Update: DEAD! Don’t miss it if this becomes alive again. Sign up for deal notification alerts here!
Update: Offer expired!
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Originally posted on 08/11:
Related posts:
-Building Credit And Credit Card FAQs: Your Questions Answered
–The Ultimate Israel Mileage Award Chart
–Getting To Israel Using Starwood Starpoints
American Express is a DansDeals.com advertiser.
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-Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
-Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
This is a limited time offer scheduled to run until 09/14. It offers 20% more points than the standard offer and there has never been a better public offer for this card.
For the consumer card you will get 30,000 bonus Starpoints after spending $3,000 within 3 months. The consumer offer is for first time Starwood consumer cardholder’s only.
For the business card you will get 30,000 bonus Starpoints after spending $5,000 within 3 months. The business offer is available as long as you haven’t had a Starwood business card in the past 12 months.
The $95 annual fee is waived for the first year on both cards.
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Spending on the Starwood card:
The Starwood card remains a very good card for general spending. Best of all, as of 08/11 there are no longer any foreign transaction fees on the Starwood card!
While other cards have better bonus categories, the Starwood card is strong for general spending as Starpoints continue to be the most valuable mileage currency thanks to valuable hotel usage and the 25% bonus for transfers into dozens of airlines.
They also generously allow members at the same address to transfer points between their accounts for free.
The Starwood card earns 2 Starpoints per dollar at Starwood hotels, or a 4.4% rebate at a value of roughly 2.2 cents per Starpoint. It earns 1 Starpoint per dollar everywhere else, or a 2.2% rebate. There are thousands of uses for Starpoints, some of which have been over 50 cents each for me, 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.
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American Express 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 they will gladly refund you. Most of the time you’ll be able to keep the item, but if you do need to send it back the return shipping will be free.
-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.
-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 best 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.
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Annual fee: Making it pay for itself.
There’s no fee on the Starwood card for the first year and $95 thereafter though you can often get bonus points or account credits for keeping it open for additional years. If you cancel a card within 60 days of being charged the fee on your statement you will receive a full refund of the fee. If you cancel after 60 days you get a pro-rated refund based on how many months you had the card.
That small annual fee is nothing compared to what you can make from promotions like Small Business Saturday, AMEX Offers/Twitter offers, and other promotions that American Express runs all year long such as AMEX Express Checkout. Up to 99 additional cardholders are free on the Starwood card, and each one qualifies for their own promotion credits! 9 months later and we still haven’t spent through all of our prepaid credit at my local pizza shop or grocery stores thanks to SBS. And it will be quite a while before we finish our collection of free diapers and wipes.
You can also always downgrade the card to a card with no annual fee.
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Spending $3K or $5K in 3 months:
With cards like Bluebird, Serve, and REDcard, it’s not hard to hit a spend threshold.
You can buy gift cards with your Starwood card and then cash out the gift cards with Bluebird, Serve, or REDcard.
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Business cards and Open Savings:
With the Starwood business card you will get Starpoints AND automatic cash back on purchases from these select retailers with Open Savings. That means an additional 5% off at HP, Hertz, Hyatt, Barnes & Noble online, and Fedex.
In other words if you use your Starwood business card at a participating Hyatt hotel you’ll earn 1 Starpoint per dollar spend plus 5% cash back. That’s better than the triple points that the Hyatt card awards for Hyatt spending!
Getting a business card is simple. If Joe Smith sells items on Ebay or on Amazon, or has any other side business/hobby and wants a credit card to better keep track of business expenditures he can just open a business credit card for “Joe Smith Sole Proprietorship” as the business name.
Just be sure to select “Sole Proprietorship” as the business type and just use your social security number in the Tax Identification Number field as well as in the social security number field.
A perk of business card spending is that it doesn’t count against your credit utilization. On a personal card you should pay off your spending before the statement is even printed so that you don’t cost yourself points on your credit score. On a business card that’s not necessary and the spending isn’t reported as long as you pay your bills.
It’s also worth remembering that the credit line (and utilization) of business cards are not reported on your personal credit report, thus closing them also won’t effect your score.
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Sheraton Club Lounge Access:
Effective 08/11, with the Starwood business card you will get 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.
