Delta Reserve Credit Card Review: Amazing Perks

Link: Apply now for the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card

American Express and Delta have had a close relationship for many years. As part of that, they issue seven co-branded Delta Amex cards, including the Blue, Gold, Platinum, and Reserve cards (except for the Blue product, all the others have both a personal and business version).

Delta Reserve American Express Card Basics For March 2024

In this post, I wanted to look at the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card. This is the most premium of Amex’s four co-branded personal Delta cards, and it comes with some fantastic benefits.

Delta Reserve Amex Bonus Of 100,000 SkyMiles

The Delta Reserve Card is offering a welcome bonus where you can earn 100,000 bonus miles after you spend $6,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months. I value SkyMiles at 1.1 cents each, so to me, those miles are worth $1,100.

Card Eligibility

The welcome bonus offer on the card is “once in a lifetime,” so it’s not available to you if you currently have the card, or if you’ve had the card in the past. However, you can get each version of the Delta Amex, so you are eligible for the Reserve if you’ve only had the Gold or Platinum before, or if you’ve had any of the business versions of the cards.

You can read more about Amex’s general application restrictions here.

Delta Reserve Credit Card Annual Fee

The Delta Reserve Card has a $650 annual fee (Rates & Fees).

Earning Miles With Delta Reserve Card

The Delta Reserve Card has fairly limited bonus categories for spending. You can earn:

• 3x SkyMiles for purchases directly with Delta (including flights and Delta Vacations)
• 1x SkyMiles on all other purchases

Ironically other Delta cards with lower annual fees have more robust bonus categories. The logic is probably that there’s another huge incentive to spend on this card (which I’ll get into below), so they don’t feel they have to offer great bonuses to get people to spend.

The Delta Reserve Amex is the best card for earning MQMs and getting an MQD waiver, which is important for earning status.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

If you spend on the Delta Reserve Card, the good news is that there are no foreign transaction fees (Rates & Fees), so you can efficiently use the card abroad.

Earning Status With The Delta Reserve Card

What makes the Delta Reserve Credit Card most worthwhile for many is how easy it is to earn elite status with the card. With MQD Boost & MQD Headstart you’ll receive $2,500 Medallion Qualification Dollars each Medallion Qualification Year and earn $1 MQD for each $10 on purchases with your card.

Lounge Access With The Delta Reserve Card

One of the primary things that sets the Delta Reserve Credit Card apart from other Delta Amex cards is the lounge access perks that it offers. The card offers Sky Club access, Centurion Lounge access, and even a couple of Sky Club passes. Effective 2/1/25, Reserve Card Members will receive 15 Visits per year to the Delta Sky Club; to earn an unlimited number of Visits each year starting on 2/1/25, the total eligible purchases on the Card must equal $75,000 or more between 1/1/24 and 12/31/24, 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.

How does that work?

Complimentary Delta Sky Club Access

Just for having the Delta Reserve Card, you receive complimentary Delta Sky Club access when flying Delta the same day. You can buy access for guests at the rate of $50 per person. Getting complimentary Delta Sky Club access with this card is a great perk.

Four Delta Sky Club Guest Passes Annually

In addition to the primary cardmember getting Sky Club access when flying Delta the same day, they also receive four Sky Club guest passes annually.

These can be used by the primary cardmember to guest others into the lounge, allowing you to skip the $50 guesting fee twice.

Complimentary Centurion Lounge Access

The Delta Reserve Card also offers complimentary Centurion Lounge access when traveling on Delta on the same day. The primary cardmember is entitled to access, and bringing additional guests costs $50 each.

Centurion Lounges, for the most part, offer a significantly improved food and beverage offering compared to most domestic airline lounges in the United States, so this is a nice option to have.

Delta Reserve Card Perks & Benefits

The Delta Reserve Credit Card has a huge bonus, though if I were just looking for the best welcome bonus offer I would go for the Gold or Platinum version of the card, since the cards have significantly lower annual fees.

The reason you want to get the Reserve version of the card is because of the valuable long-term perks that it offers. Above I’ve talked about how the Reserve Card can help you earn status and can help you access lounges, though there are lots of perks beyond that.

Let’s take a look at some of those benefits.

Annual Companion Certificate

Every year upon renewal of your card you receive a roundtrip companion certificate valid within the US, and to select destinations in the Caribbean and Central America. This can be used for fares ranging from first class to economy, so the flexibility offered by that is pretty awesome, and for many will more than justify the annual fee.

You just have to pay the government-imposed taxes and fees for the companion. If redeeming the certificate there are some things to be aware of, including:

• It’s valid for roundtrip travel within the United States and to select destinations in the Caribbean and Central America
• You have to pay the government taxes for the second traveler on the reservation
• Companion certificates are only valid for travel in the I and Z fare classes in first class, the W fare class in Comfort+, and the L, U, T, X, and V fare classes in economy
• Travel has to be completed by the expiration date of the certificate

First Checked Bag Free

Just for having the Delta Reserve Card you get a first checked bag free, which would otherwise cost $30 one-way per person:

• This benefit is limited to the primary cardmember and anyone traveling on the same reservation with them (up to nine people)
• You don’t have to pay for your flight with your Delta Amex, though you do need to have your SkyMiles number in the reservation

This is a great value, given that you’ll usually pay $60 per person roundtrip for a checked bag. So if you’re traveling with someone then you’re looking at $120 roundtrip in fees.

Priority Boarding

Just for having the card you receive Main Cabin 1 priority boarding. This helps maximize your odds of finding space for your carry-on and getting to your seat sooner. Just make sure the primary cardmember’s SkyMiles number is linked to the reservation.

