American Express Adds Family Language To Delta Personal Cards

American Express has changed the terms on Delta personal cards to exclude getting the sign up bonus across the Delta family of cards. The previous terms stated:

Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this or previous versions of this Card. We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.

The new terms differ based on the card you’re apply for:

Delta gold:

You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card or previous versions of these Cards.

Delta Platinum:

You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card or previous versions of these Cards.

Delta Reserve:

You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card or previous versions of this Card.

Basically gold has the most restrictive terms and Reserve has the same terms as before. It’ll be interesting to see if similar language gets added to the business cards or if they will remain the same. Seems like the play is to get the gold card first, then platinum, then reserve and that way you can still hit all three bonuses without issue.

Hat tip to reddit user mage_boot

 

View Comments (25)

  • My guess is they’re about to up the bonus on these cards to counteract the recent negative news and they don’t want churners benefiting

    • Technically, if they are doing this to minimize churning (and it works) I would assume the skymiles will increase in value.

  • Gold card becomes valuable for people/families who fly Delta 2-4 times a year with no status. It gets you a free check bag which could save some money for family travel with kids.

  • The program also becomes shit. No reason to get the DL cards anymore. Delta should go bankrupt asap.

      • I just got approved for Delta Gold Business even though I already hold Delta Platinum Business. So the family language doesn't yet apply to business cards.

        It must be something about your account that make you ineligible for the bonus (e.g. you closed cards recently).

    • Why is it hard for people on DoC to understand that credit card issuers have no use for you. Churners come with dumpster-level customer lifetime value. You literally add nothing to their bottom line, and in many cases are a net negative. Amex can’t wait to get rid of you.

    • Hopefully just a short term move to block Platinum/Reserve cardholders from getting a SUB on the Gold when they get rid of their cards (the Gold is still valuable for some perks like free checked bags even if you aren't spending to get status)

      • How is a person going from Reserve to Platinum repeatedly signing up?

        Chase does this with their Sapphire family but again, UR points are FAR more valuable than SkyPesos. And their terms are not nearly as drastic (every 4 years) as Amex.