A year ago, I applied for and was approved for a Delta Reserve American Express card. As a Delta elite, I was excited I’d receive 10,000 medallion qualification miles toward elite status, though, funny enough, I’ve now ditched Delta for American. I just received my annual companion pass in my email inbox, and it got me thinking…
So, a year has come and gone, and it’s now time to decide whether to renew this card. At $450, it’s a hefty expense, and one I don’t think I’ll be receiving any sort of retention offer on since I’ve hardly spent anything on the card.
So, let me take a look at what’s provided on this card, and how I’m using it.
- SkyClub access is already provided with my Platinum card, and since I don’t fly Delta anymore, this benefit isn’t really helpful.
- The card serves as a tie-breaker for upgrades, but, since I don’t fly Delta, I don’t need to be upgraded.
- The card provides a faster way to earn MQMs, but since I don’t fly Delta, I don’t need to earn elite status with them.
- The card provides an annual companion pass for First Class or Economy round-trip travel, which is my contention in wanting to keep this card.
A round-trip JFK-LAX in Delta Business Class (now, DeltaOne) is $1615 during a sample week in May.
So, effectively, for just over $2,000, I can fly myself and one other person from JFK to LAX on a premium Delta route in Business class, which isn’t too bad of a deal. That’s $1,000 per person for a business heavy route, with a great product.
That’s pretty much the only reason I’d consider keeping this card, as I’m no longer a Delta flyer. But, there’s plenty of reason to cancel it, too, considering that I’m not guaranteed to make a JFK to LAX on Delta with a companion within the next year, when the certificate expires. I wouldn’t want to use it on a DCA-ATL route, for example…
So, what are your thoughts? Should I keep it or cancel it?
Jamie Larounis is an avid traveler, blogger and miles/points educator. Traveling well over 100,000 miles a year and staying in hotels for over 100 nights, he leverages miles, points and other deals to fly in first class cabins, and stay in 5-star hotels. The Forward Cabin shares his experiences, musings, reviews, tips, tricks, resources and industry news with you, the fellow traveler.
I wouldn’t keep the card just for the companion certificate. I have had this card for years (I live in a Delta hub) and found it harder and harder to use the companion certificate. Keep in mind that there are fare class restrictions in using this certificate. So for a busy route like JFK – LAX, you may not be able to use the certificate for the class you want. This year has been particularly difficult – I was finally able to use after multiple tries and not for my first – or second – choice for which I was initially planning to use it. Personally, I keep the card just for the extra 30K MQMs that I can earn through spend – otherwise I would jettison it with no second thought. My opinion.