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Update: Offer expired!
With the Marriott and Starwood programs set to combine next year this may be your last chance to apply for a Starwood AMEX with an increased signup bonus!
Originally posted on 2/16:
Related posts:
-Top 5 Methods Of Transferring Starpoints Into Miles; Get A Mileage Transfer Bonus As High As 76%-230% From Your Starpoints!
-SPG AMEX 35K Limited Time Offer: Here Are The Ways You Can Use Your Starpoints For Starwood And Marriott Awards
-Is This The Final Opportunity Ever For An Increased Starwood AMEX Signup Bonus?
-Building Credit And Credit Card FAQs: Your Questions Answered
–The Ultimate Israel Mileage Award Chart
–Getting To Israel Using Starwood Starpoints, 2017 Edition
–Starwood Adds A 34th Airline Transfer Partner And It’s Excellent For Awards To Israel!
–Check To See If You Are Targeted For A Starwood AMEX Consumer Spend Bonus
American Express is a DansDeals.com advertiser.
Consumer 35K Limited Time Offer:
-Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
Business 35K Limited Time Offer:
-Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
This is a limited time offer scheduled to run until 4/5/17. It offers 40% more points than the standard offer!
Typically there is only one limited time offer on the SPG card per calendar year, so there’s no better time to apply than now.
The $95 annual fee is waived for the first year on both cards.
For the consumer card you will get 25,000 bonus Starpoints after spending $3,000 within 3 months. Plus you’ll earn an additional 10,000 bonus Starpoints for spending another $2,000 within 6 months, for a total of 35,000 bonus Starpoints and at least 40K total Starpoints. The terms state that if you have had the consumer card before you will not get the bonus for the consumer card again.
For the business card you will get 25,000 bonus Starpoints after spending $5,000 within 3 months. Plus you’ll earn an additional 10,000 bonus Starpoints for spending another $3,000 within 6 months, for a total of 35,000 bonus Starpoints and at least 43K total Starpoints. The terms state that if you have had the business card before you will not get the bonus for the business card again.
You can apply for and get the bonus for each of these cards if you haven’t had them before.
If you have only had a consumer card you can get the points for business card and if you have only had the business card you can get the points for the consumer card.
Spending on the Starwood card:
The Starwood card remains a very good card for general spending.
While there are other cards with better bonus categories, the Starwood card is strong for general spending as Starpoints continue to be the most valuable mileage currency thanks to excellent uses at hotels and the 25% bonus for transfers into dozens of airlines.
There are no foreign transaction fees on the Starwood cards.
Starwood also allows members at the same address to transfer points between their accounts for free. Best of all making a transfer like that extends the life of your points by another 18 months.
There are thousands of uses for Starpoints, some of which have been over 50 cents each for me at hotels, but I aim for a minimum value of about 2.2 cents per point and am happy when I’m able to exceed that level. It’s not hard to reach a value of that level at hotels and you can transfer 20K miles into 25K valuable miles from airlines like Aegean, Alaska, American, and dozens of other programs. If you are able to obtain a value of 1.75 cents from those airlines then that imputes a 2.2 cent value for Starpoints as well. The miles won’t sell on the grey market for that price, but miles are always more valuable when you use them yourself for travel.
The Starwood card earns 2 Starpoints per dollar at Starwood hotels, or a 4.4% rebate at a value of 2.2 cents per Starpoint. It also earns double points on SPG hotel bedding and when you buy Starpoints. It earns 1 Starpoint per dollar everywhere else, or a 2.2% rebate at a value of 2.2 cents per Starpoint.
More valuable than ever thanks to the Marriott merger:
Marriott completed their purchase of Starwood last year and they treated Starwood members better than anyone could have hoped for thanks to a transfer ratio of 1 Starpoints:3 Marriott points.
I’ll write more about the best Marriott uses in a separate post.
