Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card: For business owners who fly Delta and want lounge access

Our take: For business owners near a Delta Air Lines hub who travel frequently for work and value access to Delta Sky Club airport lounges (Centurion and Escape lounges too), as well as perks including free checked bags and a companion certificate, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card is likely well worth its $650 price tag.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card Overview

Card type: Business

The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card is the creme de la creme of the co-branded business cards that Delta offers in partnership with American Express. With a $650 annual fee, this card isn’t for the business owner who rarely travels, nor is it for those who are airline agnostic. But business owners with a strong Delta preference will find it well worth the cost.

Earning SkyMiles is nice, though at first glance, you might dismiss this card as having almost the same rewards program as the cheaper Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card. The Reserve Business earns 3X miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta, 3X miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta, plus all eligible purchases after you spend $150,000 in purchases in a year, and 1X on all other purchases.

Where this card stands out is its luxury perks. Let’s start with the big one—Delta Sky Club access. While it’s sadly true most cardmembers won’t get unlimited Sky Club access as of February 2025, this card still provides you with 15 complimentary passes per year. If you spend $75,000 or more in a calendar year, you earn unlimited lounge access for the following year. 

Plus, if you tend to travel with companions, you’ll appreciate that you get four Delta Sky Club one-time guest guest passes each year.

Traveling via an airport that doesn’t have a Sky Club lounge? Don’t fret—the Reserve Business also gets you into The Centurion Lounge and Escape Lounge locations when flying Delta. 

Let’s come back to those who may need to bring an employee, a friend, or a family member along on business travel. This Reserve Business provides a companion certificate every year after card renewal, and unlike the one SkyMiles Platinum Business cardholders get, this one is good not only for main cabin but also extends to Comfort+ and even first class tickets. 

You can bring a travel buddy domestically or to the Caribbean or Central America with the companion certificate. Note that you’re still responsible for taxes and fees, which shouldn’t exceed $80 when flying domestically or $250 when flying internationally. 

Cardholders also enjoy free first checked bags for you and up to eight traveling companions on the same reservation, priority boarding, and complimentary upgrades.

Additionally, the Reserve card comes with a series of statement credits that can help you offset some of your purchases, like rideshare charges, restaurant charges through Resy, and even hotels and vacation rental stays when booked through Delta Stays.

To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, see this page
To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, see this page 

Who is the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card good for? 

Delta is the world’s largest airline in terms of revenue, as of this writing. They have hubs in cities such as Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, and more. And, they’re a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance, meaning your Delta SkyMiles can take you even further on partner airlines. 

If you’re a small business owner who flies often, and your boarding passes usually show the red triangle with a strip of white that is the iconic Delta logo, the Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business might be for you—as long as the $650 annual fee doesn’t scare you off, of course. 

Plus, with a whopping welcome bonus offer, this card can help you fill your SkyMiles rewards balance to bursting, so long as you can meet the spending requirement to earn it. 

Also, with perks like priority boarding and free checked bags (potentially a $60 savings round trip) the Reserve Business can make your travels more relaxing and help you save, if you’re diligent about maximizing its benefits. For example, evaluate the statement credits carefully. A $240 dining credit may sound great at first, but not if you realize you never dine at eligible Resy restaurants, or that the monthly $20 increments might make it difficult to use the full $240. 

In terms of lounge access, this card is a strong choice for those loyal to Delta. However, those who don’t want to be tied to one airline might consider the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express instead, widely considered to have the most extensive airport lounge access of any business card on the market. Or, the Capital One Venture X Business might be a worthy alternative, offering Priority Pass Select membership for just $395 per year.

To view rates and fees of the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page

Who shouldn’t get the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card? 

If any of the following apply, you might decide a different business credit card is best for you:

• You’re airline agnostic and fly Delta only when it’s the best bang for your buck. 
• You don’t need airport lounge access and its associated comforts. 
• You’re unlikely to be able to use the restaurant, rideshare, and Delta Stays credits. 
• You usually travel solo and don’t need the companion certificate. 
• Your business doesn’t require enough travel to justify a $650-annual-fee airline card.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card: How to earn rewards

Your purchases with this card will help you earn Delta SkyMiles, and some categories earn at a higher rate, as follows: 

• 3X miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta
• 1.5X at transit, U.S. shipping, and U.S. office supply stores purchases, plus all eligible purchases after you spend $150,000 in purchases in a year.
• 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases.

On top of the potential mileage earned from swiping your card, new cardmembers have a chance to receive a welcome bonus of 110,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 3/27/24.