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Premium Internet Access:
Effective 08/11 with either Starwood card you will 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.
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Unlimited worldwide Boingo WiFi:
Effective 08/11 with either Starwood card you will 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.
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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.
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Using Starpoints:
Points are deposited directly into your Starwood account, so you do not lose your points if you cancel your card like you would with American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, or Citibank ThankYou points. You do need to maintain some activity in your Starwood account every 18 months to keep it active, though Starwood is very good about reactivating accounts that have been closed due to inactivity.
Award nights count towards elite status. Gold members receive 250 points back and Platinum members receive 500 points back per stay.
How can you use your points?
1. Hotel award nights with no blackouts or capacity controls. If a standard room is for sale you can use points to book it:
2. If you book 5 consecutive hotel award nights at category 3-7 hotels then the 5th night will be free:
For example:
-5 nights at the category 7 blinged out S. Regis Bal Harbour is 120,000 points, still that’s not a bad value when you consider that the cheapest rooms during peak season go for more than $1,000 per night.
-At the category 6 ultra-modern W Hong Kong with a 76th floor rooftop infinity pool or at the breathtaking Westin Venice would cost 80,000 points.
-5 nights at the category 5 Westin Maui, Sheraton Kauai, W Hollywood, or the highly rated Sheraton Tel Aviv will be 48,000 points.
-5 nights at the category 4 Sheraton Big Island of Hawaii or Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort will be 40,000 points.
-5 nights at the category 3 Sheraton Agoura Hills (great base for eating out at Tierra Sur, arguably the best kosher restaurant in the world) would set you back 28,000 points.
-The fantastic category 2 Le Meridien Chiang Mai Thailand would set you back just 3K points over an awesome Shabbos at the nearby Chabad House.
-A night at the category 1 Aloft S. Jose Costa Rica starts at just 2,000 points.
Click on the category links to explore other hotels that can be obtained for those rates.
3. Cash and points allows you stretch your points when reserving a standard room, upgraded room, or suite:
Starwood’s cash and points chart make expensive hotel stays cheap. Take the Sheraton at my hometown Cleveland airport for example. The rate there for tonight is $219+tax=$260. Using Starpoints you can either pay 4,000 points for a value of 6.5 cents per Starpoint. With cash and points a category 2 hotel would be 2,000 points and $35 cash for a value of 11.3 cents per Starpoint! A weekend night is just 3,000 points.
4. Nights and Flights allow you to combine a 5 night hotel stay and get 50,000 miles for less than the cost of booking a 5 night stay and transferring points separately:
In other words you can stay 5 nights at a category 4 hotel like the Sheraton Big Island of Hawaii or Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort and get 50,000 miles transferred into the airline of your choice for just 70,000 Starpoints.
When done separately that 5 night stay would cost 40,000 Starpoints and the airline transfer would cost 40,000 Starpoints.
5. SPG Moments allows you to purchase or bid on once-in-a-lifetime experiences with Starpoints.
Throw out the first pitch at a ballgame, watch the game from a suite, etc. Starwood will even cater their suite with kosher food upon request with no additional charge! People have done that at the US Open, Cubs, Knicks, Rangers, and more games.
6. Keep your eyes peeled for promotions like this 50% off promotion where I spent 5 nights in the S. Regis Bal Harbour for just 48,000 points.
You can currently save 35% off at select resorts.
7. Of course you can transfer your Starpoints into miles with dozens of airlines at great ratios. 20,000 Starpoints becomes 25,000 miles on dozens of airlines thanks to the 25% bonus.
Airlines also often incentivize transfers, like American is doing now by offering a 50% bonus for transfers to them through 08/31. Air Canada and United are also currently offering promotions.
Curious about the 33 Starwood transfer options and ratios? Here they are!
With so may different airlines to transfer to it’s just a matter of figuring out which one has the lowest rates to where you want to go. I’ve separated them by alliance so you can know which airlines are partners and will therefore let you book award travel on partner airlines. Of course airlines also have lots of non-alliance partners, but by definition they are partners with all airlines in the same alliance.
In parenthesis you can see if American Express Membership Rewards (MR), Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR), or Citibank Thank You (TY) points transfers to the airline as well.
