I’ve carried a lot of credit cards over the years (Chase Sapphire Reserve, Built Palladium, AmEx Platinum, Chase Ink, Capital One, Chase United etc), , and most of them have come and gone. The Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card has stayed in my wallet, and it’s earned that spot. It isn’t the cheapest card I own, but it’s the one that makes the most difference on travel days.
Two things keep me loyal. First, Delta Sky Club access, which quietly saves me money every time I’m at the airport. Second, the card grows my SkyMiles balance fast enough that I can actually use them for upgrades instead of letting them sit. If you fly Delta with any regularity, this Amex Delta SkyMiles card deserves a serious look, and here’s why.
Delta Sky Club access saves me real money at the airport
The Sky Club is the reason most people get this card, and it’s the reason I keep it. Every time I walk past the $18 airport sandwich and the $9 coffee and head into the lounge instead, the card is paying for itself a little more. Free food, free drinks, fast Wi-Fi, clean restrooms, and a quiet place to sit before a flight. On a long layover or a delay, that’s worth far more than the snack money.
Here’s how the benefit works today. As a Reserve cardmember, I get 15 Sky Club visits per Medallion year (February 1 through January 31) when flying Delta on a same-day ticket. If I spend $75,000 on the card in a calendar year, the cap goes away and I get unlimited visits through the end of the following Medallion year. A “visit” covers 24 hours from first entry, so a connection through Atlanta or Detroit still counts as one.
To put that in perspective, an individual Sky Club membership runs $695 a year. Dividing the $650 annual fee by 15 visits works out to roughly $43 a visit, and that’s before counting anything else the card does. Once the 15 are used up, I can still buy single-entry passes at $50, which is a nice fallback.
The card also gets me into American Express Centurion Lounges and Escape Lounges when I’m flying Delta that day and booked the flight with the card. That’s a meaningful upgrade at airports where the Centurion Lounge beats the Sky Club. I also get four one-time Sky Club guest passes each year, so I can bring my wife or a travel companion along a few times without paying.
My own rule: I save visits for the trips where they matter. A three-hour international layover or a red-eye departure is worth a visit. A 45-minute domestic connection usually isn’t.
One thing to know: Delta Basic fares don’t qualify for Sky Club entry, even with the card. I book Main Cabin or above when I plan to use the lounge.
Growing my SkyMiles faster
The second reason this Amex Delta SkyMiles card stays in my wallet is that it builds my miles balance quickly on the spending I’m already doing with Delta. The earning rates are simple:
- 3X miles on purchases made directly with Delta (flights, upgrades, in-flight purchases, Delta Vacations)
- 1X miles on everything else
I’ll be honest: the 1X on everyday spending isn’t exciting, and there are other cards that pay more on groceries and dining. But I fly Delta a lot, and every ticket, seat upgrade, and bag fee I pay with this card earns triple. Over a year of regular travel, that adds up to a real chunk of miles without any extra effort.
The card also gives me a 15% discount when I book award travel on Delta flights through delta.com or the Fly Delta app (Delta calls this TakeOff 15). That’s the same as earning 15% more miles on every redemption, which stretches the balance further than the earning rate alone suggests.
And spending on the card does something a flexible points card can’t: it moves me toward Medallion status. I get a $2,500 MQD head start every qualification year just for holding the card, plus $1 MQD for every $10 I spend. Status means better upgrade odds, which brings me to the part I care about most.
Using my miles for upgrades
This is where the card really earns its keep for me. A bigger miles balance is only useful if you spend it well, and my favorite way to spend SkyMiles is on upgrades.
Delta lets me use miles to move up a cabin on many flights, from Main Cabin to Comfort+, or into First Class or Delta One, depending on the route. Because the card feeds my balance with 3X on Delta purchases, I usually have enough miles on hand to upgrade the flights where it matters most: long cross-country legs, international trips, and early-morning departures where a better seat changes the whole day.
