Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card

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Our take

Here's the catch up front: the Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express does not include a free checked bag. That one missing perk is the entire argument for the $150 Delta Gold, so know what you're giving up before the $0 price tag wins you over. What the Blue actually buys you is the earning core of the Delta family: 2x miles on purchases made directly with Delta, 2x at restaurants worldwide, and 1x on everything else — for a $0 annual fee, every year, no intro-rate asterisk.

So do the bag math before you pick a color. Delta charges roughly $35 each way to check a first bag on domestic flights, which is about $70 per round trip. The Gold waives that bag and costs $0 the first year, then $150. Check a bag on two round trips a year and you've spent about $140 on bag fees — essentially the Gold's fee, paid to the airline instead. Fly carry-on-only, or fly Delta once a year, and the Blue's $0 fee wins the comparison without trying.

The rest of the card is modest but honest. New cardmembers can earn 10,000 SkyMiles after $1,000 in purchases in the first 6 months — a starter bonus sized to a starter card. Onboard, you get 20% back on Delta inflight purchases as a statement credit, and there are no foreign transaction fees, which makes the worldwide restaurant 2x genuinely usable abroad. One line of fine print on that dining rate: third-party takeout and delivery earn 2x in the U.S. only.

In your wallet, the Blue is the keep-the-miles-alive card: swipe it at restaurants and on delta.com, and hand the 1x everything-else to a flat-rate card. Step up to the Gold ($0 intro, then $150) once you're checking bags regularly or want 2x at U.S. supermarkets; step up to the Platinum ($350, 3x on Delta, first bag free, plus a Companion Certificate) when Delta is your main airline rather than an occasional ride. The Blue is where the family starts — and for light flyers who never check a bag, it's also a perfectly good place to stay.

The math

Run $400 a month of dining through this card and you're earning about $106 a year at our conservative valuations. There's no annual fee to earn back — everything above the 1x base rate is pure upside.

Store bonuses

• Delta Air Lines2x

Key benefits

• 20% back (statement credit) on Delta inflight purchases
• No foreign transaction fees

Common questions

Does Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card have an annual fee?

No — Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card has no annual fee.

What does Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card earn on dining?

2x on dining.

What rewards does Delta SkyMiles Blue American Express Card earn on everything else?

1x on all other purchases, in Delta SkyMiles.

Does the Delta SkyMiles Blue Amex include a free checked bag?

No — that is the card's headline catch. The free first checked bag is the Gold card's whole argument, and it's exactly what the $0 Blue leaves out. At roughly $35 each way on Delta domestic flights, two bag-checking round trips a year run about $140, nearly the Gold's $150 annual fee — so if you check bags regularly, look one tier up.

What purchases earn 2x miles on the Delta Blue card?

Purchases made directly with Delta and restaurants worldwide both earn 2x SkyMiles; everything else earns 1x. One fine-print caveat: third-party takeout and delivery earn 2x in the U.S. only. With no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, the worldwide dining rate works just as well abroad.

Is there a welcome bonus on the Delta SkyMiles Blue?

Yes — 10,000 SkyMiles after you spend $1,000 in purchases in your first 6 months. It's a modest bonus sized to match the $0 annual fee, and it sits alongside 20% back on Delta inflight purchases as a statement credit.

Related reading

• How we value points and miles (and why our numbers are lower than everyone else's)SwipeCaddy ranks cards by reward rate × a conservative cash value per point: 1¢ for cash back and transferable points (Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bilt), 1.1–1.3¢ for airline miles, 0.4–1.4¢ for hotel points, and 0.8–0.9¢ for store currencies. Optimistic transfer values are recorded for context but never ranked, because most people never achieve them.