OneWorld Alliance:
Air Berlin: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
American: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
British Airways Avios: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR, UR)
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR, TY)
JAL: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
LAN: 20,000 Starpoints=37,500 kms (No other transfers)
Qatar: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (TY)
Skyteam Alliance:
AeroMexico: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
Air France/KLM Flying Blue: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR, TY)
Alitalia: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
China Eastern: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
China Southern: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
Delta: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
Korean: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (UR)
Saudia: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
Star Alliance:
ANA: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
Air Canada/Aeroplan: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
Air China: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
Air New Zealand: 20,000 Starpoints=385 points (No other transfers)
Asiana: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
Lufthansa Miles & More: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
Singapore: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR, TY, UR)
Thai: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (TY)
United: 20,000 Starpoints=12,500 miles (UR)
Unaligned:
Alaska (Partners with several airlines from different alliances): 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
Emirates: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
Etihad: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (TY)
Gol/Varig Smiles: 20,000 Starpoints=12,500 miles (No other transfers)
Hainan: 20,000 Starpoints==25,000 miles (No other transfers)
Hawaiian: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
Jet Airways: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
Virgin Atlantic: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR, TY, UR)
Virgin Australia: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (No other transfers)
Points can also transfer to Amtrak at a 1:1 ratio. Amtrak rides on select routes are just 1,500 points in coach or 2,000 points in business. Within the Northeast corridor a ride is 4,000 points in coach, 6,500 points in business class, 8,000 points in Acela Express business class, or 12,000 points in Acela Express first class. A private bedroom and bathroom with kosher meals from NYC-Miami would be just 12,500 points per adult. More about these options in this post.
You can view the expiration policies for each transfer program here. Remember that points can only transfer from Starwood to an airline, they can never transfer from an airline to Starwood.
I don’t recommend using the SPG Flights or the SPG Merchandise/Gift Card programs as the value per point is way too low.
How do you normally redeem your Starpoints? Hit the comments!
Leave a Reply
164 Comments On "It’s Back: 30,000 Starpoints Signup Bonus On Both The Starwood Consumer And Business AMEX Cards! Plus: New Benefits For Existing Cardholders!"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
How can I apply and get the bonus if I have 4 personal Amex cards?
@Ari:
If any of them are charge cards (Gold, Platinum, etc) then it’s fine.
If they’re all credit cards in my experience they’ll call you and ask if you want to close one and shift the line over to the new card.
I applied last week and my card is in the mail, I didn’t activate it yet, will I get the 30K startup bonus?
@Yossi:
No, but you can try calling or chatting to ask to get matched.
YMMV.
I have both regular and business amex cards. I understand that the promo is not available to me for the standard. However, I have not opened a business card in over 12 months, although I do currently have one. If I apply will the 30k points be honored?
@gabe:
Which regular and business amex cards do you have?
If it’s not the Starwood card then you can get it.
Hi Dan, is there any way to add a additional card without giving them the additionals social? Cause when I try to add an additional they ask for the ss!?
Thanks
Hi Dan,
Just got approved for the consumer card. however i had the consumer card back in 2010. will i get the bonus?
I had signed up for starwood like a month ago. Called asked for extra 5K points nicely. They said they’ll give me 3k now and another 2k tomorrow. So they did match. Go amex!!
hey, over 2 years ago i had the starwood card and i got the promotion. if i closed the card over 2 years ago can i sign up again now?
DAN can I open two windows and apply for this particular card and receive a double spg promotion?
If I already have the card and my wife is on my account as a secondary cardholder, can she sign up for a primary account with me as a secondary?
If you don’t want to pay the annual fee, is there a card that you can downgrade this to? If I am currently am an au on my wife’s card, am I still eligible for this offer?
@dans the man: no the personal card is a once in a lifetime offer.
Just tried chatting and calling to get matched for SPG card that I signed up for around 1 month ago, but they refused. Any advice?
@Tuli:
You can say you don’t have it on you.
@dans the man:
Probably not, but let us know what happens.
@BigRick:
Nice!
@i love dan the man:
Consumer or business?
@Oscar:
YMMV.
@aa:
Yes.
@mm:
Yes.
