Summary – The Delta Reserve Credit Card is one airline credit card that I can recommend and say it is perhaps the best airline credit card out there. You get perks that you will not find on other airline cards. So for the true frequent fliers on Delta, you should be jumping all over this. Here are the reasons why I like this card.

Earn More MQMs – The neat feature about the Delta Reserve Card is that you can earn additional MQMs depending on your level of spending. You can choose to use those MQMs towards qualifying for your elite status or you can give them away. Delta Skymiles members will know that earning the MQMs are the key to getting higher tier status with the benefits that follow.

For more details between the different tiers of the Skymiles program, check out the chart below.

Domestic Companion Ticket Anniversary Bonus – In my opinion, the free domestic companion ticket alone will cover the annual fee.

Access to Crown Room Club – As a card member, you can access the Delta Crown Room whenever you fly with Delta. You can also bring immediate family or two companions along. The annual membership fee of a crown room starts at $350 depending on your level of SkyMiles Memberhsip. Hence, once again, this feature will almost cover the cost of the annual fee. (see fee schedule below)

Pay with Miles – Pay with Miles is an exclusive Card member benefit that lets you redeem your miles for any Delta flight, any time. You have to log in to delta.com, search for flights, and select the Pay with Miles option – there are no blackout dates.

Concierge Service – Like the Amex Platinum and Centurion Card, the Delta Reserve Card offers cardholders 24 hour concierge service.

Verdict – When a card charges a high annual, it makes you really scrutinize the card. But after much research, I’ve concluded that for the serious frequent flier of Delta Airlines and Skymiles member, this card is a steal. From the ability to get access to the Delta Crown Room, to the annual free domestic companion air ticket (good for first class as well!), and to the ability to earn serious MQM miles depending on how much you spend, the Delta Reserve Credit Card easily pays for itself.

Another great benefit of this card is that you get standby and upgrade priority within your membership tier. If there is one seat left in first, and there are two Platinum Medallions waiting for it, the one with this card gets it.

Also the additional MQMs that are available to big spenders on this card make it ideal for a business traveler based in one of Delta’s hubs. With the merger with Northwest effectively complete, those hubs now include places like Minneapolis, Memphis, and Detroit, in addition to New York, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Salt Lake City. These business travelers, who will rack up thousands of dollars in company reimbursed expenses every month, stand to move up to the highest levels of Delta’s system, assuring them first class upgrades on almost every flight.

I highly recommend this card to the true Delta frequent flier.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 4th, 2009 at 06:00 and is filed under Credit Cards FAQ. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.