How to redeem Delta SkyMiles®

Miles earned through your card spend can be redeemed just like the Delta SkyMiles you earn when you fly. You can use them multiple ways, but the easiest and most valuable redemptions are typically going to be award travel bookings on Delta and partner airlines.

Delta doesn’t provide a redemption chart, but rather uses dynamic pricing—what that means is that the number of miles you need for a flight can vary based on factors including the cash price of the ticket, how much demand there is at the moment, and even when you’re traveling. 

As Delta Air Lines is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, you can use your miles to book award flights on any of the airline’s partners. For example, you could book on Air France or KLM to fly to Europe, Aeromexico or Aerolineas Argentinas to get to South America, and Korean Air or Kenya Airways to get to Asia and Africa, respectively.

You can also use your miles for seat upgrades, pay for additional service fees like change fees and same-day confirmed fees or get a Delta Sky Club membership, among other uses.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card rates and fees

• Annual fee: $650
• Foreign transaction fee: None.
• Purchase APR: 20.99%–29.99% variable.

To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, see this page

Additional benefits

• Up to $240 Resy Credit, earn up to $20 per month in statement credits for U.S. Resy restaurant purchases.
• Up to $120 rideshare credit, $10 back each month for U.S. rideshare purchases with select providers.
• Up to $250 Delta Stays credit annually on eligable prepaid hotels or vacation rentals booked through Delta Stays on delta.com
• Lounge access to the Centurion Lounge, Escape Lounge and Delta Sky Club to relax while waiting for your flights at the airport.
• Medallion® Qualification Dollars (MQD) Boost so you can accelerate toward your Delta medallion status by earning $1 MQD every $10 you spend with your card.
• Medallion® Qualification Dollars Headstart so every year you’ll start closer to your status with $2,500 MQDs.
• Companion certificate each year on card renewal, good for a first class, Comfort+ or main cabin round-trip flight to a domestic, Caribbean or Central American destination.
• Fee credit to reimburse Global Entry or TSA PreCheck so you can breeze past airport security or passport control when returning home.
• 15% discount when using your SkyMiles to redeem for award travel.
• First checked bag free for you and up to eight additional travelers on your reservation, helping you save potentially up to $60 per person round trip.
• Priority boarding along with everyone in Main Cabin 1 group so you can take time to settle into your seat while there’s still overhead bin space left.
• Complimentary upgrades after SkyMiles medallion members and Reserve cardholders, even if you have no status with the airline.
• Trip delay insurance to help you receive up to $500 for certain expenses if your trip is delayed by more than six hours for a covered reason.
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance to help cover nonrefundable travel expenses paid with the card if your trip is canceled or interrupted by a covered reason.
• Baggage insurance to protect your luggage against damage, loss or theft when on a trip paid entirely with your card.
• Hertz President’s Circle® status when you enroll in the Hertz Gold Plus Rewards program and link your Hertz Gold Plus Rewards account number to your SkyMiles account.
• Car rental loss and damage insurance to cover your rental car against damage or theft when you’re on the road if you decline the collision damage waiver provided by the rental company. This benefit provides secondary coverage.
• Extended warranty for your purchases to receive up to one year of additional coverage past their original manufacturer’s warranty.
• Purchase protection to cover items you bought with your card in case they are accidentally damaged, lost or stolen for up to 90 days from the date of purchase.
• Cell phone protection covering your device up to $800 to repair or replace it if it’s damaged or stolen, provided you pay your monthly cell phone bill with the card. A $50 deductible per claim will apply.

Credit cards similar to the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card

If you’re intensely loyal to Delta, you might be ready to hit “submit” on your application for the Reserve Business. However, if you’re thinking you need a little more flexibility, there are other business travel cards that might be a better fit. We’ll cover two of them below.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card	The Business Platinum Card® from American Express	Capital One Venture X Business
Annual fee	Annual fee	Annual fee
$650	$695	150,000 Miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening
Welcome offer	Welcome offer	Welcome offer
Earn 110,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer Ends 3/27/24	Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of card membership	Earn 150,000 Miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening
Rewards	Rewards	Rewards
1.5X at transit, U.S. shipping, and U.S. office supply stores 3X miles on every dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta	5x points on flights and prepaid hotel stays booked through amextravel.com 1.5x points on purchases in select business categories (currently construction material and hardware suppliers, U.S. shipping providers, U.S. electronics retailers, and software and cloud system providers) 1.5x points on qualifying purchases of $5,000 or more in other categories 1x points on all other eligible purchases	10X miles on hotels and rental cars 10X miles on purchases through Capital One Travel 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel 2X miles on all other purchase
View Offer	Read Full Review	Read Full Review

To view rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, see this page
To view rates and fees of the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express vs. Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card

The annual fee for the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is even higher than that charged by the Reserve Business, but this card is pretty much unrivaled in terms of airport lounge access. Through the American Express Global Lounge Collection, cardholders enjoy access to The Centurion Lounge, Escape Lounges, Delta Sky Club (when flying Delta), Lufthansa Lounges (when flying Lufthansa), Plaza Premium, Priority Pass, and more.