Yes.
@Yisroel Shonek:
HUCA?
how nice are U?
thanks for the detailed info. u are amazing !!
@Dan: pretty new to this whats the definition of ymmv??
@Dan,
I haven’t met the spend threshold yet. Should I still HUCA, or should I first meet the threshold?
@Oscar:
Your mileage may vary.
Let us know how it goes.
@Yisroel Shonek:
May as well finish spending the threshold before trying again.
@Dan: that means that if I try signing up for two spg at once I might loose the sign up bonus from each??
@Oscar:
No.
You can definitely do both the consumer and business at the same time.
Whether you can do 2 consumers and/or 2 businesses at the same time is the YMMV. Either way, you’ll definitely get the bonus at least once for each type.
@Dan: thanks a million Dan! Will let you know
Hi dan,
I’ve been following your site forever but never got into the cc thing. Now I’m living overseas and miles is a big draw for me. Question, is it worth getting a consumer card and using it as my primary everything-use card living out of the Usa? I’m guessing the free foreign transactions will make that worthwhile and I can earn as I spend…? Any idea how I would go about getting bluebird cards from abroad, to reach a spend threshold? And can I then spend that overseas?
Thanks so much for all!!
I currently have the SPG Business card for over a year. I opened a new business recently and wanted to know if I can sign up for another card for this new business and if yes can i get the bonus?
@Dan – You mentioned meeting your spending threshold with Redcard but they no longer let you load with gifts cards correct? (I live in Pittsburgh and no Target here will do it)
@Overseas:
Bluebird would be tough overseas.
Do you not spend $3K in 3 months on regular items?
@moshe:
Not officially, but let us know if you try.
@Sarstuff:
Still works for me.
I know my brother-in-law loaded GCs onto REDcard just last week in PIT. The system allows it, though some cashiers may not want to do it.
Hey Dan, a couple questions..
A- Didnt the 50% transfer promo to AA end on August 7th?
B – I originally read online that a new perk of SPG cc will be $100 back on incidental fees at registered airline. But I didnt see that option on my account today. Is that still-to-be-released?
@Shlomo:
A. It was extended, http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/68972
B. Not sure where you read that, but that’s just for the Premier Rewards Gold card.
I opened an account on July 22 and I called and they asked me if 3,000 extra points was fine so I said yes hopefully ill get the other 2000. Still better than nothing:)
Called Amex and was told I can have up to 4 spg cards but will only receive the bonus on the first.
@Dan: consumer, and if no is it still worth the try?
How did you get 50 cents per point?
Was it an auction with a baseball suite or stealing second base thing?
@Tuli
u can say u do not wish to add the additionals ss & have all adds credit back to u, they will honor your request (I have done it in quite a few adds,)
The 12 month period for business cards..does the clock count from date card closed? Or Date card opened?
I closed it almost September of last year. But it was open for a year before that.
Thanks so much
Hey Dan,
I’m going to Israel for school and wanted to know if the Starwood card is good to use there now that there are no foreign transaction fees?
Also, can I apply to the chase sapphire preferred at the same time to get only one pull?
Thanks!
@ben:
Nice!
@moshe:
At the minimum you’ll get a bonus for both the consumer and business cards.
@Curious george:
Suite upgrade 🙂
@mechayamom:
Date closed, but this promo runs until 09/14.
@ML:
Sure it is.
It’s only 1 pull if it’s from the same bank. Sapphire is from Chase, so it would be 2 pulls.
My wife has a AMEX Platinum card but her SPG acct is not Gold. How do I get that to happen?
I applied for consumer and Business about a minute apart and the business one was put on hold while consumer card was approved. Does that mean there will be a second pull?
@nadball:
You need to call to get upgraded to gold.
@yitzshpitz:
Not necessarily.
Even if there is, you can dispute the pull to have it removed.
Does the 5th night free apply to even if you split it between Starwood hotels? Or do all 4 nights (and the 5th) have to be at the same hotel?
@Jamie:
Needs to be at the same hotel.
@Dan:
I do. Am I able to connect the consumer card to a foreign bank account? Cuz actually the exchange now is terrible, not worth my spending in dollars to reach thresholds….
