Delta Miles and Credit Cards
To RACK up lots of Delta Miles
If you live near SLC, Delta is generally the best airline with the most options for us (since SLC is a Delta hub). So there are 2 credit cards (the Delta gold and Delta platinum, not to be confused with the Amex Gold and the Amex Platinum) that offer great sign-up bonuses (generally 70K and 90K respectively). Don't sign up when they aren't offering this much, just wait and they'll bring back these great offers. Credit card bonuses are a FANTASTICALLY EASY way to earn a BUNCH of miles. So I personally believe that EVERYONE should apply for these 2 cards at some point in their lifetime. If you are married, then your spouse should apply for these 2 cards at some point in their lifetime as well. That is a total of 4 bonuses available to couples, and most couples only take advantage of 1 (I know from personal experience!). A few years ago, my husband Matt got the platinum card, made me an authorized user on the card and that's all we used for years. It wasn't until last year that I started learning more about points and miles and realized we hadn't ever taken advantage of 3 other delta cards (and their bonuses)!
So, Matt "referred" me to the platinum card (earning him 10K miles for the referral) and I suddenly had a huge amount of miles. Obviously it didn't make sense for me AND Matt to keep both cards, that would be double the annual fee. So I kept mine for one year, then canceled before paying the annual fee.
Before I canceled my Platinum card, I then "referred" Matt to the Delta Gold card. So now our household has owned 3 of these cards, someday I'll have Matt refer me to the Gold card and we will be done on taking advantage of these 4 cards.
Once you get the card, put the minimum spend on it to earn the bonus, then put it in a drawer. You don't have to keep using this card if you have a different card that you prefer to use every day. Just earn the bonus, then you are done. In a year cancel it.
The fee for the Platinum card is $250 which may scare you, but you are getting 90k miles in return (which at the very least is worth $1000, those 90K miles can easily take you to Europe so paying $250 for a ticket to Europe is a great deal!). Here is more info on the Delta Companion Ticket which comes with the Platinum Card if you keep it a 2nd year.
Delta Credit Cards as Every Day Use Cards
I know MANY of you have the Delta Platinum card as your permanent, everyday spend card. That's the one we used to have as well, for years, and years. You pay a higher fee for this card than the Delta Gold card ($250 instead of $100) and the reason why is the companion pass and to help earn Delta "status". We rarely were able to take good advantage of the companion pass and my husband rarely made Delta Gold Medallion status. There are quite a few restrictions on the companion pass which makes it hard, plus it requires that you spend money buying a ticket. I way prefer never spending money on delta tickets and just using miles, so I never loved the companion pass. We switched to the Delta Gold card so we could keep the free bags and priority boarding benefits (since we really weren't getting the advantages of the companion pass and delta status) and then got the plain Amex Gold card (not the DELTA GOLD) as our permanent everyday spend card. My annual fee is now much smaller ($250 for delta platinum vs. $110 in annual fees for Delta Gold and Amex Gold- when using the credits on this card) and I am earning WAY more miles this way. Yes earning "status" on delta is much harder this way, and my husband REALLY enjoyed his status on the rare occasion that he got it, but he's willing to sacrifice on his work travel status perks so our whole family can enjoy more travel. If you're actually able to take advantage of the companion pass and earn status and take advantage of that, then the the Delta Platinum is probably a good card for you. I'd just recommend that you still occasionally apply for other credit cards (and only use them temporarily) just to earn the bonuses.
Using Delta Miles Watch for Delta Miles Flash Sales. Follow me on my instagram page (milesfromslc) and I'll let you know of these deals when they come along. Keep in mind 9k miles is the lowest a flight will ever go, if you see something for 9K it's a great deal (typically you can get flights from SLC to California on sale for 9K). I once saw SLC to NYC for 15K (that was awesome!). I have seen SLC to HNL (Hawaii) for 23K, And recently I snagged flights to London for 38K miles (plus $200 in taxes). Don't just book a delta miles ticket the first day you get on the computer, watch the miles price as it will fluctuate just like $ prices do and buy when you see a good deal. Follow me on instagram (milesfromslc) where I often post Delta SkyMiles deals out of SLC airport.
If you are trying to book a lot of tickets using miles, sometime the low price is only good for 2 seats or 4 seats, then they want to charge a lot more for any additional seats you want to buy. If you are booking months in advance, just buy as many seats as they are currently allowing at the good price, then wait and watch for when they release more seats on the same flight for a good price. For example, I was trying to buy 7 tickets to California and had to buy 2 (at a good price), then waited and bought 3 more a month later (at a good price), and a month later finally bought the last 2 tickets. Yes it's a pain but I refuse to waste miles on a bad priced ticket!
If you'd like to apply for a Delta Credit card, please use my referrals if you can't use one from your spouse! If you would like to know how to refer your friends, see this page.
