Using Delta Gold CC outside of delta.com
 

Couldn't find anything in the searches here. I recently applied for a Delta Gold CC and will be using it soon. Will booking the tickets from another travel website (Expedia, Travelocity, etc.) void any of the benefits that the card comes with? I read the Delta website and as far as I can tell, the main thing I need to do is provide my Skymiles account number on the ticket (during reservation or online check-in).

Thanks.

Your Amex card is associated with your SkyMiles number/account. The benefits are given no matter what form of payment is used to purchase your ticket - the benefits accrue to you through the SkyMiles number associated with your reservation.

You can add your SkyMiles number to an existing reservation at DL.com if you didn't do this when the ticket is purchased. You can double check on DL.com to verify that your correct SkyMiles number is associated with your existing reservation. I wouldn't wait until flight check-in to do this.

One question would be double miles for Delta purchases. Don't know if you get this when booking DL flights through third party sites; happy to be corrected though.

No, SOME benefits such as baggage allowance are extended while others are not. javabytes brought up a fine example: double miles will not be awarded. One of the reasons why I cancelled the card was the subpar mileage yield when using the card outside of DL playground (though even some DL-internal sales such as on-board duty free will not yield double miles).

I honestly don't know who really gets a monetary benefit out of that card: the bags. Unless you're travelling only like once a year with your whole family having a bag to check, nothing is really worth the fee. After 2/3 trips, you'll be FO anyway.

Lesson learned on this one. Just recently booked a flight through Travelocity instead of Delta.

So does everyone who uses Delta book through delta.com then or are there some other tricks I'm missing out on? If the card's purpose is to only earn double points (since I get the benefits already by default when it's linked to my Delta account), I might as well use other cards that earn more than 1 point for airfare and are worth more than the Delta points I assume.

I signed up for this card to get me started with the Delta bonus signup points and an upcoming trip for two families. I have a feeling there will be at least a few out of the 7 people checking bags in. So this will save them so check-in baggage fees. My plan is to keep this card until like 10 months maybe and then cancel and go with the AMEX Platinum. My company will cover a huge chunk of the annual fee and I don't see myself needing a luggage to check-in during my business travels. Plus I'll have the $200 incidentals to use on Delta if needed.

Hopefully I won't raise too many red flags with AMEX. I already signed up for the HHonors Hilton and Delta Gold cards. Got denied on SPG card and was told to check my mail in 10 business days for reason. Tried calling early and the customer rep was not exactly that friendly and basically shut me down asking me to wait for the letter. Nothing after two weeks so I called today and was told they will have my application processed again. I had too many applications with them in a short period (first two were done within a day apart but still made me call). SPG was after about 2 weeks into my last card. I already started using these cards so it's not like I'm just going for the bonus points on these cards. Although I probably should if possible with AMEX.

Are you traveling with them? They WON'T get the baggage bennies unless you are traveling on the same PNR.

Depends on how the OTA charges the ticket. The one time I bought a ticket (TATL) through Orbitz because DL.dumb would not give me the flights I wanted even though I knew the inventory was there, there were two charges on my card: one from DL that posted just like if I booked on DL.dumb and one from Orbitz. I didn't use a DL AmEx for that, but I believe that the charge would have gotten double miles.

Your perspective as a frequent TATL flyer is different to the typical person they're targeting for the gold card. I have friends who fly a few times a year within the US48 with their two small children, but neither parent flies enough to get anywhere near silver. When you consider that checking two bags for a family of four each direction on one round trip is worth $100, if you do a couple of trips like that, you're ahead.

Yes, I will be traveling with them. I will make sure I book everyone in one reservation so they can each get one bag checked for free if needed.

Aside from the points, the reason I got this card was to prepare for this two family trip. I'm sure it will more than make up for the annual fee in this case. Eventually, my plan is to switch cards. Just waiting to see where my next contract takes me. I can't go with the AMEX Platinum (company won't help with reimbursing the high annual fee) unless I fly out of state for my job.