I just signed up and got accepted for the Starwood card yesterday is there anyway to call and ask them to honor the new bonus?
Do they check my personal social security ? they asked for my personal social security on the web form as well ?
Can I open a card for my 16 year old son (his SAN) and use my income as he is still in Yeshiva? Both myself and my husband already have the spg card.
Incredibly helpful post as always. You keep mentioning SERVE, I thought that was no longer an option after they charged for loading serve online and in stores?
If i have the spg consumer can I Get the signup bonus for the business card?
@Overseas:
I don’t have any experience with that, but hopefully someone else can chime in.
@Shaya:
Call/chat.
@joel:
Yes.
@Devorah:
Need to be 18.
@Joe:
Thanks.
They don’t charge to load serve in stores with gift cards.
@dl:
Yes.
Maybe since they redid the card and benefits – It’s a new Product and we could get the bonus again.
I applied 3 summers ago and closed it 2 years ago.
I took a chance and applied for the personal – got approved.
We will have the data point in a few weeks!
@mh:
Keep us posted!
Dan, kinda off topic but I see it says there are 34 days left for the 30k promo. Say for whatever reason I wait to apply until day 35 and the promo changes to say 25k points, could I call and ask for the 30k promo? Has it worked in the past for you? I ask because on the Marriott card you have to wait 24 months to get a new sign-up bonus and I got my bonus in Oct 2013 so I wanted to retro actively apply for the 80k promo being the 80k promo expires Aug 31. Possible?
@Chanan:
Won’t work with AMEX, though it might work with Chase.
But anyway with Chase you can get the bonus again by just opening a new Marriott rewards account and applying with the new account number. You can merge it later when the points post.
Awesome! Thanks didn’t know.
I’ve never had a SPG card before, am I better getting off getting the business card before the personal?
I got the SPG card two months ago and I just called and they gave me the bonus 5000 points
@bob:
Get both via 2BM?
@Steave:
Well done!
I am going to pay my mortgage with Plastiq website 1.99% AMEX so it should be around 2 weeks until I know
Get card pay Chase mortgage through Plastiq (not interested in getting $3,000 in Gift Cards right now to go through Serve) and usually it posts even before Statement closes.
Does Serve load with AMEX count for minimum spend? I know one does not get points but what about Minimum Spend for points?
@mh:
Yes, online Serve loads from AMEX counts for the threshold spend.
Dan- I’ve been searching everywhere on the forums and your own TR but any guidelines on trying to find biz/first availability to Australia? Can’t find anything across the major programs
can spg points be transferred to a spouses account?
@dave: Sure!
wasn’t the annual fee for this card $65? what happened? big jump
I don’t exactly remember when I cancelled my Amex SPG business card – around Jul-Sep 2014.
How can I figure this out?
@Mahyar:
Try Delta on Virgin Australia to BNE or SYD.
Or try United via Asia and call to merge the UA-Asia and Asia-Australia segments into one award.
@dave:
You can transfer to anyone with the same address on file.
@amex:
More benefits, more SBS/AMEX offers=higher fee.
Not hard to offset it though.
@ar:
Call/chat with AMEX.
When I add additional users to my amex spg account do I need to provide ss number?
@amex:
Not if you add over the phone.
Hey Dan, what’s the best thing to do with Amex points from the everyday card?
Does MBM work on 2 personal cards for amex (eg. SPG + Platinum)? Thanks!
Love that there are now no longer any foreign transaction fees. I was travelling this past month and racked up a number of foreign transaction fees (I usually justify using the SPG Amex globally, even with the fee, because of the great starpoint value for points earned on charges), and I just called and spoke with a very helpful customer service agent who was able to refund me all fees that were charged to me on my past billing statement and current statement! Great customer service!
The $30 increase to $95/year for the card is hard, but I still think its worth it, with all factors now considered…
@David:
Depends on your needs.
@MG:
Yes.
@Israel W:
Nice!
@Dan: whats the best value? is it worth transferring them into avois or is there something more of value? thanks!
if I have already hyatt card for hotels why would I need spg? Also hyatt at least gives me a free night award yearly.
@David:
Like I said, it just depends on your needs. For 5 different people that use points for 5 different things there can be 5 answers to that question.
