Update: Offer expired!
Originally posted on 2/19:
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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
By signing up for both cards and meeting the spend thresholds you can earn at least 83K Starpoints that can be used for hotel stays, experiences, or transferred into over 100,000 airline miles.
View all of the redemption possibilities after the jump:
Using Starpoints with Starwood:
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:
-Starwood’s annual category changes will happen on 3/7.
2. 5th night free awards:
If you book 5 consecutive hotel award nights at category 3-7 hotels then the 5th night will be free:
SLS Suite as the Category 6 SLS Hotel in Los Angeles:
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, S. Regis Langkawi, or the Westin Venice would cost 80,000 points.
-5 nights at the category 5 Sheraton Kauai, the W New Orleans French Quarter, or the highly rated Sheraton Tel Aviv will be 48,000 points.
-5 nights at the category 4 Sheraton Big Island of Hawaii, Four Points by Sheraton Miami Beach, W Beijing, or the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort will be 40,000 points.
-5 nights at the category 3 Le Meridien Chiang Mai Thailand over an awesome Shabbos at the nearby Chabad House. would set you back 28,000 points. Same goes for the popular Sheraton Suites Fort Lauderdale at Cypress Creek, the Sheraton Atlantic City Convention Center Hotel, or the Sheraton Mahwah near Monsey.
-The category 2 Four Points by Sheraton Niagara Falls Fallsview is just 3K points on weekends or 4K points on weekdays. Same goes for the Four Points by Sheraton Fort Lauderdale and the Sheraton Eatontown Hotel near Lakewood, NJ.
-A night at the category 1 Aloft S. Jose Costa Rica or Le Méridien N’Fis, Morocco starts at just 2,000 points.
-The W Tel Aviv-Jaffa opens 10/1/17, but a category has yet to be determined.
Click on the category links to explore other hotels that can be obtained for those rates.
Some hotels only have suites and cost more. However with Starpoints you can get even the most expensive rooms with a deal on occasion.
For example last year I posted a deal for the S. Regis Maldives from just 25K points per night for a $2,000/night room!
3. Cash and points awards:
Stretch your points when reserving a standard room, upgraded room, or suite by using cash and 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.
Sing the nation anthem 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.
Last year I got to play softball in Wrigley Field in August with Starpoints. Some took offence to my wearing of an Indians hat along with the personalized DansDeals Cubs jersey
Less than 3 months later I used Starpoints to throw out the first pitch before Game 7 of the World Series. It still seems surreal:
6. Keep your eyes peeled for deals like this 50% off promotion where I spent 5 nights in the S. Regis Bal Harbour for just 48,000 points.
For example you can currently save 35% off at select resorts.
7. 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, American, Alaska, Cathay Pacific, United, and others all had recent offers.
Curious about the 36 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. If no other program can transfer points to that airline it will say not applicable (NA)
OneWorld Alliance:
Air Berlin: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
American: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
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 (NA)
LATAM: 20,000 Starpoints=37,500 kms (NA)
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, UR)
Alitalia: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
China Eastern: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
China Southern: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
Delta: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
Korean: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (UR)
Saudia: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
Star Alliance:
ANA: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
Aegean: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
Air Canada/Aeroplan: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
Air China: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
Air New Zealand: 20,000 Starpoints=385 points (NA)
Asiana: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
Avianca/TACA LifeMiles: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
Lufthansa Miles & More: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
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: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
Emirates: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
Etihad: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR, TY)
Gol/Varig Smiles: 20,000 Starpoints=12,500 miles (NA)
Hainan: 20,000 Starpoints==25,000 miles (NA)
Hawaiian: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR)
Jet Airways: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
Virgin Atlantic: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (MR, TY, UR)
Virgin Australia: 20,000 Starpoints=25,000 miles (NA)
Points can also transfer to Amtrak at a 1:1 ratio (NA).
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.
Using Starpoints with Marriott:
You can link your Starwood and Marriott account here and transfer points back and forth.
-1 Starpoint will convert into 3 Marriott points, which means there are many great values to be had from the Marriott side as well as the Starwood side.
-Transferring Marriott points to Starpoints counts as activity to extend the life of your points by 18 months.
-You can match SPG Gold status to/from Marriott Gold and SPG Platinum status to/from Marriott Platinum.
-If you have United Gold status or higher you can get Marriott Gold which will also get you Starwood Gold.
-If you have Starwood Platinum Status you can match to Marriott Platinum which will also get you United Silver status!
