you choose to redeem your rewards.
For example, SkyMiles are usually worth the most when you redeem them for Award Travel. They’re worth a little less when you redeem them for seat upgrades and other perks.
Earning rewards
With the American Express Delta Business Reserve card, it’s easy to earn rewards.
You’ll earn at the following rates:
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3X: Earn 3 miles per dollar spent on all purchases made directly with Delta. For example, if you spend $900 on airfare, you’ll earn 2,700 miles.
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1.5X: Earn 1.5 miles per dollar spent on U.S. shipping expenses, eligible transit purchases and office supplies. If you spend $800 on shipping expenses, $200 on eligible transit purchases and $500 on office supplies, that’s 2,250 miles (1,500 x 1.5 cents per mile).
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1X: Earn 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases. If you reach $150,000 in card spend in a calendar year, you’ll earn 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all purchases for the rest of the year.
Redeeming rewards
One of the easiest ways to redeem your miles with this travel credit card is to purchase flights to more than 1,000 destinations. You can use your miles for flights with Delta or one of the following partner airlines: Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Hawaiian Airlines and Aeromexico.
American Express also offers the following redemption methods:
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Seat selection and upgrades: If you need a little more legroom, use your miles to pay for an upgrade from Main Cabin to Comfort+ or First Class.
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Delta Sky Club memberships: Delta allows Medallion members to purchase annual Sky Club memberships. You can use your miles to pay for an individual membership or an executive membership.
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Certain Delta fees: Use your miles to cover standard baggage fees at select U.S. airports.
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Gift cards: Visit the SkyMiles Marketplace to purchase gift cards with your miles. You can use Delta gift cards to pay for airfare or cover the cost of certain Delta Vacations packages.
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Magazine subscriptions: If you live in the United States, you can use your miles to subscribe to participating magazines. Options include People, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle and Better Homes & Gardens.
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Delta Stays: Use your miles to pay for hotels or vacation rentals when you book with Delta Stay.
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Charity donations: If you’re feeling charitable, donate your miles via the SkyWish program. SkyWish uses miles to help Canine Assistants, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and other nonprofits.
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Delta Vacations®: Your miles are worth 15% more when you use them to book travel through Delta Vacations.
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Premium drinks in Delta Sky Club lounges: Use your miles to buy premium wines or signature cocktails at Delta Sky Clubs.
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Delta SkyMiles Experiences: American Express allows you to use your miles to bid on exclusive events and other experiences. For example, you can use miles to book a luxury getaway or bid on a once-in-a-lifetime culinary package.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card benefits
The Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card comes with a variety of benefits, making it one of the best credit cards on the market.
Travel benefits
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Priority boarding: Cardholders have access to priority boarding on all Delta flights booked with the Delta Reserve for business credit card. Priority boarding gives you a little extra time to settle in and get ready for your flight.
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Airport lounge access: Members receive 15 complimentary visits to Delta Sky Clubs each year (unlimited visits for members who spend at least $75,000 in a calendar year). Delta Reserve Business cardholders also have access to Centurion® and Escape lounges.
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Delta companion certificate: Your card comes with an annual companion certificate, which entitles you to one free ticket to a destination in the United States, Central America or the Caribbean (Main Cabin, Comfort+ or First Class). Although the ticket is free, you must pay up to $250 in taxes and fees depending on your destination.
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Access to priority upgrades: Your membership gives you priority access to seat upgrades on Delta flights. For example, if you book in the Main Cabin, you qualify for a complimentary upgrade to Comfort+ if there are any seats available on your flight.
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Free checked bag: When you fly Delta, you can check your first bag for free, saving up to $70 per round-trip flight.
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Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit: If you have the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card, you’re eligible for a statement credit to cover the cost of applying for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. The credit is worth up to $100 depending on which service you choose.
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15% off Award Travel: Delta gives you 15% off when you use your card to book Award Travel via Delta.com or the Delta mobile app.
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Hertz President’s Circle® status: Cardholders receive complimentary President’s Circle Status with the Hertz loyalty program. President’s Circle status gives you access to free upgrades, 50% bonus points on all Hertz rentals and other perks.
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Travel insurance: Your card comes with several types of travel insurance, including trip interruption coverage and trip delay coverage. Travel insurance helps you recoup some of your costs if you have to cancel or delay your trip for a covered reason.
Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
Statement credits
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Up to $120 rideshare credit: The Amex Delta Reserve Business card gives you $10 in statement credits per month when you use it to pay for rides with select providers. This benefit is worth up to $120 per year ($10 per month x 12 months).