American Express benefits and the annual fee:
There’s $95 annual fee is waived for the first year. Aside from the valuable points you’ll earn from signing up and spending you’ll also have access to awesome AMEX benefits:
The card also carries American Express’ awesome top-notch protections that are light-years better than any other banks. Most other banks always look for a way to get out, but that’s not the case with American Express.
-If you need to return an item up to $300 and a store won’t take it back due to a time limited or final sale policy, AMEX will gladly refund you thanks to return protection. The vast majority of the time you’ll even be able to keep the item, but if you do need to send it back the return shipping will be free. That’s a far more generous policy than any other bank offers. This benefit is valid for $1,000 of returns per card per calendar year.
–If a store charged a restocking fee to return an item then AMEX will cover it, up to $300/item, as part of their return protection coverage.
-You get an additional year of warranty coverage and if you have any issue in the extended warranty year they’ll pay to have it fixed or refund your entire purchase price without a hassle. This benefit is far more valuable than warranty benefits offered by other banks.
-If you need to dispute a charge there’s nobody who makes it easier or as pain-free as American Express does. It’s the easiest dispute resolution process in the industry by leaps and bounds and you can do it all online.
-If your item is stolen or broken within 90 days you’ll be covered.
See this post to see just how amazing AMEX benefits can be.
Spend Threshold
You can pay your federal taxes for a 1.87% fee. The Starpoints are worth more than 1.87 cents each, so that’s a no-brainer if you’re trying to meet a spend threshold to earn the signup bonus points.
If you overpay your taxes you can request a refund or apply it to your next year’s taxes.
My local gas company allows me to prepay up to $1,000 on a credit card for a $1.65 flat fee. That’s a great way to earn miles and help meet a spend threshold. My electricity supplier allows me to pay with a credit card for free as long as I am enrolled in autopay. I used to prepay 5 months of rent on a my credit card (it’s easier in Cleveland where that’s just $800/month) for a $19 flat fee. You’d be surprised to see what you can charge to your credit card!
Sheraton Club Lounge Access:
The Starwood business card gives free club lounge access when staying at Sheraton hotels.
There have been rave reviews of the Sheraton Club lounge in Tel Aviv for example. If you have a Starwood business card you’ll get free access to it and its free food, beverages, and sweeping view of the Mediterranean Sea. A free night at the Sheraton Tel Aviv is 12K points, 6K points+$110, or 9.6K points per night on a 5 night stay.
Premium Internet Access:
With either Starwood card you now get free premium in-room internet at Starwood hotels. All SPG guests get free internet, but cardholders will now get the faster version for free.
Unlimited worldwide Boingo WiFi:
With either Starwood card you now get free unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi worldwide, perfect for avoiding confiscatory rates at airports when traveling. Search from over 1 million hot-spots here.
Enroll for free Boingo access here.
Business vs Consumer Platinum card:
In addition to the Starwood business card offering Sheraton Lounge access, the business card also offers Starpoints plus Open Savings rebates on purchases from Fedex, HP, Hertz, and more.
AMEX business cards don’t appear on your credit report. That’s good for several reasons.
First of all they won’t count against your 5/24 count for opening new Chase cards. Only cards on your report that have been opened within the past 24 months count for that.
Second, when you spend money on personal cards your credit score will be hurt even if you pay your bill on time. A whopping 30% of your credit score is based on credit utilization. You can pay off your card bill before your statement is generated to avoid that, but that takes effort and laying out money well before you have to. Additionally it’s good to have the statement close with a couple dollars to show the card is active and being paid every month. On an AMEX business card it’s just not reported, so you can wait until the money is due without it having a negative effect on your score.
Third, if you close a business card it won’t ever have an effect on your score.
You may already have a business that needs a card to keep track of expenses. For example if your name is Joe Smith and you sell items online, or if you have any other side business and want a credit card to better keep track of business expenditures you can just open a business credit card for “Joe Smith Sole Proprietorship” as the business. You don’t need to file any messy government paperwork to be allowed to do that.
