Should I keep my Delta Gold AMEX if I have a CSP?

[Membersince2013]

Depending on the company, you use miles for travels, gift cards etc

[randeman]

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@bluedoggiant wrote:

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@randeman wrote:

I think the only reason for you to keep the Delta card is if you are a fairly frequent Delta flyer.  I am not as frequent as someone who is Medallion, but the free checked bag and priority boarding are important enough for me to have it.  It sounds like you're more interested in using points for tickets rather than miles.  If so, lose it.  It doesn't seem like you have enough interest in it to warrant the AF.

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I don't understand this, I thought you use miles/points for tickets?

Is the BCE considered an inferior card to the Delta Gold AMEX.

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You said: 13688 points for a $171 ticket versus having to use 25k miles for the same ticket using my Delta Skymiles.13688 points for a $171 ticket versus having to use 25k miles for the same ticket using my Delta Skymiles.

I interpreted that as you would rather spend points (13688) for a ticket rather than 25000 miles for a "free" ticket.

Frankly, it will be easier to spend points for a ticket purchase rather than try to get a "free" ticket.  FF mile tickets can be a challenge (to put it mildly) to get.  If you can use UR points to get the ticket, that's what I would go with. 

[j_casteel]

I know this thread is a couple weeks old, but I have a question...

Do you get the priority boarding and free checked bag just for having the Delta card on a Delta flight? Or do you have to book the flight with the Delta card to get those benefits?

Could I book on Alaska Air using my Alaska card or Alaska miles (they have great partner perks with Delta and AA) on a Delta flight and get those perks just for having a Delta card?

[scenery_guy]

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@randeman wrote:

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@bluedoggiant wrote:

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@randeman wrote:

I think the only reason for you to keep the Delta card is if you are a fairly frequent Delta flyer.  I am not as frequent as someone who is Medallion, but the free checked bag and priority boarding are important enough for me to have it.  It sounds like you're more interested in using points for tickets rather than miles.  If so, lose it.  It doesn't seem like you have enough interest in it to warrant the AF.

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I don't understand this, I thought you use miles/points for tickets?

Is the BCE considered an inferior card to the Delta Gold AMEX.

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You said: 13688 points for a $171 ticket versus having to use 25k miles for the same ticket using my Delta Skymiles.13688 points for a $171 ticket versus having to use 25k miles for the same ticket using my Delta Skymiles.

I interpreted that as you would rather spend points (13688) for a ticket rather than 25000 miles for a "free" ticket.

Frankly, it will be easier to spend points for a ticket purchase rather than try to get a "free" ticket.  FF mile tickets can be a challenge (to put it mildly) to get.  If you can use UR points to get the ticket, that's what I would go with. 

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This is like comparing apples to oranges. Sure there are multiple ways to get a "free ticket" on a Delta flight but in reality none are better than the other. All redemption are points of some flavor or name (SkyMiles, Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards, Arrival points, Avios miles etc.) It's the bank or travel provider's private currency. 

Delta actually makes redeeming SkyMiles a bit easier as you can book an award flight for a set amount of miles based on a chart or book a regular ticket and use the option to "pay with miles" at checkout. The "pay with miles" option allows you to pay for some or all of the cost of the ticket but the redemption is a bad deal at $0.01 per mile. 

Diversification is the key. UR points are valuable for air travel and so are Delta miles. In both cases I would never consider burning up either UR or SkyMiles for a $171 domestic flight. If the OP desires to reduce the cost for items like this I would suggest a card like Arrival Plus where you stockpile of points can be applied as you wish to any travel related expense like tickets, hotels, cab, bus, rental car etc - as long as the purchase is made on the Arrival Plus card. Pile all your spend on the Arrival and stockpile points to cover ANY airline with truly no blackout. In fact a $25 baggage fee can be fully deducted as long as you pay for the bag with the Arrival. 

All of the travel and miles we collect are best redeemed for upper shelf international travel. It's the best bang for the buck out there. I just flew MIA-LHR on Virgin Atlantic for 200,000 Virgin miles, 2 seats upper class. Part of the miles were from a Virgin Atlantic new credit card bonus and spend and the rest were transferred from AMEX MR when they were offering a 25% transfer bonus to Virgin. The MR were from AMEX spend and card bonuses. In the end I got two tickets that should have cost a little over $14,000 for collected points over the course of a year or so. Some of the points redeemed were from purchasing $375 domestic tickets. 

 If the OP is worried about keeping the Gold Delta card the OP probably should close it before the fee is due, or within 60 days if it's been paid. Expect a full fee refund and an offer to retain the card but close it. The miles are safe as they are now in Delta FF account. Come back to Amex again when you are ready or find a need that fits. They will welcome you back. 

[randeman]

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@j_casteel wrote:

I know this thread is a couple weeks old, but I have a question...

Do you get the priority boarding and free checked bag just for having the Delta card on a Delta flight? Or do you have to book the flight with the Delta card to get those benefits?

Could I book on Alaska Air using my Alaska card or Alaska miles (they have great partner perks with Delta and AA) on a Delta flight and beneget those perks just for having a Delta card?

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You have to use the Skymiles Amex to get the benefits of early boarding and checked bag.  These benefits only apply to Delta flights.

[j_casteel]

So I couldn't book a delta flight using something else and get the perks. The booking has to be done with the card or just with the skymiles member number?

[Kenny]

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@bluedoggiant wrote:

Just realized that I can purchase Delta tickets through the online Chase UR portal, and that I can use points. 13688 points for a $171 ticket versus having to use 25k miles for the same ticket using my Delta Skymiles.

Is there any benefit to my delta card at this point besides the free checked baggage and priority boarding?

Thinking about cancelling this card and getting a BCP.

Or should I wait until I hit Silver Medallion Status, will that be worth it? Or does that counter constantly reset each year?

I flew Delta a lot past year and will be a few times until the end of 2014 but after that I will be flying sparingly - so I wouldn't cancel until then. I've had it since July 2013, could I get out of paying the AF that way?

I already have the CSP to be clear.

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You could always PC the card to the Employees one for no AF and sockdrawer it if that interests you.

[huntman21014]

Just wanted to post that 100% you should get the Freedom card, all of the 5x points that you earn on it can be transferred to the CSP and used for travel or transferred to any of the partners.