@ny:
Hyatt points don’t transfer into airlines at favorable ratios, don’t offer 5th night free, don’t have as many hotels, etc. And there’s no SBS/AMEX offers or AMEX protections on it.
Hyatt is a good card for the free night (though it’s limited to categories 1-4), but it’s not a good card for spending.
@dan
i have no amex cards yet, but a lot of chase UR points.
is there a way to combine UR points and SPG points?
do you think if the hyatt gift shop has visa debit cards and does that count as hyatt spending.
so to add additional users, I can technically make up names?
i usually stick to chase but i had a persinal spg card i closed it over 12 munths ago could i sign up again and get the 30k bonus?
1. Tried your link to amex everyday preferred, said i am recognized as an amex existing customer (never had any amex other than delta) and dont qualify for promo on every day, is that so?
2. would I qualify for SPG? PRG?
3. Does ink prorate AF if closed mid year?
4. any write up about amex biz requirement?
@Quasar:
Just use another browser or go incognito.
Hi Dan,
I have an old zync card (don’t judge me), a still active delta amex card and a still active SPG card that was opened 2 summers ago during a similar promotion. Am I eligible for the 30K points promotion this time around?
Thanks,
Jeremy
@Dan: Whaa? Even if the card is under the same name, ss, ect?
Hi Dan,
If I have the starwood business and apply for it now for a different business under my social, will they give me the bonus?
Also, on comment 22, is there a possibility that if I do a 2BM as 2 applications of starwood consumer, that there’s a chance I might get the bonus twice, or did I misunderstand?
can you apply for amex spg card if you currently have one?
@Sam: read once again comment 22 and Dan writes that it’s possible when doing 2bm for consumer card to be lucky and receive the double bonus if you did let us know
dan, you wrote that starwood card holders get free boingo wifi basically everywhere?? I was just traveling and I saw this boingo wifi thing in the airport and I had no idea I cud get that for free!(I have the starwood personal card) how do I activate it? how does it work?
“You can buy gift cards with your Starwood card and then cash out the gift cards with Bluebird, Serve, or REDcard.” any reason not to put directly on to the serve? (or just that this way you can spend more then 1000$ per month)
If I have a regular account do I need a new Spg number for the business or I can use the same number for both ??
If I apply today, Would I be able to use the card today on a purchase? Do they give you a reference # until it arrives?
Dan or anyone – can you please confirm that for the business version of the card, are additional users’ cards qualified for SBS and AMEX offers as well?
thanks much
@Rikki: no way bec you need the cid numbers…
@yidel:
No, but they both transfer to BA, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic, etc.
@shocked:
Link is in the post.
@Eli:
You can do both.
@Dave:
Same number.
@Rikki:
It would take a couple days until it comes.
@phil:
They do.
i applied for the card (non business). now how do i get a SPG number?
I’m looking to open a business credit card. Will be spending about $20,000 a month on it. Assuming I want an Amex card which is the best one for my needs?
What’s the best/easiest way to meet the minimum spending threshold? I don’t have easy access to a walmart or target.
I just secure messaged amex online and they said theres no fee free card to downgrade spg to bec it needs to be in the same class of sorts
Hi Dan, I applied for 2 Amex cards via 2BM, one application they processed right away, the second one they processed a week later, checked my credit report and got 2 inquiries, wanna dispute one, what should I tell experian, for which reason do I wanna dispute it? I will appreciate you’re response, thanks!
@Eli:
They’ll generate one for you.
@pearl:
What catagories of spending?
@david:
Serve lets you charge online.
@issac:
You need to wait 12 months before you can downgrade.
@Yossi:
Just call and say it’s a duplicate pull.
@Dan: They can’t see that i got 2 credit cards?
@jakes: Could you please clarify what you mean by “have all adds credit back to u”?
What does this mean and what exactly do you tell them. I’ve been struggling with this for a while, not being able to add another card without a SSN no matter how many times I call and say I don’t have the number handy. They just say call back when you have it.
How long back can I get matched for? I applied in February. Any chance of getting the 30k bonus matched?
@Steave @BigRick @ben
Did you match your spending threshold before you called to have them match the offer?
