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I recently visited family members in the Midwest. Most of them use Delta Air Lines for about 95% of their travel and a couple are longtime Medallion members. They had Northwest WorldPerks elite status before that.
One of them took out a Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card card and asked if it was worth keeping.
“I don’t get (Medallion Qualification Miles) boosts anymore and the (Medallion Qualification Dollars) earnings stink for whatever I spent on it,” he said. “Other than the Reserve Card helping with upgrades, is there any reason for me to hold on this card?”
As I always say, each person’s budget, travel preferences, and travel goals are unique. My reasons for having or not having a particular travel rewards card might not align with yours. (Or in this case, his.)
(Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.)
Free First Checked Bag
(This feature is on the personal and business versions of the Delta Gold SkyMiles®, Delta Platinum SkyMiles®, and Delta Reserve Amex cards.)
All Delta Medallion members are entitled to at least one free checked bag.
This person is a Platinum Medallion member and gets three free checked bags.
That’s just Main Cabin and Comfort+. You get three free checked bags in First Class.
The free first check benefit is meaningless to this person.
Zone 5 Boarding
(This feature is on the personal and business versions of the Delta Gold SkyMiles®, Delta Platinum SkyMiles®, and Delta Reserve Amex cards.)
Our Platinum Medallion member gets Sky Priority boarding anyway. That’s higher than Zone 5 priority boarding (formerly Main Cabin 1 priority boarding, but still pretty much in the same pecking order). Plus, he’s usually in Comfort+, which boards above Sky Priority. And that’s when he’s not in First Class (which boards even higher).
So, this benefit is pretty meaningless for him (and everyone else with Medallion status). But if you really want some kind of priority boarding and don’t have Delta status, then it might be worth something.
20% Savings on Inflight Purchases
(This feature is on the personal and business versions of the Delta Gold SkyMiles®, Delta Platinum SkyMiles®, and Delta Reserve Amex cards.)
This guy isn’t a big drinker and occasionally purchases premium food onboard. But again, he’s usually in Comfort+ or First Class (where the hooch is free and complimentary snacks are better than in the Main Cabin).
TakeOff 15
(This feature is on the personal and business versions of the Delta Gold SkyMiles®, Delta Platinum SkyMiles®, and Delta Reserve Amex cards.)
He occasionally books SkyMiles award trips, so the TakeOff 15 benefit helps out here and there. But it’s necessarily a huge reason for him to keep the card.
Sky Club Access
This isn’t a huge deal now but might be next year. I should mention that he’s held The Platinum Card® from American Express since before metal was discovered. 🙂
So, he has two cards that currently give him unlimited access to Delta Sky Clubs on days he’s traveling on Delta-marketed or -operated flights.
Reserve Card Members receive up to 15 Visits per year to the Delta Sky Club. A “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 using Delta Sky Club(s) in multiple airports during the 24-hour period.
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. To earn an unlimited number of Visits each year, the total eligible purchases on the Card must equal $75,000 or more during a calendar year and each calendar year thereafter.
Receive four guest passes each year to Delta Sky Clubs. This is a nice perk if you’re traveling with people who don’t have Delta Sky Club access through their own Reserve card or the American Express Platinum cards. After that, up to two guests may be brought in for $50 per person. (Rates and fees; terms apply)
It’ll behoove him, I think, to keep the Reserve next year, given how much he uses the Sky Clubs. And it might not hurt to hold on to the Amex Platinum for when he blows through his Reserve’s Delta lounge admission rations — which he will.
He’s rarely in airports in Centurion Lounges, so that perk doesn’t really affect him. But I’ve also addressed why Delta Reserves aren’t necessarily the best cards for Centurion Lounge access.
Companion Certificate
We’ve written a couple of pieces about the Companion Certificate benefit lately. One was our deep dive into Companion Certificates. The other was fun ways to let others use your Companion Certificate if you can’t use yours — or forget about it altogether. (That would be him.)
Upgrade Priority
Holding a Delta Reserve card serves as a tie-breaker when it comes to complimentary Medallion upgrades. He occasionally gets upgraded to First Class. But Delta is getting more aggressive about selling upgrades for cash or SkyMiles.
He values upgrades, so if he’s not pursuing Diamond, this is a decent reason to hold the card. But again, if upgrades get harder to come by, then it’s time reevaluate this perk.
MQD Headstart
Four Delta Amexes give cardholders $2,500 MQD deposits to their SkyMiles accounts just for holding the cards. It’s possible to earn $10,000 MQD without spending a dime on Delta flights. (4 cards X $2,500 MQD each = $10,000 MQD.)
He’s not sure if he’ll have to buy First Class tickets at the end of the year to hit his MQD quota to re-qualify for Platinum Medallion. Or, he could get a Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and get $2,500 that way and spend $350 in annual fees (Rates and Fees.). Last time I checked, $350 was less than $2,500. Paying a credit card bill also doesn’t require the time commitment a trip does, either (although, it’s not quite as fun as flying).