20% Delta Inflight Savings

If you have the Reserve Delta Amex then you can save 20% in the form of a statement credit for eligible pre-purchased meals, and in-flight purchases of food, alcoholic beverages, and audio headsets, on Delta flights. Allow 8-12 weeks for the statement credit to post.

Pay With Miles

Delta has a Pay With Miles feature, where if you have a Delta co-branded credit card you can redeem miles for one cent each toward a Delta flight purchase (in increments of 5,000 miles per $50). That’s not the best deal in the world, though this is a feature that’s exclusively available to those with an eligible card.

Some people find this to be useful since they can redeem their miles toward flights, and then they still earn elite miles for taking those flights.

15% Savings On SkyMiles Award Flights

With the TakeOff 15 perk (exclusively for those with select Delta Amex cards), you can save 15% on the cost of a SkyMiles award ticket when traveling exclusively on Delta. Delta SkyMiles award pricing is dynamic, and generally you’ll find that each mile gets you a bit over a cent toward the cost of a ticket.

Saving 15% on these awards is valuable, and means that you’ll generally get somewhere around 1.2-1.3 cents of value per mile (or sometimes even more). In many cases this will end up being a better value than using the Pay With Miles option, so it’s a real perk of the card.

Upgrade Priority

Having the Delta Reserve Card gets you priority for complimentary upgrades, assuming you have Medallion status. That’s because the card acts as a tiebreaker.

If you have the Reserve Card you get upgrade priority over other Medallion members within the same Medallion level and fare class. Given how competitive upgrades are, this can make a material difference in terms of whether you clear or not.

Upgrades To First Class & Comfort+ For Non-Elite Members

The Reserve Card offers complimentary first class and Comfort+ upgrades on eligible flights for non-elite members. You will be toward the bottom of the upgrade list, but there are lots of situations where this could help you score a good Comfort+ seat, or in some cases even a first class seat.

Complimentary TSA PreCheck & Global Entry

Those with the Delta Reserve Card receive a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit. This benefit applies once every 4.5 years for the application of TSA PreCheck, or once every four years for the application of Global Entry. This can save you big time both at security and immigration, and is something I highly recommend signing up for if eligible.

Amex Offers

One of the great features of Amex cards is access to Amex Offers, which offers savings or bonus points on purchases with all kinds of retailers. There’s huge value to be had in getting as many Amex cards as possible, so that you can get these offers on multiple cards.

Amex Offers could save you hundreds of dollars per year. You can access these offers by logging into your account and scrolling down to the bottom of your account summary page.

ShopRunner Membership

For having the Delta Reserve Amex you get a ShopRunner membership, which gets you free two-day shipping on eligible items at a network of 100+ online stores. You just have to enroll in your complimentary membership and can then start taking advantage of it.

Is The Delta Reserve Amex Worth It?

The Delta Reserve Credit Card has a steep annual fee, but the card also offers great benefits for Delta flyers. With this card you can earn up to 60K MQMs per year.

Then there are all of the other perks, ranging from lounge access, to a first checked bag free, to inflight savings, to priority boarding, to improved upgrade priority. This is a really perks-rich card.

This card isn’t for the casual Delta flyer, but for someone who flies Delta moderately or often, I’d say this card is well worth considering.

Looking For A Business Credit Card Instead?

If the Delta Reserve Amex sounds interesting to you but you are instead looking for a card for your small business, consider the Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve Business American Express Card.

Most of the benefits of the card are the same, the only significant difference is that the business card earns 1.5x miles on all purchases after spending $150,000 annually, which could be useful for big spenders.

Amex Platinum Vs. Delta Reserve Card

Many people might be trying to decide between The Platinum Card® from American Express (review) and the Delta Reserve Card. The cards have some overlapping benefits:

• Both give you access to the Delta Sky Club when flying Delta same day
• The Amex Platinum gives you Centurion Lounge access no matter what airline you’re flying, and the Delta Reserve will give you access to Centurion Lounges when flying Delta same day

But that’s largely where the similarities end:

• While the Amex Platinum Card has a $695 annual fee (Rates & Fees), it offers lots of perks that help offset it, including up to $300 in statement credits each year on a digital or club membership at Equinox, $240 annual digital entertainment credit, $200 annual Uber credit, $200 annual airline fee credit, $100 annual Saks credit, up to $189 back on a CLEAR Plus membership every year, Priority Pass membership, and much more; this is one of the best cards out there for lounge access. (Enrollment is required for select benefits)
• The Delta Reserve Card is worth getting specifically if you’re a Delta flyer, since having the card can help you earn status with Delta, and it also offers lots of Delta specific perks that you don’t get with other cards

Delta Reserve Card Vs. Delta Platinum Amex

The Delta Reserve Credit Card is Delta’s most premium credit card, though is it worth it compared to the Delta SkyMiles^® Platinum American Express Card (review), which has a $350 annual fee (Rates & Fees)?

• The cards are similar in that they both offer a first checked bag free, 20% savings on inflight purchases, priority boarding, and more
• While both cards allow you to earn elite status with spending, you can earn a lot more MQMs with the Reserve than the Platinum
• While both cards offer a companion certificate, the Platinum one is only valid for economy, while the Reserve one is even valid for first class
• The Reserve offers complimentary lounge access, while the Platinum doesn’t

Bottom Line

The Delta Reserve Card is Delta’s most premium credit card. While the card isn’t for everyone, I do think it’s well worth considering if you’re a frequent Delta flyer, and could benefit from lounge access, the companion ticket, improved upgrade priority, and the ability to earn status through credit card spending.

If you want to learn more about the Delta Reserve Amex Card or apply, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card (Rates & Fees), and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card (Rates & Fees).