Dan: Regarding the consumer card, if I already had (and closed) a card 5 years ago can I still open an account now and receive the 30k, or is that only with the business?
Thank you.
Denied bonus match via chat, got the card 2 months ago. Will try again later.
@Gubevo:
@aradisc:
Call.
@Melli:
Just business, but the business is a much better card anyway.
Can i add cards on my account for each off my kids even if they are young? Is there a min age?
I actually called twice and got 3,000 points twice so now ill have 31,000 at the end!
I applied for SPG Business 25k card a few weeks ago and called in several days ago to match the 30k offer. The CSR said she gave me a courtesy 5k that would show up in a couple days. My SPG account still doesn’t reflect this. I’ve put very little spend on the card so far and only have the original 10k points in my SPG account. What’s interesting is that when I log in to AMEX, it shows I have earned 15k SPG via AMEX. Will the extra 5k come after I reach spend requirement?
Shouldn’t this be a product change, and thus be able to get the personal bonus again??
@Dan
Per your suggestion, called and got offered 3000. I’ll take it!
I just opened a Starwood Business Card with 30k bonus. It says Member Since 2010… will i still get my bonus if i spend 5k? Thank you
@dans fan: All Amex cards will put down the year you got your first Amex card. If you never had the card before, you’re fine.
I’ve tried calling in as well as chat, but nothing can get them to match me – and I applied literally days before the new offer.
“It’s also worth remembering that the credit line (and utilization) of business cards are not reported on your personal credit report, thus closing them also won’t effect your score.”
Does this mean that if you have a business card you don’t need to transfer the credit line before closing? It wont effect your score in any way?
just got my spg card and i have a limit of 1000k (yes new to the cc game) do i need yo wait 3 months to finish the 3k spending or can i pay my bill and spent it in one month will it trigger a fr??
@Sam Finkelstein,
@All Failed attempts
I tried a couple of times calling the number on the back of the card and was adamantly refused even after speaking to supervisor.
Read on some forum online that ppl were having better luck on this #. I was BH successful on my first attempt, I did have to ask for a supervisor though but the request was enough. Got 5k.
800-992-3404
Good Luck
Got a letter in the mail that they won’t be raising my annual fee from $65 to $95 after all.
Get My Card Today Says First Year Free Then 65
Dan- why is the business card better?
Got approved today, thanks Dan for the link! (I actually got a direct link from SPG the same day but I’d rather give you the credit)
@Dan – I have had the Starwood personal Amex card for a few years now. With this new increase in fees and only adding the lounge perk to the Starwood business card could I call Amex and have them convert my personal card into a business card? Doesn’t seem fare that the the annual fee is the same but business card gets complimentary extras.
@EDubb:
No, but why not apply for a business card and get the signup bonus?
I apologies for my ignorance. I never had a CC & i’d like to get the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express. How do i obtain it w/o any credit? I have a job. TIA
Thanks Dan, just used your site and got my husband his card.
Cancelled his old card in 2013
Dan!! I just received 2 cards when I signed up for the business card. 2 different numbers with the same name! Why in the world did that happen ? Do I take advantage of that ? Should I return it ? Please advise. I’m totally flustered.
One card says member since 2010 and the other says 2015
It says on Sticker on 2nd card that it was added as an additional on the account. What in the world ? I would attach a photo but I can’t here
@Begginer:
Did you apply?
@Joel:
Spend the $5K on both and keep us posted 😀
Can i transfer points from spouses account to my personal?
Also transfer points from a business account to a personal?
I just want to point out to many of the readers here not to wait until the last minute because September 14th is the first day of Rosh Hashana.
if i already opened SPG personal card and got the 30,000 the last time they had it, can i now open a business card under my name and still get this years promo?
@ARI:
The points are stored by SPG. Your personal and business points go into one account.
You can transfers points to anyone in your house.
@isaac:
Absolutely!
@isaac:
Sure!
hi dan
you wrote in the post “You can also always downgrade the card to a card with no annual fee.”
however my experience was when i called the cs that i cant downgrade in the first year.