Just be sure to select “Sole Proprietorship” as the business type and just use your social security number in the Tax Identification Number field
Elite Status and Crossover benefits with Delta and Uber:
Just by having a Starwood card you earn Preferred Plus status. This status earns you the right to checkout at 4pm at Starwood hotels and get upgraded to preferred rooms.
If you spend $30,000 in a year on either Starwood card you earn Gold status. Gold status gets you more points per dollar spent at SPG hotels and a 250 point amenity on stays, even when redeeming points. You can also get gold status for free with no spending requirement by opening The Platinum Card® from American Express or the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN
When you have the Starwood card you also get 5 elite qualifying nights and 2 stays for each Starwood card that you have that count towards earning Gold or Platinum status!
Starwood Gold and Platinum elites can also register here to earn Starpoints on Delta flights on top of the regular Delta miles in addition to other benefits while Delta elites can get benefits at SPG hotels.
And all members can earn bonus Starpoints for Uber rides as well after making a single SPG stay.
Read this post for more about Marriott elite benefits, the best ways to use your Starpoints, and more about the best ways to use the Marriott program!
Where do you like using your Starpoints? Hit the comments!
Leave a Reply
83 Comments On "Highest Public Offer: Earn 35,000 Starpoints Signup Bonus On Both The Starwood Consumer And Business AMEX Cards!"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
I heard that people get the bonus again anyways after a few years?
@Anonymous:
It’s definitely possible, but I’m just stating what the official terms state.
If I got the card less than 1 and half months back with the 25K offer, will they match the 35K offer? If any chance, which number should I call? Thanks!
I just this week applied and was approved for the consumer card with a 30k signup bonus for spending 3k in 3 months. Is there anyway to take advantage of this one instead?
I signed my sister up a week ago and just called to get matched. they said was same offer when I signed up for it and I will get the extra 10k when I do the spending…does that make sense? ..I tried getting him to note it on the account and he said already embedded so no point
TIA
I got these cards about 45 days ago, any chance they would match the offer for me?
Where I live no utility company accepts Amex.Neither do my insurance companies.
This idea of spending with cc works better with Visa or MC.
Just two days ago I received my new card 🙁
Can you get the business card bonus a 2nd time. If you have not had the card for 1 year.
“You can apply for and get the bonus for each of these cards if you haven’t had them before.”
What if someone was only a secondary user on another persons account? Any issue applying for their own account and bonus points?
I applied last month for both of these cards.
Called AMEX, asked for a manager and let them know how disappointed I was, and I just got an extra 10K Starpoints added for each card!
@Ttn: which number did you call?
The business does not count against 5/24, correct?
I called to get them to match the offer since I signed up 2 days ago and was bounced around until I got a woman who said there absolutely nothing to be done, the offer I got is what I get and that’s it. She wouldn’t budge 🙁
@Dan: Dan, I have had both these cards in the past, but it has been a long time – can you send a link to the rules where it discusses being prevented from getting the sign up points a 2nd time? Also, my wife had one of these cards a long time ago, but not sure which – is there a way she can find out if she got the sign up points before so she can decide whether to apply again?
thank u dan! questions0 i got the chase sapphire reserve and wil spend the 4k in 3 months and i want to get this one also. besides for the bonus intro points-once i reached the 3k in 3 months, which card offers better points and benefits for everyday use? this amx or sappire?
thanks dan-question-i just got chase sapphire reserve and wilt get this also once i reach my 4k in 3 months for the chase,
once i get the bonus points for this card-which card offers better points and benefits for me to use more often?
thanks
If I had to choose between this Starwood credit card or the Amex platinum, which would you choose?
I have had the spg consumer card in the distant past, is there any way I can find out if I would still receive the bonus?
Is there any chance I will get approved for the spg consumer as my first credit card in the u.s? (I recently received my green card/social
I got the business card last year, but didn’t spend enough to get the bonus. since I didn’t actually get the bonus, am I still eligible for the bonus?
Is there a reason you did not post the Hilton Honors card from citi. Amex advertiser?
