American Express Membership Rewards points can be converted to Delta SkyMiles at a 1:1 ratio. So every 1,000 Membership Rewards points you transfer to your SkyMiles account will give you 1,000 Delta SkyMiles.
With AMEX being the only major U.S. credit card transfer partner of Delta, this makes the Membership Rewards program the best option for quickly earning lots of SkyMiles outside of using Delta's own co-branded credit cards.
AMEX point transfer fee: Excise Tax Offset
Every time you transfer AMEX Membership Rewards points to a U.S. airline frequent flyer program, you will be charged an Excise Tax Offset of $0.0006 per point. This comes out to being $0.60 per 1,000 AMEX Points you transfer to Delta or any other U.S. airline partner.
When transferring, you have the option to pay for the fee either in points or with an eligible Membership Rewards credit cards connected to the account. When paying in points, they will be worth 0.5 cents each which is a bad redemption value considering you can easily get 1 cent redeeming directly with AMEX or higher when transferring to partners (such as Delta).
Calculator: Convert AMEX points to Delta SkyMiles
Use our Conversion Calculator to easily determine how many Delta SkyMiles you can earn when transferring points from the American Express Membership Rewards program.
Excise Tax Offset fee for this transfer: $0.00
How to transfer AMEX points to Delta SkyMiles
- Go to americanexpress.com. Enter your login credentials, select "Membership Rewards" from the drop down, and click Log In.
- Once you're logged in, scroll down to the "Ready To Redeem?" section and click on the tab that says Transfer Points. Click on View All.
- Find Delta SkyMiles in the list and click the column to expand it. If you have never linked your frequent flyer account to your Membership Rewards account, you will be asked to enter the Delta SkyMiles account number and select a card member. The name selected must match the name on the Delta SkyMiles account.
- Use the slider or manually enter in how many points you wish to transfer to Delta, select the Delta SkyMiles account you wish to transfer them to, and click Review Transfer.
- Review the transfer to make sure that every thing is correct and click on Submit Transfer.
Best AMEX credit cards for Delta SkyMiles
Points earned with all Membership Rewards credit cards can be transferred to Delta SkyMiles at a 1:1 ratio. This means every 1,000 credit card points you transfer will give you 1,000 SkyMiles.
AMEX offers several Membership Rewards credit cards, but here's our favorites for earning Delta SkyMiles:
- Earn 5X points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (up to $500,000, then 1X)
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel
- Earn 1X points on all other eligible purchases
- Global Airport Lounge Access including Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Club Lounges (when flying Delta), Airspace Lounges, Escape Lounges, and Priority Pass Lounges
- Over $1,400 in annual credits which includes airline incidentals, Uber Cash, digital entertainment, Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection, and more
- Enroll in complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status and Hilton Honors Gold status
- Terms Apply
- $695 annual fee (See Rates and Fees)
- Card Value & AMEX Platinum Points Calculator
- Earn 4X points at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year (then 1X)
- Earn 4X points at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year (then 1X)
- Earn 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X points on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X points on all other purchases
- Receive over $400 in annual credits each year
- Terms Apply
- $325 annual fee (See Rates and Fees)
- Card Value & AMEX Gold Points Calculator
- Earn 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com
- Earn 1.5X points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus
- Earn 1X points on all other eligible purchases
- Global Airport Lounge Access including Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Club Lounges (when flying Delta), Airspace Lounges, Escape Lounges, and Priority Pass Lounges
- Over $1,400 in annual credits which includes Dell, Adobe, Indeed, CLEAR, and more
- Get 35% points back when you redeem points for all or part of an eligible flight booked with AMEX Travel
- Enroll in complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status and Hilton Honors Gold status
- Terms Apply
- $695 annual fee (See Rates and Fees)
- Card Value & Business Platinum Points Calculator
- Earn 4X points on the 2 select categories where your business spent the most each billing cycle, on up to $150,000 per year (then 1X)
- Earn 3X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on AmexTravel.com
- Earn 1X points on all other purchases
- Terms Apply
- $375 annual fee (See Rates and Fees)
- Card Value & Rewards Calculator
- Earn 2X points on the first $50,000 in purchases per year, then 1 point per dollar thereafter
- Terms Apply
- $0 annual fee (See Rates and Fees)
- Card Value & Rewards Calculator
FAQs
What's the transfer ratio of Membership Rewards points to Delta SkyMiles?
Every 1,000 Membership Rewards points you transfer to Delta will give you 1,000 Delta SkyMiles.
How long does it take for AMEX Points to transfer to Delta?
It typically only takes a few minutes to be reflected in your SkyMiles account, but could take up to 24 hours.
How much does it cost to transfer AMEX Points to Delta SkyMiles?
AMEX will charge you $0.0006 per point transferred to Delta SkyMiles. This means that every 1,000 points you transfer will cost you $0.60.
We've run the calculations and checked them twice — here are the credit cards that consistently provide outstanding value to our users:
- Best flexible travel card: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Best overall value year after year: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Best for high cash back: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
- Best for lounge access & luxury travel: The Platinum Card® from American Express
- Best for business travel rewards: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- Best for heavy business spend: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
