Just when I thought I was ready to implement my credit card application strategy, I receive another offer in the mail. The new offer I received this week will change the order in which I apply for travel award credit cards.

I shared the three cards I’m applying for in earlier this week. I originally planned to start with the 50,000 Membership Rewards bonus from the American Express Business Gold credit card. But I received another 50,000 Membership Reward bonus offer in the mail this week. I had stuck the offer letter in my briefcase and planned to apply today. But when I opened the envelope, the new expiration date wasn’t until August 28th, 2012. The old offer expired on August 8th. Since the offer is good for another 20 days, I’ll hold off on applying for this card in hopes I”ll receive the reported 75,000 Membership Rewards offer.

Since I now have about 20 days until the offer expires, I can go ahead and apply for the Delta Reserve credit card from American Express. I’ll receive an instant 10,000 Delta MQMs with my first purchase and an additional 30,000 MQMs when I hit the spending threshold. For those of you knew to Delta SkyMiles, it takes 125,000 Delta MQMs to achieve top tier Diamond status and 75,000 MQMs to achieve Platinum status.

Why I Caved In And Am Now Applying For The Delta Reserve Card

I really need this card to secure an upgrade on Diamond Elite heavy and high demand from business traveler flights. As a Platinum Elite, I’ve noticed my name on the upgrade list is in the high double digits on a regular basis. This isn’t because I’m purchasing L, U or T (lowest price) class fares. It’s because I’m not at a Delta Diamond Elite member and I’m also not at the top of the Platinum’s who are waiting for an upgrade. This card will move me to the top of the upgrade list for Platinum member and will give me a better shot at achieving Diamond Elite status this year.

In the past, I’ve tried upgrade experiments on Delta. Some upgrade experiments paid off with an upgrade and others only resulted in economy comfort. Just this week when I asked the gate agent about chances for an upgrade, she replied with unfortunate news by staying “I’m terribly sorry, only Diamonds will get an upgrade on this flight.” That was disappointing news to hear after a long week. This was enough to push me over the edge to finally get the Delta Reserve credit card from American Express. The benefits include:

The real benefit to me is to earn the additional MQMs to qualify for Diamond Elite status. I’ll also not have to worry about checking a bag for a fee if Mrs. Weekly Flyer and Baby Flyer are on a separate reservation.

Bottom Line

I’m not getting the new card because it takes 135,000 Delta SkyMiles to get to Hawaii in Business / First Class.

The real benefit in this card is twofold. First, I’ll now be at the top of the Platinum list for an upgrade. Second, I’ll have the chance to earn an additional 40,000  MQMs throughout the year. Even if I’m short of Diamond status, which requires 125,000 MQMs, I can roll over any MQMs short of the 125,000 threshold over the 75,000 Platinum threshold. Then I’ll carry over the MQMs to the next year and have another shot at 40,000 MQMs from the card again the next year. I’ve held off on getting this card, but today is the day. I’ll report back soon on the results of the application.

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