I applied for American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card two years ago, and this month marks 2 years. I believe I can write a review about it from student perspective and whether it is worth it for you.

It has been a great experience having this card for many of its perks which I talk below. If you use my link  you can get 10,000 miles for spending $1,000 plus a $50 statement credit after making your first Delta purchase which is a fantastic offer. You can also get 10,000 miles after spending $500 by applying for its entry version with no annual fee card American Express Blue Delta SkyMiles Credit Card. If you are looking for more of a serious Delta SkyMiles card and you are frequent flyer then consider Platinum Delta Skymiles Card where you can earn 60,000 miles after spending $2,000 within your first three months.

(Many people asked me why it leads them to a different card when using my referral, here’s simple way to navigate below)

How to redeem the bonus offer or apply through my referral?

When you click this link or any other link on this page, you will be redirected to American Express site. Then simply on the left top, click “View All Cards with Referral Offer” as shown below. You can also browse different cards through my referral and check out the bonuses you can get.

Firstly, only reason I considered it two years ago was because I was actually flying Delta very often for personal reasons and got a great sign-up offer for earning 60,000 miles after spending $1,000 within first three months and also a $50 statement after making first Delta purchase. The 60k miles bonus is valued at about $700 or round trip flight to almost anywhere in the world which made sense to apply and at around that time I made a relatively large purchase to reach that bonus faster. Don’t forget that through my referral you can get 50,000 miles 10,000 miles after spending $1,000 which is also valued at about a round trip flight to almost anywhere.

You can read another student review of another great card for students Capital One QuickSilver Card I wrote back for its unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase. You can also take advantage of 20% off of your MyFico Score Report here.

After Two Years…

With American Express rolling out Blue version of American Express SkyMiles Credit Card with no annual fee and my annual fee due this month with the gold one, I decided to finally downgrade and I am very happy I did this, I will talk about the Blue SkyMiles Card version in the very near future post.

Pro’s American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card

  • Bonus Delta Miles Offer
  • One Free Checked Bag
  • Zone 1 Priority Boarding
  • No International Transaction Fees
  • Insurance Protection 
  • Absolutely the Best Customer Service
  • 20% off on Eligible In-Flight Purchases
  • Delta Sky Club Airport Lounges Reduced Rate at $29
  • Earning 1 mile per dollar spent on every purchase

Con’s of the Card that I Learned Over Two Years

  • First year was free but last year I paid $95 to renew it
  • American Express is not widely accepted around the world

As you can see I only have two cons for having this card because I really enjoyed having this card and benefited from it in many ways. American Express also has great offers that will double, triple or even give five miles per dollar spent on certain promotional offers like from Nike, AirBnb, Lyft, and much more.

Should You Apply? Particularly as a Student

I was 20 when I was targeted for the 60,000 miles after spending $1,000 within first three months and also a $50 statement after making first Delta purchase and after doing some research on this I really found myself benefitting a lot from this card but as year passed and I found myself no longer flying Delta and the fee became more of a waste of money. Then, at the end of 2017, American Express introduced Blue SkyMiles Credit Card and right away I found it will be much more beneficial to my financial every-day life. I also believe that the Blue version is targeting students because of 2 miles per dollar spent for dining out.

Refer to my Review of Credit Karma and why you need it for your credit history.

So, is it worth it?

Absolutely! BUT only if you are targeted with the bonus offer like I was for 60,000 miles after spending certain amount of money or using my link for 50,000 miles which is not much difference. The annual fee is also waived the first year so you don’t have to worry about it, then you can downgrade to the Blue one if you just went for the bonus and best part yet is that your credit score will not be affected by doing this.

If you fly Delta a minimum of twice a year then the American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card will be worth it for you because of its Free Checked Bag feature, so let’s say a family of four travels then the savings will be $200 round trip, even if you are the only one traveling, the savings will still out-win the annual fee. You also get the Zone One Priority Boarding and up to 8 others flying with you on the same itinerary.

What Can You Do With Miles

Delta runs a lot of promotions with redeeming miles for flights and flying roundtrip for as little as 20,000 miles is possible (plus taxes and fees).

You can also use miles for upgrades like upgrading from economy to comfort, first class, delta one, business class)

Delta is also part of SkyTeam Alliance and can be used to book a flight with Delta partners currently at 20 airlines, so you actually have a large variety to choose from and earn more miles as well as redeeming your miles. You can see them here which include airlines such as Aeroflot, Alitalia, China Airlines, AirFrance, KLM, Czech Airlines, and more…

Get 20% off Your Fico Score

Final Thoughts

I absolutely loved American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card and what I was able to take advantage of over this past few years and I’m not going anywhere, all I am doing is just downgrading it to no annual fee version of this card because I will benefit from it a lot more at this time. As soon as I begin flying with Delta or it’s Sky Team partners again, I will upgrade again and the best part it will not affect my credit score.

As always, pay off any of your credit cards in full each month, don’t use it just for its rewards. if you know you cannot justify spending $1,000 in three months then don’t apply for it, as you will just waste your credit report pull and major sign-up offer.

You can also check out what I use on every day basis page.

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