Best Rewards Card: The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
Photo: Christian Córdova
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If you ever run into me at a social gathering, don't get me started talking about credit cards because I might never stop. After a few minutes speaking about some of the great rewards credit cards available, I am often interrupted by a single question — "Which one is the best?" I have participated in this conversation so often that I now just blurt out "Starwood" before you can complete your sentence. (See also: The Best Travel Rewards Cards)
Since I learned how to use credit card rewards to travel the world, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express has become my favorite product, hands down. For each dollar I spend with this card, I earn one point in Starwood Hotel's Preferred Guest program. Starwood is the parent company of several different hotel chains, including Sheraton, Westin, and Le Meridien. Once points are earned, members have a variety of options to redeem them for free hotel nights, transfer to frequent flyer miles, or other valuable awards.
How This Card Works
When cardholders make any purchase at a Starwood or Marriott Rewards hotel, they earn six points per dollar spent. Additionally, those who spend $35,000 in a calendar year will be upgraded to the Gold level in the Starwood Preferred Guest program. Finally, award nights and mileage transfers are just two of a dozen different redemption options that include merchandise awards, charitable contributions, or the direct booking of flights. Having considered each of these other options, I have always found that award nights and mileage transfers represent the most valuable use of my Starpoints.
Bonus Offer
If you spend $3,000 with your card within the first 3 months of card membership, you can earn 75,000 bonus points.
Terms apply. See Rates & Fees.
Using Starpoints for Free Nights at Hotels
Free night awards at Starwood hotels begin at a mere 3,000 points for a weekend stay. Although award nights at higher-end properties can cost as many as 35,000 points, Starwood has many luxury properties where you can redeem 10,000 points or less for an award night. For example, my family stayed three nights at the Sheraton Four Points in Milan, Italy for 10,000 points per night. We also have a three night reservation at a Sheraton Suites in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida that cost a total of 10,000 Starpoints. Starwood imposes no blackout dates or capacity restrictions on its hotel awards. If they have a room sale, you can instantly redeem your points for an award stay. Finally, when you redeem a four night stay with your Starpoints, the fifth night is free.
Transferring Starpoints to Airline Miles
I have met people who have redeemed hundreds of thousands of Starpoints without making a single reservation for an award night. These are travelers who earn Starpoints only because they can transfer them to miles in frequent flyer programs. Starpoints can be redeemed for miles in the frequent flyer programs of over 40 different airlines. When you realize that most of those airlines allow you to use their miles to book award flights with at least a dozen different partner carriers, you start to understand how this one credit card is the gateway to a staggering array of award travel opportunities. I have redeemed Starpoints for miles with carriers that I have never flown, which I used for award flights on their partner airlines that I had yet to travel on. I can also use a few thousand Starpoints to top off my various frequent flyer accounts when I don't quite have enough miles for the award I need.
Starpoints can be usually be redeemed for miles at a 3:1 ratio, but when you redeem 60,000 Starpoints at once, you get a 5,000 point bonus. (See also: Best Credit Cards for Transferring Points to Miles)
The Downsides of the Starwood Card
For all my enthusiasm, I still realize that no credit card is perfect. For starters, those who carry a balance should not focus on trying to earn rewards with any card, especially since this card does not offer competitive interest rates. (See also: Best Low-Interest Rate Credit Cards)
My Favorite Travel Rewards Credit Card
Of course, there are several other credit cards that offer hotel points, and many of those programs appear to have similar redemption options. But compared to its competitors, Starwood points offer great value and flexibility. In fact, each Starpoint is worth far more than any airline mile or credit card reward point, let alone other points from competing hotel chains. (See also: Best Hotel Rewards Programs and Credit Cards)
If you are an experienced collector of points and miles, or if you are just starting your quest for award travel, you might as well just sign up for this card now. That way, you will earn fantastic awards, while I can feel free to talk about something else the next time we meet.
For rates and fees of the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express, please click here.
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Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
The Starwoods card is definitely a good choice. The only issue I had with it was that it didn't automatically link up to my American Express Starwoods card when I got it originally, so I didn't reap any of the benefits.
What about people in Europe. Are there any cards over here we can apply for? Most banks usually offer travel insurance but no rewards :(. Do you have any suggestions?
The SPG AMEX Card runs here in the UK but it is not as good as the US version.
For a start, we only get 1 point per £1 spent whereas the US card gives 1 point per $1 spent. I'm sure you can work out why this is a worse deal for those in the UK.
Also, the annual fee in the UK is £75 as opposed to $95 and the interest rate in the UK is far higher.
In summary, the US card is better in every way possible than the UK card but I guess there's no point in ranting as SPG will become Marriott soon and none of this will matter!
The SPG Amex is a terrible choice, and I don't understand why it's constantly at the top of every major personal finance site's "Best Of" lists.
First, the sign-up bonus is terrible. Sure, there are 3K properties, but only three of those properties are in the U.S.
Second, the 1:1 points on all non-Starwood purchases is bottom of the barrel.
Third, you don't get any upgrades in membership tiers...only 5 nights toward Gold status.
Fourth, there are no cardmember anniversary points or nights.
I cry foul; this card is the most overhyped credit card in the travel rewards sector.
The Starwood card might not be the best card for your needs, but I would hardly call it a terrible choice. The current sign-up bonus, 25,000 points after $3,000 spending doesn't sound like much compared to other cards, but Starwood points are more valuable than any other hotel point or airline mile.
The ability to transfer points to miles with 30 different frequent flyer programs is priceless,and earning a 5,000 point bonus for transferring 20,000 points to miles makes the sign up bonus worth over 30,000 airline miles.
I also think that the points are very valuable for hotel stays, as I recently spent 10,000 points to spend the night in the Sheraton Grand LA, when rooms were selling for $250. Also, keep in mind that there are usually no taxes on award nights as most cities tax hotel rooms by the dollar amount paid, so a $250 hotel might actually cost you over $300 out of pocket. Finally, the 5th night free benefit can reduce your cost per night 20%. Yes there aren't a lot of 3k properties left, but there is still plenty of value in the 7k and 10k hotels.
I also get Starwood gold after spending $30k in a year, and while there aren't any anniversary bonuses, try calling Amex when the annual fee is due and ask them if they can offer you some points for your renewal, often they will.