A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,404
Where are you based?
In the USA, the cheaper DL AmEx credit cards (probably free first year with some bonus DL miles) give a free checked bag and relatively early boarding, but not all of DL's lowest tier benefits.
To get enough DL status miles for instant elite status, you would not only need one of the more expensive cards, but also have to meet some spend thresholds. The timing might not be realistic.
SkyTeam Elite doesn't provide many benefits. For ElitePlus (50,000 status miles on DL and some but not all SkyTeam partner FF programs), you would need either an extraordinary sign up bonus and lots of spending on one of the more expensive DL AmEx cards or two (personal and business) cards at twice the fees while still meeting some spending thresholds.
To summarize, I don't think instant Elite or ElitePlus is realistic, but there might be other ways to get the elite benefits you want. What are you trying to accomplish? Note that if your travel is long haul business class, status will not noticeably improve your traveling experience, but it might help in IROPs.
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