Yes, a Delta Amex card can get you a second free checked bag. Since June 4, 2026, the Basic Card Member (the primary cardholder, not an authorized user) on a Delta SkyMiles Gold, Platinum or Reserve American Express Card, or on the Business version of any of the three, has been able to check a second bag free on domestic Delta-operated flights. That comes on top of the first free checked bag these cards already carried.
Delta and American Express announced the benefit on June 4, 2026, and said it came with no increase to the annual fee. The catch is in the details. The second bag is narrower than the first: it covers the cardholder, not the whole reservation, and only on trips that start and end in the U.S. Here's how it works, and where people get caught.
Which Delta Amex Cards Include a Second Free Checked Bag
The benefit terms name six eligible cards, the same six that carry the first free bag:
- Delta SkyMiles Gold and Gold Business American Express Card ($0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 on the personal Gold)
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum and Platinum Business American Express Card ($350 annual fee on the personal Platinum)
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve and Reserve Business American Express Card ($650 annual fee on the personal Reserve)
The benefit is the same on all six. Amex's Gold card page puts it plainly: your first checked bag is free on Delta flights worldwide, and on domestic Delta flights, your second bag flies free too. So if the free bags are the reason you want a Delta card, the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex gets you both bags at the lowest annual fee of the three.
The Platinum and Reserve earn their higher fees with other things, like the Companion Certificate and, on the Reserve, Delta Sky Club visits. Our Delta SkyMiles card comparison walks through those.
The Rules That Decide Whether Your Second Bag Is Free
I'd read these before you pack two bags, because each one is a way to end up paying at the counter anyway. Per the terms on Delta's card member bag page:
The trip has to be domestic, start to finish. The waiver applies only to tickets whose origin and destination are both within the United States, which Delta defines as the lower 48, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The first free bag works on Delta flights worldwide; the second doesn't follow you abroad.
Delta has to operate the flight. It applies on Delta or Delta Connection flights when you check in with Delta for a flight that's both marketed and operated by Delta. The terms say codeshare flights aren't eligible.
Your SkyMiles number has to be on the booking. The reservation must include the SkyMiles number of every traveling Basic Card Member. If it wasn't there when you booked, add it before you check in or pay for bags.
It's once per card, per direction. The benefit is available once per eligible card per direction of travel on a qualifying itinerary.
Standard bags only. It waives the standard fee for a second bag that isn't overweight or oversize under Delta's rules. Bags beyond the second pay Delta's normal fees.
It doesn't stack on bags you already get free. The waiver isn't available to passengers who already get two or more checked bags free, for example from the fare they bought, Medallion Status or active-duty military status.
New cardholders, and people upgrading from another Delta SkyMiles card, become eligible once they've received the card from American Express.
Who on Your Reservation Gets Which Free Bag
This is the part that trips up families. The two bag benefits reach different people.
The first free bag covers the whole reservation. Delta says the first bag of each passenger on the reservation is waived at check-in, with a maximum of nine waivers per reservation (you plus up to eight companions).
The second free bag covers only Basic Card Members. Delta's allowance page spells it out: travel companions who aren't also Basic Card Members won't receive a second checked bag free, and their fees start at the second-bag fee. Additional Card Members, the authorized users on your account, don't count; the terms limit the benefit to Basic Card Members.
Say two parents and two kids fly a domestic round trip, and one parent is the Basic Card Member on a Delta Gold card. All four check their first bag free. The cardholder parent checks a second bag free in each direction.
Anyone else who checks a second bag pays for it. If the other parent holds their own eligible card as a Basic Card Member and their SkyMiles number is on the reservation, their second bag is covered too.
One more wrinkle for Medallion members: Delta's allowance page says Silver Medallion Members who hold an eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card receive a second bag free, up to two free bags at 70 pounds each, for travel within the U.S. and Canada. The card terms, though, limit the second-bag waiver to tickets that start and end in the U.S., so check with Delta before you count on it for a trip to Canada.
What the Second Bag Would Otherwise Cost
Delta's baggage page lists $45 for the first standard checked bag and $55 for the second, each way, for Delta Comfort and Delta Main customers on domestic flights without a Delta SkyMiles American Express Card, Medallion Status or an active military exception. Those prices are for standard bags under 50 pounds. For the first bag alone, Delta puts the card member saving at up to $90 on a round-trip Delta flight per person.
Which Card to Hold for Free Bags
If you fly Delta domestically and check two bags yourself, the Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex covers both at the lowest fee, and its first-year fee is $0. If you already want the Companion Certificate or Sky Club visits, the Delta SkyMiles Platinum Amex or Delta SkyMiles Reserve Amex carries the same two bags, so you don't need a second Delta card for them.
If your household checks a lot of second bags, count Basic Card Members, not travelers. Only a Basic Card Member's second bag is free, so a partner's own card does more for bags than an authorized user card on yours. And if most of your Delta trips leave the U.S., the second bag won't apply; the first bag still does.
Sources
- Delta News Hub: Delta and American Express add more travel value to Delta SkyMiles Cards (June 4, 2026)
- Delta: First Checked Bag Free for Card Members (incl. Second Checked Bag Free terms)
- Delta: Medallion and Credit Card Bag Allowance
- Delta: Baggage Policy and Fees
- American Express: Delta SkyMiles Gold Card offer and benefit terms
- American Express: Delta SkyMiles Gold Card
- American Express: Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card
- American Express: Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card
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