Dan, can you explain this point ” It earns 1 Starpoint per dollar everywhere else, or a 2.2% rebate.” i get that you get 1.25% when transfering 20k points for 25k mile points. just confused how it becomes 2.2%. thanks!
so you don’t need to actually own any sort of business to apply and use the business card, is that correct? and to confirm only difference is you have to spend the extra 2k in the 3 months and get better bonuses/deals?
Could you explain the draw of the ties that the SPG has to Delta? I just don’t see any big deal in this feature. What am I missing?
I requested, received, and activated the 3 additional SPG Amex cards in my same name. Do I now add them to my existing Amex online account or set up new ones in order to not have to do the multiple tabs trick for Amex Offers?
for those that still did not take advantage of the sams club amex offer , they currently have the 20$ gift card back in stock .
Just applied, and got approved, what the fastest way to get the card?
Happy Rosh Hashana to all my Jewish friends! Many blessings to you all!
@Dan
I did not apply, better to apply online or over the phone?
Thanks
If I have the Starwood card would that help that my membership rewards don’t get lost if I cancel my only other amex card?
@Begginer:
Why not apply online?
@Mootkim:
No
@Dan
Tried, got this.
We are unable to approve your application at this time. You will receive a letter within 10 business days detailing the specific reason for our decision.
Thank you for applying!
Phone call?
Do i put my annual income as before taxes come off or after taxes come off?
@Begginer:
Before taxes and you should include your entire household’s income.
Call ’em.
I just applied for 3 Chase cards and got approved for 2 about a week ago. Now if I apply for the 2 Amex Cards, will that look bad on my credit report? (Meaning too many inquiries on my credit report)
@Naz:
Not a big deal at all.
Thanks Dan! I just applied and got approved for the Business card using your link.
What’s the best way to use SPG points to fly to Israel during Pesach time. I want to use SPG points for 6 tickets NYC to TLV for Pesach 2017. I know things could change but currently I’m thinking of transferring SPG (and some MR points if I don’t have enough SPG points) to Flying Blue. I would need only 300K Flyi ngBlue points for 6 economy roundtrip tickets. I know I’d have approx $1,200 in fees for the 6 tickets but I figure I could use Barclay or Capital One points to cover that. How’s that sound?
hi
got the spg Consumer card around 5 months ago (my first cc)
can i get the business one now?
if i can what are my chances of getting approved
my FICO Score as of August 26th
721
@Dan’s the Man:
Will make a post shortly.
@sam:
Yes.
84.6% 😉
thanks
just got this
We’re sorry, our systems are currently down. Please try to apply again later.
Alternately, you can apply by phone 24/7 by calling 1-800-519-OPEN.
Try another browser.
I closed my Amex SPG Business Sep 16 last year. Can I apply this year Sep 14 (last day)…it’s not quite a year since last…ie, how strict is Amex about the 1 year lapse?
Dan just applied using ur link, thanks for all the info.
Dan, I applied for both cards and the consumer card got approved but the business card came up pending and it tells me I need to call them. What do they want to know? What to say if they ask why I need both?
Thanks
@H:
Try and let us know?
Maybe do a 2BM (with the SPG a minute later) and they’ll probably take a week to approve you for it…
@FMK:
1 for personal use and 1 for business use, what’s the issue?
Can I ask them to send me the cards faster then the 7-10 days?
What’s the best card/s for someone looking to start spending 200k/month with not much spending history. Great credit score Tho. Any ideas?
which card/s would i open up if im looking to spend 150k +/month?
i have excellent credit but have never spend this amount before. how would i get them to approve such large charges?
Approved for personal SPG for my wife with your link.
does anyone have experience if i will get the sign up bonus if i had the spg personal card and closed it three years ago
i applied and they said that i need to call and it says that theyre open now but when i call it says theyre closed and hangs up. any ideas?
Hi Dan,
2 questions for you pls:
1. I opened an employee card under my spg business acocount. It says it will require SSN # of the employee. By providing the real #, will it affect their credit history in any way? or any random SSN can be provided?
2. If the employee uses his card to load $1000 in online loads to his Serve acct, will it count towards the minimum spend on my master SPG account?
thanks Dan!
how exactly do i cash out thru the serve card as you mentioned i have the card but have not been successful can you please give a clear explanation thanks
you do this CC stuff ?