The Delta Gold Skymiles card seems to made for people who fly Delta, but not enough to earn Silver status -- free bag, (semi) priority boarding.

If someone is putting $25,000 on the Platinum version of the card, then the MQM bonus is worth the $150 annual fee over the $95 Gold Delta Amex. The problem is that both of these cards are unattractive to someone with status for all the reasons the OP gives. There is only one good reason to hold either of these cards: the $25,000 annual cc spend waiver in lieu of spending $12,500 MQD's.

Wife and I both recently got separate Delta Platinum Skymiles card accounts. I think of it as a bit of foul medicine to continue the status chase on Delta