For frequent travelers, the lounge access goes a long way toward justifying the $695 annual fee. And, instead of earning Delta SkyMiles, this card will help you earn valuable Membership Rewards, which can be transferred to multiple airline and hotel loyalty programs, including Delta, so your redemptions are suddenly more flexible. 

The Amex Business Platinum’s rewards rates are as follows: 5x points on flights and prepaid hotel stays booked through amextravel.com, 1.5x points on purchases in select business categories (currently construction material and hardware suppliers, U.S. shipping providers, U.S. electronics retailers, and software and cloud system providers), as well as 1.5x points on qualifying purchases of $5,000 or more in other categories, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year, and 1x points on all other eligible purchases.

There are also numerous statement credits available to Amex Business Platinum cardholders, including a $200 airline fee credit to cover certain incidentals and a $189 CLEAR Plus credit. You also receive automatic Gold status with both Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors and access to the Fine Hotels + Resorts program.

Check out our full review of the Amex Business Platinum Card. 
To view rates and fees of the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page

Capital One Venture X Business vs. Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card

If the $600+ annual fees for the Reserve Business and the Amex Business Platinum are too much to stomach, breathe a sigh of relief—it’s possible to get exceptional travel benefits at a lower price tag. The Capital One Venture X Business card will cost you $395 per year to carry, most of which can be recouped by using the $300 annual credit for booking through Capital One Travel . The card comes with lounge access and flexible rewards you can transfer to partners.

While you can’t transfer Capital One Miles directly to Delta, you can transfer them to Virgin Red, and potentially book a flight on Delta metal because Virgin and Delta are both members of the SkyTeam alliance.  

Lounge access is through Priority Pass Select as well as Capital One’s own network of lounges. As for rewards, you’ll earn 2X miles on every purchase (and when booking through Capital One Travel you’ll earn 5X on flights and 10X on hotels and rental cars). 

The welcome bonus is generous for those who can meet the high spend requirement, at 150,000 Miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening. 

Venture X Business cardholders also receive a fee credit of up to $100 to reimburse the application cost for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Plus, receive a $100 experience credit for eligible stays at a luxury hotel or resort from the Premier Collection. 

Check out our full review of the Capital One Venture X Business Card.

Is the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card right for you?

As with all premium travel credit cards, the high cost of the annual fee is the true determining factor when you weigh it against all the benefits. If you are an avid Delta flyer and see yourself enjoying and taking advantage of all the perks, credits and travel and consumer protections this card has to offer for you and your business, then you should consider making room in your wallet for this card.

Frequently asked questions

Do I get 15% off of Delta flights when I buy tickets with this card?

The 15% off discount, called TakeOff 15, is only good for award travel bookings on Delta flights when you use your SkyMiles, and does not apply to tickets paid for using your credit card. To leverage the 15% discount, just log in to your Delta account and choose “Shop with Miles” when you search for flights. The discount is applied automatically, but keep in mind that it does not cover partner-operated flights or taxes and fees.

Can I use the companion certificate for first class tickets?

Yes, the companion certificate you get through the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card is good for main cabin, Comfort+ or even first class tickets. Additionally, you can also use the certificate on domestic, Caribbean or Central American round-trip flights, making this benefit even more valuable. 

Do I get Delta elite status with the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business Card?

This card will not automatically confer Delta Medallion Status to you just by holding it, but it will help you get some of the way to qualifying for your status depending on how much you spend on it. Every $10 in purchases you charge to your card, you will earn $1 MQD. You also receive a head start of $2,500 MQDs to get you jump-started every year. Medallion Status comes with four tiers, ranging from Silver ($5,000 MQDs required) to Diamond ($28,000 MQDs required).

Please note that card details are accurate as of the publish date, but are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the issuer. Please contact the card issuer to verify rates, fees, and benefits before applying. 

Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefits guide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.