The $95 annual fee recently posted to my Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card. I have plenty of other Amex products better suited for my spending and award habits — and didn’t plan to renew the card.
But Amex pulls out surprises every so often when you place retention calls. I figured five minutes out of my day to see if any good retention offer were available could be worth time — and money.
A retention offer would have to be at least 20,000 bonus SkyMiles for me to consider accepting. (And that’s for spending, say, $3000. Or lower.) The $95 annual fee is worth about 9500 SkyMiles. And I receive much better points bonuses across my portfolio of credit cards. So Amex would have to make it worth my while.
The Delta Gold Business Amex Card — a Quick Primer
The Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card awards 2X SkyMiles for every dollar spent on:
- Delta Air Lines purchases (made directly with the airline)
- US purchases in select media
- US shipping purchases
- Restaurants
Nearly all of my Delta airfare purchases are made with my Platinum Card® from American Express (5X on purchases with airlines) or Chase Sapphire Reserve® card (3X on travel — after the yearly $300 credit.)
It also comes with these perks when flying Delta Air Lines:
- First checked bag free for me and up to eight others on my itinerary
- Main Cabin 1 “priority boarding”
My other (and more valuable) Delta Amexes come with those perks, too. So there’s already plenty of overlap.
As I noted the other day, even United’s most basic card — the United Explorer from Chase — packs more punch than the Delta Gold Business Amex.
All that said, though, everyone’s spending and redemption habits are different. So even though the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for me anymore (I don’t make many shipping or select media purchases), it may be great for others.
My Retention Call
I called Amex to cancel my card. A very friendly rep asked if I was canceling because my business may have closed. It hasn’t.
So she politely asked if there was a reason I was canceling. I basically told her everything I listed above.
She understood. I asked her if there were any retention offers that I couldn’t refuse.
There was nothing. Because I didn’t spend a whole lot on the card this past year, Amex wasn’t exactly crushed that I was canceling. So my paltry spend on the card didn’t trigger a retention offer.
Two minutes later, the card was canceled and here we are.
What Have Your Delta Gold Business Amex Retention Offers Been?
Have you received a retention call for your Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card in the past few months? Please share your results in the below Comments section!
–Chris
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