Name: American Express® Gold Card
Brand: American Express

One of the most popular frequent flyer programs is Delta SkyMiles, the loyalty program of Delta Air Lines.

Joining the program, which has more than 120 million members, is free, and your miles never expire. TPG values SkyMiles at 1.2 cents each in our most recent valuations from June 2026.

You can earn Delta SkyMiles through a variety of methods. Some popular options include flying with Delta and its partners, making purchases with Delta’s cobranded cards, transferring points from American Express Membership Rewards, shopping through the Delta SkyMiles Shopping portal, dining through the Delta SkyMiles Dining program and taking advantage of various other promotions offered by the airline.

You can also earn Medallion Qualification Dollars to help you reach Delta’s four elite status tiers that provide perks like seat upgrades, priority boarding and airport lounge access.

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Delta SkyMiles program partners

Delta is a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. You can earn and redeem SkyMiles when you travel with any SkyTeam airline, including:

Aerolineas Argentinas
Aeromexico
Air Europa
Air France
China Airlines
China Eastern Airlines
Delta Air Lines
Garuda Indonesia
Kenya Airways
KLM
Korean Air
Middle East Airlines
Saudia
Scandinavian Airlines
TAROM
Vietnam Airlines
Virgin Atlantic
Xiamen Airlines

Other partners

Delta has several other partnerships beyond SkyTeam members, giving you numerous options for earning miles even when you aren’t flying with Delta or a SkyTeam airline. Nonalliance partners include:

AirBaltic
Cape Air
El Al
LATAM
WestJet

Just note that each partnership has specific restrictions and requirements.

Delta SkyMiles elite status

Delta Sky Club Salt Lake City SLC B Concourse — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

The SkyMiles program offers four elite status tiers for frequent Delta flyers: Silver Medallion, Gold Medallion, Platinum Medallion and Diamond Medallion. Additionally, the airline offers an exclusive invite-only tier called Delta 360 that's only available to its most loyal flyers.

Earning Delta Medallion status

Delta only uses Medallion Qualification Dollars for qualification. You can earn MQDs in the following ways:

Delta and partner flights: Earn 1 MQD per dollar spent on Delta-marketed flights operated by Delta or its partner airlines.
Cards: Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card members earn 1 MQD for every $10 spent in a calendar year, while Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card and Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card members earn 1 MQD for every $20 spent per calendar year. These cards also provide an MQD Headstart of 2,500 MQDs each year. (Terms apply.)
Delta Vacations: Earn 1 MQD per dollar spent on the entire vacation experience (in addition to what you earn for your flight) when booking directly with Delta Vacations. You will earn MQDs on parts of the package, including stays, cars, rides and activities.

Here are some key benefits of each of Delta’s published status tiers.

SkyMiles Silver Medallion

The lowest elite tier in Delta’s SkyMiles program is Silver Medallion status and requires 5,000 MQDs. As a Silver Medallion, you’ll receive:

Complimentary first-class upgrades on domestic and short-haul international flights from 24 hours before departure
Upgrades to Delta Comfort within 24 hours of departure
Priority boarding (Zone 5) and check-in
One free checked bag on flights operated by Delta and select partner airlines, plus a free checked bag for up to eight of your companions when traveling on a Delta flight

SkyMiles Gold Medallion

Next up is Gold Medallion status, which requires 10,000 MQDs and will give you:

Complimentary first-class upgrades on domestic and short-haul international flights from three days before departure
Upgrades to Delta Comfort within three days of departure
SkyPriority status
No additional costs for same-day confirmed changes

SkyMiles Platinum Medallion

The third tier in the SkyMiles program is Platinum Medallion, which requires 15,000 MQDs. In addition to the previously mentioned Silver Medallion and Gold Medallion perks, you’ll get:

Complimentary first-class upgrades on domestic flights and short-haul international flights from five days before departure
Upgrades to Delta Comfort at booking
Your pick of a Choice Benefit

SkyMiles Diamond Medallion

Finally, the highest publicly available tier in the SkyMiles program is Diamond Medallion, which requires 28,000 MQDs. Diamond Medallion members get everything detailed above, plus some even better perks:

Additional Choice Benefits options
Complimentary Clear+ membership
Higher upgrade priority

How to earn Delta SkyMiles

Delta 717 PIT — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

You can earn Delta SkyMiles by flying Delta-operated flights, traveling with a SkyTeam partner and opening a Delta cobranded credit card. You can also earn miles through everyday activities like shopping and dining.

Earn SkyMiles by flying

When you fly Delta on a Delta-issued ticket in the main cabin or above (basic economy fares don’t earn miles), you’ll earn SkyMiles on the base price of your ticket. The higher your status tier, the faster you’ll earn miles.

General member: 5 miles per dollar
Silver Medallion: 7 miles per dollar
Gold Medallion: 8 miles per dollar
Platinum Medallion: 9 miles per dollar
Diamond Medallion: 11 miles per dollar

Meanwhile, if you book a partner flight on that carrier’s website (for example, Air France) and add your Delta SkyMiles number, you’ll earn miles based on a percentage of the distance flown. The exact number of SkyMiles you’ll receive varies by partner, booking class and your elite status.

Earn SkyMiles through credit cards

There’s a Delta credit card for everyone — the loyalist, the business traveler and even the infrequent flyer. The following cards offer these perks:

First checked bag free worldwide, second checked bag free domestically and priority boarding on Delta flights
A 20% discount on inflight purchases
15% off award redemptions for Delta flights

Here’s a look at some of the best Delta SkyMiles credit cards from American Express. (Terms apply.)

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 (see )

Apply and find out if your welcome offer is as high as 80,000 bonus miles, plus earn a $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. You may not be eligible for the maximum offer amount.

