Compare the Features and Benefits of Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card and
United Club℠ Infinite Card

While at first it may be tempting to want a Delta American Express card with no annual fee, there’s little reason to get this card over all of the other six Delta SkyMiles credit cards from American Express considering that it is the most basic Delta credit card.

While there is no annual fee, of the 7 cards linked above, this is the only one that does not have:

• Priority Boarding
• Free Checked Bag
• A waiver on the MQD requirement to earn Delta Medallion Elite status when you spend $25,000 in a calendar year.
• The TakeOff15 benefit, which offers a 15% discount on SkyMiles award travel on Delta marketed and operated flights

Those are some HUGE benefits to give up. You’ll get TakeOff15, priority boarding and a free checked bag with the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card. The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card allows you to earn MQDs for spend (and comes with an annual companion certificate that allows you to fly a friend or family member for the cost of government-imposed taxes (roughly under $80) for round trip domestic flights.

And while 2X miles on restaurants worldwide sounds good on the Delta Blue SkyMiles card, consider that there are two Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards that earn more on dining: The American Express® Gold Card (4X) and the American Express® Green Card (3X). And American Express Membership Rewards points can transfer to Delta – but they can also transfer to a huge range of other airlines and hotels. Isn’t flexibility better? Why be tied to one mileage program, Delta, when you mind find a better mileage deal elsewhere? Remember, you can fly Delta exclusively and collect lots of SkyMiles that way, but it doesn’t mean that should be all you earn on your credit cards….

In my opinion, the best reason for having a Delta Blue is when you have one of the annual fee Delta cards is your oldest credit card and want to downgrade to a no annual fee card to keep your credit score intact.

But other than that, 99% of people would come out ahead paying the annual fee on one of the other six Delta SkyMiles credit cards from American Express and taking advantage of the benefits that come with them.

Rates and Fees for the Blue Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express

The United Club Infinite Card is a surprisingly robust offering from United Airlines and Chase.

The primary reason to get this card is because you fly United enough that you would like to have United Club lounge access for all of your flights.

The average person will save $125 by gaining United Club access via this credit card than by buying it directly. Even United 1K members come out $25 ahead. Why would anyone buy United Club access directly when it’s cheaper to pay a lower annual fee on the credit card?

By the way, the exact same thing applies to the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite MasterCard® and as well as the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Credit Card. The Delta cards even offer American Express Centurion Lounge access when flying Delta, although they also have a limit on lounge visits per year.

You also have the ability to earn the most Premier Qualifying Points towards United elite status of any of the United credit cards. You’ll earn 25 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) for every $500 you spend on purchases.

Now, sure, outside of 4X miles per dollar spent on United purchases, the earn rate on other categories aren’t particularly strong. But the card’s features and benefits that we’ve described above that come on top of the United Club lounge access are incredibly compelling.

To recap, those benefits include:

• United Club lounge access
• First and second free checked bags
• Receive 25% Back on United inflight and Club Premium Drink Purchases
• Earn up to 10,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQP) (You’ll earn 25 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) for every $500 you spend on purchases.)
• 10% Saver Award Flight Discount
• Expanded Award Availability
• Premier Upgrades on Award Tickets
• Premier Access including priority check in and priority boarding
• Return Protection for Items a Store Won’t Take Back + Extended Warranty and Purchase Protection
• Access to The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection
• Primary Car Rental CDW Insurance
• Global Entry / TSA PreCheck / NEXUS Reimbursement as a Statement Credit
• IHG Platinum Status
• Top Tier Avis President’s Club status

That’s not all of the card features, but it sure is enough to see that the value you are getting for that annual fee is pretty amazing.