If your small business always has you traveling to meet clients, lock in new deals, or connect with your suppliers, you’d benefit from putting those travel expenses on a travel rewards business credit card—that’s a no-brainer.
But figuring out which travel rewards business credit card is right for you isn’t always so simple. With some credit cards tailored to specific airlines, and some connected to specific hotels and resorts, you should think through exactly what you need from a travel rewards card.
Today, we’re looking at 3 business credit cards that are perfect for small business owners who are Delta loyalists.
That’s right—if you’re someone who’s always booking flights on Delta for business travel, then you need one of the Delta business credit cards. Here’s what you need to know about all of them.
Delta Business Credit Cards: The Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card
American Express offers 3 Delta business credit cards. The first one we’ll run through is the Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card.
What does this Delta business credit card have to offer?
Gold Delta SkyMiles: The Basics
The Gold Delta SkyMiles card is a bonus rewards card that offers SkyMiles every time you swipe this business credit card. That means that you’ll earn direct miles on Delta flights when you spend on this card.
Here’s how you’ll earn on the card:
- Earn 2 miles on every dollar spent on purchases made directly with Delta.
- Earn 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
You can use those miles that you rack up on your Gold Delta SkyMiles for not just Delta flights—but also towards seat upgrades, car rentals, merchandise, gift cards, and so on. And you won’t have to worry about redeeming those miles before they’re out of your grasp—miles don’t expire on the Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card.
Plus, when you sign up for the Gold Delta SkyMiles card, you can get a welcome bonus: Earn 30,000 bonus miles once you’ve spent $1,000 in purchases on the new card after the first 3 months of owning it. And once you’ve just made your first purchase on the card in 3 months, you’ll be credited $50 to your account statement.
Gold Delta SkyMiles: Rates and Fees
All of the Delta business credit cards come with annual fees, but the Gold Delta SkyMiles card comes with the lowest annual fee.
For the first year, your annual fee will be $0, but it’s $95 thereafter. And depending on your creditworthiness when you apply, you’ll have a variable APR of 15.49%, 17.49%, or 19.49% on the Gold Delta SkyMiles card.
But the good news is this: You won’t have to pay a foreign transaction fee on this business credit card. Which, for frequent overseas business travelers, is a major perk to using the Delta business credit cards.
Gold Delta SkyMiles: 5 Travel Perks You Need to Know
Along with a pretty great miles-per-dollar rewards earning rate, the Gold Delta SkyMiles business credit card comes with some hard-to-ignore travel perks.
Here’s the list of travel perks that you’ll benefit from as a Gold Delta SkyMiles cardmember:
- Priority Boarding. As a Gold Delta SkyMiles member, you’ll get priority boarding on any Delta flight. You can walk right up to Zone 1 priority to get to your seat sooner.
- 20% In-Flight Savings. When you’re on a Delta flight, you can enjoy a 20% statement credit on in-flight purchases when you use your Gold Delta SkyMiles card.
- First Checked Bag Free. As a Gold Delta SkyMiles member, you can always check your first bag for free. That’s an easy $50 savings when you check baggage on a round-trip Delta flight.
- Delta Sky Club. With the Gold Delta SkyMiles card, you get discounted Delta Sky Club access for you and up to 2 guests when you’re traveling on a Delta flight.
- Medallion Qualification Dollar (MQD) Waiver. Delta offers what’s called the “SkyMiles Medallion Program.” As a member of this program, you’re rewarded for your loyalty to Delta with added levels of service, exclusivity, and rewards. To be a part of this program, you usually need to pay a MCD requirement in order to qualify for the perks and rewards. But as a Gold Delta SkyMiles card holder, that fee will be waived if you spend at least $25,000 in eligible purchases in the year you sign up for the MQD program.
The Bottom Line on the Gold Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card
While no one likes to stomach an annual fee on a business credit card, the Gold Delta SkyMiles card has the easiest to handle of the Delta business credit cards available.
If you really think about it, that $95 annual fee will be pretty easy to make up for. If you take two business trips with round-trip flights and check your bags both ways, you’ve saved $100 in baggage fees that you would’ve had to pay. And if it’s not the baggage check that makes up for the annual fee, it will definitely be that sizable 2x miles rewards rate on the Gold Delta SkyMiles card.
When it comes down to it, the Gold Delta SkyMiles card is one of the best Delta business credit cards for Delta loyalists.
Delta Business Credit Cards: The Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card
Next up on the list of Delta business credit cards is the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card.
As you might guess, the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card is one step up from the Gold Delta SkyMiles card—and it works a little differently than the other Delta business credit cards.
Platinum Delta SkyMiles: The Basics
Like the other Delta business credit cards, the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card is also a bonus rewards card—dishing out SkyMiles when you spend on the card. But you also earn Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) when you use this business credit card, too.
