Update, 7/14: Today is the final day to buy discounted Starpoints!
Originally posted on 6/2:
–Here Are The Ways You Can Use Your Starpoints For Starwood And Marriott Awards
You can earn Starpoints with the Starwood Consumer AMEX, the Starwood Business AMEX, or the Chase Marriott Visa.
You can view credit card offers by hovering over the “Credit Cards” tab. You can then click on “Credit Cards From All Banks“ to find card offers via the logo of the bank you’re looking for.
Starwood is offering 35% off purchases and gifts of 5K-30K Starpoints through 7/14.
For example 20K Starpoints are on sale for $455 instead of $700 or 30K Starpoints are on sale for $682.50 instead of $1,050. That’s a cost of 2.275 cents per Starpoints instead of the regular 3.5 cents per Starpoint.
Of course you also earn miles for the purchase, which makes the real cost even less.
If you have a Starwood AMEX and buy 30K Starpoints for $682.50 you will earn 1,366 Starpoints for the purchase, so effectively you’ll pay $682.50 for 31,366 Starpoints, or 2.175 cents per Starpoint.
There’s no reason to buy them speculatively at those rates. But it can definitely make sense if you have a specific redemption in mind.
If you need more than 30K Starpoints you’ll have to buy them with additional Starwood accounts.
You can freely transfer Starpoints between Starwood accounts that are located at the same address. Note that you need to wait 14 days from when you open a new Starwood account until you can buy Starpoints.
Here are some ideas for those points:
United miles+Marriott nights:
90K Starpoints can be converted into 270K Marriott points.
With Marriott’s miles+nights. 270K Marriott Rewards points would convert into 132K United miles and 7 nights in a Marriott category 1-5 hotel.
You can buy 86.5K Starpoints for $1,967.88, plus you’ll earn 3,936 Starpoints by buying those points on an SPG card, giving you a total of 90,436 Starpoints.
If you value the 7 night hotel stay at just $500 ($71/night) then you’re effectively paying $1,467 for 132,000 United miles. That’s a bargain at just 1.11 cents per mile.
Of course that cost is less if you already have Starpoints or Marriott points.
It’s worth noting that some agents will refund 45K Marriott points (15K Starpoints) if you return the 7 night stay certificate, but not all agents will do that.
Cathay Pacific Business/First Class to Vancouver or Asia and 7 nights in a hotel:
90K Starpoints can be converted into 270K Marriott points.
With Marriott’s miles+nights. 270K Marriott Rewards points would convert into 120K Alaska miles and 7 nights in a Marriott category 1-5 hotel.
As mentioned before, even if you have no Starpoints, you can buy 86.5K Starpoints for $1,967.88, plus you’ll earn 3,936 Starpoints by buying those points on an SPG card, giving you a total of 90,436 Starpoints.
Alaska charges just 50K miles to Asia in award winning Cathay Pacific business class and 70K miles in Cathay Pacific first class, where you’ll have the best seat and bed in the sky.
With 120K Alaska miles you can fly one-way in business and one-way in first class.
For example you can fly from the US to Taipei and get 7 nights at a category 5 property there. Or stay fly and at a category 5 JW Marriott resort in Vietnam. You can even stopover in Hong Kong once or twice for as long as you want with Alaska miles. That’s perfect if you want to have custom clothing made there as you can go back to have them fitted perfectly.
Don’t want to leave the continent?
A Cathay Pacific first class flight from JFK to Vancouver is 35K miles and a Cathay Pacific business class flight is 25K miles. 120K miles would be enough for 2 people to fly there in first class and return in business class.
Discounted stays in SPG hotels:
Buying points for 2.175 cents each can make sense in pricey SPG hotels.
For example:
-The Four Points by Sheraton Niagara Falls Fallsview is 3K Starpoints on weekends (That’s just $65.25 when buying Starpoints) and 4K Starpoints on weekdays ($87 when buying Starpoints) vs paid rates that can be more than $300/night!
Plus you won’t owe any tax on Starpoint stays.
There’s even weekly Shabbos services and meals in the hotel in the summer and holidays!
-The S. Regis Bal Harbour can cost over $1,000/night after tax, but when using 30K Starpoints you won’t pay any tax, so your out of pocket rate will be $652:
-The W Fort Lauderdale is 12K Starpoints ($261 when buying Starpoints) vs paid rates that can be more than $400/night.
-The S. Regis Rome is 20K Starpoints ($435 when buying Starpoints) vs paid rates that can be more than $750/night.
Many other hotels are bargains with points, especially during peak travel times.
Emirates Shower Class:
Emirates A380 first class is affectionately known as “Shower Class.”
Sure, you get your own walled-in suite and access to the onboard bar.
But it’s the onboard shower that sets it apart.
You can fly it from JFK to Milan and by far the best way to book it is with JAL miles.
Emirates charges massive fuel surcharges when you use their miles, but Alaska and JAL can book you on Emirates without those fees.