I just got my 1st ever cc – Amex Blue Cash a month ago, which drastically lowered my credit score due to it’s credit pull. How long should I wait to apply for this Starwood Consumer? Will I make it before it’s offer-experation 4/5/17? If I’m better off not applying now, then when can I apply and what mileage card would you recommend after 4/5/17. Tx!
Dan, How does this Starwood compare to your “favorite United Explorer” card?
@Steve:
Progressive doesn’t accept Amex but the workaround is to pay via Paypal and use your Amex there.
@Jake:
No issue.
@Brian:
Impressive!
@Danfan:
Read the post.
@Anonymous:
They each offer unique benefits and points.
@SJS:
They are very different cards, each has pluses and minuses.
Personally I have both.
@Alan:
People have reported success with distant past cards, but there’s no way to know without trying.
@Nosson:
Yes.
@ari:
Unlikely.
@mo:
It’s on my agenda to post. Just not that exciting of a bonus, it’s not even 1 night at a hotel like the Waldof Jerusalem.
@Newbie:
Credit pulls only take away points for a short period of time and it’s capped at 10% of your score.
No reason not to apply now.
@Curious:
United Explorer is great for the benefits it offers on United.
SPG offers valuable points for spending, AMEX benefits, and Starwood hotel benefits.
Completely different cards.
Don’t see a reason why to get personal SPG over the Business. Is there any?
How does it compare to Marriott card. Is it worth to get Starwood with a purpose to transfer to Marriott?
@Joe G:
If you want to go for both 🙂
@insider:
The bonus is higher, so sure.
That’s not a question lol. I did it for the last time it was 35K though…
But in general. Why would someone ever go with the personal?
Before I apply, are there any cards that are worthwhile applying for at the same time?
Does applying for the Business version have a chance of triggering a financial review like the Amex Gold Business which is notorious for that?
@Joe G:
If they don’t have any kind of business/hobby?
@Danfan:
http://www.dansdeals.com/credit-cards
http://www.dansdeals.com/amex-business-cards
@Anonymous:
No.
I just signed up 2-3 weeks ago, what is the best way to get upgraded to the new bonus?
If I have already had the business card but I opened a new business with a new EIN, can I get a new card and get the sign up? Or bc me as the owner already had it am I ineligible?
Hi Dan, we will be in that Sheraton in Tel Aviv and I have SPG business card and gold status. Where can I confirm that we will have club access?
thank you
I think it is important to note that Amex has recently been taking away points from people who spend the required amount by buying gift cards.
@alex:
No need to confirm, just show your card at checking.
Plenty of others have gone there and gotten access the great lounge there for free.
@Jason Smith:
On the SPG card??
Those reports were almost exclusively from charge cards using links not targeted to them.
ive been waiting for this increased bonus sinc last year when I mistakenly ordered new regular cards instead of the business cards (and didnt get the bonus as it was my 2nd one). So glad it came back so I can restock.
If I’ve had the personal card in the past, should I put in my same SPG number when applying for the business card?
@Thanks:
Enjoy!
@Danfan:
Sure.
I just opened the spg buisness about a month ago if I call will they give me the higher signup bonus?
Can my wife apply for both the consumer and business and use my Spg number? Or will she get 2 new spg numbers and then she will have to transfer to my account after? Thanks
Is it me or Amex site is down?
@Anonymous:
She can use your number.
@Abraham:
It’s up.
Try another browser?
Is there 3bm with this? I’d like to open a chase hyatt, united, and spg. or will they be seperate pulls becuase different banks.
If I once had the Starwood card and I closed it a while ago, can I still get the bonus?
My wife got both cards last year, but because of small Credit lines and delayed approval we missed the sign up bonus on both. Any data points if we cancel and sign up again that we should be able to get the sign up bonus because at the end of day we never received one?
@n00b: Different for each bank. BTW, if you already know about 3bm, you’re not such a noob.
@Anonymous: By once, do you mean more than 7 years ago?
