Savvy travelers can score outsized value from the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, even with its pricey $250 annual fee. Terms apply.

Start off with a generous welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months. Terms Apply.

So if you’re considering signing up for the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, make sure you’ll get enough value to offset the annual fee. Here’s how to decide.

The annual fee is worth it if you:

Check bags on at least five round-trip Delta flights each year: Cardmembers and up to eight travel companions get a free checked bag and priority boarding on Delta flights when you use the card to pay for your tickets on the same itinerary. Delta normally charges at least $30 each way to check a bag. If you check bags on just five round-trip flights (any combination of you and your companions), you easily make up this card’s annual fee. Terms apply.

Want a fast track to Medallion status: This is one of the few airline credit cards that can fast track you to elite status with less flying and more spending. If you spend $25,000 within a calendar year on this card, you receive 10,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles, or MQMs, toward the next level of status. Also, by spending at least $25,000 on the card, the Medallion Qualifying Dollars, or MQDs, requirement is waived for reaching Silver, Gold and Platinum Medallion status. If these perks put you over the top for earning elite Delta flyer status, you could land a cabin upgrade worth well over $250. Terms apply.

Have a travel buddy: Every year on your cardmember anniversary, you’ll get a certificate that lets a companion accompany you for just taxes and fees on one round-trip flight within the contiguous U.S. Terms apply. Note that you won’t earn a companion certificate until your first cardmember anniversary, after which you’ve already been charged not one but two $250 annual fees. But you will continue to earn a companion pass every year you keep the card. Either way, you can get a ticket worth more than what you pay in card fees every year. Terms apply.

Don’t already have Sky Club access: Members with the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card can purchase access to a Delta Sky Club lounge for $39 per passenger. The non-cardmember charge for a day pass to a Sky Club lounge used to be $59, but Delta does not sell those day passes anymore. So this perk is even more valuable to cardmembers who value a quieter place to work or relax while they wait for their Delta flight. While it won't save you money directly, it will give you access you wouldn't otherwise have. Terms apply.

Travel often overseas: The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card has no foreign transaction fees. On many cards, these fees can add around 3% on top of every purchase, meaning this card can offer decent savings to frequent international travelers. Terms apply.

Want to get TSA Precheck or Global Entry: This card will give you a statement credit for either your $78 TSA PreCheck application fee once every 4 1/2 years or your $100 Global Entry application fee once every four years. Terms apply.

Value the card’s other perks: Priority boarding, 20% back on in-flight food and drink purchases, 15% off award bookings with Delta, trip delay insurance and extended warranty protections on purchases can be very valuable to cardmembers who make the most of them. Your monetary value here will vary depending on your situation. Terms apply.