Quick highlights
- Rewards rate: 3X miles on eligible Delta purchases; 1X miles on all other purchases or 1.5X miles on purchases for the rest of the year after spending $150,000 in one calendar year.
- Welcome offer: earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases on your new card in your first 3 months of card membership.
- Annual fee: $550
- Purchase intro APR: N/A
- Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
- Regular APR: 20.99 percent to 29.99 percent variable
Current welcome offer
New cardholders can earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 in their first three months of card membership. This "business as usual" offer is 30,000 miles lower than the card's most recent bonus, a limited time offer that gave you a chance at 100,000 miles after spending $12,000 in purchases in the first six months of card membership. While that's certainly a large drop in value, the new bonus should be much more accessible for the average small-business owner given the lower spending requirement.
Delta SkyMiles aren’t the most valuable miles on the market, but the current bonus carries has a decent value for a business travel card, worth around $840 in Delta travel based on Bankrate’s latest point and mile valuations, which give Delta SkyMiles an estimated average value of 1.2 cents apiece. That said, some general travel card bonus offers may beat out the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business card’s since you can transfer those rewards to multiple airline and hotel partners and potentially boost their value.
Take The Platinum Card® from American Express as an example. This card — priced at $695 per year — offers an 80,000-point bonus after you spend $8,000 in your first six months. We estimate Membership Rewards points can be worth around 2.0 cents each on average when you take advantage of the issuer’s top travel transfer partners (giving this bonus a potential value of around $1,600). Plus, you’ll still have the option to book with Delta since rewards transfer 1:1 from Amex to Delta. While transferring from Amex to Delta might still only get you an average mile value of around 1.2 cents per mile, having the flexibility to book with airlines other than Delta and its partners makes a general Amex travel card much more attractive.
Rewards
The Delta Reserve Business card earns frequent flyer miles mainly on eligible Delta purchases. They aren’t the most flexible rewards in the world, but they definitely suit Delta loyalists.
Earning miles
You’ll earn 3X miles per dollar on eligible Delta purchases, which include flights, seat upgrades and eligible in-flight goods. All other purchases will earn you 1X miles until you spend $150,000 within a calendar year. After you spend $150,000 on your card in a calendar year, you earn 1.5X miles on eligible purchases the rest of the year — an extra half mile per dollar. If your purchase qualifies for a category that has a higher mileage accelerator, only the higher rate will apply (for instance, you’ll earn 3X miles on eligible Delta purchases instead of 1.5X miles).
This is a pretty big requirement for a few more Delta miles, so utilizing the Reserve Business card’s other methods to earn miles can help maximize your spending until you reach that bar. Booking flights with any of Delta’s airline partners will also earn you 3X miles, plus the Delta SkyMiles Dining program can serve you anywhere from 1 mile per $2 up to 5X miles on business meals.
However, combining this spending with the Status Boost benefit will net you a trove of MQMs and unlock this card’s potential. Reaching Delta’s Medallion Status requirements opens the door for 7 to 11 miles per dollar on Delta purchases and the airline’s best travel benefits. MQMs are used to determine Medallion Status and are different from the miles you earn towards flights.Effective 1/1/24, this benefit will no longer be available, and there will be a new way to earn toward Medallion Status with the Card. Learn more.
Redeeming miles
The SkyMiles program’s biggest flaw is how rigid its redemption options are. The best use of your miles by far is to book travel or upgrade your seats.
Although Delta and its SkyTeam alliance partners have over 1,000 destinations with no blackout dates, you can’t fully transfer miles to partner airlines—only book with them through Delta.
The only other uses for miles are for travel experiences, merchandise, magazine subscriptions and gifting miles to another account or charity. Other travel rewards programs, such as American Express Membership Rewards, have more varied options that include cash back and additional travel booking methods.