Credit Cards » Compare Credit Cards » Delta SkyMiles Blue vs AAdvantage Platinum Select: Compare
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Delta SkyMiles Blue vs AAdvantage Platinum Select: Compare

Paying an annual fee with higher rewards rate & benefits, or getting a no annual fee card with access to Amex membership? Here's our analysis
Author: Lorraine Smithills
Lorraine Smithills

Writer, Contributor

Experience

Lorraine is a freelance finance writer with years of experience in the banking sector and after a successful career in one of the largest retail and commercial financial services providers. She has a passion for helping people with less financial confidence to get control of their money through budgeting, saving, and responsible credit practices.

Review & Fact Check: Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Financial Expert, The Smart Investor CEO

Experience

Baruch Mann (Silvermann) is a financial expert and founder of The Smart Investor. Above all, he is passionate about teaching people how to manage their money and helping millions on their journey to a better financial future.
Author: Lorraine Smithills
Lorraine Smithills

Writer, Contributor

Experience

Lorraine is a freelance finance writer with years of experience in the banking sector and after a successful career in one of the largest retail and commercial financial services providers. She has a passion for helping people with less financial confidence to get control of their money through budgeting, saving, and responsible credit practices.

Review & Fact Check: Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Baruch Mann (Silvermann)

Financial Expert, The Smart Investor CEO

Experience

Baruch Mann (Silvermann) is a financial expert and founder of The Smart Investor. Above all, he is passionate about teaching people how to manage their money and helping millions on their journey to a better financial future.

We earn a commission from our partner links on this page. It doesn't affect the integrity of our unbiased, independent editorial staff. Transparency is a core value for us, read our advertiser disclosure and how we make money.

Table of Content

The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card and the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offer airline and travel rewards for Delta/American Airlines loyal customers, and for those who are flying frequently.

In this comparison, we review them side by side in order to understand which of them offer more – and which one can be the best fit for your needs. Let's start.

General Comparison

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select®
Annual Fee
$0. See Rates and Fees.
$99 Waived for the first 12 months
Rewards
2X miles for every dollar spent at restaurants worldwide and Delta purchases and 1X miles for every dollar spent on other eligible purchases. Terms Apply.
2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants, and 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
Welcome bonus
10,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months
50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
0% Intro APR
None
None
Foreign Transaction Fee
None. See Rates and Fees.
0%
Purchase APR
20.99%-29.99% Variable
21.24% – 29.99% (Variable)
Read Review
Read Review

Simulation: Which Card Gives More Rewards?

Without a scenario comparison, it's difficult to understand the actual reward potential. While both cards have decent rewards for travelers, potential cardholders should analyze it in order to understand which card gives you more.

However, keep in mind that the numbers should be adjusted to your regular spending categories, which may differ – so the exact calculation is dependent on your personal habits.

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express

Spend Per Category
Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select®
$10,000 – U.S Supermarkets
10,000 miles
10,000 miles
$4,000 – Restaurants
8,000 miles
8,000 miles
$4,000 – Airline
8,000 miles
8,000 miles
$3,000 – Hotels
3,000 miles
3,000 miles
$4,000 – Gas
4,000 miles
8,000 miles
Total Miles/Points
33,000 miles
37,000 miles
Estimated Redemption Value (Flights)
1 mile = ~1.6 cents cent
1 point = ~1.5 cent
Estimated Annual Value
$528
$555

Editorial Note: Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollments may be required for select benefits. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more

Compare The Perks

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express

  • 20% Back on In Flight Purchases: You’ll receive a statement credit for 20% of your purchases of food, beverages, and audio headsets on board Delta flights.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees: You can use your card outside of the U.S without incurring any foreign transaction fees.
  • Car Rental Damage and Loss Insurance: When you use your card to reserve and pay for the entire car rental, if you decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver, you’ll receive coverage through your car for theft of or damage to a rental vehicle in covered territories.
  • Global Assist Hotline : When you’re more than 100 miles away from home, you can use the Global Assist Hotline for 24/7 emergency assistance or coordination service. This includes legal and medical referrals, missing luggage help, and emergency cash wires.
  • American Express Experiences: This provides access to ticket presales and exclusive events.
  • Purchase Protection: When you use your card for your purchases, you’ll receive up to 90 days of purchase protection. If your items are accidentally damaged or stolen within the covered purchase period, you can claim for them.
  • Purchase Protection: This feature matches the original manufacturer’s warranty for one additional year on eligible purchases.
  • Pay with Miles Discount: Every five thousand miles you redeem using the Pay with Miles platform to book your Delta flights, you can receive up to $50 off the cost of your flights.