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Up to $250 Delta Stays credit: You’ll receive a statement credit of up to $250 when you use your card to pay for an eligible booking with Delta Stays.
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Up to $240 Resy restaurant credit: American Express offers statement credits of up to $20 per month for eligible reservations booked through Resy and paid for with your SkyMiles Reserve Business card. If you make reservations every month, you could earn up to $240 per year.
Headstart and MQD Boost
Delta uses Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) to track how much you spend on vacation packages, Delta flights and certain American Express credit cards. The number of MQDs you earn affects your status in the Medallion program.
To help you reach Medallion status even faster, the Delta Business Reserve card gives you a $2,500 MQD Headstart. Cardholders also qualify for the MQD Boost, which gives you extra Medallion Qualification Dollars for purchases made on your Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express card.
You get $1 MQD for every $10 worth of purchases. For example, a purchase of $2,000 is worth $200 MQDs.
Fees, rates & limit
Before you apply for the Delta Reserve Business card, make sure you review the terms, including card fees, interest rates and spending limits (see rates and fees).
Fees
The Delta Reserve Business card has an annual fee of $650.
Users also pay the following fees:
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Additional cardholder fee: $175 per cardholder
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Balance transfer fee: N/A (no balance transfers allowed)
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Cash advance fee: $5 or 3% of the advance, whichever is greater
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Foreign transaction fee: $0
Interest rates
You can expect to pay the following rates when you use your SkyMiles Reserve Business card:
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Regular APR: 20.49% to 29.49% variable based on creditworthiness
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Purchase intro APR: N/A
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Balance transfer APR: N/A
Credit limit
American Express doesn’t advertise minimum or maximum credit limits for the SkyMiles Reserve Business card. Your credit limit will depend on your credit scores, your annual income and other factors. Some users start with limits as low as $1,000, while others qualify for much higher limits.
How the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card compares
The main advantage of applying for the Delta Reserve Business card is that you get 3 miles per dollar spent on all Delta purchases.
If you fly frequently, this reward rate makes it easy to rack up miles. This airline credit card also comes with more than a dozen benefits, such as priority seating, free checked bags and Sky Club access.
The Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card falls a bit short when it comes to miles earned in other spending categories. You can get 1.5 miles per dollar spent on certain business expenses, but you don’t get bonus miles on grocery, gas or dining purchases.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card vs. Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card
The Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card has a much lower annual fee ($150, see rates and fees) than the SkyMiles Reserve Business card, but it only gives you 2 miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases.
However, the $150 fee is only after the first year of membership ($0 intro fee for the first year), and you get 2 miles per dollar spent on shipping expenses and certain advertising purchases on up to $50,000 of eligible purchases per category, per year. The Delta Reserve Business card is a better pick if you want to maximize your earnings on Delta purchases. Otherwise, you may want to go with the SkyMiles Gold Business card.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card vs. Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card gives you 3 miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases and hotels, giving it a slight edge over the Delta Reserve Business card.
However, you only get 1.5 miles per dollar spent on U.S. shipping and eligible transit purchases, and only after you spend at least $5,000. The SkyMiles Reserve Business card doesn’t have a minimum spending requirement to get 1.5 miles per dollar on these purchases.
Additionally, the SkyMiles Platinum Business card has fewer benefits. For example, the Resy credit is only worth up to $120, and you can only use the companion certificate to purchase Main Cabin seating. Due to the reduced number of benefits available, the SkyMiles Platinum Business card has an annual fee of just $350 (see rates and fees) compared to the $650 fee for the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card.
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card vs. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
When you compare the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, the Business Platinum Card is the clear winner. It has a $695 annual fee (see rates and fees), which is slightly more than the $650 fee for the SkyMiles Reserve Business card. However, it offers many more travel and business benefits.
For example, you get 5 points per dollar spent on flights and prepaid hotels. Since the Business Platinum Card isn’t a co-branded Delta product, you get points on every airline purchase, not just Delta purchases.
The Business Platinum Card also comes with credits for Adobe Creative Suite, Dell Technologies, Indeed and wireless telephone service.
Read our full Amex Business Platinum card review
Is the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card right for me?
The Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card is best for frequent flyers who are loyal to Delta and want to earn SkyMiles rather than cash back or bonus points.
You may also benefit from the card if you own a business and spend a significant amount of money on office supplies and U.S. shipping expenses.
If you don’t travel with Delta often but are looking for an Amex business card, consider these options to see if they are a better fit for you:
How do I apply for the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card?
You can learn more about the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card and apply online.
Simply fill out the application on the American Express website. Note that the Amex Delta Reserve Business card is for applicants with good to excellent credit scores.
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For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this page.