So the big news this week is that Starwood has added a 7th primary method of using Starpoints: SPG flights.
The problem is that Starpoints are already so valuable due to the other 6 methods that SPG flights is simply unattractive.
The premise of SPG flights is that you can search for any flight directly from spgflights.com and book it with Starpoints. Starwood then pays the airline for the flight and therefore you will earn miles for the flight.
Sample award prices:
| Ticket Price | Starpoints |
| up to $150 | 10,000 |
| $150-$215 | 15,000 |
| $215-$280 | 20,000 |
| $280-$345 | 25,000 |
| $345-$410 | 30,000 |
| $410-$475 | 35,000 |
| $475-$540 | 40,000 |
| $540-$605 | 45,000 |
| $605-$670 | 50,000 |
| $670-$735 | 55,000 |
| $735-$800 | 60,000 |
| $800-$865 | 65,000 |
| $865-$930 | 70,000 |
| $930-$995 | 75,000 |
| $995-$1060 | 80,000 |
| Higher prices (examples) | |
| $2,880-$3,140 | 235,000 |
| $4,960-$5,220 | 395,000 |
| $9,900-$10,160 | 775,000 |
Fatal flaw? SPG flights values starpoints between 1.2-1.5 cents.
Using the other primary Starpoint redemption methods (Unrestricted Hotel Stays, Restricted Cash And Points Hotel Stays, Hotel Room Upgrades, Nights and Flights, 5th Night Free, and of course transferring Starpoints into miles on dozens of airlines with a with an unbeatable 25%-250% bonus) you should be able to do far better than that.
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11 Comments On "SPG Flights: Yawwwwn…"
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what’s the link to the exact way on how to transfer Starpoints into miles on dozens of airlines with a with an unbeatable 25%-250% bonus)?
thanks
dan, it might be still worth it to do it this way, couse when you change it into miles you still have to pay cash for fuel and taxes, no?
I was just going to mention what Z said- i noticed in the FAQ’s that the points cover all fees and taxes so that might be worth it in certain situations.
If you’re using Starpoints for hotel stays there are also no taxes or fees, and you can get 5, 10, or even 15 cents per point value out of your Starpoints instead of being limited to 1.2-1.5 cents per point.
Again, it all boils down to what you use your miles/points for.
If you use your 25,000 miles to fly on a $250 ticket from NYC to Chicago, then I suppose SPG flights is for you, because for 20,000 Starpoints you can choose any flight and earn miles.
But if you use say 75,000-150,000 miles for international business or first class tickets that normally cost $10,000 or even $15,000 you are far better off transferring 60,000-120,000 Starpoints into mileage. There are still plenty of airlines that have no surcharges on mileage tickets if you are trying to avoid paying a fee (AA, Continental, United, etc.)
One other consideration might be that when transferring SPG points to miles, one is limited to getting a seat out of award seat inventory availability which is, especially these days, severely limited. With the airlines falling all over themselves to cancel unprofitable flights, more seats on the remaining/actually flown flights are being SOLD and therefore not available for “award” travel. Since the SPG flights are purchased tiks, it seems that they will come out of airline regular seat inventory. Just my two cents.
MW
Just out of curiosity, has anyone inquired, under this new prgm how many SPG miles will get one from USA to TLV??
I checked feb roundtrip JFK-TLV results ranged from 80,000 points on Olympic airways to 95,000 on Air France and higher for swiss etc… you can easily check by putting in dates and locations same as any other flight checker.
95000 with a stopover TLV to JFK
hi does anyone know if you can transfer elal matmid points into anything else… i heard they teamed you with AA….
95,000
i hope this is not the begining of the end for starwood’s amazing points-to-miles transfer values…