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select®

  • American Airlines Flight Discount: After you spend $20,000+ on purchases during the year, on renewal you can enjoy a $125 flight discount.
  • First Checked Bag Free: You and up to four travel companions on the same reservation can enjoy first checked bags free on domestic American Airlines flights.
  • Preferred Boarding: On American Airlines flights, you can save time and enjoy preferred boarding status.
  • Inflight Savings: You’ll receive 25% savings on beverage and food purchases on American Airlines flights when you use your card.
  • Citi Entertainment: You can get access to purchase tickets to exclusive and popular events including sporting events, concerts, dining experiences and more.

Compare The Drawbacks

Of course, the Delta SkyMiles Blue and the AAdvantage Platinum Select, like all credit cards, have potential drawbacks that may influence whether they are a good fit for you.

So, to help you make a smart decision, we'll highlight potential drawbacks here.

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express

While the card is an Amex credit card, unlike the AAdvantage Platinum Select card, you don’t get any free checked bags for you or your travel companions, which could end up costing you several hundred dollars on round trip flights.

One of the perks of an airline card is that you can enjoy preferential treatment at the airport, such as priority boarding. However, this is one of the few Delta cards that does not offer this feature.

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select®

While this card does offer more features compared to the Delta SkyMiles Blue, this does come at a cost and you will need to be prepared to pay a $99 annual fee after the first year.

While you can redeem your miles for hotel stays and car rentals, if you want to get the best redemption values, you are limited to American Airline flights.

Additionally, if you want to maximize your rewards, you are likely to need international destination flights, which means you won’t get the free checked bags perk. 

Compare Redemption Options

As we touched on above, you’ll earn 2X miles for every dollar spent at restaurants worldwide and Delta purchases and 1X miles for every dollar spent on other eligible purchases. You can then use your SkyMiles for Delta flights, seat upgrades, experiences, merchandise or even gift cards.

You will need to enroll in the Delta SkyMiles program, which will allow you to redeem your accumulated miles via phone, on the website or using a Delta ticket counter. You can also transfer miles to Delta’s partners, which includes Hilton Honors, IHG, Radisson Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, but you may incur a transfer fee.

You can enjoy similar redemption options with Citi AAdvantage rewards. You can use your miles to book travel to over 1,000 destinations globally. You have flexibility for your American Airlines awards or you could use your accumulated miles for Business and First Class upgrades, car rentals, hotel stays or vacation packages.

How to Maximize Cards Benefits?

If you want to maximize the value of your Delta SkyMiles, there are several things that you can do:

  • Check the Price Calendar: Delta has a price calendar, where you can check up to five weeks of flights for their prices and miles. This will allow you to find the best deals, if you are able to have some flexibility about your travel dates. You could save thousands of miles if you are able to travel a day or two earlier or later.
  • Watch Out for Flash Sales: Although Delta does have a dynamic pricing system, they are free to have sales at any time. So, even if you have no current plans to travel, it is worth regularly checking in to see if there are any flash deals.
  • Try to Avoid Delta Hubs: While this may seem a little silly, you can actually get penalized when you fly from a Delta hub. Delta can take advantage of its loyal customers and will charge more from its major hubs. So, if you’re not in a great hurry, look at slightly longer flights that avoid Delta hubs and use neighboring airports and other airline hubs.
  • Book Round Trips: Although a one way flight can provide some flexibility, it will cost you more SkyMIles. If you’re booking the same flights as one way trips, you could end up paying substantially more miles.

Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express

If you want to make the best use of your AAdvantage Platinum Select , there are some tips:

  • Be Flexible: If you can be flexible about your travel dates and itinerary, and have the time and patience to research your options, there is the potential to save thousands of miles, particularly if you are planning on long international flights and premium seats.
  • Research : There are different strategies for getting the most out of your AAdvantage miles, but they center around taking the time to fully research your flight options

While the typical value for a mile is approximately 1.5 to 2 cents, it is possible to get a higher value with careful planning. Unfortunately, the reverse can also apply. If you simply book any flight, you could end up short changing yourself and only getting a value of less than one cent per mile.

Customer Reviews: Which Card Wins?

  • Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express

Satisfied customers report being pleased at how easy it is to qualify for the welcome bonus, as you only need to spend $500 within the first three months.

Negative reviews highlight that some people have difficulty qualifying for the card despite having a good to excellent score. Fortunately, you can use the American Express website to pre qualify and avoid impacting your credit with a hard pull.

  • Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select®

Satisfied customers report that this is a card that does not require a lot of use to accumulate miles, as there is no annual fee to worry about.

