Delta Sky Miles Card ?

[Spectro is #1]

Thinking of getting an AMEX Delta Sky Miles card to help with airfare. If you have one, is it worth it. Do you get anything out of it or are the limits set at an unreachable level. Any help on how the program works would be gratefully appreciated.

 

[Beckles]

The big advantage of the AMEX Delta SkyMiles card (which is one of the (too) many cards I have in my wallet) is that you get 2 miles per dollar on groceries, gas, drugstores, home improvement stores, and a few other places. For the typical family (if your grocery store takes AMEX), this can add up pretty quickly if you use it everywhere you can. You also get 1.5 miles/dollar on Delta tickets purchased (for the basic card, 2 for the Gold and Platinum card).

The downside with this credit card is that it does have an annual fee, but I think the basic card is only $30/year or so, which should be worth it.

 

[GoldenOldie]

All airline branded cards have annual fees. The basic SkyMiles card is $55 per year. But one great advantage to the SkyMiles basic card as opposed to a basic branded MasterCard or Visa is that the SkyMiles includes the car rental coverage. Basic MC & Visa do not.

I think the biggest drawback of the card is the fact that Amex cards are not as widely accepted as MC & Visa. However I don't consider this an unworthy hindrance.

Keep in mind that under most people's circumstances it will take you a year or two to reach the 25,000 miles level.

 

[Kelly&John]

I have an American Express Delta Airlines SkyMiles card. I do not have any annual fee. However, I receive only 50 cents per dollar spent air credit. In other words if I spend $200 this month, I get 100 SkyMiles credited to my account.

It takes a while but no annual fee is nice. Hope this helps.

Kelly

 

[pnelson]

I don't know what the above poster meant when he said SkyMiles includes rental coverage???? I have a SkyMiles card. My annual fee is a shocking $85!!!! Does anyone know if you can use your accumulated miles as a discount??? For example, if I don't have enough miles for a full airfare, can I use what miles I do have for a discounted ticket?? Any other discounts or tickets that I don't know about?

 

[RONfromRI]

We fly Delta almost all the time but after some research, I decided to go with the MilesOne VISA from Capital One. As with the Delta card, you get 1 mile per dollar (unless you go with the gold plan that has an $80 annual fee). The yearly fee is only $19.00 but there are 3 bigger advantages. 1) you can use it for any airline, 2) There are no blackout dates and 3) if you live anywher in the eastern part of the country, you only need 18,000 points for a round trip ticket to Florida instead of 25,000. Good luck with your decision.

 

[GoldenOldie]

Kelly&John:

You have the Skymiles Options Card. It's really "Amex SkyMiles Light" so to speak. The benefits are greatly reduced. That's why you only get 1/2 credit on mileage and not much else. There is no annual fee for this card. For most people looking to accrue mileage this card is the worst option (read: slowest way).

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pnelson:

You have the Gold SkyMiles card. It includes car rental insurance:

Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance
Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance offers security when you rent a car with an eligible card. Simply use the eligible Card to reserve and pay for the rental, and decline the collision damage waiver usually offered by the car rental company.

The car rental insurance is included FREE when using the basic, Gold or Platinum SkyMiles card for the rental.

Don't know about using miles for discounts on Delta.

 

[scrappinmom_2000]

In response to GoldenOldie's question about reaching the 25k mile level: we've charged that much since November. (Before that sounds really goofy - I often charge things for my company & get reimbursed). It's easier for us to write a single check on the 30th for an entire month's expenses. On my card, I think I'm supposed to get an "extra" 10k miles next month because I charged $25k within the first year. We get frequent flyer tickets for our family a couple times a year.

for pnelson: you can use accumulated miles towards a discounted ticket, but I'm only aware of how it works for an upgrade to first class. I inquired this week about flying my family to Orlando from California. I don't have enough miles (left) to cover all the first class tickets. I can pay $800 for each first class seat & use 20k miles per person to cover the rest. These seats are normally $2800 each. When you're flying from a location that takes all darned day to get there, it's something to consider. Delta's ff website pretty much covers your options.

Keep in mind the downside of any airline's frequent flyer awards (not just Delta's): not all flights or all dates are available. If you call way far in advance, you will have more options. We went to Orlando in early January & I was not able to get first class upgrades when I called in August. I did get coach seats which were later, (unpredictably) reduced to $238 each, in late December. My rule of thumb is I don't spring for ff seats when I'm watching the airfares & are priced at less than $300.

 

[miknmin81]

We used our Skymile card to buy at WLV. Buy the points get a flight (almost).

 

[idontknow]

BE CAREFUL!!!!!

AMEX called me after I signed up for skymiles on the delta site. I had been researching AMEX mile cards for a while so I took them up on their offer. They said that they would wave the yearly fee for the first year, and then it was only $55 a year.

They DID NOT inform me that I had to make $20,000 a year at my job!!!!!! They even asked me how much I make over the phone. (I told the very nice rep that I would not give her any "important" info like my SS number or the like and she said that was fine) I even put DH's info down as the co-applicant. He makes A LOT more than 20k a year and they still declined me because of MY income! I was furious, as you can tell. LOL I now have a mark on my credit report because they did not tell me the little fact about the 20k. I wrote them an email from their website telling them I was not happy. The person that responded wrote a VERY nice email to me saying they were sorry that I was not informed before I agreed to apply. I was also given a number to call to see what they can do for me. I have not had time to call yet, but I will this week. (too much time on these boards )

I just wanted to let you know about the annual income thingy if it matters.

 

[BobH]

I have been using a Citibank Mastercard. I think your main concerns in choosing any card should be the annual fees and what airlines give you the best service to your destinations. I have been using the Citibank Master Card which is linked to American Airlines and have had good success. I have earned about 8 tickets in 3 years. However, you always have to consider the annual fee as if you have paid for part of your ticket. A $55 per year card means you really paid $55 for your first ticket. If you don't pay your balance monthly you also can eat up the price of a ticket real quick. The key to making it work is to use the airlmiles on the most expensive tickets you can buy. And to try to get free a free ticket at least every year. If it takes you 2 years to build up miles than you really paid $110 for the airline ticket because the card cost you that much. It only works for my family because I run my kids college tuition through the card and put everything I can on it. I am careful to pay the balance monthly with either a home equity loan (for some of the college debt) or other income. I don't see any one card as any cheaper or better than another. I think you should pick the card based on whether a particular airline has good service to the airportsw you desire. Delta uses American Express, American airlines uses Citibank Mastercard. US Air uses another Mastercard sponsor.

 

[thinkerbell]

We just started using the Am Ex card about 5 months ago. We are having NO trouble racking up the miles. We use our card EVERYWHERE that takes it. We buy groceries, pay for gas, pay for meals out, etc. and then just pay it all off when the statement comes in. It is much easier than we thought.