Up to $1,210 (including the statement credit)

A $200 Delta flight credit after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases on your card in a calendar year
Up to a $100 annual statement credit toward hotels and vacation rentals through Delta Stays

Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express Card

$350 (see )

Apply and find out if your welcome offer is as high as 90,000 bonus miles, plus earn a $300 statement credit after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. You may not be eligible for the maximum offer amount.

Up to $1,380 (including the statement credit)

An annual companion certificate for a main cabin round-trip flight within the U.S. or to Mexico, the Caribbean or Central America each year after renewing your card
A statement credit to cover the entry fee for Global Entry ($120) or TSA PreCheck (up to $85) every four years
Up to $10 per month in statement credits for eligible U.S. Resy restaurant purchases and up to $10 per month in ride-hailing statement credits with select U.S. providers
Up to a $150 annual Delta Stays statement credit
Hertz Five Star status (enrollment in Hertz Gold+ rewards program is required)

Enrollment is required for some benefits.

Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card

$650 (see )

Earn two domestic round-trip Delta Comfort Flight Certificates (valid for travel to the U.S. 48, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands) and 50,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. A 21+ day advance purchase is required; up to $80 per person in taxes and fees apply. Other restrictions apply.

Earn SkyMiles through shopping portals

One of the easiest ways to earn SkyMiles is through Delta’s online shopping portal, Delta SkyMiles Shopping. You can earn miles on purchases you would ordinarily make with over a thousand merchants online.

If you don’t already have an account, you must register using your SkyMiles number. Then, you can use the search box to find the store or product you’re looking for and compare prices and mileage rates at different merchants. You can also favorite stores so you’ll be notified when those stores offer bonus miles.

After selecting your merchant, click on the store, product or offer to go to the store’s website to shop and check out. The store will alert the portal when you’ve made a purchase, and the miles you earn will be added to your SkyMiles account. You’ll receive a confirmation email when your miles have posted — this is typically within three to five days, but it can take up to 15 days.

Transfer Amex points to Delta

Finally, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to your Delta SkyMiles account at a 1:1 ratio. We don’t usually recommend this because we value Amex points higher than SkyMiles.

It’s often difficult to get a higher fare from Delta due to dynamic pricing. You’ll also have to pay an excise tax offset fee when transferring Amex points to Delta (and other domestic frequent flyer programs).

How to redeem SkyMiles

Delta uses dynamic pricing for award tickets, so you will need to search on the Delta website or app to determine how many SkyMiles you need for an award ticket. Delta’s site is pretty easy to navigate, and its handy calendar feature can help you find the lowest prices for your next redemption.

We’ve generally found the best redemptions on domestic flights. With one of the Delta cobranded cards that offers a 15% discount on Delta-operated award tickets, you can sometimes book short-haul flights for under 4,000 SkyMiles one-way. That said, prices will vary by day, route and cabin class.

Note that Delta award tickets are fully refundable (on flights originating in the U.S. and Canada, excluding basic economy fares), so if your plans change, you can redeposit the miles and get a refund for the taxes and fees you paid. This also allows you to rebook award tickets when the mileage price drops, securing a refund of the difference in miles.

Additionally, you can use your SkyMiles to book partner tickets on most of Delta’s SkyTeam and nonalliance partners. Unfortunately, these have now largely aligned with Delta’s own flight prices, minimizing the opportunity to get better value from partner awards, especially in premium cabins.

Sweet spots

delta airlines economy — BEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY

With Delta using dynamic pricing across its route network, there aren’t many sweet spots to maximize the value of your SkyMiles. Nevertheless, there are a few good options out there.

Delta flash sales

Delta frequently runs SkyMiles flash sales for short- and long-haul routes to U.S. destinations and cities in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. We’ve seen some terrific deals for the main cabin, Delta Comfort and first class. Past deals include round-trip flights to Europe for just 34,000 miles and fares to Tahiti in French Polynesia starting at 60,000 miles.

Of course, these cheap tickets aren’t always well advertised, so it pays to check availability often. Delta often prices short-haul award tickets well under what other airlines would charge for similar flights. You’ll often find the best deals when booking in advance and traveling on off-peak dates.

Bottom line

With its solid operational performance, wide route network and numerous partner airlines, Delta is touted by some as the best domestic airline. In fact, the carrier has taken the top spot in TPG’s analysis of the best airlines in the U.S. for the last eight years. Although award pricing and elite status requirements have disappointed many Delta loyalists, there’s still plenty to like about the Delta SkyMiles program.

Whether you’re a frequent Delta flyer or more casual customer, focusing on a mix of flying, using shopping portals and making purchases with Delta credit cards can increase your SkyMiles balance for your next redemption.

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Gold card, click .
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum card, click .
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card, click .
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Gold Business card, click .
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business card, click .
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card, click .

TPG featured card

American Express® Gold Card

TPG editor's rating

Pros + cons

Pros

Valuable dining and food-related credits
Flexible rewards with airline and hotel transfer partners
Multiple travel and purchase protections
No foreign transaction fees
Access to Amex Offers for additional savings (enrollment required)

Cons

Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits

More details

You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App™.
Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App™, or purchased directly from airlines.
Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App™ and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You’ll know upfront exactly how much you’ll pay.
$120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
$100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
$84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.
$120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
Enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
Book two nights or more with The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App™ and receive a $100* credit towards eligible charges at over 1,400 upscale hotels worldwide. *Eligible charges vary by property.
Book your travel through the Amex Travel App™ with added peace of mind – backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
No Foreign Transaction Fees.
Annual Fee is $325.
Terms Apply.