Delta AmEx question

[vwrestler171]

If anyone has the Delta American Express Card and can answer some questions for me.

 

I am considering getting the Delta American Express card, since the majority of my flights are through them. Right now they are offering a 60k bonus to sign up.

 

Do those 60k point equal what Delta gives you for their flights? I don't want to get 60k AmEx points only to find out that they are worth less than that when it comes to booking award flights.

 

Those 60k points would pay for flights for my Conquest cruise and the card will save me money on luggage fees. Just don't want any surprises.

[waterbug123]

 

I am considering getting the Delta American Express card, since the majority of my flights are through them. Right now they are offering a 60k bonus to sign up.

 

Do those 60k point equal what Delta gives you for their flights? I don't want to get 60k AmEx points only to find out that they are worth less than that when it comes to booking award flights.

 

Those 60k points would pay for flights for my Conquest cruise and the card will save me money on luggage fees. Just don't want any surprises.

 

I'm confused. If you are getting a Delta Amex, the 60K bonus they are offering would typically be 60K Sky Miles, not 60K Amex points. Are you seeing something different in the offer you received? The Sky Miles bonus you get from the card actually gets deposited into your Sky Miles account, where they are added to, and can be used the same as, miles earned from flying.

[vwrestler171]

I'm confused. If you are getting a Delta Amex, the 60K bonus they are offering would typically be 60K Sky Miles, not 60K Amex points. Are you seeing something different in the offer you received? The Sky Miles bonus you get from the card actually gets deposited into your Sky Miles account, where they are added to, and can be used the same as, miles earned from flying.

 

Perfect, I just wanted to make sure that I was understanding them correctly. Didn't want some kind of surprise.

[texasstar]

If you are planning to use the miles for overseas travel, be sure and book them at the earliest date, I believe 331 days from date of flight. It becomes next to impossible to book an overseas flight without a very high number of miles the closer you get to your departure date.

[frugaltravel]

You don't tell us where you want to fly to. 60K miles is technically enough for a round trip ticket in coach from the USA to Europe. But it can be tough sometimes to find availability unless you have flexibility with your dates.

 

If you are planning to use the miles for overseas travel, be sure and book them at the earliest date, I believe 331 days from date of flight. It becomes next to impossible to book an overseas flight without a very high number of miles the closer you get to your departure date.

 

Not exactly true. It can be hard with Delta ANYTIME to find availability at the lowest award levels. Within 3 weeks it is pretty much impossible to find the lowest award level, since Delta increases the number of miles needed (vs. some airlines like United who add a $75 close-in booking fee). But I have found plenty of low level awards well closer to departure than 330 days. In fact, there was a deal with Delta sometime last summer for business class awards to Europe for 87K miles round trip for flying this winter. I booked about 6 months in advance with a huge variety of available dates. Granted, winter flights to Europe are not the most in demand, but that has nothing to do with booking 330 days in advance.

[vwrestler171]

Not flying anywhere in particular yet, just wanting to make sure I understood everything.

[Ashland]

That's a pretty good deal....We have gotten 50k Sky Miles points when we first signed up for our AMEX DL card...just remember you need to spend a certain amount of $'s in a certain period of time...or at least it was when we signed up.

[vwrestler171]

Yeah, I have 3 months, but I will be purchasing some flights for my family in a cpl weeks so that won't be an issue. 3 months to spend $1k, is easily done.

[Chairsin]

And also remember of the three legacy carriers Delta miles are the hardest to redeem so you may have to work hard and be flexible to use the miles.

[NOLALADY]

I book my boss' travel all the time. She exclusively uses her Delta AmEx and I'm constantly surprised at how easy it is to book using her points and the value of those points. She just went to Europe using points, I booked she and her husband a few weeks before their trip and each of their tickets (round trip), was less than 70,000 points. So I guess what I'm saying is, you could possibly get a r/t ticket to Europe, if you choose that, when you are ready to use your bonus points. Not a bad deal at all! :)

[slidergirl]

And also remember of the three legacy carriers Delta miles are the hardest to redeem so you may have to work hard and be flexible to use the miles.

 

Maybe I'm an exception, but I have never had an issue finding flights that I want at the times I want for a point redemption that I am happy with doing. That includes trips to Europe, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, transcontinentals, since I joined the Delta FF program way back in 1988 or so… You just have to be willing to do some research and due diligence. And, I don't book 331 days out - it can be anytime from 2 weeks to 4 months or so for my successful hunts.

[vwrestler171]

I have my cruises booked pretty far out and I've been keeping an eye on what the flight trends look like. I might just use my 60k to get RT for me and my wife to go to Fort Lauderdale on Conquest, or we might just wait and save for flights and do a 2019 Med cruise.

[fendbass]

I have had this card forever. We have gone to Hawaii 1st Class twice, and I currently have 240k Sky Miles accumulater

 

I usually plan my trip around when I can use the Sky Miles, then fill in my reservations for Rental, car, etc. I won't bother using SkyMiles on short flights, I can put up with regular coach for an hour or two

 

What really irritates me is the yearly AMEX fee. For that reason, after our next Hawaii trip, I will probably drop AMEX

[Loreto]

I have had the Delta platinum AMEX card for a number of years and have been very satisfied. 60,000 miles is a lot better than I got! If you have the platinum card you can use "pay with miles" if you don't have enough and must get creative. I agree booking the earliest is best. I save my miles for business class, and got 2 business class tickets from LAX to AMS at just 125,000 miles each and $195 in tax for our upcoming cruise.

 

Sign up for partner hotels and get more miles. Sometimes I use miles for my husband and pay for my fare so I get more miles. I have never had any trouble redeeming miles, and Delta reps have been helpful.

[alcpa1]

Again, another Delta frequent flyer here with the Platinum cards.

One of the latest "enhancements" is moving from one AMEX card to another. Now you can no longer get those big mileage bonuses when churning cards so choose wisely.

Another benefit of the Platinum Delta AMEX is the companion ticket. Some have found them difficult to redeem on the flight of their choice but may have to settle for second choice. We've never had a problem.

I'd grab that high bonus before it disappears.

[vwrestler171]

I'm taking advantage of it. Dakota has a hub close to home and they are who I fly with most of the time. Be nice to have free checked bags and zone 1 boarding.