Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card Review: Is It a Good Card?

If you’re partial to Delta Air Lines and looking to dip your toe in the airline rewards game, the Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card may seem like a good place to start. That’s because the card lets you earn accelerated rewards on Delta purchases and dining and has a $0 annual fee.

But in all actuality, the card’s modest earning rate and lackluster travel perks make the card mediocre at best — even for an entry-level airline card.

Instead, you may want to consider a higher-tiered Delta card that offers more robust travel benefits and a higher welcome offer, like the Delta SkyMiles^® Gold American Express Card. Or, if you don’t want to limit yourself to Delta Air Lines, a general travel card with a $0 annual fee, like the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, may be a better fit (see rates & fees).

Looking for more options with $0 annual fees? See our list of the best no-annual-fee travel credit cards.

• Annual fee: $0
• Welcome offer: Earn 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
• Rewards rate: Earn 2X Miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases and at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
• APR on purchases: 20.24%-29.24% Variable
• Foreign transaction fee: None
• Other benefits: 20% back on eligible inflight purchases on Delta flights, car rental loss and damage insurance¹, Global Assist® Hotline², Events with Amex™, purchase protection³ and extended warranty⁴
• Credit needed: Good / Excellent

• Easy-to-earn welcome offer

  The Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card lets you earn 2X Miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases and at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases. This means you’ll only have to spend approximately $167 each month for six months to earn the welcome offer, making it obtainable even if you don’t spend heavily on the card.

• Statement credit and flight discount

  You’ll receive up to 20% back as a statement credit on eligible in-flight purchases of food and beverages on Delta-operated flights. Note, this savings does not apply to in-flight wireless internet access.

  Plus, get up to $50 off the cost of your ticket for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you book through delta.com. Redemptions must be made in 5,000-mile increments, and miles will be rounded to the nearest 5,000-mile increment.

  Is Pay with Miles worth it?

  With Pay with Miles, you can generally get $50 in value from each 5,000 miles, making each mile worth approximately 1 cent. However, Delta SkyMiles are generally worth slightly more (1.1 cent each) when redeemed in other ways. You may even be able to cover the cost of a one-way flight with this amount, since Delta awards start at around 5,000 miles.

   

• $0 annual fee

  This is the only Delta SkyMiles credit card with a $0 annual fee. So if you’re loyal to Delta but don’t fly frequently enough to make one of the higher-end cards with a fee worth it, the Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card is ideal.

• No foreign transaction fee

  If you’re planning a trip abroad, know that the Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card has a foreign transaction fee of none. By contrast, some cards charge fees of 3% to 5% of the amount of each transaction when you use it to make purchases outside of the United States.

  Just be aware that American Express is not as widely accepted as Visa and Mastercard in some countries.

  Read more about where American Express credit cards are accepted.

   

• Helpful purchase and travel protections

  Perhaps one of the biggest ways the Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card stands out is its purchase and travel protections. It comes with purchase protection³, extended warranty⁴, car rental loss and damage insurance¹ and the Global Assist Hotline². While it can be rare for a $0-annual-fee card to offer this amount of coverage, it’s pretty on-brand for an American Express card.

• Modest rewards rate

  With this card, you’ll only earn 2X Miles per dollar spent on Delta purchases and at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.

  On the surface, this may appear to be a pretty standard earning rate for an entry-level airline rewards card. But there are travel cards available that offer more valuable rewards and elevated rewards on every purchase you make. For example, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card lets you earn 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. However, you’ll also be subject to a $95 annual fee (see rates & fees).

• Low welcome offer

  The Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card‘s welcome offer is nice in that it has a low spending requirement to earn it, but it also has a relatively low payout. By comparison, the Delta SkyMiles^® Gold American Express Card lets you earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. And the Delta SkyMiles^® Platinum American Express Card lets you earn 90,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $4,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

  But again, unlike the Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card, those cards also charge annual fees.

• Limited airline perks

  While the Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card offers some beneficial travel protections, it comes with limited flight benefits compared to some other airline rewards cards. For example, the card doesn’t offer priority boarding or your first checked bag at no charge.

  If you do want access to more travel perks, you’ll likely have to splurge on an annual fee (at least after the first year). For example, the Delta SkyMiles^® Gold American Express Card offers the first checked bag free, a flight credit and more — all for a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.

Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card vs. Delta SkyMiles^® Gold American Express Card

If you prefer to fly with Delta Air Lines — but don’t fly often enough to justify a steep annual fee — the Delta SkyMiles^® Gold American Express Card is a much better starter card than the Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card. It offers an additional earning category, a higher welcome offer and more travel benefits than the Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card.

You’ll earn 2X Miles on Delta purchases, at U.S. Supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. Also earn 80,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

Along with offering the same benefits as the Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card, the Delta SkyMiles^® Gold American Express Card provides the following:

• Zone 5 priority boarding on Delta flights
• Your first checked bag at no charge on Delta flights
• $200 Delta flight credit after spending $10,000 in a calendar year
• Up to a $100 annual Delta Stays credit on eligible prepaid Delta Stays bookings on delta.com
• 15% off when you book Award Travel with miles on Delta flights via delta.com or the Fly Delta app

The card does charge a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. But the rewards rate and benefits can help make up for the fee after the first year of card membership. For example, the complimentary first checked bag benefit can save you up to $70 on a round-trip Delta fare per person. For a family of four, that can equal up to $280 in savings per round-trip flight.

Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card vs. Delta SkyMiles^® Platinum American Express Card

If you want access to an even higher rewards rate and more premium travel benefits — and you fly enough on Delta Air Lines to justify the $350 annual fee — the Delta SkyMiles^® Platinum American Express Card may be your best bet.

Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels. Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets and earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. Also, earn 90,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $4,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

In addition to the perks provided by the Delta SkyMiles^® Gold American Express Card, this card offers the following valuable benefits:

• Receive $2,500 Medallion® Qualification Dollars each Medallion Qualification each year
• Annual companion certificate on a Main Cabin round-trip flight to select destinations, minus taxes and fees
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit (enrollment required)
• Annual Delta Stays credit, annual Resy credit (enrollment required) and annual rideshare credit (enrollment required)

Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card vs. Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

If you don’t want to be limited to earning elevated rewards on Delta and dining purchases, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is another entry-level travel card worth considering. Similar to the Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card, this card comes with a $0 annual fee, but it also offers accelerated rewards on all purchases.

You’ll earn 1.25 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 5 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. You can also earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel. What sets this card apart is that you can transfer your miles to more than 15 travel loyalty programs, mostly at a rate of 1:1.

Additionally, if you want to finance a trip or another large purchase, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card offers an APR of 0% intro on purchases for 15 months, then a 19.24% - 29.24% (Variable) APR.

If you want to begin earning rewards to help offset the cost of future travel, a no-annual-fee travel card is a great place to start. The Delta SkyMiles^® Blue American Express Card comes with a $0 annual fee and offers accelerated rewards in some popular travel categories. But you stand to get more value from the Delta SkyMiles^® Gold American Express Card — thanks to its welcome offer and travel benefits.

On the other hand, if you’d rather have a general card as your first travel card, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is a good alternative.