I’m updating this mid annual-fee card comparison to reflect that since I last did the comparison, United has updated its card and AA has added the AAdvantage Globe Card and the Aviator Silver Card is officially scheduled to be deprecated (and presumably existing card holders will be switched over to the Globe Card). I’m updating this one first because it has the most interesting changes!
With the updates, all three of these cards now have annual fees of $350, so what differentiates the cards now is exclusively what you get for the $350. It’s also worth noting that the Alaska Airlines Summit card, which is their premium card, comes in at $395, so it arguably competes in a similar space, but I still remain unconvinced that Alaska Airlines is in the same league as the big three due to its more limited network scope (though that is starting to change).
This blog is for entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice. 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. The information on this page has been collected independently, and all information should be confirmed with the card company before applying.
Welcome Offers
The American AAdvantage Globe Card currently offers 60 000 bonus miles (~$900) after spending $4 000 in the first 3 months.
Delta’s SkyMiles Platinum card offers 80 000 bonus miles (~$880) after you spend $4 000 in the first 6 months plus an additional 20 000 bonus miles (~$220) after you spend $6 000 total in the first 6 months.
United’s Quest card offers 80 000 bonus miles (~$880), as well as 3 000 premier qualifying points (at least 50% of the way to silver status) after you spend $4 000 in the first 3 months. The annual fees are not waived on any of the cards.
The overall winner in my opinion is the Delta card because the 100 000 bonus points have the most value, whereas the United PQP only matter if you can actually earn enough to get status. This earns United’s card 5 points. Delta earns 4 points, and American earns 3 points because it has the smallest bonus (but they have often had larger bonuses since the card came out).
Points earnings
For all these cards, the best multiplier is offered on direct airline purchases. American’s Globe Card offers 3x miles on American and 2x miles at restaurants and on local transit (and 6x miles on hotel purchases through AAdvantage Hotels). Delta’s Platinum card offers 3x miles on Delta and at hotels and 2x on dining and groceries. United’s Quest card offers 3x miles on United as well as 2x miles on non-airfare travel, dining, and select streaming services. All cards offer 1 mile/$ on everything else.
Trying to compare point earning schemes is complex because it depends on how your overall spend patterns compare to the cards. All cards earn 3x miles on airfare with their respective airlines and 2x on dining. I’ll also note that AA miles are worth about 20% more than either UA or DL miles.
For hotels, it’s a choice of 6x on AAdvantage bookings only vs 3x for any hotel (DL) vs 2x for any hotel (UA). I’d argue UA falls last, followed by AA, with Delta winning.
The final comparison for points earnings is: 2x miles on local transit (AA), 2x miles on all other travel and select streaming services (UA) or 2x on groceries (DL).
I’d say that it goes, in this case, DL beats UA beats AA. Overall, for point earnings, I’ll give 5 points to Delta, 4 points to AA, and 3 points to UA. AA’s score is propped up by its points being worth more and the 6x on AAdvantage hotel bookings.
Elite earnings
The AA Globe Card has the typical earning of 1 loyalty point per $1 spent. This means if you spent $40 000 on the card, you’d get entry-level Gold Status on American. You can also get up to 15 000 additional Loyalty Points after twelve (3x 5 000 LP) AA flights in a membership year.
The Delta Platinum card offers a boost of 2 500 MQD just for having the card each year as well as 1 MQD per $20 you spend on the card. That means if you spend $50 000 on the card, you’d be granted entry-level Medallion Silver status thanks to the boost. Without the boost, you’d need to spend $100 000.
The United Quest card offers 1 000 PQP for having the card and then an additional 1 PQP per $20 spent on the card (up to a maximum of 18 000 PQP). This means if you spent $100 000 on the card, you’d be granted entry-level Premier Silver status, which is the weakest of the three by far (though in the first year, you’d only need to spend $40 000 thanks to the welcome bonus). United improved their cards’ PQP earnings specifically to match Delta’s rate.
The American card wins (5 points), followed by the Delta card (3 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 AAdvantage Globe card offers a first checked bag free, preferred (group 5 of 9) boarding, a global entry credit, and $100 back on inflight food and beverage purchases. You also get a Companion Certificate each renewal (good for 1 guests at $99 each plus taxes and fees) in economy. The card also offers 4 Admirals Club passes each year, $100 per year credit that can be used for a couple specific things (including AAdvantage Hotels bookings at least). $30 off per Turo rental (up to 8 times).
The Delta Platinum card offers an annual companion certificate automatically with renewal (in main cabin), a first checked bag free, a Global Entry Credit, and 20% back on in-flight purchases. It also offers a $150 Delta Stays credit, which can be used on pre-paid hotels booked through Delta. It also offers two $10/month credits at Resy ($120/year total) and on Rideshares (an additional $120/year total).
The United Quest Card offers a $200 statement credit towards United flights purchases. In addition, the card offers a 10 000 miles United award flight discount each year. The card has a set of coupon book perks including a Global Entry/TSA Pre-check credit, $100 in rideshare credits ($8/month), a $150 Renowned Hotels and Resorts credit, a $150 JSX credit, and some Instacart and Avis/Budget credits. It also offers two free checked bags, priority boarding, and 25% back on inflight purchases and United Club premium drink purchases. After spending $20 000 in a year, you’ll earn an additional 10 000 mile discount on an award ticket. After spending $40 000 in a year, you’ll earn 2 economy plus seat upgrade coupons.
The United Quest Card’s perks are the strongest if you primarily travel solo, since the miles discount and statement credit almost entirely justify the annual fee immediately. Its coupon book credits are more specific and thus harder to track than the Delta Platinum Card’s offerings, and it lacks a companion pass (free in the case of Delta). But both handedly beat the Globe Card’s extremely lackluster offerings.
The Delta Platinum card’s automatic companion certificate is probably the best benefit (5 points). The United Quest card gives you some solid perks on United to cover the annual fee, but the extended offerings could make it a coupon book headache (4 points). The Globe Card’s offerings are quite weak; the $99 companion fare is a joke compared to the equivalent from the Delta Platinum Card (1 point).
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, but United has really been devaluing its miles recently and has lost a big step. Delta’s miles are generally worth the least, but this card does offer a 15% discount on award tickets, which helps improve the points’ value.
In terms of redeeming the miles, American comes first (5 points), United and Delta tie for second (3 points).
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 substantial at $350, 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 enhanced perks compared to the low-annual fee cards. One point to note is that if you’re interested in using credit card spend to help you earn status with Delta, then you need to get at least the Delta Platinum card (but the Delta Reserve is probably the better option).
The winner this time around is the Delta Platinum card (20/25) because of its well-roundedness and strong benefits followed by the AAdvantage Globe Card, which is only propped up because of the greater value of AAdvantage miles (18/25), and then the United Quest Card, which is hampered by its weak elite earnings potential (16/25).
However, I think any of these cards can make sense if you are loyal to one of these airlines because all of them give benefits that on their respective airline that should justify the annual fee (except maybe the AAdvantage Globe Card if you don’t care about lounge access…)
Michael's travel blog 