Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Amex card review: Full details

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card Overview

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card is a worthy card contender for frequent flyers of Delta. While its highest bonus category is only for Delta and hotel purchases, this card offers a suite of perks that make it worth its $350 annual fee (see rates and fees). These benefits include free checked bags, priority boarding and an annual companion certificate. Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐½

*Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

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The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card is the mid-tier Delta Business card.

It can help you earn elite status alongside perks that offer a better passenger experience for a $350 annual fee (see rates and fees).

Amex recommends a credit score of 670 to successfully apply for this card.

But is it the right card for you? Let’s examine its features in depth.

Delta Platinum Business Amex pros and cons

Pros	Cons
Earns bonus miles on Delta flights and hotels First checked bag free on Delta flights Annual companion certificate Priority boarding	High annual fee No lounge access

Delta Platinum Business Amex welcome offer

The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business card allows new cardmembers to earn 95,000 bonus miles after you spend $8,000 in purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership. TPG values SkyMiles at 1.15 cents each, making this welcome offer valued at $1,093.

This offer comes very close to the best offer we’ve ever seen on this card.

American Express limits who can apply for the card, and you’re generally ineligible for the welcome bonus if you’ve previously held the card or currently have it. According to American Express:

You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card or previous versions of this Card. You also may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors. If you are not eligible for a welcome offer, we will notify you prior to processing your application so you have the option to withdraw your application.

Delta Platinum Business Amex benefits

Even without free lounge access, the Delta Platinum Business Amex has many features that make it a worthwhile look for regular Delta business flyers:

• Award flight discount: Get 15% off award redemptions for Delta flights (when paying taxes and fees with this card).
• Companion certificate: Take someone along on your next round-trip on Delta using this certificate, good for a main cabin round-trip flight every year you renew the card. This certificate is valid for travel to all 50 U.S. states, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
• Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) headstart: 2,500 MQDs automatically deposited each calendar year
• MQD boost: Earn 1 MQD per $20 spent
• Complimentary upgrades: Complimentary seat upgrades on eligible flights after Medallion members for cardmembers who are not Medallion members
• Free checked bag: You and up to eight travelers on the same reservation will get their first checked bag free when flying Delta. At a regular price of $35 a bag in each direction, even if you’re traveling alone, that saves you a minimum of $70 on every round-trip where you would’ve checked a bag.

• Priority boarding: Enjoy Zone 5 Priority Boarding on Delta flights for you and up to nine travelers on the same reservation.
• Inflight discount: When using the card, you will receive a 20% statement credit on purchases, including pre-purchased meals and inflight purchases of food, alcoholic beverages and audio headsets. The one major inflight expense not included in this discount is Wi-Fi.
• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit: You get a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee statement credit ($100 every 4 years for Global Entry, up to $85 every 4½ years for TSA PreCheck).
• Resy credit: Up to $120 annual statement credit (up to $10 monthly) at Resy, the online restaurant reservation service. Enrollment required.
• Ride-hailing credit: Up to $120 ride-hailing statement credit (up to $10 monthly). Enrollment required.
• Delta Stays credit: Up to $200 annual statement credit at Delta Stays, Delta’s hotel travel portal
• Hertz Five Star status: Complimentary Hertz Five Star status, its mid-tier elite status. Enrollment in the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Program is required.

Related: How to maximize the new statement credits on the Delta Amex cards

Earning miles on the Delta Platinum Business Amex

With the Delta Platinum Business card, you’ll earn 3 miles per dollar spent directly with hotels and on eligible Delta purchases, including reservations, Delta Vacation packages, seat upgrades and selection, Delta Sky Club membership or passes, pre-purchased and inflight meals, inflight alcoholic beverages and audio headsets (but not Wi-Fi).

In addition, you’ll also receive 1.5 miles per dollar for purchases on transit, eligible U.S. shipping and all purchases over $5,000 (up to $100,000 spent per year, 1 mile thereafter). This can be nice if your business frequently makes large purchases, but it’s still not the best return on these purchases.

You’ll also earn 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.

Related: The best business credit cards with no foreign transaction fees

Redeeming miles on the Delta Platinum Business Amex

Your best option is almost always to redeem SkyMiles for air travel. Not only can you use your miles on Delta, but they’re also good on Delta’s other SkyTeam airline partners, along with non-alliance carriers, including Virgin Atlantic and WestJet.

It does take extra work to find bargain redemptions on Delta since it doesn’t publish award charts (and regularly adjusts prices on many routes), but they’re out there. Check Delta’s SkyMiles Deals page for deep discounts on round-trip tickets in economy class and Delta One between specific city pairs.

Redemptions for seat upgrades are also an option, but there’s no award chart, so you won’t know how many miles it will cost until you book your ticket. (It’s typically not good value.)

You can also use your miles for upgrades on flights operated by partners Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic and Aeromexico, but know that you’re not getting the best value for them. Choose this option only if you really need an upgrade for a longer flight — such as Atlanta (ATL) to Johannesburg (JNB) via Europe on Air France or KLM — and want to save your cash.

Related: How to maximize your Delta SkyMiles redemptions

Since the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card doesn’t come with a Delta Sky Club airport lounge membership, you could also redeem SkyMiles for one, though frankly, it gives you terrible value.

You can also transfer or gift your miles, or donate them to charity. But again, redeeming your miles on Delta and partner flights will typically offer you the best value.

Senior editorial director at TPG, Nick Ewen, redeems his Delta SkyMiles for domestic trips, taking advantage of flash sales to help score phenomenal deals given that Delta utilizes dynamic pricing for award tickets.

Which cards compete with the Delta Platinum Business Amex?

Some other cards may be a better fit if you’re looking for a low annual fee or airport lounge access.

For additional options, check out our full list of best travel cards and best American Express cards.

Read more: The best business credit cards

Is the Delta Platinum Business Amex worth it?

This card is great if you want Delta perks, like an annual companion certificate and a free checked bag. It’s also good for earning bonus miles on Delta flights and business-related purchases. However, the annual fee may be hard to justify if you don’t fly Delta often enough to maximize the value of this card’s benefits.

Bottom line

The Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card is a solid choice if you’re loyal to the SkyTeam carrier and like having perks exclusive to the airline. Its annual fee can be worth it if you take advantage of earning bonus MQDs that help you toward elite Medallion status and can also utilize the annual companion certificate.

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Apply here: Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business American Express Card

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For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum Card, click here.