Can You Give Away Your Delta Amex Card’s Companion Certificate and Let Someone Else Use It?

Four Delta SkyMiles® American Express products offer cardholders a great perk: Companion Certificates (buy-one, get-one) for a Delta Air Lines US domestic flight each year, starting the second year of card membership. (Terms apply.)

But like most credit card perks, terms apply and there are always some limits and exclusions.

I recently polled some friends, family, and other readers on this question: can someone other than the Delta Amex member use the card’s Companion Certificate? Or must the cardholder travel on a Companion Certificate reservation?

Based on the incorrect answers I received, I decided to address this in a blog post. 🙂

Which Delta Amex Cards Offer Companion Certificates?

These four Delta Amexes feature Companion Certificates:

• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card

Both Reserve cards’ Companion Certificates are valid for select First Class, Premium Select, Comfort+, and Main Cabin trips with available fare classes A, G, I, Z, W, L, U, T, X, and V. Delta adds, “For Delta Comfort+ travel, tickets are available in W and S classes of service, but only when L, U, T, X, or V classes of service are available in the Main Cabin.”

The Delta Platinum cards’ Companion Certificates are valid only for select Main Cabin fares: L, U, T, X, and V.

Make sure to read our Companion Certificate deep dive here.

Yes, Someone Else Can Travel on Your Companion Certificate!

The cardholder does not need to be one of the people on a Companion Certificate reservation. The perk is transferrable. (Some maneuvering is required booking-wise. We’ll discuss that in a minute.)

What are some reasons you’d let others use your Companion Certificate? Perhaps you:

• travel with two other people and it’s advantageous for you, the cardholder, to be on a separate reservation
  • When we travel, my wife and daughter are always on one PNR/confirmation number and I’m on a separate one. This makes it more difficult for our daughter to be split up from my wife (which would be a disaster for anyone within a five-mile radius. Trust me.)
• want to help family members or friends save money on travel
• own a company and need to send employees on a business trip
• won’t be able to use a Companion Certificate before its expiration date and want someone to enjoy the benefit

If you routinely pay for family travel, the Companion Certificate can save you a bunch of money. I know some parents who pay for family members to come to visit during holidays and other vacations. (To be clear, these travelers fly on the same itinerary: they either live together or otherwise meet up).

There were several occasions when my wife and I let others use our Companion Certificates. One instance was a neighbor’s grandkids needed to fly to Southern California ASAP because their grandfather was in poor health. My in-laws sometimes use our Reserve cards’ Companion Certificates to buy First Class seats when traveling across the country. This year, a couple of close friends and their two kids wanted to visit California. We offered two Companion Certificates to help them make their trip more affordable.

You Might Need to Book the Companion Certificate Reservation

Here’s where you physically factor into this. The Companion Certificate holder / Delta Amex member (probably) needs to book the reservation on behalf of the travelers using the BOGO cert. (I say “probably” because a friend told me he usually gives the certificate number and its reference code to the recipient, who then add it to their Delta account.)

I log into my Delta account and visit this page (which I recommend bookmarking). Then I search for the eligible reservation and go from there. The only requirement is that the reservation’s taxes and fees, as well as the primary traveler’s paid fare, be purchased with an American Express card. The card doesn’t have to be a Delta Amex.

Make sure you have the travelers’ relevant information: full names as they appear on photo ID, addresses, phone numbers, birthdates, SkyMiles numbers (if applicable), Known Traveler Number (if applicable), etc.

Then pay with whatever Amex card you want. It can be one of yours; it can be one of theirs; or it can be a third party’s. I usually opt for The Platinum Card® from American Express because it earns 5X American Express® Membership Rewards® points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year).

You can also call Delta directly to book your Companion Certificate reservation. But given hold times to actually get through to a knowledge rep, you’ll likely die of old age before actually getting a trip purchased. So, I recommend going online.

Final Approach

The Delta SkyMiles® American Express Cards’ Companion Certificates can be a great benefit — when they’re used. But don’t worry. The cardholder doesn’t have to fly on an eligible reservation. Others can do the traveling.

To see rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link. Terms apply.

To see rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link. Terms apply.

To see rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this link. Terms apply.

To see rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link. Terms apply.

To see rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, please visit this link. Terms apply.