The card also sharpens my odds on complimentary upgrades. Reserve cardmembers get upgrade priority over other travelers at the same Medallion tier who bought the same fare. If I’m a Gold Medallion sitting on the upgrade list next to another Gold, the card is the tiebreaker in my favor. Combined with the MQD head start and MQD earning on everyday spend, the card is doing two things at once: helping me hold status, and then moving me up the list within that status.
A few other redemptions I like:
- Short domestic Main Cabin awards, which can start around 5,500 miles before the 15% TakeOff 15 discount
- Delta flash sales on international routes, especially in premium cabins
- SkyTeam partner flights on Air France, KLM, Korean Air, and others, which often price better than Delta’s own long-haul business class
Delta no longer publishes a fixed award chart, so prices move with demand. I check award prices alongside cash prices and use miles when the math favors it, which is often on upgrades and flexible domestic trips.
The perks that quietly add value
Lounge access and miles get the headlines, but a handful of smaller benefits make the annual fee easier to swallow.
| Benefit | What I get |
|---|---|
| Annual companion certificate | A domestic, Caribbean, or Central America round-trip for a companion each year after renewal, good in Main, Comfort+, Premium Select, or First; I pay only taxes and fees ($22 to $250) |
| Free checked bags | First bag free on Delta flights worldwide, second bag free domestically, for me and up to eight others on my reservation |
| Priority boarding | Zone 5 boarding for everyone on the reservation |
| $240 Resy credit | Up to $20 back each month at U.S. Resy restaurants (enrollment required) |
| $120 rideshare credit | Up to $10 back each month on Uber, Lyft, Curb, and Alto (enrollment required) |
| $200 Delta Stays credit | Up to $200 back per year on prepaid hotels booked through Delta Stays |
| Global Entry or TSA PreCheck | Application fee credited back (Global Entry every four years) |
| 20% back in flight | Statement credit on food, drinks, and headphones bought on board |
| No foreign transaction fees | Nothing extra on purchases abroad |
The companion certificate is the one I’d point to first. Because it works on First Class fares, not just Main Cabin, a single well-timed booking can cover most of the annual fee on its own. The checked-bag benefit is the sleeper: at $45 per bag per direction, a family of four checking bags on one round-trip saves $360.
The card also carries the usual premium-card protections: trip cancellation and interruption coverage, trip delay reimbursement, baggage insurance, secondary rental car coverage, and cell phone protection when I pay my phone bill with the card.
Is the $650 annual fee worth it?
For me, yes, and it isn’t close. Here’s the rough math on a typical year:
- 10 to 15 Sky Club visits: easily $400 or more in airport food, drinks, and comfort I’d otherwise pay for or skip
- Companion certificate used on a First Class round-trip: several hundred dollars
- Checked bags on a handful of trips: $200 or more
- Resy, rideshare, and Delta Stays credits: up to $560 if I use them all, and I use most of them
- Global Entry renewal: $120 every four years
The fee is covered before I count a single mile or upgrade.
That said, this card is not for everyone. It makes sense if you:
- Fly Delta several times a year or more
- Live near or connect through a Delta hub (Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston)
- Would actually use the Sky Club 10 or more times a year
- Travel with a companion at least once a year
- Care about Medallion status and upgrades
It probably doesn’t make sense if you fly a mix of airlines, rarely check bags, or want the best earning rate on groceries and dining. In that case, a general travel card or the lower-fee Delta Platinum Amex ($350) is a better fit.
Final thoughts
I’ve kept the Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card through fee increases and benefit changes because the two things I value most, Sky Club access and a fast-growing miles balance I can turn into upgrades, are still there. The lounge saves me money every time I’m at the airport. The miles and upgrade priority make the flights themselves better. The companion certificate and credits pay for the rest.
If you’re a Delta loyalist weighing an Amex Delta SkyMiles card, the Reserve is the one that pays you back for being loyal. Just make sure you’ll actually use the lounge.
Benefits, fees, and earning rates are current as of October 2026 and can change. Enrollment is required for some Amex benefits. Check the card’s terms before applying.
