The Delta SkyMiles Gold Credit Card by American Express is essentially a travel rewards card. Cardholders who accumulate a specific number of points will be awarded with free domestic tickets to fly on Delta Airlines. However, a minimum of 25 000 points is required for a ticket redemption.

Unlike other travel rewards cards, point collection for this card is much faster and easier. Apart from accumulating points through travel miles, card users are also able to do so by charging their groceries, gas purchases or phone bills to the card. In fact, customers are even eligible for double points collection for every dollar spent.

If that's still not attractive enough, then read on. Customers who sign up for the Delta SkyMiles credit card will get an instant bonus of mile points credited to their account. However, the points acquired are dependent on the type of card. Customers get 5000 bonus miles for a standard card, 10000 for a Gold card and 15000 miles for Platinum card holders.

What's more, the annual fee for each level stands at $55 for Standard, $85 for Gold and $125 for Platinum, with the fee for the first year waived. Plus, if the applicant is already an American Express member, $55 will be deducted from these fees.

Also, airline miles do not expire as long as the account is kept active for three years. Nevertheless, as this card is neither a Visa nor a MasterCard, its usage around the world may be rather limited, although it is widely accepted in the US. Additionally, if you do not use your card frequently, you may also end up paying more on annual fees than if you were to purchase a Delta Airlines ticket with cash.

Finally, the variable APR imposed for this card is also a disadvantage. It is possible for rates to go as high as 18% at times, which makes this card unattractive to consumers with outstanding balances. However, customers are able to benefit from the card's introductory offer of a 9.99% rate on balance transfers, which stays at that rate until the it is fully paid off.