Which Credit Cards Now Give You Delta Sky Club Lounge Access?

Delta Air Lines unleashed a bunch of changes during the past four-ish months — and brought their credit card partner American Express along for the ride.

First, Delta announced a massive overhaul of the SkyMiles Medallion elite status program. Then it was like, “Just kidding! But this is pretty much what you can expect down the road.” The airline went into damage control mode and again revised the Medallion program.

Just a few days ago, six of the co-branded Delta SkyMiles® American Express Cards underwent their own big changes.

Delta Sky Club access is a big draw for several Amex cards. But two cards lost their airport lounge features altogether, and four premium Amexes will see major changes next year.

So, let’s reset and see which American Express cards get you access to Delta Sky Clubs in 2024.

Complimentary Admission to Delta Sky Clubs

These cards give cardholders free admission to Delta Sky Clubs on days you fly Delta Air Lines marketed or operated flights. However, passengers traveling on Basic Economy fares are not eligible to enter — even with one of the below cards. (Access is limited to eligible card members.)

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

For what it’s worth, I’ve never had a problem getting into lounges at 9:00 PM or 10:00 PM when taking midnight or 1:00 AM-ish flights.

Authorized/additional users may access Sky Club lounges when flying Delta — provided they’re added as paid, “full-fledged” cardmembers (i.e. they’re not “free” authorized users).

Cardholders of co-branded Platinum Cards from American Express (i.e. American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab, etc) also receive complimentary access to Delta Sky Clubs. As do, of course, The Centurion® Card from American Express. (All information about American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab and The Centurion® Card from American Express has been collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab and The Centurion® Card from American Express are not available through Eye of the Flyer.)

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, and Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card do not receive access to Delta Sly Clubs — even for an admission fee. The SkyMiles Platinum Cards recently lost their Sky Club access. The Gold cards haven’t featured it for a while.

Wait! Aren’t There Limits as To How Many Times You Can Visit Sky Clubs During a Year?!

Card members are given a certain number of “Visits” each year.

But what defines a “Visit”? Per American Express:

“Visit” is an entry to one or more Delta Sky Clubs or usage of the Delta Sky Club “Grab and Go” feature, at one or more airports, for a period of up to 24 hours starting upon the first Delta Sky Club entry or Grab and Go usage, during an Eligible Card Member’s travel on a same-day Delta-marketed or Delta-operated flight. A single Visit permits usage of Delta Sky Club(s) in multiple airports during the 24-hour period. For example, if you visit a Delta Sky Club in different airports on a trip, entry into one or more of these Clubs will be considered part of the same Visit as long as these additional entries occur within 24 hours of the first Delta Sky Club entry. If travel exceeds 24 hours from the first Delta Sky Club, then a second Visit will be deducted if entering the Delta Sky Club or using Grab and Go more than 24 hours after the first entry. Eligible Card Members may not access the Club or a Grab and Go location in the three hours from the time of previous Grab and Go usage at the same airport.

Let’s use a recent trip I took as an example.

I departed from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and visited the T3 Sky Club. I connected at Detroit (DTW) and used one of their Sky Clubs. When I arrived at New York-LaGuardia that night, I popped into a Sky Club for dinner. Those three Sky Club experiences would count as just one Visit.

Delta Reserve and Delta Reserve Business Amex Members

Reserve Card Members (both personal and business) will receive 15 Visits per card, per year to the Delta Sky Club or to Grab and Go. Theoretically, that gives you about 7.5 roundtrips to use your Sky Club “Visits.”

To earn an unlimited number of Visits each year, the total eligible purchases on a single card (not combined between two, if you hold multiple cards) must equal $75,000 or more between January 1 and December 31 of a calendar year, and each calendar year thereafter.

Once all 15 Visits have been used, Eligible Card Members may purchase additional Delta Sky Club Visits (including Grab and Go) at a per-visit rate of $50 per person using the Card. (Rates and Fees for the Delta Reserve. Rates and Fees for the Delta Business Reserve.)

After a card’s allotted visits are exhausted, cardholders can purchase entry for $50 a pop.

Amex Platinum and Amex Business Platinum Members

Eligible Platinum Card Members (again, both personal and business) will receive 10 Visits per card, per year to the Delta Sky Club or to Grab and Go. That’s pretty much five (5) roundtrips during which you can visit Sky Clubs next year.

To earn an unlimited number of Visits each year starting on February 1, 2025, the total eligible purchases on a single card (again, not combined across multiple cards) must equal $75,000 or more between January 1 and December 31 of a calendar year and each calendar year thereafter.

Once all 10 Visits have been used, Eligible Card Members may purchase additional Delta Sky Club Visits (including Grab and Go) at a per-visit rate of $50 per person using the Card.

Can I Bring Guests?

Yes! However, your guests must also be flying on same-day Delta-marketed or operated flights.

Delta Reserve Amex and Delta Business Reserve Amex members now receive four Sky Club guest passes each year. (Prior to the recent Delta Amex news, cardholders were entitled to only two guest passes each year.) After those are used, cardholders may bring up to two guests — for $50 each.

Current Reserve cardholders: you likely won’t see your full complement of four guest passes until your card’s renewal date.

Delta Reserve, Delta Business Reserve, Amex Platinum, and Amex Business Platinum members may bring up to two guests for an additional $50 charge per guest.

If Delta is your Amex Platinum or Amex Business Platinum  preferred airline, the Sky Club guest charge should credit back to your up to $200 annual airline incidental statement credit opportunity.

Last July, I used my Amex Platinum Card to pay for my daughter’s $50 guest fee into the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport G-18 Sky Club. The entire $50 charge was credited back about a week later.

Questions? Data Points?

Ask or share in the below Comments section!

As the kids say: see you in da club.

— Chris

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles® Business Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link.