The next step up from the entry-level cards is the mid-tier cards: those with annual fees around $250. Delta has the Platinum Card from American Express ($250) and United as the Quest card from Chase ($250). American doesn’t currently have a mid-tier credit card, so I’ve included the Aviator Silver card ($199) here for comparison, but it’s not currently open to new applications. If you have an Aviator Red card, it can be upgraded to the Aviator Silver card after being open for at least a year.
I provide the information here just to give readers a vague idea if the rewards offered by the card might make sense for them to consider the card. All information should be confirmed with the card company before applying.
Welcome Offers
The Aviator Silver card has no welcome offer, so instead I’ll include the Aviator Red card’s welcome offer. American’s Aviator Red card offers 50 000 miles after making your first purchase. Delta’s Platinum card offers 50 000 bonus miles and 5 000 medallion qualifying miles (MQM) towards status (20% of the way to Medallion Silver status) after you spent $2 000 in the first 3 months. United’s Quest card offers 80 000 bonus miles after you spend $5 000 in the first 3 months. The annual fees are not waived on any of the cards.
The winner here is the United card because it offers the most miles but has a higher minimum spend. This earns United’s card 3 points. Delta earns 2 points, and American earns 1 point because the bonus isn’t actually for the Aviator Silver card.
Points earnings
For all these cards, the best multiplier is offered on direct airline purchases. American’s Aviator Silver card offers 3x miles on American and 2x miles on hotels and car rentals. Delta’s Platinum card offers 3x miles on Delta and at hotels and 2x on dining and groceries. United’s Quest card offers 3x miles on United as well as 2x miles on non-airfare travel, dining, and select streaming services. All cards offer 1 mile/$ on everything else.
The Quest card strictly has better bonus categories than the Aviator card, but American miles are somewhat more valuable than United miles. Delta’s card offering 3x on hotels makes it the winner in that category, but it’s hard to directly compare it with United’s 2x miles on non-airfare travel. Delta’s groceries category is better than United’s ‘select streaming services’. I’ll give 3 points to Delta, 2 points to United, and 1 point to American.
Elite earnings
The Aviator Silver cards has the typical earning of 1 loyalty point per $1 spent. This means if you spent $30 000 on the card, you’d get entry-level Gold Status on American. You can also get up to 15 000 additional Loyalty Points after qualifying spend each year.
The Delta Platinum card offers 10 000 MQM after you spend $25 000 on the card (max 20 000 MQM for $50 000). That means if you spend $50 000 on the card in your first year, you’d be granted entry-level Medallion Silver status.
The United Quest card offers 500 PQP per $12 000 spent on the card (up to a maximum of 6 000 PQP). This means if you spent $120 000 on the card, you’d be granted entry-level Premier Silver status, which is extremely weak.
The American card wins (3 points), followed by the Delta card (2 points), and then the United card (1 point).
Benefits
As is often the case, with higher annual fee credit cards, the benefits on these cards are generally much stronger than the free/low annual fee cards.
The Aviator Silver Card offers up to $25 back per day on inflight food/beverages as well as $50 on inflight Wi-Fi each year. The card also offers preferred boarding (group 5) and a first checked bag free (for you + 8 others), a Global Entry application fee credit, and a Companion Certificate (buy one, get one for $99) after spending $20k in a year.
The Delta Platinum card offers an annual companion certificate automatically with renewal, a first checked bag free, a Global Entry Credit, 20% back on in-flight purchases, and discounted ($39 each visit) entry to Delta Sky Clubs.
The United card offers $125 in United credits each year, two 5,000 rebates when redeeming miles, free first and second checked bags, priority boarding, a Global Entry Credit, 25% back on United inflight food/beverages and on ‘premium’ (alcoholic) drinks in the United Club, and premier upgrades on award tickets.
The Delta Platinum card’s automatic companion certificate is probably the best benefit (3 points). The Aviator Silver and United Quest card have largely comparable, strong benefits (2 points each).
How to use the points
The main use for earning airlines points is to redeem them for flights on the respective airline. In general, American has the best redemption opportunities because they still use an award chart, rather than dynamic pricing, for redemptions on partners. United is generally the next best because of its Star Alliance partners and generally better redemption prices. Delta’s miles are generally worth the least.
In terms of redeeming the miles, American comes first (3 points), United comes second (2 points), and Delta is the weakest (1 point).
Which of these cards is/are right for you?
These cards are all pretty good for someone who travels on one of these airlines at least somewhat regularly. Since the fees for these cards are somewhat high, it’s harder to make these cards work than simply checking a bag a couple times, especially if you don’t fly in the main cabin. If you hold higher than entry-level elite status with one of the airlines, the usefulness will probably be determined by how much value you can pull out of the improved redemption opportunities.
The scores of these cards are practically the same. The Delta Platinum card just barely edges out a victory with 11 points to Aviator Silver and Quest card’s 10 points. The Delta Platinum card pulled ahead thanks to its strong benefit of a companion certificate.
However, I think any of these cards can make sense if you are loyal to one of these airlines.
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