Hustlermoneyblog has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Hustlermoneyblog and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card is a great option for small business owners and independent contractors alike that frequently fly Delta Airlines.
You have the opportunity to score a welcome offer of 45,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in the first 3 months. These are valued to be at around $540. Consequently, MQMs are used to qualify for Delta Medallion status, including Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond.
The annual fee for this card is $550 (see Rates & Fees). It’s a bargain since Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card is one of the best travel cards available on the market. The Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business is a premium card designed for companies who fly frequently with this airline.
American Express offers a handful of Delta-affiliated Business cards. What makes the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card unique is its complimentary access to Delta Sky Clubs and an annual companion ticket where up to First Class is eligible.
Table of Contents
Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business American Express Card Summary
 |
| Bonus Available | Earn 45,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in the first 3 months. |
| Bonus Value* | $540 |
| Travel Credit | No travel credit. However, you get a companion certificate every year when you renew your membership. |
| Ongoing Rewards/Benefits |
Earn 3 Miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. Complimentary Delta Sky Club® Access and complimentary access to The Centurion Lounge when flying on a same-day Delta-marketed or Delta-operated flight. The eligible flight must be booked on a U.S. issued American Express Credit Card. 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. Eligible purchases after spending $150,000 do not include Delta purchases. You (and up to 8 travel companions) get your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Enjoy 20% inflight savings in the form of statement credits on eligible purchases. With Status Boost™, earn 15,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $30,000 in purchases on your new Card in a calendar year, up to four times per year getting you closer to Medallion Status. |
| Foreign Transaction Fees? | No. (See Rates & Fees) |
| Airport Lounge Access | Complimentary Delta Sky Club access |
| Annual Fee | $550 |
* Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by HustlerMoneyBlog and not the card issuer.
View the latest valuations here.
Recommended Free Credit Score (Get Free Score)
690 – 850 (Good – Excellent)
PROS
- Annual companion certificate
- Delta Sky Club access
- First bag checked free
- Priority boarding
- Partner airlines
- No foreign transaction fees
CONS
- Premium annual fee
- Good-Excellent credit needed to qualify
Editor’s Alternate Pick
 The Chase Ink Business PreferredSM Card offers 100k bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. You'll earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year; 1 point per $1 on all other purchases - with no limit to the amount you can earn. Furthermore, points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. This card does come with a $95 annual fee but does not have any foreign transaction fees. |
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Bonus Offer
Enjoy 45,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in the first 3 months.
Here are some ideas on meeting the spending requirement:
| • Plastiq - Using Plastiq allows you to pay for your personal expenses such as rent, tuition, mortgage, auto lease etc. Although they charge a 2.5% processing fee for using your credit card, this will contribute to the card bonus that you will receive. There is also a referral program that allows you to earn "Free-Free Dollars" that goes towards processing fees as well. |
| • Funding Checking Accounts - When it comes to funding a checking account, opening your initial deposit with a credit card is the usual way to go about it. However, if you want to have more opportunities, you should open a checking account that offers a sign-up bonus. This allows you to work towards bonuses from not one but two different sources instead. Banks like Chase, Huntington Bank, TD Bank and BBVA offers credit card funding, and for your opening deposit, you can often fund anywhere from $50-$1000 with a credit card, depending on the bank. |
| • Gift Card Purchases With Using a Credit Card - Another way to acquire the bonus is using your credit card to purchase gift cards. Buying a a gift card or an individual merchant card typically do not require a purchase fee and are used towards leisure, so gift cards are ideal. However, gift cards such as a Visa or American Express do incur purchase fees because they can be spent anywhere, but gift cards that are specifically for a certain online shopping site such as Amazon or eBay don't. |
| As for a Citi Credit Card, you should call customer service and ask them to lower your Cash Advance limit to $0 before making any purchases because Citi tends to read gift card purchases as a Cash Advance. Ideally, you should do this with any card just to be safe. Lastly, there is such thing as a discounted gift card which can be purchased on Raise or eBay. If you use a credit card often for everyday purchases, it can build your credit score that will contribute towards paying for things such as bills and taxes. |
| |
What Are Delta SkyMiles Worth?
Similar to other airline-branded cards, the value of your miles depends on how you use them. On average, one Delta SkyMiles point is worth $0.012. In other words, this is slightly above the industry average of of $0.01 per point.
Whenever you’re ready to redeem you SkyMiles, you have a variety of options, including:
- Flights with Delta
- Flights with partner airlines
- Upgrades
- Hotel stays
- Car rentals
- Vacation packages
- Exclusive experiences
- Merchandise
- Gift cards
- Charity donations
To get the best value for your SkyMiles, use them for award travel with Delta or one of its many partners.
