Delta SkyMiles Gold Business American Express Card Review (2026): The Checked Bag Waiver Does Most of the Work

| Rate | Category | Cap | |---|---|---| | 2X miles | Purchases made directly with Delta | None disclosed | | 2X miles | Restaurants worldwide | None disclosed | | 2X miles | U.S. shipping (courier, postal and freight shippers located in the U.S.) | $50,000 per calendar year | | 2X miles | U.S. advertising in select media (online, television and radio bought from U.S. media providers to promote a business) | $50,000 per calendar year | | 1X mile | All other eligible purchases | n/a |

The exclusions are narrower than the labels imply. Shipping costs added to a retail purchase do not count, and neither do moving services. Direct mail, including list and lead generation, sits outside the advertising category, and restaurant earning may not apply at a restaurant inside another establishment.

Miles land as Delta SkyMiles, redeemed for Delta and partner awards through delta.com and the Fly Delta app or applied against a fare with Pay with Miles. Delta prices awards dynamically with no published chart, so what a mile buys moves with the route and the date. TakeOff 15 cuts 15 percent off award travel on Delta flights booked through Delta's own channels. Delta states SkyMiles do not expire.

The offer is 60,000 bonus miles after $4,000 or more in eligible purchases within the first 6 months of Card Membership, counted from the day the account opens. At roughly $667 a month it is the most reachable requirement across Delta's business cards, and it lands in the year the fee is waived.

Eligibility deserves a second read. Amex states you may not be eligible for a welcome offer if you have or have had this card or previous versions of it, a clause written per card rather than per brand. Your Card Member history and the number of cards you have opened and closed also factor in, and Amex says it will notify you before processing the application if you do not qualify.

The baggage benefit has two halves that work differently. The first checked bag is free on domestic and international Delta flights, the reservation must carry the Basic Card Member's SkyMiles number, and the waiver extends to other passengers on that reservation up to nine total. The second bag is newer and much narrower: once per eligible card per direction of travel, origin and destination both inside the United States including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and covering only other Basic Card Members holding an eligible card on the booking. Both apply to standard bags, not overweight or oversize.

Around that sit Zone 5 priority boarding, 20 percent back as a statement credit on eligible Delta in-flight purchases, and three credits with different levels of friction. The $150 Delta Stays credit covers eligible prepaid bookings on delta.com, easy money if you book hotels there and worthless if you do not. The $200 Delta Flight Credit appears only after $10,000 in purchases in a year. The $120 rideshare credit pays $10 monthly with select U.S. providers, requires enrollment, and begins only after your first renewal.

The annual fee is $0 for the first year and $150 thereafter. That waiver is attached to the offer being served rather than built into the product, so confirm it is still in place before you apply.

Break-even after year one is legible. The Delta Stays credit cancels the fee outright if you put one prepaid hotel booking a year through delta.com, and $10,000 in annual purchases triggers a $200 flight credit that clears it on its own.

On borrowing, the card offers nothing. There is no introductory APR on purchases or balance transfers, and the ongoing purchase rate runs 19.49% to 28.49% variable as of August 10, 2026, set at account opening. Cash advances price at 28.74% variable with a fee of $5 or 3%, whichever is greater. Late and returned payments each reach $39 and penalty pricing is 29.99% variable, the ceiling on any variable rate here. Foreign purchases carry no added fee.

Take this card if Delta is your default airline for a few trips a year and you rarely travel alone. Two people on one reservation get bags waived on every leg, which is where the value concentrates. It also suits an owner who books hotels through Delta Stays, since that credit covers the fee by itself.

Skip it if you are chasing Medallion status. Delta awards status on Medallion Qualification Dollars alone, a spend measure earned mostly on ticket price, and this card supplies none. Skip it too if lounge access is the point, since there is no Sky Club entry at any spend level, or if your Delta flying is one annual trip with a carry-on.

**Does the free checked bag cover the people flying with me?**

For the first bag, yes: up to nine waivers per reservation, provided the booking carries the Basic Card Member's SkyMiles number. The second bag covers only other Basic Card Members holding an eligible card on that reservation.

**Will applying show up on my personal credit?**

Amex says you can check approval with no impact to your personal credit score, though your business credit score may be impacted when you submit. If you are approved and accept the card, your personal score may also be impacted. The application makes you jointly and severally liable with the business.

**What happens to my miles if I close the account?**

Miles are Delta's currency rather than the bank's, redeemed through delta.com and the Fly Delta app, and Delta states SkyMiles do not expire. Card-linked perks such as TakeOff 15 and the bag waiver stop when the card does.

This is a single-purpose card priced correctly for its single purpose. If two or more people fly Delta on your reservation a few times a year, or if you make one Delta Stays booking annually, the $150 is covered and the rest is upside. A deeper Delta relationship will hit the 2X ceiling and the missing lounge access fast.

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