Recently, Rob and I got the American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles Business credit cards, each with a 60K bonus mile offer, after having exhausted some of our other Delta card options. You see, we had already both had the American Express PLATINUM Delta SkyMiles Cards (remember, we used the miles for free business class flights to Italy) and we both already had the American Express GOLD Delta SkyMiles cards year ago. American Express does not let you get a second sign-up bonus for a card that you have already had at any point in your lifetime-Boo!
Despite this being my third go around with these Delta cards, I have never once used an exclusive benefit of cardmembers when trying to use Delta SkyMiles to book a flight….
Delta SkyMiles offers “Pay With Miles“-You can redeem your miles towards all or part of the price of your Delta tickets. Pay with Miles is an exclusive benefit for card members who have Blue the Gold and Platinum Delta SkyMiles (personal or business) or Delta Reserve Credit Card from American Express.
This benefit allows you to use your miles, starting at 5,000 miles, to discount the price of Delta tickets. Regardless of ticket price, you reduce the cost of their ticket by up to $50 for every 5,000 miles. For example, redeeming 10,000 of your miles takes $100 off your fare, 15,000 miles takes $150 off, 20,000 miles takes $200 off, etc.
This Pay With Miles feature is similar to American Express Membership Rewards “Pay With Points” as well as using Chase Ultimate Rewards to pay for a flight (although you get a better than a 1 cent per point/mile redemption rate with UR points) Also, similarly to these programs, if you do not have enough SkyMiles, you can apply the miles that you do have and pay the remaining fare in money. This paid portion will earn Delta SkyMiles.
If you are trying to use Delta SkyMiles for a flight, it is definitely worth a look to see which method will require less miles-redeeming your miles for a flight versus using pay with miles. I definitely will be making this calculation during the time that Rob and I have these cards.