The Platinum Delta SkyMiles card earns basic Delta SkyMiles just as the Gold Delta SkyMiles card does: You’ll earn 2 miles for every $1 spent on purchases with Delta, and 1 mile for every $1 spent on other eligible purchases. Don’t worry, these miles also don’t expire, and you can use them on more than just flights for your business travels.
But you’ll also get an Annual MilesBoost with the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card. And when it comes to bonus reward upgrades, the MilesBoost is pretty substantial: Once you spend $25,000 on the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card, you earn 10,000 bonus miles and 10,000 MQMs each calendar year. And if you end up spending double that—or $50,000 on the card—you’ll get another 10,000 bonus miles and 10,000 MQMs each calendar year.
And that’s not even the welcome bonus. When you sign up for the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card for the first time, you’ll be welcomed with 5,000 MQMs and 35,000 bonus miles once you’ve spent $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months. And on top of that, you’ll earn a $100 statement credit when you’ve completed your first purchase in the first 3 months.
Phew—the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card comes with a lot of bonus miles for Delta loyalists. There’s no other way to put it.
Platinum Delta SkyMiles: Rates and Fees
Just as the Platinum Delta SkyMiles helps you earn more on your business travels, it’ll charge a little bit more for an annual fee, too.
The Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card comes with a $195 annual fee. And as for variable APRs, it’s the same deal as the Gold Delta SkyMiles card: 15.49%, 17.49%, or 19.49% depending on your creditworthiness.
But just like the other Delta business credit cards, the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card doesn’t come with a foreign transaction fee.
Platinum Delta SkyMiles: 6 Travel Perks You Need to Know
The Platinum Delta SkyMiles card is hands-down the best travel perks card of all the Delta business credit cards.
It comes with all the perks of the Gold Delta SkyMiles card and then some.
Here’s what to expect:
- Priority Boarding. Settle into your seat sooner with priority boarding for Platinum Delta SkyMiles card holders.
- 20% In-Flight Savings. You’ll still get that 20% discount on in-flight purchases as a Platinum Delta SkyMiles cardmember.
- First Checked Bag Free. You guessed it—you’ll also get your first checked bag free on Delta flights with the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card.
- Delta Sky Club. With the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card, you get discounted Delta Sky Club access for you and 2 guests.
- Medallion Qualification Dollar Waiver. No surprises here—with the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card, your MQD requirement gets waived when you make at least $25,000 in purchases in that year on the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card.
- Companion Certificate. When you have the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card, receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year you renew your card.
The Bottom Line on the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card
The Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card does have a higher annual fee than its Gold counterpart, but that’s to be expected—you earn a lot more SkyMiles for Delta purchases with the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card. And if you consider that Companion Certificate, you can easily make up the $195 annual fee by getting a free Delta flight each year.
When it really comes down to it, if you have the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card, you have all the perks of the Gold Delta SkyMiles card—plus more MQMs to get you to the next level of elite Medallion status with Delta.
Delta Business Credit Cards: The Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card
The third Delta business credit card that you need to know is the Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card.
Like the Platinum Delta SkyMiles business credit card, this credit card helps you earn bonus miles and accelerates your Delta Medallion Status.
Delta Reserve for Business: The Basics
With the Delta Reserve for Business, you get the same rewards rate as you do on the other two Delta business credit cards: You earn 2 miles on every dollar spent on purchases with Delta, and 1 mile on every dollar spent on purchases elsewhere.
And with the Delta Reserve for Business, you also get a MilesBoost like you do with the Platinum Delta SkyMiles. Earn 15,000 MQMs and 15,000 bonus miles after you’ve spent $30,000 on purchases on the Delta Reserve. And if you spend $60,000 in a calendar year, you’ll earn 15,000 more MQMs and 15,000 more bonus miles. So with the Delta Reserve for Business, you get a bigger boost, but you’ll have to spend more to earn it.
The Bottom Line on the Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card
When you sign up for the Delta Reserve for business, you get all the perks of the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card—priority boarding, 20% in-flight savings, free checked baggage, companion airfare, and so on.
But in order to get all these things—and the added MilesBoost—you have to pay a $450 annual fee.
For certain business credit cards, paying a $450 annual fee is absolutely worth it. Take for instance, the Enhanced Business Platinum Card from American Express. This travel rewards business credit card comes with a $450 annual fee, but it’s probably the most rewarding travel business credit card on the market.
So, with only an 5,000 MQMs and bonus miles extra boost, the same perks, and a much steeper annual fee with the Delta Reserve, it might be a better move to go with the Platinum Delta SkyMiles.
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Now that you have all three Delta business credit cards laid out on the table, do you think any of them are right for you?
For Delta loyalists, any three of the Delta business credit cards are no-brainers.
So what are you waiting for?
The post A Side-by-Side of Comparison of the Delta Business Credit Cards appeared first on Fundera Ledger.
from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/delta-business-credit-cards
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