@Sillypainter: Hello Silly, did you read all of the previous comments with Dan’s responses? Or are you just being Silly?
Just recently got CSR and Ink Preferred will it not be a red flag if i apply now for the SPG business card? (like too many cards in a month).
I have the same question as Yitz. I just closed out a business SPG card that I had under my personal SS#. Now I have a new business with an EIN- could I still get the promo?
@Moish, do you just want to play Devils advocate, or you just want to move your fingers on a keyboard?
Nowhere do I see talking about my specific situation where I had the card, but I never received the sign up bonus.
I understand that by the book, I am out of luck, but I wan to know if anybody in a similar situation was lucky convincing them to honor the sign up bonus.
And if you can be so nice and point me to somebody talking about this, Pleae e do so.
Dan I’m pretty upset that Amex is refusing to match this offer for people who just got the card. Any tips? It’s frustrating they won’t do it, because I feel like Citi and Chase do.
@Sillypainter: Yeh, did you read comment 21 with Dan’s response? It seems quite like your case. But in any event, you have nothing to lose by calling Amex and pleading your case before you apply.
hey dan when i go to the signup page it tells me to enter my amex credit card number. this would would be my first amex, how do i sign up?
@levi:
Try another browser.
Does holding chases ihg card mean I don’t have to actually book with them each year in order to keep my points from disappearing?
Any answer about whether you qualify for a second business CC with a different EIN?
for Sheraton club access, do I need to physically have the spg business amex card with me? I have the card linked to my spg account, left physical card at home. using different card for incidentals, am I guaranteed club access??
I have a lot of AA points laying around, whats the best way to use it?
what does it mean that Marriott and spg will be combined? will spg be worth less? will Marriott be worth more?
suggestions for doing a 3BM, if will apply for the AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest Credit AND Business Cards?
You mention regarding the Sheraton Tel Aviv that “A free night at the Sheraton Tel Aviv is 12K points.” When I checked my SPG account and looked up the rates, I am seeing 16k per night. Has it changed?
@David:
Fly to Israel via Iberia or Suit Berlin
I have opened an AMEX SPG business card in the past using my SSN. I have recently started a new business and have gotten an EIN number. Can I open another SPG business card with the EIN and get the bonus again?
My wife is an authorized user on my business card. Is it possible to apply a new one for her with the same EIN?
@Sim It’s a CAT5 which is either 12K or 16K depending on the season.
Will applying for the One Vip card from Amex and funding it through the Starwood Consumer AMEX and the Starwood Business AMEX allow me to meet the spending threshold to unlock the bonus on both these cards?
I got declined on my business card. What is the number for AMEX reconsideration
We us the spg points and card for our stays at the Sheraton Tel Aviv. Because we have a business SPG amex, we get access to the business lounge which offers free hot and cold foods throughout the day! Generally breakfast at this hotel is not included in the points reservation. In the business lounge, they serve breakfast, and even supper, gratis!
Thanks Dan!
This may be their final bonus of this nature but I’m not sure it’s accurate that it’s the highest ever Starwoods bonus.
Thanks, Dan. Finally went for it!
does anyone know if applying for the business card counts towards Chase 5/24 rule?
how low can my credit score be to apply?
@thenewguy:
It does not. Only personal cards count.
Dan, I haven’t applied for the starwood signup bonus in 2 years. What the likeliness of getting the bonus?
Dan, got 2 cards today – 1 for me and for my wife (already had a business one) … Thanks.
Can I receive the bonus if I’m an additional user on my wife’s SPG card?
@Shamus:
I’ve never seen a higher public bonus.
@thenewguy:
It does not.
@credit score:
There is no set limit.
@Sruli:
Congrats!
@moshe:
Yes.
Got the Biz Card, Thank You
Does the extra $2000 need to be spent after 3 months or will you get the bonus as soon as you spend $5000?
Got approved for this card and quickly met spend threshold now they won’t give me the bonus points because I have had this card recently. I called to complain and they said they will make an investigation. Please advise thanks.