Credit Cards

Delta Adds “TakeOff 15” Award Travel Perk to Co-Branded Cards

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Delta and American Express are introducing a new benefit for co-branded card customers. Effective today, a feature called “TakeOff 15” has been added to nearly all of Delta’s co-branded American Express cards. The new perk is now available to Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum, and Reserve personal and business card customers — leaving out only the no-annual-fee Delta SkyMiles Blue card.

With this new benefit, primary cardholders will be able to automatically save 15% when booking award travel on Delta. In other words, Delta credit card customers who redeem their SkyMiles for flights will spend fewer miles for most flights. However, this offer does not apply to flights operated by partner airlines. Additionally, the 15% discount also does not impact the taxes or fees that are due.

In conjunction with the arrival of TakeOff 15, Delta and Amex have also rolled out a new round of welcome bonus offers for each card in the line-up. For a limited time, new SkyMiles Gold cardmembers can earn 70,000 bonus miles after they make at least $2,000 in purchases on their card during their first six months. Similarly, new Platinum card customers can earn 90,000 miles after spending $4,000 in purchases during their first six months, while new Reserve cardholders can also earn 90,000 miles after spending $6,000 in purchases within their first six months. These offers are currently set to expire on March 29th, 2023. As a reminder, the Delta SkyMiles Gold card carries an annual fee of $99 (that is waived for the first year), the Delta SkyMiles Platinum has a $250 annual fee, and the Delta SkyMiles Reserve comes at a cost of $550 per year.

Announcing the TakeOff 15 feature, American Express’s SVP and GM of Cobrand Product Management Jon Gantman said, “Delta Card Members love using their Cards to earn miles they can put towards future trips and the great experience they get when flying Delta. Now, you can go even further with your miles and get the best of the SkyMiles program with your Card.”

Additionally, Delta’s VP of Loyalty Prashant Sharma said of the offering, “Our Delta SkyMiles American Express Card Members are some of our most loyal customers, and we want to continue to give them opportunities to travel the world more easily. We’re grateful to have a partner like American Express who shares our vision and passion for delivering ingenuity and excellence to our customers.”

The TakeOff 15 perk joins these cards with no increase in annual fees making this a decisive win for current and prospective cardholders. On that note, the enhanced welcome bonuses may also make it a good time for those who have been on the fence about adding one of these options to their wallet to apply.

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