Delta credit card question

[SL6827]

Me and my husband will be flying to San Diego at the end of the year. Would it be worth it to apply for Delta's credit card to try to get in on some free or cheaper flights? Do they give out any "bonus type" miles with them? Just wondering if anyone had good knowledge of their card.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Look at their award prices and see if the amount of miles they want is what you can get from the credit card bonuses. Some of them include a statement credit offer which you could use when you purchase the flight, also the free bag is a nice benefit. If you get one you could refer your husband to the card, get the referral bonus and he could get the bonus so you can essentially double dip the sign up bonus. Something to be aware of with Amex is bonuses are once in a lifetime so you want to make sure you get a good signup bonus the card.

The problem with Delta miles is that while they never expire Delta uses a variable award chart, meaning what's 40k miles today could be 50k tomorrow, then 45k, then 60k- you just don't know. Also, it can be hard to get good value out of Delta miles due to that variability in award pricing. While you hold the card miles are worth $0.01/mile towards the cash price of any flight if that's a better deal than the amount of miles they're charging fyi.

Personally I would look at flights across all carriers and get a feel for what airlines offer the flights you'd be most likely to pick and look at credit cards from there. My best advice is to check your potential flights and then come check out i love credit cards thread here! Read the first post, then jump to the end and give your basic info and see what people there think your best bet is. We have a pretty extensive knowledge of various credit cards over there

 

[mommajo143]

We were able to score 75K bonus miles by purchasing a flight the first 6 mos of card ownership. We also get free checked luggage when booking flights on the card which means pretty big savings for a family of 4. Otherwise the points accrued haven’t been of much benefit for reasons already noted...i haven’t seen better prices on flights or special offers that are •oh so great!• as compared to general public or frequent flier members in reversal.

 

[MillauFr]

Avoid the airline credit cards. What you want is the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. Much better benefits than any of the airline credit cards.

 

[EACarlson]

Depends on how often you are going to be flying and how you will be flying. I just got the Delta Gold card for my upcoming trip to WDW. One free checked bag for everyone on my itinerary, 60,000 miles after spending $2,000 and 20% off food and drink while on board. I will match this up with my AMEX Gold Card and have a pretty steady supply of Delta points for my one trip a year.

A Sapphire Reserve is a great card if it fits your needs. However the points don't transfer very easily to Delta so if you're at a Delta hub another card might be better.

FWIW I got my tickets for my December WDW trip from MSP for 17,000 points each. And it looks like MSP-Paris non-stop flights are about 50,000 each.

 

[manicstreet]

I have the Delta platinum card. Totally worth it for our family. For $100 more than the gold card you get a companion ticket voucher.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Avoid the airline credit cards. What you want is the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card. Much better benefits than any of the airline credit cards.

yes this is a good card has great perks. You have to pay a $450 annual fee but you get one free TSA /GE membership. Also when you spend $300 on travel you get $300 dollars cash back. If you use the card to pay for a rental car and get into an accident you have insurance with the credit card that is primary so you don't have to use your personal insurance. It has great trip interruption coverage. The Chase points are worth 1.5 toward travel reservations so if the ticket is $300 you will only spend the equivalent of $150 in points to book the ticket on the Chase vacation portal.

 

[adamak]

You get more points when you use their cc to buy their airlines. Plus free checked bag, but that's it. DL points are not that valuable because they jack up their awards (aka you'll need 150K for a domestic flights). Like other said, open Chase Sapphire instead.

 

[kymom99]

You get more points when you use their cc to buy their airlines. Plus free checked bag, but that's it. DL points are not that valuable because they jack up their awards (aka you'll need 150K for a domestic flights). Like other said, open Chase Sapphire instead.

I got round trip to Vegas for 22,000 points

 

[pixiemama91]

I personally like the Delta card. Both my husband and I have the platinum. Its usually the cheapest airline out of our area and has non stop to Orlando so we routinely fly on them to most to our destinations. We like the companion pass and free bags. The companion pass is fairly limited but most of the time we dont have any issues using it. I referred my husband and he was able to get 70,000 miles after meeting the spend limit and i received bonus points as well. we both try to use it as our main credit card and go back and forth between points and companion pass on each account.

 

[Bruin_mouse]

@kmc8826 from the credit card thread has great info on Delta credit cards.

 

[jozette]

I think too it depends where you live. I live in MSP, a Delta hub, so I fly Delta most often based on the availability of direct flights where I want to go. The savings then on baggage, seats, etc. go a long way as it applies to most flights I take.

I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve (above) and the Amex Platinum (similar type of card). Both give me benefits across airlines and I would recommend having a look if you don't live in a hub city.

 

[tnolan]

I like the Delta Sky Miles card. It saves me a lot of money on free checked bags!

 

[EACarlson]

You can get good value for Delta points, or you can get not so great value for delta points. But if you are going to be flying on Delta, a Delta card is better than a CSR. You can't use a CSR to get flights on points without a lot of hassle, using the Chase travel portal locks you in to 1.5cpp redemption value. So the $300 flight that was quoted earlier would cost 20,000 Chase points. I got $550 RT flights for 17,000 Delta Points, or 3.2 cpp. And my next redemption is looking like it's going to be an economy award to Paris, 50,000 Delta points for an $1100 ticket, or 2.2 cpp. A CSR is a fantastic card for many things but getting flights on Delta is not one of them. I carry the CSP and use the points on Southwest.

 

[SL6827]

My intent would be to get one for a year for free, get the bonus miles, get enough miles for one round trip ticket from Atlanta to San Diego and then close it out. But then if closing it out hurts your credit score, maybe not. It would not be a card I would want to use a lot. I doubt I will pursue this further.