Credit Cards

American Express Announces Temporary Benefits for Delta, Hilton, and Marriott Co-Branded Cards

With the travel industry still not quite ready to take off in earnest, airlines, hotel brands, and others have had to make adjustments in order to appease their most loyal customers. This not only includes those with elite status but also consumers who hold co-branded credit cards for these companies. That’s why, this week, American Express made good on its promise to unveil temporary perks for cards from Delta, Hilton, and Marriott.

First, several consumer Amex co-branded cards will add dining statement credits. The size of these credits will depend on the card product, but range from $5 to $20 per month for the rest of the year (for a total of up to 11 uses). Notably, these credits are only available for those who were cardholders as of January 1st, 2021 and users will need to opt-into these deals by activating them in Amex Offers. These dining credits break down as such:

Delta:

• Delta SkyMiles Gold: $10 per month
• Delta SkyMiles Platinum: $15 per month
• Delta SkyMiles Reserve: $20 per month

Hilton:

• Hilton Honors: $5 per month
• Hilton Honors Surpass: $10 per month
• Hilton Honors Aspire: $20 per month

Marriott:

• Marriott Bonvoy (note: card no longer available to new members): $10 per month
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant: $20 per month

Meanwhile, instead of a dining credit, select Delta, Hilton, and Marriott American Express business cards will add a monthly statement for eligible U.S. wireless telephone services. This is actually similar to a benefit Amex introduced for certain travel-centric cards last year, although that perk wasn’t managed through Amex Offers as these are. Like with the dining credits, these offers are only available to those who had the included business cards as of January 1st, 2021 and each offer can be used once per month up to 11 times. The U.S. wireless telephone service credits will apply as follows:

Delta:

• Delta SkyMiles Gold Business: $10 per month
• Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business: $15 per month
• Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business: $20 per month

Hilton:

• Hilton Honors American Express Business Card: $10 per month

Marriott:

• Marriott Bonvoy American Express Business Card: $15 per month

In addition to these lucrative Amex Offers, co-branded consumer and business cardholders will also have an opportunity to earn extra points or miles by enrolling in special offers. For example, now through December 31st, 2021,  Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum, and Reserve cardmembers can earn 5X miles on eligible Delta purchases (improved from the typical 2X on the Gold and 3X on the Platinum and Reserve cards). Elsewhere, eligible Hilton Honors American Express card members can earn an extra 10,000 Hilton Honors points for every $5,000 in purchases they make (up to 10 times for a total of 100,000 bonus points) through June 30th, 2021. Finally, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, Marriott Bonvoy Business, and select Marriott Bonvoy cardmembers can earn 7,500 bonus Marriott Bonvoy points for every $7,500 they make in purchases (up to 10 times for a total 75,000 bonus points) through December 31, 2021.

Overall, with many would-be travelers still grounded or stuck at home, these added perks for American Express consumer and business co-branded customers make a lot of sense and will surely help card members get their money’s worth. At the same time, the bonus points and miles offered may also inspire cardholders to begin traveling again as soon as they’re able to safely do so. As for Amex, hopefully this is the last round of limited-time offers of this nature that they’ll need to introduce — but kuddos to them for stepping up for customers during these unprecedented times.

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