Negative reviews are typically from longer term customers who have complaints that the benefits package for this card has been drastically reduced since 2019. Obviously, this will not be a factor for new customers, but it does highlight that it is worth comparing with other AAdvantage cards before you make a final decision.

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Bottom Line

As we’ve demonstrated, while both of these cards offer modest benefits compared to other travel cards, the annual fee is far lower. Additionally, both cards provide decent rewards on non travel purchases including restaurants and gas station purchases.

However, there are some key differences between the Delta SkyMiles Blue and Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select that will help you to determine which is the best choice for you.

Why You Might Want the Delta SkyMiles® Blue?

The Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express is a great option that could be good if:

  • You Don’t Want to Pay an Annual Fee: It is quite rare to find an airline card that does not have an annual fee. While this card may not offer a massive selection of benefits, you don’t need to offset an annual fee, so you can start enjoying immediate savings.

  • You Like to Eat Out: Most airline cards tend to heavily favor airline purchases, but this card allows you to earn the same rate of miles per dollar at restaurants including takeout and delivery. So, even if you’re not a frequent flier, you can still rack up those SkyMiles.

  • You Want Insurance Protections: This card not only offers purchase protection against damage or theft for 90 days after purchase, but you can also benefit from car rental damage and loss insurance simply by paying for the car rental with your card and declining the rental desk collision damage waiver.

When You Might Want the AAdvantage® Platinum?

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® is a solid choice if:

  • You Frequently Travel Domestically: When you’re flying on an American Airlines domestic flight, you and up to four travel companions get your first checked bag free, which could add up to serious savings.

  • You Want Airport Perks: As an AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite cardholder, you’ll get preferred boarding status on American Airline flights.

  • You Want Flight Discounts: If accumulating miles for flights is not enough and you want further flight discounts, this could be the card for you. If you spend $20,000+ during the year, you’ll get a $125 flight discount on account renewal.

Compare The Alternatives

If you're looking for an airline credit card with travel rewards – there are some good alternatives you may want to consider:

united explorer

Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card Review

United℠ Explorer Card
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Citi®/AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
Annual Fee
$95 ($0 first year)
$99, $0 intro first year. See Rates and Fees.
$99 Waived for the first 12 months
Rewards
1X – 2X 2x per $1 spent on United purchases, hotel accommodations, restaurants & eligible delivery services and 1x per $1 spent on all other purchases
1X – 2X 2X miles on delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide (including take-out and delivery in the U.S) and at U.S. supermarkets, and 1x miles on all other eligible purchases
1X – 2X 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants, and 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
Welcome bonus
60,000 miles 60,000 miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open
40,000 Miles 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months
50,000 Miles 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
Foreign Transaction Fee
0%
0%. See Rates and Fees.
0%
Purchase APR
21.49% – 28.49% variable APR
20.99%-29.99% Variable
21.24% – 29.99% (Variable)

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Lorraine Smithills

Lorraine Smithills

Lorraine is a freelance finance writer with years of experience in the banking sector and after a successful career in one of the largest retail and commercial financial services providers. She has a passion for helping people with less financial confidence to get control of their money through budgeting, saving, and responsible credit practices.
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Rewards Plan:
1X – 2X 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar on grocery stores and eligible American Airlines purchases, and 1 mile per dollar on other purchases
Welcome Bonus: 10,000 miles 10,000 miles and $50 statement credit if you spend $500 in first 3 months

united explorer

Rewards Plan:
1X – 2X 2x per $1 spent on United purchases, hotel accommodations, restaurants & eligible delivery services and 1x per $1 spent on all other purchases
Welcome Bonus: 60,000 miles 60,000 miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open

Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card Review

Rewards Plan:
1X – 2X 2X miles on delta purchases, at restaurants worldwide (including take-out and delivery in the U.S) and at U.S. supermarkets, and 1x miles on all other eligible purchases
Welcome Bonus: 40,000 Miles 40,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months

Advertiser Disclosure

The product offers that appear on this site are from companies from which this website receives compensation. 

Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

Credit Card Reviews Methodology

In order to determine the best possible credit cards, we look at things like fees, interest rates and rewards. We do this with companies that are associated with us as partners as well as other offerings. From there, we make a decision about what the best card is related to different categories and needs. We focus on interest rate cost & fees, especially the cost of carrying a balance, rewards – cards accumulate rewards in different currencies—points, miles, cash back—and their values vary widely usability – cards that accept a wide range of credit profiles and offer simple solutions for things like checking your credit score or contacting. We also consider customer reviews.

We look at cards related to good or excellent credit ratings that will then provide a range of different benefits and improvements for someone who has these scores. We also look at low fees when it comes to those who have lower credit scores.