Bryan Schmiedeler

I have had the AMEX Platinum Delta Card for 6 months, and am thinking of canceling it. Maybe I should wait until renewal comes up and see if I can get a retention bonus? There don't seem to be many benefits from just having thing card as I am not a very frequent Delta flyer and I already have an AMEX Platinum card.

I was wondering what others thought?

Bryan

steveholt

Obviously, you would be using your AMEX Platinum would give you lounge access whenever you fly DL, so you would use that over paying $25 using the DL Platinum card. Not sure how often "not very frequent" means, but you're paying $150 for a free checked bag, priority boarding, a companion certificate (that might not always be easy to use), and some slightly better availability in searching for domestic low-level awards.

Nobody can tell you whether that's worth $150 to you but you - it depends on how you travel and how frequently you travel with Delta. There's no reason to cancel it after six months - you should hold it until renewal comes up and see what they offer as a retention bonus, knowing what you'll do if they don't offer one.

Bryan Schmiedeler

Great answer. About the companion certificate, do I get that when I first sign up for the card, or after renewal? OK I just checked and it is for renewal, so I won't be eligible until June. I think the best idea is exactly what you said, to put a note in my calendar and call and see what I can get if I don't cancel the card.

Thank you very much for your answer.

kaaria

What was the reason you applied for it in the first place?

plantsma

I've held the Delta Amex Platinum for 6 years. I put all my spending on it and each year I get the 10K MQM boost which has helped to keep me GM over the last 5 or 6 years. I've never ever used a companion certificate from the card, I use it for the SKymiles and the 10KMQM boost. It's even handier now that you can be exempt from MQD if you spend 25K.
I just got a DL Reserve business card and got the 10K sign up bonus for that. I plan to move my spending to the reserve to get the 15K MQM boost for 30K of spending. I called to cancel my Platinum card (I just paid the annual 145 dollar fee this month) and the rep on the phone offered me 15K Sky Miles to keep the card. I told him OK but now I have second thoughts. I can get back most of the 150 annual fee if I cancel now- is 15K Sky Miles really worth it? I don't have enough spend to get a boost on both the Reserve (30K) AND the Platinum (25K). One of them has to go and I think its the Platinum.

FlyingBeanCounter

FWIW I just downgraded my reserve card.

Lounge access was not an issue - I am Diamond and get that automatically. It basically came down to $300 for a companion certificate. That seemed awful silly given how hard it is to use them.

Now, the only reason to keep it is the 25k, safety valve if I happen to miss on the MQD's.

plantsma

For a chronic GM who has to scramble each year to make GM as well as the 25K spending boost with its 10K MQM which for me are always sorely needed to maintain GM, the Reserve card makes perfect sense. If you switch between business and personal each year, you can get half way to Gold with just a 10K signup and one 15K MQM boost for 30K spending, and you are immune from MQM and have lounge access and improved award availability and upgrade juice. It's a no brainer for me. ^

gooselee

Sometimes it feels like I'm in the FT minority, but I find the DL Plat Amex companion certificates pretty easy to use. Perhaps it's because I use them with my wife on leisure travel, where we're planning in advance and have at least a little flexibility (even then, I've always been able to get the exact days I want, and within 2-3 hours of the exact flight times we're looking for). And we get quite a bit more than $150 value out of the cert.

That said, it sounds like if you don't care about the MQMs, then the companion cert would still be a keeping point. If you are planning to cancel, your choice is to cancel now and get ~$75 in AF back and no certificate, or to wait until renewal, pay the new AF, get the companion certificate, then quickly cancel after the cert hits your DL account. Amex will refund the 2nd year's AF (or at least most of it), netting you one companion certificate for ~$150 in AF paid.

Bryan Schmiedeler

I applied for the card for the sign up bonus and because I was scheduled to take a Delta flight.

We have a lot of spend every year and I am interested in trying to use my spend to get status on an airline. It seems it might be easiest on Delta, although I do fly AA more often than Delta.

Bryan

QUOTE=kaaria;22007613]What was the reason you applied for it in the first place?[/QUOTE]

MSPeconomist

With a DL AmEx card, you can do pay with miles on almost any DL ticket at about one cent per mile, up to rounding. So you can easily get a minimum of $150 in savings for those 15,000 miles. Of course they can be worth much more if used wisely toward an award ticket.

SkyTeam777

Anyone ever been offered the 15k miles and a waived $150 fee? That would be ideal, but wondering if it is asking too much. I am planning to cancel either my DL Amex Plat or DL Amex Biz card...no sense in keeping both.

woody125

I cancelled the DL Amex Plat Biz card 8 minutes ago and was not offered any retention bonus, fee free year or FF miles. That kinda surprised me but I only had it for 6 months and charged less than $10k on it. When I signed up in the spring I got in on the 55k offer which is in this forum somewhere. You're right. No reason to have two. With the personal DL Plat AMEX and the AMEX Business Plat I'm good on the AMEX products for now. SPG Biz AMEX seems to be in my future though....

lovecabo

Like one of the previous posters I also have no problem using the companion upgrade, just got back last month from a ATL-PDX trip with my wife. The new crown jewel of the DL Amex is the waiver of the MQ$. I always get to the $25K spend each year, and almost made the $50K mark this year, and that's without my company travel (which has to go on a corporate AMEX).

SkyTeam777

I was just told the fee cannot be waived on this card...never heard that before. Have had it for ten years almost and no retention bonus offered either. Strange.

MSPeconomist

Maybe AmEx realizes that the $25K MQD waiver makes the DL AmEx cards more valuable now, or that if someone is cancelling a DL AmEx card but has another one, they're still likely to spend the $25,000 next year.