SkyMiles SkyTeam & Non-Alliance Partners
| Aeroflot | Czech Airlines | Saudia Airlines |
| Aerolineas Argentinas | Garuda Indonesia | Shanghai Airlines |
| AeroMexico | GOL | Tarom Airlines |
| Air Europa | Hawaiian Airlines | Vietnam Airlines |
| Air France | Jet Airways | Virgin Atlantic |
| Air Tahiti nui | Kenya Airways | Virgin Australia |
| Alitalia | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines | Westjet |
| China Airlines | Korean Air | Xiamen Airlines |
| China Eastern | Mandarin Airlines | |
| China Southern | Middle East Airlines |
*Visit delta.com for an updated list of partners
Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Top Features
Receive one domestic First Class, Comfort+ or Main Cabin roundtrip companion certificate every year when you renew your account. Cross-country flights can be pretty steep these days. So this perk could easily negate the card’s annual fee.
This benefit is superior to the lower-fee Platinum Delta Skymiles Business Credit Card from American Express, where the certificate is only valid for Main Cabin flights.
Get unlimited complimentary access to Delta Sky Club every year you’re a cardmember. You can invite up to 2 guests with you at a discounted rate of $29 per person per visit. These lounges offer a place to work, relax and enjoy complimentary snacks, beverages and WiFi.
Without the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, you would have to pay $500+ a year for unlimited individual access. So this benefit alone more than covers the card’s annual cost.
In comparison, the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business card only offers a discounted rate ($29) per visit to Delta Sky Clubs.
The Business Platinum Card from American Express also offers unlimited access to Delta Sky Clubs, as well as many other lounge networks like Centurion Lounges.
First checked bag free. You, and up to 8 travel companions, get your first checked bag free. One checked bag is up to $30 a pop, one-way. So the maximum you could be saving with this perk is $540 (for 9 people) on a roundtrip flight.
Main Cabin 1 priority boarding. This means getting on the plane earlier and having first dibs on overhead bin space for your hand luggage.
Inflight discount. Receive a 20% savings in the form of statement credits on eligible pre-purchased meals and inflight food, alcoholic beverages and headset purchases.
Earn bonus SkyMiles and MQMs when you spend certain amounts in one calendar year:
| Spend Threshold | Bonus Miles | MQMs |
| $30,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 |
| $60,000 | 15,000 | 15,000 |
Please note, the calendar year ends on December 31. Regardless of when your card account was opened.
The Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card also waives the Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) requirement for Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers if you spend at least $25,000 that year. For Diamond status, you’ll need to spend $250,000 in one year to waive the MQD requirement.
The main draw to Medallion status is its unlimited complimentary ticket upgrades. Each tier also unlocks more miles and other benefits.
Make purchases abroad without worrying about foreign transaction fees with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card.
Bottom Line
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card is one of the best travel cards you can get. There are ample of opportunities to earn points that you can use to redeem goods & services that will lower your traveling expense.
In addition you will earn tons of Miles for choosing Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business with an outstanding welcome offer. Delta Reserve Business Credit Card is the ideal card that cater to business professional, frequent travelers, and shopaholics alike.
If you want more options then check out our complete list credit card bonus promotions for one that best suits you.
(Visit American Express for more details)
What’s the Competition?
Below are some of the top competitors to the American Express Delta Reserve for Business credit card you should consider:
The Chase Ink Business PreferredSM Card offers 100k bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. You'll earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent on travel and select business categories each account anniversary year; 1 point per $1 on all other purchases - with no limit to the amount you can earn. Furthermore, points are worth 25% more when you redeem for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. This card does come with a $95 annual fee but does not have any foreign transaction fees. |
 The Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business offers a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles - equal to $500 in travel - once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Your miles won't expire for the life of the account, and there are no categories to limit where or what you buy and you can earn 2 miles per $1 on every purchase. And 5X miles on hotel and rental car bookings through Capital One TravelSM using a Spark Miles card There is an annual fee of $95, however, there is a $0 intro annual fee for the first year. Enjoy no foreign transaction fees and fly on any airline, anytime, with no blackout dates or seat restrictions. |
 The The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has a welcome offer where you can earn 75,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. You'll also earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com. In addition, you'll get 50% more Membership Rewards® points. That's 1.5 points per dollar, on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more. You can get up to 1 million additional points per year. If you use your Membership Rewards® Pay with Points for all or part of a flight with your selected qualifying airline, you can get 35% of the points back, up to 500,000 bonus points per calendar year. This card does come with a $595 annual fee. (See Rates & Fees) Now, you can earn up to $200 in statement credits annually by getting up to $100 semi-annually for U.S. purchases with Dell. Terms apply. |
Disclaimers: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Hustlermoneyblog has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Hustlermoneyblog and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
See Rates & Fees of the Delta Reserve For Business Credit Card.
Leave a Reply