Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Review
The Delta SkyMiles Reserve American Express Card delivers top tier Delta benefits, but the hefty costs to maximize it exclude many cardholders.
Steven Dashiell is a former editor for Bankrate.com with expertise in rewards credit cards, financial literacy, and helping consumers build and maintain their credit. He has more than 5 years of experience in personal finance with an affinity for rewards, credit card perks and helping consumers make the most of their card choices.
Steve’s writing and expertise has appeared in outlets, such as U.S. News & World Report, CBS, Fox Business, Time, Forbes and NASDAQ. When not writing about credit cards, Steve nerds out on birds, paints landscapes and life scenes, fiddles around on bass guitar and takes names in Street Fighter.
Steve made the common mistake of accepting a credit card offer he received in the mail right after graduating high school. He promptly maxed it out on a vacation and made only minimum payments on the balance, which is a textbook example of what you shouldn’t do. This, predictably, tanked his credit score. Years later, and after much work, Steve’s credit score now rests squarely in the “excellent” tier.
“I started writing about credit cards, largely due to my horrible experience fresh out of high school. I had no clue what I was doing with my credit card and they don’t exactly come with a best practices guide. I hope to educate people in a similar position to make better decisions about their credit card use and help protect their financial health for the future.”
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I started writing about credit cards largely due to my horrible experience fresh out of high school. I had no clue what I was doing with my credit card and they don’t exactly come with a best practices guide. I aim to educate people in a similar position to make better decisions about their credit card use and help protect their financial health for the future.
— Steve Dashiell
The Mastercard Titanium Card comes with a steep annual fee and not enough rewards to justify it.
Other student and secured cards are probably better options in order to avoid the limited rewards and slew of fees buried in this card’s terms.
The Petal 2 Visa Credit Card allows cardholders to build credit while earning cash back along the way.
It’s worth considering the Quicksilver Secured if you want a low-cost way to boost your credit score while earning cash back with no annual fee.
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Firstcard® Secured Credit Builder Card with Cashback offers an accessible start to credit building.
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