I’ll start by saying I’m pretty locked into Delta and Marriott. For both personal and work travel I almost exclusively fly Delta and stay at Marriott when it makes sense.
Right now I have the Delta Gold and put basically all my spend on it (~$35k/year). I also still have a Chase Freedom from college but rarely touch it since I prefer Amex.
I’m looking to add/upgrade a card and I’m stuck between:
• Delta Reserve
• Delta Platinum
• Amex Platinum
• Possibly one of the Marriott Amex cards
My biggest priorities:
• Lounge access (this matters a lot to me)
• Maximizing value on \~$35k annual spend
• Staying within the Delta/Marriott ecosystem if it makes sense
My concerns:
• Delta Reserve seems great for perks/status but the everyday earning kinda sucks compared to other cards
• Amex Platinum seems like the best overall perks card, but I’m not sure I’d fully utilize all the credits based on where I live
• Delta Platinum feels like a middle ground but maybe not strong enough?
• Not sure if I should be diversifying into Marriott points more with one of their cards
From what I’ve read, the Amex Platinum has way better earning on flights (5x) and broader lounge access, while the Reserve is more about Delta-specific perks like status boosts and companion certs (NerdWallet)
For context:
• Mid 20s
• Credit not an issue
• Travel fairly often but not weekly road warrior level
Would love to hear what others in a similar setup are doing—especially if you’re Delta-loyal but still trying to optimize your setup.
What combo would you run with ~$35k annual spend?
Delta loyalist debating next card: Reserve vs Platinum vs Marriott?
byu/Apprehensive_Tale744 inCreditCards
Posted by Apprehensive_Tale744
6 Comments
> I have the Delta Gold and put basically all my spend on it (~$35k/year)
Such a sad missed opportunity. None of the cards you mentioned should be daily spenders. None at all. You’ll accrue points, but at a comparatively abysmal value and with zero flexibility. These cards should be used for very specific category spend and perks/passive benefits only.
If you prefer Amex, get the Blue Business Plus as a 2x catchall for daily spend.
I find the Delta Plat is a good middle ground between earning and not. MQD boost helps with status and decent earning on restaurants and supermarkets.
The way I look at it. $395 for the Platinum and $650 for the Skyclub is a better spend than $650 on the reserve because you can at least accrue mileage at a higher rate and still get the boost.
I average a minimum 25% bonus on the plat from just restaurants and supermarkets as my flight/hotel spend is on a corporate card.
You give up too much for the lounge access IMO. I personally find the lounges overrated unless you’re flying international Delta One
I would get two cards. If you can meet the spend req for the SUB, I would start with the Amex Platinum for the perks alone. You get tons of lounge access with Priority Pass, Centurion, and Delta Sky Club and the perks are super easy to take advantage of to get your value out of the annual fee. You’ll get Marriott Gold status immediately and the MR points you accumulate are transferable. I’d also go to the Delta Platinum instead of jumping straight to Reserve because of the Amex family SUB rules and to get the $2500 head start on MQDs. If you skip a tier it makes you ineligible for the lower SUBs unless you land a NLL offer.
IMO you arent getting the Delta Reserve for the multipliers, but instead for the benefits and lounge access. If you can offset the AF with the credits, then its a no brainer as the rest (Lounge access and companion certificate) are just free bonuses. Your actual spend should go on your everyday cards, not the reserve. Same line of thinking for the Marriot card.
I’ll just focus on the Marriott/Bonvoy aspect.
Amex Brilliant and Biz Bonvoy have their elevated SUBs that have been running semiannually Apr/Oct for a few cycles now. If you are legit considering Amex Bonvoy, now is the time and i haven’t really seen DPs to get elevated SUBs outside these elevated SUB windows. Compare that vs Amex Plat where the 175K SUB has been YMMV for what FEELS like 18 months now.
Brilliant has return protection and certain protections similar to the other Amex premium cards. The Bonvoy Biz has 7% Bonvoy hotel discount.
None of the cards OP mentioned are daily drivers but if just SUB chasing/churning that is reason enough to daily drive it until approaching the min required spend then be more selective vs existing or next cards, esp if the spend window is 6 months (OP can easily approach within the first 1.5 mo then slow walk the remaining min spend).
Chase/Amex Bonvoy terms became a bit more mutually exclusive recently. Others have suggested some wiggle room exists. If OP if serious about trying to focus on Bonvoy then maybe accept will benefit to hold both Amex+Chase, then perhaps get the Boundless (to eventually be able to PC to Ritz) and Brilliant at the same period.
I have all the cards mentioned but am not a loyalist in any way… Just chasing SUBs and having hard time cutting FNA cards.
What’s your main airport? That determines for me which path u should go down.