4 reasons why the Platinum Card is a great choice for Delta Air Lines passengers
this American Express Platinum Card® is one of our favorite cards for booking flights and the most profitable card of its kind.
Beyond that, the Platinum Card is an excellent premium travel rewards card, especially for frequent Delta fliers. It offers many bill points and benefits that enhance your travel experience.
Delta and American Express have a close partnership, so frequent travelers have some compelling reasons to consider adding this card to their wallets. Here’s what you should know as a Delta Air Lines passenger considering applying for the Platinum Card.
Maximize your ticket purchases
this platinum card Cards are at the top of their game when it comes to earning rewards when booking flights, with only a handful of other cards offering similar earn rates.
Earn 5 points for every $1 spent when purchasing tickets directly with the airline or through American Express Travel® Spend up to $500,000 per calendar year on these purchases (1 point per dollar thereafter). Based on TPG’s October 2025 valuation, American Express Membership Rewards are worth 2 cents each and have a 10% return.
Delta SkyMiles is a 1:1 transfer partner with American Express. So if you transfer your points to Delta, you’ll earn 5 Membership Rewards points for every $1 spent, just like you earn 5 SkyMiles points for every $1 spent on airfare.
That’s better than the rewards you’d earn when purchasing Delta flights with a Delta co-branded credit card, since you can only earn up to 3 miles per $1 spent.
Earn valuable points
this platinum card Earn Membership Rewards points that can be transferred to various airline and hotel loyalty programs, including Delta Air Lines.
The highlight of the Platinum Card is the flexibility it offers travelers. You don’t have to focus solely on the Delta SkyMiles program as you would to earn SkyMiles using just one of the airline’s co-branded credit cards.
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The Platinum Card offers the best of both worlds, as you can still use your American Express points to purchase Delta flights, but you have plenty of other options to choose from.
Delta may be your airline of choice, but having a lot of transferable points is beneficial for the following reasons:
- It gives you more options for airline and hotel bookings you wouldn’t normally consider
- Sometimes you can book a ticket on your preferred airline through a partner at a lower price than booking directly with that airline. Additionally, partners sometimes offer transfer bonuses, which can make these award tickets even more affordable.
- Flexible points protect you from loyalty program depreciation, which Delta tends to do a lot.
- It minimizes the risk of airline bankruptcy and program suspension.
Transferable points, like Membership Rewards points, can even serve as a financial safety net for unplanned expenses and emergencies, since you can redeem your points for cash back, albeit at a lower rate.
As long as you have Membership Rewards points, you can use SkyMiles whenever you need them. But if a different opportunity arises, you’re ready.
RELATED: How to Redeem Delta SkyMiles for Maximum Value
Connecting to Delta Air Lines (and its partners)
As mentioned above, you can instantly transfer your earned Amex Membership Rewards points to platinum card (and other eligible cards) to Delta at a 1:1 ratio. This is a great way to top up your Delta SkyMiles balance if you need extra miles for a specific redemption.
American Express is also the exclusive partner for Delta’s line of co-branded credit cards, so you may be able to take advantage of this offer for years to come.
However, one of the main reasons to earn points with an American Express card instead of just miles with Delta is that you can tap into the power of airline partnerships outside of Delta’s SkyMiles program.
With the Platinum Card, you can transfer points to 16 other airline partners. However, with a Delta co-branded card, you can only redeem miles for flights operated solely by Delta and its partners.
For example, you can transfer Membership Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. This is especially helpful because you can often book a Delta One business class seat through Virgin Atlantic for far less points than Delta charges.
As with any transferable currency, transfers should only be made when you are confident that award inventory is available and you are ready to book your flight. There’s only one way to transfer money: Once you transfer your American Express points, you can’t convert them back into Membership Rewards points.
Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points
Airport benefits
In addition to excellent flight earning rates, platinum card A variety of travel day benefits are available to save you time and money and enhance your travel experience.
Many Delta loyalists will choose the airline’s top personal card Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Cardvisit Sky Club when flying with Delta Air Lines. Card members are limited to 15 visits per year unless you spend $75,000 on the card in a calendar year.
By comparison, with the Platinum Card, eligible cardmembers get 10 visits per year (a reduction of 5) unless you spend $75,000 on the card in a calendar year to unlock unlimited access.
With these two cards, eligible cardholders can also use the Centurion Lounge. The main difference is that if you fly with Delta and purchase your tickets using a card issued by American Express, you can only access those cards using the Delta Reserve Card. At the same time, with the Platinum Card, you can enter the Centurion Lounge no matter which airline you fly.
Additionally, the Platinum Card offers up to $200 in airline fee bill credits each calendar year, which can be used toward checked baggage or seat selection fees on the airline of your choice each calendar year. (Registration required)
If you fly Delta (or another U.S. airline) and don’t want to use that airline’s co-branded card to check a bag for free, you can offset the fee with a Platinum card.
Finally, the Platinum card offers up to $209 in Clear Plus statement credits each calendar year (auto-renewable; registration required). Clear Plus is a rapid biometric security program that allows you to jump to the front of the TSA queue.
Paired with the $120 Global Entry bill credit every four years or up to $85 TSA PreCheck fee credit every 4.5 years offered by the Platinum Card, you’ll be breezing through security in no time.
Related: The best credit cards for airport lounge access
Reasons to still consider a Delta co-branded card
Although platinum card It is a reliable all-round choice for Delta Air Lines passengers, and some Delta co-branded cards have obvious advantages.
If you want to earn Delta Medallion elite status, you can get there faster with a Delta co-branded credit card. You can earn Medallion Qualifying Dollars by spending on one of the following cards:
You will also receive an annual MQD Headstart with 2,500 MQD automatically deposited on all these cards every year. If you spend enough money on a co-branded card each year, you can get status without even flying on Delta. Additionally, if you hold any two of the above cards at the same time, you will receive 5,000 MQD, which will automatically grant you Silver Medallion membership.
The Platinum Card won’t help you achieve elite status without flying, so if status is a priority, a Delta co-branded card will be better for you.
bottom line
this platinum card The annual fee is a hefty $895 (see rates and fees), but if you only get half the benefits, the cost is easily justified.
The Platinum Card earns the crown as the best premium card for Delta passengers with benefits like access to Sky Club when flying on Delta Air Lines, earning flexible points that can be transferred to Delta Air Lines, and up to $200 in miscellaneous bill points on airline fees per calendar year.
However, if you’re specifically interested in earning MQDs on purchases and welcome offers to achieve elite status, you’ll still want to consider one of Delta’s co-branded cards.
To learn more, check out our full review of the American Express Platinum Card.
Apply here: American Express Platinum Card
For American Express Platinum Card rates and fees, click here.
