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Hot on the heels of yesterday’s Top Nine Credit Card Offers That Are About to Disappear, American Express has increased the sign up bonus on the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card to 55k SkyMiles and 20k Medallion Qualifying Miles after spending $5k in the first three months of cardmembership.

That means most people can get over 100k SkyMiles from only two cards, enough for a roundtrip business class award to Europe.

How can you get the deal? What are Medallion Qualifying Miles? Where can you find award space with Delta?

The Deal

Until July 7, American Express is offering The Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card with an increased bonus:

  • 25k SkyMiles and 5k MQM on first purchase
  • 30k more SkyMiles and 15k more MQM after $5k in purchases in the first three months of cardmembership
  • $150 annual fee, not waived
  • First Checked Bag Free
  • Zone 1 Boarding
  • 20% off in flight purchases
  • See Full Terms and Conditions

Application Link: Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card

American Express is the best about putting on the application page restrictions about who can get the offer if they’ve had other similar cards recently:

That means you are only eligible for this offer if:

  • You’ve never had another Delta business card.
  • You’ve had Delta business card(s) in the past, but those accounts were closed more than 12 months ago.

Whether you have or have had Delta personal cards or other American Express cards in the past is irrelevant.

This offer is best for people who want to collect Delta SkyMiles and Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) without flying. What is the difference between SkyMiles and MQMs?

SkyMiles are redeemable miles you can use for flight awards.

MQMs are a counter to determine your status that you can’t redeem for anything.

I have more information about the difference between redeemable and status miles here.

Other SkyMiles Earning Cards

If you’re going to get this card, what are some other good SkyMiles cards to pair with it?

Your options are any cards that earn SkyMiles, Membership Rewards, or SPG Starpoints since the last two types of points can be transferred to SkyMiles. I’d focus on getting a personal card, since I never apply for more than one personal and business card from the same bank at the same time, and all the SkyMiles, Membership Rewards, and Starpoints cards are issued by American Express.

Mercedes-Benz American Express Platinum

  • 50,000 Membership Rewards after spending $3,000 in three months
  • Membership Rewards transfer to dozens of other loyalty programs including Delta, British Airways, Hawaiian, Aeroplan, and many more
  • $100 credit for Global Entry signup
  • $200 calendar-year airline-fee credit
  • Free airport lounge access (American, US Airways, Delta, Priority Pass)
  • Earns 1 Membership Reward per dollar
  • $475 annual fee, not waived in the first year
  • See Rookie Alli’s piece on maximizing any Platinum Card’s benefits. It is a must-read before applying.

Application Link: Mercedes-Benz American Express Platinum

Using SkyMiles

If you get the Business Platinum Delta card and either of the personal cards mentioned, you’ll have over 100k SkyMiles to redeem. In The Coolest Thing You Can Do with 25k to 150k SkyMiles I went through some options with SkyMiles.

SkyMiles have less value than United, American, and US Airways miles, but they still have plenty of value depending on your plans.

These are the worst miles if you live at a small, regional airport or if you want business class awards to Europe.

They are the best miles to Australia. They have great award space to Asia from Seattle. They are great within Brazil and Argentina. There are great economy cabin redemptions to Europe. They are the only miles that allow free oneways or stopovers on awards in the domestic US.

I’ll put it this way: if you can’t find a good use for 100k SkyMiles, can I have them? 😉

Recap

The Platinum Delta SkyMiles Business Credit Card has a huge bonus of 55k SkyMiles and 20k MQMs until July 7, 2013 only. You are eligible if you haven’t had any Delta business card accounts open in the last 12 months.

If you get the card, you may want to pair it with a personal card to double the SkyMiles haul. I recommend the CARDMATCH personal SkyMiles offer of 45k SkyMiles after $5k in spending or the Mercedes-Benz American Express Platinum with 50k Membership Rewards after spending $3k in three months.

Hat Tip to the Bengali Miles Guru for bringing the offer to my attention.

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.

With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!


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