Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card review: A fee-free pick for Delta Airlines fans

If you travel often for business or pleasure, a travel rewards card can allow you to earn valuable rewards and added perks. For those that most frequently fly on Delta — the second-largest airline based on passenger volume — the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card may be a good starting point. It has no annual fee (see rates and fees, terms apply), and you can earn added rewards on Delta flights.

However, the card’s benefits are limited, so it may not be the best option for you unless you’re a Delta loyalist.

With the Delta SkyMiles Blue Card by American Express, you can take advantage of the following benefits:

• 20% savings in the form of a statement credit for in-flight purchases: You’ll receive 20% savings in the form of a statement credit on in-flight purchases, such as meals, beverages and audio headsets.

• Global Assist Hotline: If you’re traveling (at least 100 miles from home) and need help finding a medical provider, legal assistance, translating services, or more, the Global Assist Hotline can provide referrals. However, the services you book through the Hotline are not free; you must pay for any provided services.

• Amex Experiences: As an American Express cardholder, you get access to ticket pre-sales and exclusive events.

• Car rental loss and damage*: Decline the rental company’s insurance (collision damage waiver) and use your Delta SkyMiles Blue card to cover the entire rental cost. You can be covered against damages to or theft of the rental vehicle in covered territories.

• Purchase protection: When you use your card on eligible purchases, the item is automatically protected against accidental damages or theft for up to 90 days from the purchase date.

• Extended warranty: When you use your credit card to buy eligible items with warranties of five years or less, the card automatically extends the warranty by one year.

*Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions, and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.

To earn rewards with the card, use it for airfare purchases through Delta, baggage fees, or in-flight entertainment and snacks. You’ll earn two Delta SkyMiles for every $1 spent.

You’ll also earn a higher rewards rate (2x) at restaurants worldwide and takeout and delivery in the U.S., so use the card for meals out to earn more rewards. You’ll earn one Delta SkyMile for every dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.

To demonstrate how you can earn rewards, consider this example. You have the Delta SkyMiles Blue Card, and you use it for the following expenses over one year:

In total, you earn 7,000 miles. Depending on your redemption method, those miles would be worth about $70.

Cardmembers can redeem their Delta SkyMiles in the following ways:

• Airfare: You can use your SkyMiles to book domestic or international flights on Delta and certain partner airlines, such as Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, or Air France. If you don’t have enough miles to cover the full fare, you can use the Miles + Cash option to cover the remaining balance.

• Delta vacations: You can book a vacation package (a combination of a flight/hotel and/or car rental) with SkyMiles.

• Hotel stays: Through Delta Stays, you can redeem your airline miles for hotel or vacation rental accommodations.

• Checked bags: You can pay with miles to cover the cost of checked luggage.

• Upgrades: You can also use your miles to upgrade your ticket, using them to cover the difference between your main cabin fare and the premium cabin rate.

• Magazine subscriptions: Redeem miles for subscriptions to major magazines like Better Homes & Gardens, InStyle, and People.

• Shop for SkyMiles Experiences: SkyMiles Experiences are special events and vacation stays, such as a luxury cruise or passes to the Governor’s Ball Music Festival in New York. You can use your miles to palace bids on these experiences.

• Donations: You can donate your miles to SkyWish, a program that donates travel to organizations that assist disaster relief efforts, support children with disabilities or who serve veterans.

The value of each Delta SkyMile varies by redemption method, and values can fluctuate. In general, your miles are worth at least one cent each.

Read more: Here are the best airline credit cards available today

The Delta SkyMiles Blue card is best for frequent travelers who prefer to fly via Delta Air Lines. You’ll earn two miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases, two miles per $1 spent on dining out worldwide (and takeout and delivery in the U.S.), and one mile per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases.

As a cardmember, you also get 20% savings on in-flight purchases and are covered by car rental protection, purchase protection, and extended warranty benefits.

However, the card’s reward redemption methods are more limited than some cards. If you’d prefer to redeem your miles for statement credits, direct deposits, or gift cards, you may find the limited redemption options frustrating. And if you aren’t a Delta loyalist, you may not find the card’s rewards program as useful as the rewards of other cards.

• No foreign transaction fees: Unlike many credit cards, the Delta SkyMiles Blue card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, so it’s a good card to take with you when you’re traveling outside of the U.S.

• No annual fee: The Delta SkyMiles Blue card doesn’t have an annual fee, so you don’t have to pay a fee just to own and use the card.

• No cost for additional cards: You can add authorized users as young as 13 to your account, and there’s no charge for additional cards.

• Limited travel benefits: For a travel credit card, the benefits of the Delta SkyMiles Blue card are relatively sparse. It lacks the perks of other major airline cards, such as travel interruption insurance, free checked bags, or airport lounge access.

• Relatively low rewards structure: You can earn two miles per $1 spent on Delta purchases and restaurant meals worldwide (and takeout and delivery in the U.S.), but you’ll only earn one mile per $1 spent on all other eligible purchases. If you tend to spend significant amounts in other areas, such as grocery store purchases, gas, or entertainment, other rewards credit cards may allow you to earn more rewards.

• Few redemption options: With the Delta SkyMiles Blue card, there are a limited number of redemption options. Certain redemption options, such as gift cards and statement credits, aren’t available.

You can make a payment online through the American Express portal, through the mobile app by calling customer support, or by mailing a check:

The Delta SkyMiles Blue card is issued by American Express. Amex is known for its customer service; in fact, it was the top-ranked card issuer in the American 2023 J.D. Power U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study.

If you prefer to fly on different airlines or want to earn a higher rewards rate in other spending categories, consider these alternatives:

Why we like it: Like the Delta SkyMiles Blue card, the VentureOne Rewards Credit Card doesn’t have an annual fee. But it has a very different rewards structure; with the VentureOne Rewards card, you’ll earn unlimited 1.25x miles on every eligible purchase, and you can earn unlimited 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Plus, the card has a valuable new cardmember bonus: spend $500 on new purchases within three months of account opening and you’ll earn 20,000 bonus miles.

Read our full Capital One VentureOne Rewards review

Why we like it: Despite its $95 annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of our top picks for the best rewards credit cards. You can earn 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 annual hotel credit), 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services and takeout, 3x points on eligible online grocery purchases, 3x points on select streaming services, 2x points on other travel purchases, and 1x points on all other eligible purchases.

Additionally, the card provides valuable benefits the Delta SkyMiles Blue card lacks, such as trip cancellation/interruption insurance, baggage delay coverage, and trip delay reimbursement.

Read our full Chase Sapphire Preferred review

Why we like it: The Amex Delta SkyMiles Gold Card has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 (see rates and fees, terms apply). This card is a huge step up from the Delta SkyMiles Blue Amex Card because it provides priority boarding, a free checked bag, and 15% off when booking Delta award flights on delta.com and the Fly Delta mobile app. If you frequently fly Delta, there’s more than enough value with these benefits alone to help offset the annual cost.

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