He could also get a Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card instead — or In addition to the Delta Amex Platinum card — and get $2,500 more MQD, too.
MQD Boost
The Delta Amex Reserve card and its business sibling earn $1 MQD for each $10 of eligible purchases made on the respective cards (not across the cards).
That’s so gross.
I think he’s starting to listen to me and branch out into the world of cashback and general travel rewards cards that can be used for a wide range of awards.
Pretty much a non-starter.
Resy Credit
There are no Resy participants within a few hundred miles of his home. He forgets about the Resy credit whenever he’s somewhere that does have eligible restaurants. And he’s not going out of his way to earn up to $20 a month.
Delta Stays Credit
Delta Reserve Amex members can earn back up to $200 a year for prepaid hotel or vacation rental bookings made each year through Delta Stays.
I recently took advantage of this benefit on my Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card and my wife used her Delta Reserve Amex‘s Delta Stays credit as part of a long weekend.
This is another one of those statement credit opportunities not at the front of his brain. But I think it’s a great benefit — even if it’s just for a night and you don’t max it out. $200 is $200!
Rideshare Credit
Delta Reserve members can earn up to $10 a month in statement credit for eligible U.S. rideshare purchases.
He doesn’t use rideshare services a lot. He parks at the airport (or gets someone to take him) and usually rents cars. But he occasionally will take an Uber. Again, this alone isn’t a reason to keep the card.
Hertz President’s Circle Status
One of his friends manages an Avis franchise, so he’s an Avis guy.
I’ve enjoyed President’s Circle Status a few times — but Hertz’s rates have gotten so high for most of my searches that I’m fine with other vendors.
Overall Recommendation
Because of the $2,500 MQD boost, Sky Club benefits (and I know the changes aren’t great), upgrade tie-breaker, and some statement credit opportunities he could easily use at least here and there, I think it’s good if he holds on to the card for at least another year.
He travels on Delta at least a half-dozen times a year and enjoys Medallion status. Like many of us, he thinks the 10:1 MQD earnings are a non-starter. He’s better off earning transferrable points such as Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
But that’s this particular situation. The card doesn’t necessarily make sense for people who don’t regularly fly Delta or can’t take advantage of the Reserve’s benefits and statement credit. For people without Medallion status, the priority boarding, free first checked bag, and TakeOff 15 benefits might be worth it but on cards without so many bells and whistles (see the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card)
What’s your take on the Delta Amex Reserve card?
For rates and fees of The 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.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, please visit this link.
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I dont think the MQD at 10:1 are much different that the MQM boost at $30 or $60K we used to get with the Delta Reserve card..
In the past $60K spend on Reserve obtained 30K MQM. This is 24% of the MQM needed to acheive Diamond status (125K MQM)
This year, the $60K spend gets you 6,000 MQD. This is 21% of the way towards Diamond (28K MQD). A slight advantage is that this year the benefit is continuous, rather than a chunk at $30K and another at $60 K. You can use another card once getting to where you need by years end. Especially since MQD dont rollover.
If you add the 2.5K MQD from Headstart bonus, the Delta Reserve gets you 30% of the way towards Diamond if you spend $60K on the card (8.5/28). If you used the Delta Reserve spend to acheive Diamond status in the past, its actualy a slightly better deal now!
First, I love your “Cyantist” handle!
Second: the MQM boost and MQD waiver at $30k and $25k were great plays — especially with roll over MQM. But if this works for you, great!
Informative article to walk through the decision process on Delta Reserve Amex
Would love to see an article dedicated to the same ‘walk through’ decision tree for Delta Platinum Amex.. considering 2024 and 2025.
thanks for your columns.
Happy Trails,
Thanks for the feedback! I enjoy writing these posts, so it’s definitely something I’ll consider!
Chris
Excellent analysis.
However, you failed to mention that if you are a holder of an Amex Business Platinum card and spend over $75,000 per year, you will also receive unlimited Sky Club access. I think it is better to obtain Amex Membership Reward points (which are transferable to Delta Sky Miles) than Sky Miles directly.
To my mind, this changes the decision S thanks whether to retain the expensive Amex Delta Reserve card
The article incorrectly states “The Delta Amex Reserve card and its business sibling earn $1 MQD for each $20 of eligible purchases made on the respective cards (not acrossthe cards).”
The actual earning is $1 MQD for each $10 of eligible purchases.
Thank you!
My take? The United Infinite Card packs way more value if your home airport is well-served by United. You get unlimited lounge access for you and a guest and the Delta equivalent of Sky Priority (Premier Access).
Come 2025, and for those who value the lounge access, you’re going to have to get creative when in airports with a Centurion Lounge. Example: If you’re flying Delta and in Term 4…it’s probably better to go to the Centurion which won’t count against your “generous” allotment of (15) visits.
Replying to my own comment for clarification: Terminal 4 at JFK.