Are You Opening A Delta Card For Your Trip?

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Thousands upon thousands of folks have glitch tickets booked with Delta.  I’m not fan of Delta as they run a very stingy mileage program but I have to stand up applaud their class-act behavior in honoring glitch tickets even from people who weren’t ticketed this past Thursday.  They have gone above and beyond the call of duty and their agents have been working around the clock to make everyone happy.  So first off, kudos to Delta!

While I’m no fan of their Skypesos program, if you are traveling with your family it can definitely make sense to open the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express.

You get 30K miles for spending $1,000 in 3 months.  You’ll also get a $50 statement credit for making a Delta purchase. The annual fee is waived for the first year.

But perhaps the biggest benefit is that you’ll get a free bag for up to 8 people traveling with the primary cardholder. That’s a massive savings even on just a single family vacation.

You’ll also get priority boarding so that there will be space in the overhead for your carryons. Plus you get 20% off In-flight food, drink, headphone, TV, and movie discounts.

So it’s a nice card for the fringe benefits, but even if you collect Delta miles it’s not a good card for spending.  The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express is far superior as those points have better uses and they give a 25% bonus, so that 20K Starpoints can transfer into 25K Delta miles.  Though there are far better mileage currencies out there for you to transfer your Starpoints to rather than Delta.

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41 Comments On "Are You Opening A Delta Card For Your Trip?"

All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.

MC

I downgraded this card to avoid the annual fee a few months ago but still have the original (which hasn’t expired).
Do you think I can still get away with the free bag?

Zed

@dan what can I get from this delta flight if I have a star woods card?

LA2NYC

If I purchased the flight with the Delta Gold CC (and have added my Delta Skymiles # to the reservation), can I still credit my miles to Alaskan while receiving the free bags? Does your Skymiles # need to be on reservation to receive the bags?

(Side question – Can you recredit already flown Delta segments that you credited to Delta to another airline?)

Thanks!

zalmen leib teitelbaum

i have a pricline iltinerary (request only) that past the travel date( was esterday) do you thing thst they will honnor it with a date change

bob

Just got approved today for the delta card.
Does the free luggage apply even if the ticket was not bought on the card? If not is there a way to change the charge from my chase United to my amex feels card?

Joseph

Hi Dan thanks for all . I have the delta platinum card because of the MQMs it offers , up to 20,000 a year, which helps get to a medallion status . What cards do you suggest I use to get an elite status on an airline? Doesn’t necessarily need to be delta( however i am an elite with them currently) and would like to be an elite with an airline, to get upgrades , etc, As I m traveling quite a lot lately… I trust really appreciate what advice you can give me. Thanks.

ZZZ

What counts as a delta purchase (anything besides actual tickets? ) to get the $50 statement credit? And does the charge need to be over $50?

Barry

the reservation doesn’t have to have been booked with the card to get the free bags checked. However, its 9 bags per restoration – i’m not sure if that’s per leg, rather per reservation. anyone know?

Anonymous

don’t these flights have fee bags already?

Sara

I once had a Delta Amex. May apply for one now.
Are the free bags on internat’l flights (like 2 bags instead of regular 1?
Also is it good on any Delta flight even if charged to a non-Delta cr. card?

milechazzer

Do you know if the $50 credit ever expires? Any alternative ways to spend the $50 on Delta, other than booking flights?

thx

25K only :(

@dan
the link you posted to apply fot the delta AMEX is offering 25K for spending 2000 USD in the first 3 months

Sk

Btw – if you got business or first class tickets, you will already get a free checked bag and lounge acceess, priority boarding, etc

Brian

@25K only 🙁:
30K for me.

Try going incognito and click the link again.
That’s Ctrl+Shift+n in chrome or Ctrl+Shift+p in other browsers.

Ben

If I am a second user, do I get free baggage?

sammmy

Whats the charge per checked bag on delta?

Dan's the man

From what I read on the Delta Amex card website you will be able to get the checked bag even though you didn’t pay for the flight with the card and even though you didn’t have the card (or even a skymiles account) when you booked the flight.

This is very good as the Citi AAdvantage card needs to be tied to your AAdvantage account when you book the ticket in order to get the benefits.

I will probably apply for a card as I need to check a bag or 2 as I’m traveling with my children. I’ll wait until it gets closer to apply for the card as I have a lot of recent applications.

Dan, any good advice of what to do with the 30K miles (plus the miles from the flight)? I know in theory it would be enough for another Delta domestic flight but since they have terrible availability for points is there a way to sell it or get some benefit from it? I doubt any of the points buyers would but just 30K miles. One time I was stuck with approx 11K American miles in my wife’s account and we wearn’t going to earning more miles on her account so I booked a car rental using the points. It worked out well and got a 3 day minivan rental in FL for the 11K points.

Anonymous

@sammmy: $25 for the first bag

Philly jew

Need advice,
I have two amex cards – that’s it ,so when I am trying to apply for another amex card (like delta ),the amex system gives a message that since I am a current amex customer I can’t get the advertised bonus offer.
Any advice?

Brian

@Philly jew:
See comment 14.

does it pay

does it pay to open the credit card just for the free bags
and priority boarding?

