metalblaze

While bulk of the FT chatter is about getting rid of DL Amex Reserve or downgrading, curious to see if anyone is considering getting a new Reserve card or upgrading from DL Amex Plat? If so, what are your reasons?

PS. I have only had Amex Business Plat for a number of years.

Goodoldflyer

I think it's time for a new "compare best consumer credit cards" thread.

Daremo999

I know I am considering ditching my DL Reserve because unless they roll out some other benefits for it, its not worth the 695$ annual spend anymore. Might ditch the DL platinum I have also. Was going to wait till the end of the year before making that decision though.

micstatic

I'm keeping the reserve. But dumping about half of my annual spend and shifting it to hilton aspire

ATOBTTR

If you plan to stick with DL and reach status via both MQDs from flying and MQDs from CC spend, it makes sense to upgrade from the DL Platinum to the DL Reserve since you'll get a 10:1 MQD earn rate instead of 20:1 MQD earn rate, making your spend go twice as far as if it was on the DL Platinum.

zeke3

OP: Generally better initial bonus offers if you get a new card vs. upgrade. Only considerations are MQM bonuses and when your companion cert is due, if that’s important to you.

Upgrading keeps the original cert due date. New card will reset the clock. New card will also have a reset MQM bonus. You can also just keep bot cards until bonuses or certain come through, but then you are paying AF on both for a number of months.

findark

I am a happy holder of the card, so I guess I can't get it again

The companion cert pays for the card, and everything else is gravy. It's nice that you can use an exact amount of spend now to hit your target status rather than giant blocks of $25-30k. It's annoying they are cutting the lounge access benefit, but I lived for many years on other carriers without domestic lounge access since they didn't offer it for free on cards.

renfield90

Long time listener, first time caller. I upgraded my DL Amex Plat to a Reserve after reading through all the changes. AF hits in November (and also when my companion cert drops) so it's actually pretty good timing for me.

The plan for 2024 is to enjoy my last year of status, enjoy one last BOGO ticket (hopefully in F), spend $4k on the card to scoop up the 40k mile bonus I was offered, enjoy unlimited SC access, and then product change or cancel the card after 13 months. Then I'll be a free agent in 2025.

The changes make it difficult for me to earn SM without throwing a ton of spend on the Reserve, and basically impossible if I had kept the DL Plat. But I can count the bonus RDMs I'd lose from spending on hotels and restaurants and it's quite large, to say nothing of the opportunity cost compared to something like the Chase trifecta (I already have a Sapphire Preferred and a Freedom Unlimited). If anything, simplifying the Medallion status makes it easier to calculate the opportunity cost.

In theory the companion cert alone pays for the AF but it is a pain to use, and we end up flying to whatever airport we can find qualifying tickets for. I'm over it.

metalblaze

Yeah….this seems to be the only value proposition for DL Reserve especially if one already has an Amex Plat.

That said, 10:1 MQDs is still a tough to swallow…..

nall

If you need the MQM to reach Million Miler status, it might make sense.

AMflier

With AA's schedule pullbacks in NYC and the demise of the North East Alliance with B6, I was contemplating switching my flying and CC to DL .

Considering my flying and spending patterns (AA Plat):
Before 9/14 it was a close call. DL had the edge on flights, AA had an edge on the FF/CC program.
Post 9/14, DL is still better on schedule, but I have no chance at any significant status. My current plan is to renew status on AA which will last until 2/25, drop all airline cards, and become a free agent once again.

GagaPilot

For me, the biggest downside to the DL Reserve was always the poor mileage earning opportunities. You only earn 3x miles on DL purchases, with 1x miles on everything else. The DL Plat Amex additionally earns 3x miles on hotels, 2x at restaurants, and 2x at supermarkets, in addition to the 3x at DL and 1x other purchases. That alone was the main reason I never switched to the Reserve and kept the DL Plat Amex. The Skyclub access was tempting, but now that is severely limited, so until DL makes a new worthwhile benefit on the Reserve, I see no reason to switch to it. Yes, the MQD earnings are basically double the DL Plat, but still pretty meager and not worth the switch in my opinion.

Also, this opinion as always been unpopular, but unless you need a 2nd DL Amex card, I always recommend upgrading rather than closing your existing card and getting a new one. If you close a card, your credit score will take a hit. Especially if your account is old and/or has a high credit limit. To me, protecting one’s credit score is more important than claiming a welcome bonus. If you must open a new card, try and keep your old one too.

cayohueso

You can downgrade your card to a free DL Amex Blue and not ding your credit, that's what I did.

MojoGuru

Keeping the Delta Reserve for the companion pass, 2 guest lounge visits, and free bags. The card will go into the sock drawer, where I used to spend 60K - 90K per year on it.

That spend will now go on Amex Blue Business Plus cards. If I want to transfer miles to Hawaiian and other foreign airlines, no problem.

zeke3

Amex has a hard cap on the number of open credit cards you can have. As long as you are under the cap, downgrading to the no AF version of a card is good advice.