Checked baggage fees are perhaps the most hated of the current round of fee hikes, but Delta has figured out a way to make the fees more palatable… for some. The airline’s marketing team has linked Delta Amex card membership with checked baggage fee waivers:
Starting June 1st, Cardmembers with a Gold, Platinum, or Reserve Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express—and up to eight travel companions within their reservation—will automatically receive a first checked bag fee waiver upon check-in for all Delta and Delta Connection® flights.
This only applies to general members of the SkyMiles program, of course, since elite-level members are already waived out of paying the baggage fees — for two bags.
Assuming a single checked bag, checked both ways on a roundtrip, Delta Amex holders would save $50 per person on the itinerary. (Up to eight travel companions?! Big crowd. But that could work out to quite a savings.)
The cards charge annual fees — the gold, platinum, and reserve cards charge an $95, $150, or $450 (!) annual fee, respectively — but if you’re not an elite member of SkyMiles and you’re going to be traveling with Delta (and checking bags) anyway, it may be worth signing up for a card.
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May 6th, 2010 at 11:05 am
I as well as my husband are delta sky miles customer and want to know if we are elligible for this program. How do we do that with our cards. And what is the procedure when booking a flight.
May 6th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Yes!! I knew I got that card for a reason! The perk may not be that big, but I’ll take what I can get.
May 6th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
That $450 card is tempting…you get club access, upgrades, 1 companion ticket per year, etc…
May 7th, 2010 at 8:35 am
The Continental Card also does this and is a huge asset. It is one of the reasons I am still a card member and it has an added value. Glad Delta is getting into the game!
May 12th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
I agree with Will. I have one of those Continental cards and so does my wife. It has saved us a fortune on baggage fees. What’s interesting with that one is, neither of us pays an annual fee. When we went to cancel after the first intro year, Chase said we could hold onto it with no fee if we went to two dollars per mile instead of one. Since we both only use it for Continental ticket buys anyway, this was definitely a good deal. (I have an Amex platinum card, so I don’t need something else to give me access to only one program’s lounges.)