Here are all my credit card referrals - it's your way of thanking me for putting all this information together for you! :)
If you live near SLC, Delta is generally the best airline with the most options for us (since SLC is a Delta hub). So there are 2 credit cards (the Delta gold and Delta platinum, not to be confused with the Amex Gold and the Amex Platinum) that offer great sign-up bonuses (generally 70K and 90K respectively). Don't sign up when they aren't offering this much, just wait and they'll bring back these great offers. Credit card bonuses are a FANTASTICALLY EASY way to earn a BUNCH of miles. So I personally believe that EVERYONE should apply for these 2 cards at some point in their lifetime. If you are married, then your spouse should apply for these 2 cards at some point in their lifetime as well. That is a total of 4 bonuses available to couples, and most couples only take advantage of 1 (I know from personal experience!). A few years ago, my husband Matt got the platinum card, made me an authorized user on the card and that's all we used for years. It wasn't until last year that I started learning more about points and miles and realized we hadn't ever taken advantage of 3 other delta cards (and their bonuses)!
So, Matt "referred" me to the platinum card (earning him 10K miles for the referral) and I suddenly had a huge amount of miles. Obviously it didn't make sense for me AND Matt to keep both cards, that would be double the annual fee. So I kept mine for one year, then canceled before paying the annual fee.
Before I canceled my Platinum card, I then "referred" Matt to the Delta Gold card. So now our household has owned 3 of these cards, someday I'll have Matt refer me to the Gold card and we will be done on taking advantage of these 4 cards.
****UPDATE: Amex has now changed their rules on all their credit cards. In order to be eligible for each cards bonus, you must start with the lowest level card and work your way up. So if you have never had a Delta credit card before and you start with the Delta Platinum, you will never be eligible to get the bonus on the Gold card (since it is a lower level card than the Platinum). You can tell the lower level cards from the higher level ones by the annual fees and bonuses being offered.
Once you get the card, put the minimum spend on it to earn the bonus, then put it in a drawer. You don't have to keep using this card if you have a different card that you prefer to use every day. Just earn the bonus, then you are done. In a year cancel it.
The fee for the Platinum card is $250 which may scare you, but you are getting 90k miles in return (which at the very least is worth $1000, those 90K miles can easily take you to Europe so paying $250 for a ticket to Europe is a great deal!). Here is more info on the Delta Companion Ticket which comes with the Platinum Card if you keep it a 2nd year.
Delta Credit Cards as Every Day Use Cards
I know MANY of you have the Delta Platinum card as your permanent, everyday spend card. That's the one we used to have as well, for years, and years. You pay a higher fee for this card than the Delta Gold card ($250 instead of $100) and the reason why is the companion pass and to help earn Delta "status". We rarely were able to take good advantage of the companion pass and my husband rarely made Delta Gold Medallion status. There are quite a few restrictions on the companion pass which makes it hard, plus it requires that you spend money buying a ticket. I way prefer never spending money on delta tickets and just using miles, so I never loved the companion pass. We switched to the Delta Gold card so we could keep the free bags and priority boarding benefits (since we really weren't getting the advantages of the companion pass and delta status) and then got the plain Amex Gold card (not the DELTA GOLD) as our permanent everyday spend card. My annual fee is now much smaller ($250 for delta platinum vs. $110 in annual fees for Delta Gold and Amex Gold- when using the credits on this card) and I am earning WAY more miles this way. Yes earning "status" on delta is much harder this way, and my husband REALLY enjoyed his status on the rare occasion that he got it, but he's willing to sacrifice on his work travel status perks so our whole family can enjoy more travel. If you're actually able to take advantage of the companion pass and earn status and take advantage of that, then the the Delta Platinum is probably a good card for you. I'd just recommend that you still occasionally apply for other credit cards (and only use them temporarily) just to earn the bonuses.
Using Delta Miles Watch for Delta Miles Flash Sales. Follow me on my instagram page (milesfromslc) and I'll let you know of these deals when they come along. Keep in mind 9k miles is the lowest a flight will ever go, if you see something for 9K it's a great deal (typically you can get flights from SLC to California on sale for 9K). I once saw SLC to NYC for 15K (that was awesome!). I have seen SLC to HNL (Hawaii) for 23K, And recently I snagged flights to London for 38K miles (plus $200 in taxes). Don't just book a delta miles ticket the first day you get on the computer, watch the miles price as it will fluctuate just like $ prices do and buy when you see a good deal. Follow me on instagram (milesfromslc) where I often post Delta SkyMiles deals out of SLC airport.
If you are trying to book a lot of tickets using miles, sometime the low price is only good for 2 seats or 4 seats, then they want to charge a lot more for any additional seats you want to buy. If you are booking months in advance, just buy as many seats as they are currently allowing at the good price, then wait and watch for when they release more seats on the same flight for a good price. For example, I was trying to buy 7 tickets to California and had to buy 2 (at a good price), then waited and bought 3 more a month later (at a good price), and a month later finally bought the last 2 tickets. Yes it's a pain but I refuse to waste miles on a bad priced ticket!
If you'd like to apply for a Delta Credit card, please use my referrals if you can't use one from your spouse! If you would like to know how to refer your friends, see this page.
Here are all my credit card referrals - it's your way of thanking me for putting all this information together for you! :)
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