However, Alaska charges 360K miles to fly round-trip from JFK to Milan while JAL charges just 100K miles round-trip!
You can transfer 80K Starpoints into 100K JAL miles thanks to the 25% transfer bonus. It other words by buying Starpoints at 2.175 cents each you can fly round-trip in Emirates shower class to Europe for just $1,740!
Want a longer flight in Shower Class?
JAL charges 135K miles from JFK to Dubai round-trip to 155K miles from JFK to the Maldives via Dubai round-trip.
Of course there are endless other ways to use your Starpoints where it can make sense to buy some points to reach an award redemption. How do you use your Starpoints?
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29 Comments On "35% Off Starwood Starpoints; Stay In A Niagara Falls Hotel (With Shabbos Meals Available) For $65/Night, Buy Miles On The Cheap, Fly Shower Class For Under $1,800 Round-Trip"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
am i understanding correctly that if i transfer points to my spouse in the 20k , he will receive the bonus ?
wait.. only if i pay for them as a gift. not a transfer
“You can freely transfer Starpoints between Starwood accounts that are located at the same address.”
Actually I see only transfer to Marriott, not between Starwood accounts,
How does it work? Can I get transfer from my roommate account (different Names)
Or we should send it both to one Marriott account?
Thank you
@chaya:
Right.
@Shimon:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/account/starpoints/redeem/moreOptions.html?language=en_US
Click on pass the Starpoints.
Different names are fine, as long as the address is the same.
I bit misleading IMHO the shabbat meals are obviously not included in the price, but the title seems to indicate that they may be included. Could have been better worded to reflect reality that the hotel also has shabbat meals service sold separately.
Can someone explain the 65$ for a shabbos night with a meal?
The Chabad by Niagara charges $118 per person. That was not made clear at all. I’ll pass.
@Chaim:
Do you have a better way to convey what I clearly intended to say?
@JOE HERE:
The hotel is $65/night. Shabbos meals are available in that hotel.
@Eli:
It’s $100 for adults and $75 for kids. That includes 4 meals per person, “Friday night, Breakfast, Lunch and Seudah Shlishis.”
@Dan:
It’s $100 for adults and $75 for kids + plus an 18% fee that is applied to the total = $118 per adult.
It could have been worded “Stay In A Niagara Falls Hotel With Shabbos Meals Available For $65/Night”
If I buy 682 dollars worth of points – will that 682 go towards my spending requirement (for bonus)?
I have stayed at the 4 points Niagra and for the mere price of $100.00 per adult I sat at Rav Zalmans Tish. He is a great man who runs a great program to sustain his shlichos throught the winter. You couldn’t get a hotel with food in the Catskills for even 4 times that price. And for all of you people who are playing on Dan’s wording you are just a bunch of trolls
@Chaim:
I thought about that wording, but then people would kvetch that the Shabbos meals aren’t $65!
@Moshe:
Thanks for commenting, maybe I’ll make it up there this summer.
Is there an expiration date on using the miles?
I agree – header is misleading, seems like hotel and shabbos meals is $65.
How easy is it to find availability on the JFK-Milan shower class flight?
@Anonymous:
No.
@Josh:
I’m still waiting to hear about a better way to phrase it.
@happylurker:
You can search for Emirates award space on Alaska’s website.
I stayed last year at hotel for Shabbos in niagra was amazing. Well worth it and your supporting a good cause
Can you please explain the “Cathay Pacific first class flight from JFK to Vancouver is 35K miles”?
I have SPG, Amex and chase miles, how can I buy this Cathay flight?
Add $65/night. Shabbos meals (charged extra).
@Dan:
Let us know if you’re indeed going, because I would like to go as well & maybe we can do a “Niagara ‘DO'”! 🙂
chaya Says:
1
June 2nd, 2017 at 3:28 pm
am i understanding correctly that if i transfer points to my spouse in the 20k , he will receive the bonus ?
Dan Says:
June 2nd, 2017 at 4:13 pm
@chaya: Right.
I can only find a bonus for purchasing , could you please post a link to the bonus for transferring
Thanks in advance
I just opened an account with SPG. Can I buy 16,000 points and use them towards 2 rooms for 2 nights at 4 Points in Niagara or am I limited to 1 room? Thanks!
Any way to expedite SPG-SPG transfer, and how long does SPG-Marriot and Marriot-AA take? Have immediate specific redemption in mind.
Shabbos meals are $99 per person. They also charge you USD or CAD, wherever you credit card is based so American credit card holders have to $30% more than Canadians. And I thought a 3% foreign transaction fee was a rip off!
does JAL offer one way awards as well ?
If so is it for half the price ?
I’m seeing 7k per night at Niagara. Does it fluctuate by season?
It’s for the four points Fallsview and weekends.
It’s $100 per adult & kid + 25% on top
how much would it cost to take along a lap infant on cathay pacific when booking with miles? tnx!