The Delta Reserve For Business Credit Card from American Express 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 40,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. These are valued to be at around $480. Consequently, MQMs are used to qualify for Delta Medallion status, including Silver, Gold, Platinum and Diamond.
The annual fee for this card is $450 ($550 if application is received on or after 1/30/2020) (see Rates & Fees). It’s a bargain since Delta Reserve Business Credit Card is one of the best travel cards available on the market. The Delta 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 Reserve Business unique is its complimentary access to Delta Sky Clubs and an annual companion ticket where up to First Class is eligible.
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Delta Reserve For Business Card Summary
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| Bonus Available | Earn 40,000 bonus SkyMiles and 10,000 MQM’s after you make at least $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. |
| Bonus Value* | $480 |
| Travel Credit | No travel credit. However, you get a companion certificate every year when you renew your membership. |
| Ongoing Rewards/Benefits | Receive 2 miles for every $1 spent on purchases made directly with Delta and 1 mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
You(and up to 8 other travel companions) get your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Receive Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding on Delta flights. Enjoy 20% inflight savings in the form of statement credits on eligible credits. Earn 15,000 bonus SkyMiles and 15,000 MQM’s when you spend $30,000 within a calendar year. Earn another 15,000 bonus SkyMiles and 15,000 MQMs after spending $60,000. |
| Foreign Transaction Fees? | No. (See Rates & Fees) |
| Airport Lounge Access | Complimentary Delta Sky Club access |
| Annual Fee | $450 ($550 if application is received on or after 1/30/2020) |
* 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 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 toward travel when you redeem 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. |
40,000 Bonus SkyMiles + 10,000 MQMs Offer
Enjoy 40,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months.We value the SkyMiles alone to be at around $480.
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. |
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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 Reserve Business Card 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 Reserve Business 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 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 Reserve Business card.
Bottom Line
Delta Reserve For Business Credit Card from American Express 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 Reserve Business Credit Card 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 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 toward travel when you redeem 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 up to 200,000 bonus miles worth up to $2,000 to spend on travel—flights, hotels & more as a limited time offer. Earn 50,000 bonus miles when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months and earn 150,000 bonus miles when you spend $50,000 in the first 6 months of your 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. 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 up to 100,000 Membership Rewards® points. Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 and an extra 50,000 points after you spend an additional $15,000 all 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.
While American Express is an advertising partner of HustlerMoneyBlog, the opinions and beliefs in this article are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the issuer.
See Rates & Fees of the Delta Reserve For Business Credit Card.
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