My First 50K Delta AMEX: Get Your New Account Number Instantly

Well, I bit the bullet and got my first ever Delta AMEX card, the 50K Gold Delta SkyMiles AMEX with $100 statement credit for a Delta purchase. Today is the last day of the offer, and as with other things I'm not excited about I procrastinated until the very last day. I suppose Delta loyalists will be rolling their eyes and saying “what took you so long?” but I've long found far too many other credit card offers and frequent flyer miles more attractive to bother collecting any SkyPesos, er SkyMiles. I did somehow have an old Delta SkyMiles account with zero miles in it, so I'll finally earn 52,000 SkyMiles for that account from the bonus and the $2000 minimum spend.

But between Chase 5/24 rules and AMEX making business card signup bonuses once in a lifetime, there are fewer credit card bonus opportunities I'm eligible for. And since the Gold Delta SkyMiles card includes a $100 statement credit on a Delta purchase within the first 90 days of card membership and waives the annual fee, I can actually make money off the card in addition to the 50K bonus, which I value at about $500-600 (depending on whether I value Delta SkyMiles at 1 cent each or 1.2 cents each, both of which are probably being generous).

So rationally, the Gold Delta SkyMiles card makes sense, although it doesn't build towards any travel I view as aspirational. It's akin to eating a vegetable that you know is good for you and makes sense healthwise, but which you would never eat for its taste. Kind of like zucchini (with apologies to any zucchini lovers out there).

One thing I do like, however, is that you're able to get your account number right after being approved for the card. Perhaps this has long been a feature with Delta AMEX cards, but I haven't seen this with other credit cards I've signed up for. The terms seem to indicate it can only be used for Delta purchases, which if true is limiting, but it's still handy to have your card details straight away, especially as I'm currently traveling for work and won't see my snail mail for another couple of weeks.