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It’s sure a busy week in credit card land.
The refreshed Chase Sapphire Reserve® and details about the new Chase Sapphire Reserve® business card were released.
Last week, American Express teased the most significant reimagining of its iconic The Platinum Card® from American Express.
And now, a rumor about yet another Delta SkyMiles® American Express Card is making the rounds.
A New Delta Amex Card?!
Redditor “shawnwahi” (who was one of the first to leak the big Medallion changes of ’23) posted yesterday to Reddit: “new amex delta in the works (above Delta Reserve)”.
They noted that Delta COO Glen Hauenstein broached the topic during Delta’s Investor Day last year:
Delta executives also used Wednesday’s investor day to introduce a little intrigue about the future of its cobranded American Express credit card portfolio.
“We’ve got the Reserve Card out there,” Hauenstein said Wednesday.
“But is there even a better card?” he pondered aloud. “We’ll put on our thinking caps on that.”
Delta has an incredibly lucrative partnership with Amex… Long term, the carrier has its sights set on making $10 billion annually through its Amex deal.
While it’s almost hard to imagine a credit card with a meaningfully higher annual fee than the (Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card), the company regularly touts its affluent customer base. It says that customers swipe their Delta Amex cards to the tune of nearly 1% of the U.S. gross domestic product.
— “Delta to test new fare ‘subcategories’ in 2025; ponders higher-end Amex credit card” by Sean Cudahy, TPG.
The Delta Reserve Card’s annual fee is $650. (Rates & Fees.)
The reasons I bring this up is because shawnwahi has a track record and if this info is coming to light now (again?), perhaps something is afoot.
My guess is Delta would introduce a personal/consumer and a business version of this hypothetical Better Than Reserve card. That would bring the Delta Amex portfolio up to nine cards. Heck, why not whip up something else and make it an even 10?
What Would a New Delta Amex Look Like?
All of this begs three questions:
- What bells and whistles would a new Delta Amex feature?
- When would this product debut?
- What would be its annual fee (No Rates & Fees yet. 🙂 )
Fall is generally when Delta announces Medallion program changes (I’m sure all of us remember). So, we may hear something in a few months. Limited-time Delta Amex offers are running right now. They might return in some form this fall — coinciding with the launch of new Super Delta Double Double Animal Style Amex.
Or not. Maybe sooner, maybe later. Maybe never.
It’s all but a given that Amex will raise the Platinum Card’s $695 annual fee as part of the refreshed card. (Rates & Fees) They very likely won’t go “Here are all these big benefits and coupons — and the same annual fee!” It sure as heck won’t go lower.
So, what would a Delta Triple Double Reserve Amex run? $800 a year? $900? $1,000? (I don’t love this “Fastest to $1,000 annual fee is the winner!” competition the credit card companies seem to have right now. I’m getting ready to start canceling cards.)
What features would it pack? Some, all, or none of the below?
- Two free checked bags?
- A bigger MQD boost than the other eligible cards?
- Unlimited Sky Club visits?
- More Sky Club guest passes?
- Higher priority on the upgrade list over those loser simps with just a Reserve card?
- Entrance to Delta One Lounges for a fee?
- Access to Delta One dedicated check-ins?
- A Companion Certificate without fare class restrictions for cert’s cabin (you know, how the Companion Certificates should be)?
- Elite status with a hotel partner?
- Zone 1 boarding? (I promise some people would get it exclusively for that.)
- Metal card made from a retired Delta plane?
- Complimentary Gold Medallion Status? (Remember, simply holding a few Delta Amex cards can give you status without leaving your bed.)
- And, of course, complimentary Priority Pass Select membership! (Please, no. Unless it includes two free guests at all participating lounges and restaurants.)
- Who flippin’ knows?
Final Approach
The latest rumor to credit card land is another Delta Amex — something above the Delta Reserve Card. Will it come to fruition?
What do you think?
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.
They will never do it. But making domestic RUC’s be able to be used on D1 domestic flights from coach into D1 instead of just premium select. That would be useful. Higher upgrade priority? Meh. They already sell to many of those seats to make that a great value. Unlimited skyclub not much of a value either. I would suspect the majority of reserve holders already clear the 75k unlimited trigger anyway. Delta One lounge is hyper limited in terms of footprint. Heck it’s going to be years until their largest base (ATL) even gets one.
Seriously, what’s the point of a new Amex Delta card. Amex has a restriction of 5 credit cards. So, if you think Aspire and the two Marriott cards are a must have, we have room for may be two more Delta cards. I also think the small business plus is good to have. So, now we will have 9 or 10 Amex Delta cards but can only have one or two in our wallets. What a brilliant move!!
Life is already complicated enough! The thought of another Amex card, and the associated fee, is tiresome…