-Marriott has 9 categories of hotels that range from 7,500 to 45,000 points per night or 6,000 to 40,000 points per night when they’re on PointSavers.
-Marriott also has 5 tiers of Ritz Carlton hotels that range from 30,000 to 70,000 points per night or 20,000 to 60,000 points per night when they’re on PointSavers.
–Marriott’s annual category changes will happen on 3/7.
Chart 1: Using points for hotel nights. View how many Starpoints or Marriott Rewards are needed for Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, and SPG hotels, along with a few sample hotels from each level.
The top number is the points required for a 1 night stay. The bottom number is the points required per night if you stay for 5 nights:
Chart 2: Using points for a Marriott air+hotel package. View how many Starpoints or Marriott Rewards are needed for a air+hotel package at Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels.
With these packages you will get miles and a 7 night hotel certificate.
The best value is the largest mileage option, though there are smaller mileage options as well.
-For example for 90K Starpoints or 270K Marriott Rewards points you will get a 7 night hotel stay at Marriott category 1-5 properties and 132K miles if you choose to transfer the miles to United. A few months ago United even sweetened that offer with a 25% transfer bonus and it’s likely that we’ll see that return in the future.
-If you transfer 90K Starpoints or 270K Marriott Rewards points you can also get a 7 night hotel stay at Marriott category 1-5 properties and 120K miles with Aeromexico, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Copa Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, GOL/Varig, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia Airlines, or Virgin Atlantic.
-The miles will post within a few days of the transfer, regardless of when or if you use the 7 night certificate.
-The 7 night electronic hotel certificate expires in 1 year, though Marriott currently will extend them for 1 additional year if you contact them.
-You don’t need to choose the hotel at the time of a nights+miles redemption.
-The certificate must be used at one property for 7 consecutive nights.
-You can have the certificate issued in anyone’s name.
-You can upgrade your hotel certificate by paying the difference in points later on.
-Some agents will refund 45K Marriott points (15K Starpoints) if you return the 7 night stay certificate, but not all agents will do that.
-If you wanted 7 nights at the tier 3 Ritz-Carlton Herzliya you would need 420K Marriott or 140K Starpoints for that stay and 120K Southwest points with Southwest Companion Pass Status.
-If you wanted 7 nights at the category 7 Renaissance Tel Aviv Hotel you would need 330K Marriott or 110K Starpoints for that stay and 120K Southwest points with Southwest Companion Pass Status.
–There is also a 5 night hotel option, but officially that’s only available for Marriott timeshare owners. On rare occasions some reps will book the 5 night packages for non-timeshare owners.
| Hotel Category | Starpoints required for 7 nights and 132K United miles or 120K miles with other airlines | Marriott Rewards required for 7 nights and 132K United miles or 120K miles with other airlines | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marriott Category 1 | 90,000 | 270,000 | |
| Marriott Category 2 | 90,000 | 270,000 | |
| Marriott Category 3 | 90,000 | 270,000 | |
| Marriott Category 4 | 90,000 | 270,000 | |
| Marriott Category 5 | 90,000 | 270,000 | |
| Marriott Category 6 | 100,000 | 300,000 | |
| Marriott Category 7 | 110,000 | 330,000 | |
| Marriott Category 8 | 120,000 | 360,000 | |
| Marriott Category 9 | 130,000 | 390,000 | |
| Ritz Tier 1 | 140,000 | 420,000 | |
| Ritz Tier 2 | 140,000 | 420,000 | |
| Ritz Tier 3 | 140,000 | 420,000 | |
| Ritz Tier 4 | 180,000 | 540,000 | |
| Ritz Tier 5 | 180,000 | 540,000 |
What’s on your SPG redemption dream list? Hit the comments!
Leave a Reply
36 Comments On "SPG AMEX 35K Limited Time Offer: Here Are The Ways You Can Use Your Starpoints For Starwood And Marriott Awards"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
Can you still get the bonus offer even if you’ve had this card before?
Thanks so much for the info looks like a lot of work as a newcomer to the Amex SPG family it is very helpful and appreciated
I use Starwood for delta to fll for just 20k for two tickets but discovered that I can’t change my flight to a earlier flight so the tickets are limited
How does it total 83k?
“you can earn at least 83K Starpoints”
@Eje: yon need to spend to earn. The bonus is only once you spend. So if you spend 3k and 5k respectively, you will have 8000 plus the bonus if you spend on time.