Anonymous

Delta supervisor told me the card will cover 9 free bags if you have a party of 9 traveling (8 vs 9??)
Also even if you didn’t book the reservation with this card-but at the airport flash it at the counter it’ll work for baggage fees-
I’m also told they’ll even waive the baggage fees for another party traveling with you that’s NOT on your reservation–that sounds a bit much but may be true regardless YMMV.
Also advised to open a skymiles acct online—-when you open the Credit card you automatically get a skymiles #-ask the delta rep for the number then go online and create your profile. Can help offset baggage fees on future delta flights-if skymiles # attached to your delta reservation even if not paying for delta flight with the amex delta gold card—–these are different way to accomplish the same thing

Phillyjew

@Brian
thank you very much, from starwood and delta amex cards holder:)

Yoel

does my name have to be on the card or is a signed card from a family member okay? If its not enough, does it make sense for the family member to order another card in my name?

Yosef

on the subject of mileage programs and credit cards, i have a question. if i was to have one credit card associated with a mileage program, do you think i should have delta gold from amex or citi world attached to my American airlines (aadvantage) account? and please tell me the pros/cons fro each. thank you

mh

I have 2 cards & it is $50 credit used within 3 months of opening & the purchase can be less than $50.

Did not get the deal & only a month left for me.

Anonymous

@mh: So you can buy a snack on the plane for a couple dollars and get the $50 statement credit, right? (assuming you’re in the first 90 days that you have the card).

what to do

what does the $50 have to be spent on
can you use it to buy drinks on the plane?
does it pay to open this credit card for the
free bags?
or should I just pay the baggage fee?

E.

I applied today for a diff card. if i apply the same day for this card will it be another hard pull?

Anonymous

Is there any point in applying for card if we got business class both ways (party of seven)

Also Dan what frequent flyer airline would you attach the flown delta miles to?

netlevy

i applied for it , but it says free bag for a family of four…
am i missing something?

Barry Graham

I don’t know why you are not a fan of Delta – they are the only major US Airline that offers kosher meals on all flights where they offer meal service. I’ve actually switched to using them instead of American for that reason, until the New American gets it act together. I’ve been very impressed with them and I love their flight safety announcements on video.

Sad

Do I have to book with the delta amex or just show it at the desk to get first bag free?

sue

I have an AMEX Delta gold card. I bought a ticket for my grandson and thought he would get a free bag but they charged him for the bag each way. Is this correct or should I protest to Delta or AMEX?

mh

Basic Card Members with a Gold, Platinum, or Reserve Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express may check their first bag for free on all Delta and Delta Connection® flights. That’s a savings of up to $50 per person on a round-trip ticket or up to $200 for a family of four.

How does First Checked Bag Free work?

•Provide your SkyMiles number
•Check-in for your flight using any of the Delta check-in options. The waiver will automatically be applied for you and eligible passengers in your reservation
•You can look up your itinerary to ensure that your SkyMiles number is in your reservation. If not, click Add Frequent Flyer #.
•Earn double miles on Delta purchases when using your Delta SkyMiles Credit Card. You don’t have to pay for your ticket using your Delta SkyMiles Credit Card to receive the First Checked Bag Free benefit, but if you do, you can earn double miles!2

MaTi

I got a Biz class ticket both ways so I don’t need the card, but what about miles for this trip (JFK–>LAX)? How may do you earn, is there a bonus for the Biz class? What about earning status?

Anonymous

my kids and I are on a separate reservation then my husband
he is the primary card holder. Do I still get free bags?

first timer

A Promo came in the mail for Gold Delta AMEX w/ 50k miles bonus for $1,000 spent in 3 months, referencing my recent Delta purchase and the miles it would accrue (another 2,600 for LA). We plan to travel with carry-ons, and are already in Economy Comfort seating, so the baggage and boarding benefits aren’t key for me and the in-flight purchase discount is nothing to write home about.

I don’t do a lot of travel, but would like to go to Israel at some point. Is it worth signing up for the miles, as bad as Skymiles are? If I do, can I do anything constructive with them? Can I then cancel or convert the AMEX card (to avoid the annual fee and bad rewards program) without hurting my credit?

first timer

This thread seems old news already but I’ll throw this out there too. Delta offers their Mileage Booster offer on each leg, $29 for 1000 miles, $44 for 2000, $59 for 3000. Normally these should be ignored, but seems like an eligible expense for the $50 statement credit. Assuming that the I’m not using this card for everyday expenses and I’m just looking to meet my thresholds for the mileage bonuses, does it make sense to splurge for $9 on 3118 miles? Or $68 on 6,236 (assuming I’ve done the math right)?

Cincyid

Delta canceled our flight to Denver for tomorrow (the ones I bought for $65 for 2 people). I just spoke with a rep and she tells me that if I don’t rebook by 1/12 I will lose that glitch price and will need to pay the new airfare for which ever flight we choose. She says they would waive the change fee. This doesn’t sound fair. Do you have any advice for me? Thank you

nate

I can’t get the delta card due to credit . any way to get around the fee for luggage??? Traveling with a party of eight and the cost would be significant. Thanks

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