Today American Express & Delta have announced that they have renewed the co-brand partnership until 2029. This will see American Express be the sole issuer of Delta cards until at least 2029 and provides American Express the following:
- Sole issuer of Delta credit & charge cards
- Ability to provide access to Delta Sky Clubs on the Delta Reserve Card
- Delta as a transfer partner for American Express membership rewards points
- Delta will accept American Express cards as a payment method
American Express & Delta have partnered for 23 years, so an extension is not surprising although we typically see extensions for a shorter period of time than 11 years. Last year saw Delta receive $3.4 billion from the relationship and that is expected to hit $7 billion by 2023. In 2018 1 million new Delta credit cardholders were added. It’ll be interesting to see if Delta can hit that doubling target by 2023, I don’t see that happening unless American Express is either increasing the amount paid dramatically under this extension or significant positive changes are made to the card line up.
So the number of SkyPesos needed for an award redemption will soon (quietly) go up from 5 truck-loads to 10 truck-loads.
Anyone have an idea of how much Amex pays Delta for the Skypesos?
My take on that $7 billion was that American Express has significantly increased the guarantees. Losing Delta after losing Costco would be a disaster for them, bet they had to pay up to keep Delta happy.
Maybe Southwest or United will move to Amex too. I can’t see them getting as many points purchased by Chase with that pesky 5/24 rule keeping us churners from racking up tons of miles on Chase’s dime.
but what about the once per lifetime rule on AMEX?
With Amex there are at least couple of options available:
1. Sign up with offer with no lifetime language (not common but they do come up once in while)
2. Sign up for the card without bonus.
With Chase there is absolutely no way to even sign up for the card. Bonus or not.
It’s not really a lifetime rule. At some point (general consensus is around 7 years) their records roll off and you can apply again. I am beginning my second round on multiple amex cards.
Have you had success and received the bonuses? I’m close to hitting 7 years on some cards and want to try but am a bit nervous.
Like JAMES said, 7 years is the general consensus for the lifetime rule. Try to apply and you will see a pop-up window if you are not eligible for the bonus, and thus avoid a hard pull.