Delta Amex Reserve Review
Tl;dr: A fancier Delta card primarily for high rollers.
Recently, I wrote about the Delta Amex Platinum card, which is now my favorite airline card by a fairly wide margin after its recent refresh. But what about its fancier purple cousin, the Reserve? I’m going to keep this one fairly short because this type of fancy card is not really for me or my target audience, but a few people out there might find it appealing. With the Platinum card so strong, why would you opt instead for the Reserve, with nearly double the fee? Well, the Reserve offers enhanced lounge and frequent flyer benefits that some people might want to shell out for.
Lounge access
Once upon a time (2023), Amex Platinum and Delta Reserve cardholders received unlimited visits to Delta’s Sky Clubs, and Delta Platinum holders could visit for a reduced fee. In response to overcrowding, the airline curtailed access significantly for these cardholders, there was drama, and the airline walked back some of the changes.
For now, Delta Platinum cardholders are out of luck, but Amex Platinum and Delta Reserve holders have unlimited access to the Sky Club. Starting on February 1, 2025, however, Delta Reserve cardholders will be limited to only 15 lounge visits per year, while Amex Platinum cardholders can visit 10 times per year. With the Delta Reserve, you also get 4 guest visits annually. (Note that a “visit” means entering the lounge within 24 hours on the same series of flights, so entering the lounge before your first flight and again during your connection only counts as one “visit.”)
If you have an Amex Platinum card and fly Delta often, the 10 visit limit could be exhausted in as little as 5 round-trips, so certain frequent Delta flyers might want to boost their ability to access the lounge by adding the Reserve to their arsenal. Conversely, those without the Amex Platinum might want this card, as the Reserve also provides access to Amex’s lounges when flying Delta, something that might allow travelers to avoid using a Sky Club visit.
Frequent flyer benefits
Much like the Delta Platinum, the Reserve offers cardholders 2,500 Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) toward Medallion status, which starts at 5,000 MQDs. If you held both of these cards, you’d be a Silver Medallion automatically. The Reserve also earns MQDs on spending at a rate of 1 MQD for every $10 spent–earning twice as fast as the Delta Platinum. But that comes at a cost; the Reserve earns 3x miles on Delta purchases, but a single mile per dollar on all other spending.
The Reserve also offers complimentary upgrades, much like the Delta Platinum. But the Reserve outranks the middle-tier card on the upgrade priority list, and Reserve cardholders will also outrank other Medallion members of equal rank on the upgrade chart. This might make it worthwhile for elite members hoping to swing into first class via upgrades.
Annual fee and offsetting credits
The Reserve comes with a lot of credits, but not enough to overcome its massive $650 annual price tag. You get $200 toward a hotel stay, $120 toward rideshare (in 12 use-or-lose $10 monthly increments), and $240 toward purchases at Resy restaurants (also in 12 use-or-lose increments). You also get a companion fare to be used domestically or to the Caribbean or Central America. Unlike the Delta Platinum version, this one can be used on a Comfort+ or first class ticket, potentially greatly increasing its value.
However, as I mentioned last time, the Resy credit can be hard to use and will usually only represent a drop in the bucket of a very expensive restaurant bill. And while saving on the cost of a first class ticket could be an easy way to cover the cost of the Reserve card, you would still have to pay the cost of the first, often exorbitantly expensive ticket.
Conclusion
For me, I would value this card’s credits at about $450; solid, but not nearly enough to break even. And as much as I would like extra lounge visits and to move up in the Delta pecking order, I would not be willing to spend $200 to do it. With lounge access often readily accessible via $0-net-fee cards like the Capital One Venture X and elite-like perks easily obtainable via the Delta Platinum, the Reserve is a luxury that is too rich for my blood, but might make sense for high spenders who can derive real value from its perks or those willing to pay for those premium features.