If I just got approved for this card 2 weeks ago when it was a 25k points signup any way to get them to give me the extra 10k?
Thanks
Thanks Dan. Can I still sign up for the SPG business card if I have one already? It would be under a different tax ID.
@Peretz770:
@Mike:
Read the offer terms, it says in BIG BOLD LETTERS:
“OFFER TERMS Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product.”
I remember you mentioning once, that all american express cards applied to in one day, result in only one pull. Is that true if I open a Consumer and business card in one day as well?
Thanks
@Anonymous:
Still true 🙂
@Dan:
Dan I tried doing that but the personal got approved and the Biz went into an automatic 5 day review period since I applied for both together
Hey Dan. Right now I’m at 3 cards in chase for 5/24. I want to get these cards before the bonus expires but I should max out my last 2 cards on chase for 5/24 first. The thing is if I wait maybe chase will come out with a new card that j won’t be able to get due to 5/24 rule. Is it worth it to just get the 2 chase cards Forst then get Starpoints Amex cards? If so which chase cards are best bonuses right now. I have sapphire reserve and freedom unlimited?
@Mahyar:
Should still be 1 pull. Even if it’s not you can call Experian to have the pulls merged.
@Michael:
Marriott? United? Sapphire Preferred? Ink Business Preferred?
The SPG business card won’t count against 5/24.
Also if you are at 4/24 you can still get approved for multiple Chase cards at the same time until it hits your credit report.
@Mahyar: doesn’t mean its two pulls, and you can still be approved.
Does the card have to be approved by tomorrow or its enough if the application is received by then
@ Dan do pulls on business card applications show up on credit report as an inquiry or accounts opened ?
Thanks for the response Dan. The bus. Chad echad don’t count against 5/24 so I should wait to get that until I’m maxed out probably. Are the Marriott points transferable to SPG? Are there more complications when doing a 5 BM then simply opening 5 tabs and clicking at the same time? I’ve only done a 2 BM ?
If I’m already at 5/24, would this affect qualifying for BOTH of these cards?
Any suggestions on doing a 3BM along with the above 2 cards?
@Yoely:
As long as you apply by then it’s fine.
@Jake:
There is a pull, but not an account opened.
@Michael:
You can transfer Marriott to SPG.
Better to use different browsers like IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Maxthon, etc.
@nirc:
Won’t affect it.
Depends on what you have or have had.
@ dan:
None from AMEX.
But from chase, have the – CSR, sapphire preferred, freedom, freedom unlimited, united, ink business preferred.
@nirc:
Take a look here?
http://www.dansdeals.com/credit-cards
http://www.dansdeals.com/amex-business-cards
New to this whole cc/points game. But is there any reason not to sign up for both these cards? It seems that anyone who doesn’t, is just turning away money.
Unless of course, I should sign up for a cashback card instead.
@Chicago Cat:
Silly not to take advantage of both of these limited time signup offers while you can.
Hello Dan; Would not cash back credit cards to preferred over spending $13000 over the next 9 months?
@Chicago Cat:
$13,000 spend on a 2% cashback card would get you $260.
$13,000 spend on 2 new SPG cards would 83,000 Starpoints that are worth $1,660 at a conservative 2 cents per point or over $1,900 at a value of 2.3 cents per point.
Hi Dan, You always write that a business amex card does not report on your credit. To which extent? Just the spending amount or also going over the limit, or requesting a credit increase has no effect?
@Eliezer:
You would need to ask if they will do a hard pull or not.
A hard pull will go on your report, but the account itself and spending will not.
how does amex MR points stack up against Starwood points?
1) could either open the starwood business OR the business gold rewards cards.
2) same said for starwood consumer OR premier rewards
i dont spend enough to open all 4 cards simultaneously.
Should I open this card or Hilton card from this post. TIA.
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/110152
@abe18:
They’re very different point systems. In general Starpoints are the most valuable points though.
@Chicago Cat:
1 Starwood point is worth about 4.5 Hilton points.
Do you think that there will be a higher offer in the future?
@offer:
No. We may never even see a 35K offer again if Chase wins the combined Marriott+SPG contract in 2018.
If im just opening one card is there any reason to go for the consumer over the business?
@hi:
Why not open both in a 2BM for just 1 credit pull?
@da@Dan: because of the $95 annual fee and 5/24
@dan If im currently at 4/24 with chase but can’t apply for new chase cards yet, is it better to wait a month to apply for 2 chase cards instead of getting the spg consumer?