tlechem

I anticipate flying round trip from LAX to SLC close to every weekend (if not every other weekend) for a little over a year, and I imagine many of those flights will be Delta (hub in SLC and they currently offer flights that are in my desired times for take-off). I'm assuming getting a credit card that has travel benefits is helpful, but my needs are pretty basic. I am purely looking to save money. I'll be flying with a carry on only. I don't care about lounges, being able to check a bag or any sort of perks other than finding a way to save money on the many flights I will be booking.

That said, I'm not super experienced with credit cards (I've had two basic credit cards for the last 5 years, credit score is ~780), and this would be my first time getting a credit card with the intent to save money on travel. Do I go with a general credit card geared towards travel like Chase Sapphire Preferred? Or do I go with a dedicated delta amex card since most of my flights will be with delta?

Again, my only objective is to save money on tickets in the long run, so perks to make the flying experience "elevated" really don't matter to me. Any suggestions would be great!

TheMadBrewer

Credit cards aren't going to save you money (directly) on tickets. A Delta branded Amex card will give you a free bag and a bit earlier boarding (both of which you can pay for). Higher level cards DL Platinum and DL Reserve give you a BOGO certificate on your anniversary (Y for DL Plat, Y or F for Reserve). Some of the Delta branded cards let you spend SkyMiles to lower ticket cost -- at a penny a SkyMile (usually not a good rate but sometimes it works). I think the minimum is 5,000 miles -- which would get you $50 off. If you get a good signup bonus then you could use the SM to pay down some tickets.

The Chase Safire Reserve has an annual $300 travel credit. I don't hold that one but I understand it works on any travel, including tickets. So with a $550 fee you just need to find $250 in value to make it worthwhile (points can be redeemed for 1.5cents when buy tickets thru Chase) So if you put $20K a year on the card you could shave another $300 of ticket prices. Plus whatever signup bonus you can wrangle.

dbuckho

I know you said you don’t care about the lounge and travel experience, and putting the spend on a CSP will probably give you a more usable return currency vs earning Skypesos. But I would probably also get the DL Amex Reserve or maybe an Amex Plat in your situation just to have a nicer place to use the loo, even if I paid for the flights with another card. Plus the signup bonus might cover a couple LAX-SLC trips. And maybe you put the ticket spend on it too depending on what you want to use your overall Skymiles balance for.

You are likely to run into IROPS traveling that frequently - so don’t underestimate the lounge access.

if cost savings is really the driver NK (for now) and WN are on the route too, though certainly with less frequency. WN may not be really cheaper these days but in my opinion much easier to calculate your rebate value with Rapid Rewards + spend on the WN Visa (including several bonuses they run) vs DL miles and one of these cc options. As the others alluded to you need to think of the credit card as additional rebate on the spend in the form of earned currency vs. saving money up front.

Other option is get a Costco credit card and stock up when they sell airline gift cards.

MSPeconomist

If you purchase tickets with certain DL AmEx credit cards, you get two additional RDMs per dollar spent which would increase your implicit discount from 5% to 7% without status (suing the pay with miles rate of one mile equals one cent).

NOLAnwGOLD

An AMEX platinum (not Delta branded) would be helpful as you get 5x points (i value at 5% rebate) fir airline miles plus gets you SkyClub access at both ends with brand new facilities. If you have changes, the lounge is key in getting rebooked effectively as possible. Morgan Stanley has a complicated but free way of getting the annual fee rebated too.

And earn status!

SSF556

You will care about lounge access when your return flights get cancelled.

Tedgrrrr

Also Re lounge access if you anticipate buying coffee, soda, water or lunch or really anything food related at the airport, the lounge access can pay for itself quickly. The food at SLC skyclub is wonderful… and LA isn’t bad.

also if you get Amex delta reserve or delta platinum the bonus miles you get for signing up and spending a few thousand will offset or more than offset the annual fee…

And look at all the benefits of Amex platinum (not delta one) - 5% rebate on flights, Uber credit, digital media credit, $200 annual fee, travel insurance etc etc… + lounge etc

angetenar

Keep in mind that 7 (!) airlines fly LAX-SLC: Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, Spirit, Southwest, and United. If you want to save money, there's a lot of choice on this route.

Tedgrrrr

good point - if OP really doesn’t care about any benefits or lounge at all he is probably just better off booking whatever is cheaper/convenient any given day and to always book one way flights - though I guess then he may not have meaningful miles to redeem with any single airline

noah

Honestly, I'd seriously consider Southwest if I were you. They will offer you a lot more flexibility, and with that many trips you'll earn top tier status a lot sooner than you would on Delta.

angetenar

Another thought: LAX is a hot mess. You can probably fly Southwest from BUR for a much less stressful experience. If you want to fly through LAX, then if you fly Southwest/Delta from LAX to SLC and United from SLC to LAX, you can optimize your entry/exit through the central terminal area.

ryw

Depending on where you're going on the LA side of things, it might be worth considering flying in/out of alternate LA airports beyond LAX - especially if you're parking, but they can also provide good alternatives if you have a SLC-LAX flight that gets delayed or cancelled.

From SLC, Delta serves all the major LA airports - LAX, Burbank (BUR), Orange County (SNA), Long Beach (LGB), and Ontario (ONT).
It might be worth considering Southwest too, which serves LAX, BUR, and SNA from SLC.

I think a question to consider here is how much you want to lock yourself into Delta flights vs. being a free agent, especially if you're not seeking status (although I'll note Southwest still offers a path to status based on number of flights (25) without a spend requirement. No lounges, but you do get earlier boarding benefits and free same day changes/standby which could be useful if they have enough daily flight frequencies for you). And that might help you consider a Delta branded card vs. a travel card with transferable points.

formeraa

Based on the comment that Alaska, American, and JetBlue all fly LAX-SLC, you may want to consider that you can get AA miles on all three carriers. So, you could select the one that is cheapest or most convenient of those three carriers. With frequent travels, lounge access does become a consideration with inevitable delays and assistance with rebooking any delayed/canceled flights.

phongn

I flew SFO-ORD every other week on AA for 1.5 years; lounge access is awfully convenient just to sit down and relax a bit before your flight, and of course during IRROPS. Flying that much will almost certainly get you status and that can help too if you ever have to call in for some reason.

That said, do consider other airlines and see if their schedules fit.

asar

I'd go for the Amex Plat:

- Lounge access at SLC if flying Delta and at LAX in that scenario and some others
- 7.5% return on tickets with the 5x bonus
- OP can choose which airline to fly based on whatever's cheapest / best for schedule that weekend and they all will have some benefit

Transferrable points are certainly more valuable than just Delta ones.