Applies only to airfare booked directly with Delta Air Lines; otherwise earn 1X
At U.S. Supermarkets. * American Express defines a supermarket as offering a wide variety of food and household products such as meat, fresh produce, dairy, canned and packaged goods, household cleaners, pharmacy products and pet supplies. (Superstores, convenience stores and warehouse clubs are NOT considered supermarkets.)
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
The Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card charges a $0 introductory annual fee (then $150) and presents many ways for Delta Air Lines flyers to save money — whether they’re booking their flight with SkyMiles or are already in the air.
You’ll earn credit card rewards accordingly: 2x Delta miles on restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets and on eligible Delta purchases, plus 1x miles on other eligible purchases. Finally, if you manage to spend $10,000 or more on the card in a calendar year, a $100 Delta flight credit will be awarded to your account every year.
When it comes time to redeem SkyMiles, Delta Gold cardholders can save 15% off the sticker price for award flights. This benefit is automatically applied when you’re logged into your SkyMiles account on the Delta website or Fly Delta app and the flight is wholly operated by Delta.
Delta offers an impressive route network whether you want to fly within the U.S. or abroad, so you should find plenty of ways to redeem SkyMiles. Some of our favorite deals include Delta’s flash sales, where you can find domestic one-way tickets for as low as 3,500 SkyMiles.
Once you’re at the airport, you can enjoy a free checked bag and Main Cabin 1 priority boarding when flying Delta. Then, in the air, you can save 20% on inflight purchases, applied as a statement credit to your account.
If you’re not a frequent Delta flyer and are looking for even more options with your credit card rewards, consider opening a card that earns transferable rewards instead like Amex Membership Rewards points that transfer instantly to Delta SkyMiles. Not to be confused with the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex Card, the Amex Gold Card earns Membership Rewards points but does not include benefits like the free checked bag.
Rates and Fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Applies only to United purchases. Otherwise, earn 1X
Our ratings are determined by the authors and editors on our team. Each individual card feature is compared against all other cards we offer and the total score is an average of those 4 ratings.
The United Gateway card does a solid job of providing enough benefits to make you wonder if it will be sufficient, vs investing $95 or more on one of the other Chase United credit cards since this is the only one with no annual fee.
The answer will depend on you.
If you fly several times a year and check a bag each time, then you’ll come out ahead paying the $95 annual fee on the United℠ Explorer Card since you’ll get free checked bags (one for you and a companion on the same itinerary) every time you pay with your card on a domestic flight. You also won’t get priority boarding with the Gateway card.
However, if you are on “Team Carry-On Only,” then this card provides many of the same benefits, including the benefit that gives you access to expanded Saver economy coach availability just like a United Silver Premier member. However, unlike all of the other United cards, you won’t be entitled to upgrades on award tickets.
Additionally, you won’t have any opportunities to earn PQPs from spending on this card whereas all the other United cards do offer that benefit.
Lastly, you might do better with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card if you aren’t using the checked bag benefit or the expanded award availability benefit. That’s because you’ll have more opportunities to earn points from spend on the Sapphire Preferred, and while you can transfer those points right over to United, you can also take advantage of all of the other Chase Ultimate Rewards airline and hotel transfer partners.
In the end, it depends on you if this is a good card for you, or if another similar card might be better.