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The following post is available for archival purposes only. There is an updated debit card post that will show you the current options. Please read there and continue to earn miles for paying your bills and non-credit purhcases.
There was speculation about the Delta Debit Card from SunTrust possibly going away. I covered the card extensively here if you would like more info. My own mother got the card just before the website was taken down and the offer was to be closed. Gary Leff had indicated that they would be “replacing the card” which suggested to me at the time that this would be an alternate reward scheme and nothing as lucrative as the previous. The link to the new page is here.
Good News!
They have renovated the website and are taking applications again. From what I can see nothing is different, but the fact that SunTrust is investing in the renovation of the site indicates to me that they are staying with it for some time to come.
Why should you get the card?
For every swipe of the card you earn 1 Skymile per $1. That’s as good as a credit card will get you for any Delta offerings and you also earn 2 Skymiles per $1 when spent on Delta just like Delta AMEX cards. However, as this is a debit card, there is no hard pull of your credit (unless you request a credit line later). This is just a regular checking account linked card that gives you miles on things you usually couldn’t earn on. You also have a 5,000 Skymile sign up bonus to get you started in exchange for the annual fee (see below).
Every year, the Sherpstress and I earn at least 72,000 Skymiles on the card. How? We send our payroll deposits to our SunTrust account (Delta Debit) and load everything on to our Bluebirds to pay our bills ($5k monthly limit at a register, $1k monthly limit online). I mean every bill. We pay our mortgage this way, insurance, credit card bills, even send payments to people or organizations not on a billpay structure (like church or a baby sitter). Those not on billpay get a regular check in the mail in about 2-3 days and every month the miles post to our accounts.
Every year that is enough for a coach ticket to Asia (currently selling for $1,500-2,500 depending on where you might be flying from) and every two years, a business class ticket ($4,000-7,000) – fully worth the trouble.
Consider as well that as of next year it should be easier to find award space on Delta (per their highly ambiguous promise) and earning rates for cheaper fares will drop through the floor. This is one way to continue to earn lots of Delta miles at a very low cost.
What are some drawbacks?
The card has an annual fee of $75 (bonus of 5,000). While that’s cheaper than the price Delta charges to buy Skymiles outright, it’s not a lot better. When you consider that you can effectively double-dip on all of your credit card purchases (1 mile for the airline of your choice credit card per dollar and another 1 Skymile per dollar when you pay that card off) – it’s worth it.
There is also a $12/monthly fee assuming that you do not hold a $3,000 balance. The Sherpas have better places to put their money, but considering the payoff (Business class to Asia) it’s worth factoring this in as a $144 annual fee paid monthly + $75 annual fee for the card ($219 in total).
Final Word
The fees on this account are likely to be higher than other checking account you have ever had, maybe even higher than some of the credit cards you might have in your wallet right now. However, this is the most lucrative card to get miles for the purchases you aren’t right now getting miles – your bills. If your finances look like ours, a majority of the dollars you spend are not items you can (or would) put on a credit card. But even when spending on a credit card than you are on bills, this is an opportunity to double those miles.
If you are from the camp where you expect a kickback on every transaction, this is the card for you. Even other Debit accounts that have a mileage earning feature per transaction (Hawaiian and American Airlines BankDirect) only pay 1 mile per $2. For me, 72,000 Skymiles is definitely worth the $219 in fees per year.
Hi:
I’m very interested in hearing how you double-dip. I currently have a Delta SkyMiles American Express and would ante up for the Delta Debit Card if I could pay my bills on-line and get the SkyMiles award. Please provide me with any information that you can so I can better understand how this works.
Thank you!
Connie
Connie:
You can double dip on your credit card spend by first buying an item with your Delta AMEX and then paying that credit card bill off with your Delta Suntrust Debit card. Here is the easiest loop.
1) Pay for things with your credit card.
2) Load a Bluebird card with your SunTrust Debit card at a Walmart register for the amount of your bills
3) Pay bills via Bluebird.com
If you would like to discuss it further, please email me at sherpa@thetripsherpa.com
-Sherpa
The website you listed for the delta debit card $1 = 1 skymile is not a real site. Can you send me the correct one?
@Catherine- Sorry Catherine, this post should probably be updated. The Delta debit card has not been available since the summer, however there are some other worthy alternatives. Please email me at: Sherpa@thetripsherpa.com and I will forward you some information immediately, however I will be adding an updated post in the near future.
Thanks
-Sherpa
So you load bluebird with suntrust delta skymiles debit card, and when it withdraws from the debit card looks like a credit transaction to get the points??
@Sam – I couldn’t comment on how it looks to the bank, and it actually has to be debit in order for the load to work. I can, however, confirm that it earns points and in the end that is all either you or I are concerned with I would imagine. Thanks for reading the blog and if that did not completely answer your question feel free to email me.
Further there is an update to this post and all matters debit cards now at the top of this page.
So the points goes to SunTrust debit skymiles account and not the Blue Bird
@Rosie – Somewhat correct, the miles are earned into your SkyMiles account, Bluebird does not have any points to be earned, it’s just a way to generate spending and pay your bills earning Delta miles by accruing charges on your Sun Trust card.
But Rosie, you should probably read this post about the death of the Sun Trust Delta Program (http://bitly.com/1VpIban), as well as this post about what to do now (http://bitly.com/debitJuly15).
Thanks for reading and comment back if you have further questions or send me an email at kyle@upgrd.com if you prefer to discuss it privately.