Update: Today is the last day of this sale.
This post was originally made on 3/3/17.
Hotel point transfers to Southwest no longer count towards earning a companion pass.
American Express is a DansDeals.com advertiser. Earn Starpoints with the Starwood Consumer AMEX, the Starwood Business AMEX, or the Chase Marriott Visa.
–Here Are The Ways You Can Use Your Starpoints For Starwood And Marriott Awards
Starwood is offering 30% off purchases and gifts of 20K-30K Starpoints through 4/30.
For example 20K Starpoints are on sale for $490 instead of $700 or 30K Starpoints are on sale for $735 instead of $1,050. That’s a cost of 2.45 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 $735 you will earn 1,470 Starpoints for the purchase, so effectively you’ll pay $735 for 31,470 Starpoints, or 2.33 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.
Southwest Companion Pass:
If you earn 110K Southwest points by 12/31/17 you’ll earn Southwest Companion Pass status that will be valid until 12/31/18.
With a Southwest Companion Pass you’ll get to bring a companion with you for free on all Southwest paid tickets, Southwest award tickets, and Southwest tickets booked with AMEX or Chase points, though you need to call AMEX or Chase to actually book travel on Southwest. There is no limit to how many times you can use the companion pass.
90K Starpoints can be converted into 270K Marriott points.
With Marriott’s miles+nights. 270K Marriott Rewards points would convert into 120K Southwest points and 7 nights in a Marriott category 1-5 hotel. You’ll also earn Southwest Companion Pass status with that award!
Note that points must be transferred by 3/31 in order for them to qualify for Southwest Companion Pass.
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.
Even if you have no Starpoints, you can buy 86,000 Starpoints using 3 accounts for $2,107. With the Starwood AMEX you’ll also earn 4,214 Starpoints for the purchase, leaving you with 90,214 Starpoints.
Of course that cost is less if you already have Starpoints or Marriott points.
With that you’ll get 7 nights at a Marriott hotel, 120K Southwest points, and Southwest Companion Pass status that will make your Southwest points good for $3,600-$4,800 of free flights when you bring along a free companion.
Read more about this option and where you can use the hotel nights in this post.
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.
As mentioned before, even if you have no Starpoints, you can buy 90K Starpoints for about $2,107.
If you value the 7 night hotel stay at just $500 ($71/night) then you’re effectively paying $1,607 for 132,000 United miles. That’s a bargain at just 1.21 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.
American miles+Marriott nights:
90K Starpoints can be converted into 270K Marriott points.
With Marriott’s miles+nights. 270K Marriott Rewards points would normally convert into 120K United miles and 7 nights in a Marriott category 1-5 hotel.
With the current promotion you would get 150K American miles and 7 nights in a Marriott category 1-5 hotel.
As mentioned before, even if you have no Starpoints, you can buy 90K Starpoints for about $2,107.
If you value the 7 night hotel stay at just $500 ($71/night) then you’re effectively paying $1,607 for 150,000 United miles. That’s a bargain at just 1.07 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 90K Starpoints for about $2,107.
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 2.33 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 $69 when buying Starpoints) and 4K Starpoints on weekdays ($93 when buying Starpoints) vs paid rates that can be more than $250/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 $699:
-The W Fort Lauderdale is 12K Starpoints ($279 when buying Starpoints) vs paid rates that can be more than $400/night.
-The S. Regis Rome is 20K Starpoints ($466 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 2.33 cents each you can fly round-trip in Emirates shower class to Europe for just $1,864!
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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36 Comments On "30% Off Starwood Starpoints Purchases; Should You Buy Points For Southwest Companion Pass, Cathay First, Emirates Shower Class, Or Niagara Falls Hotel Stays?"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
I’m a little confused about whether SPG caps the amount of points that a single account can buy or be gifted to at 30k total. Is this accurate? Thanks!
@Sam:
30K/account, but you can buy from multiple accounts and transfer points between accounts at the same address.
How do I check Emirates availability if I want to book the JAL, I made a username and pw for JAL but cannot seem to check online.
@Anonymous:
You can search on AlaskaAir.com though JAL actually has better availability than JAL. But if you see it there then JAL can book it.
ExpertFlyer is the best way to search for award space, but that requires a paid subscription,
http://www.dansdeals.com/go/expertflyer/
Can I use the chase freedom to purchase these points and get the 10% bonus ?
@Zev:
You won’t get the 10% bonus as is only for hotel bookings made on Chase.com.
Expert Flyer premium trial subscription doesn’t list JAL, CX, or ANA in the award search options. Is this only because it’s a trial?
@joetraveller:
ANA is under All Nippon Airlines.
JAL and Cathay are not supported, but the results for the Emirates First and Business saver awards will match what JAL can book.
@Dan If I don’t have a Southwest card or account, is it still possible to transfer SPG miles into Marriott and then SW to get the companion pass if I just create a SW account without getting a SW cc? Thanks!
@Meir:
There is no need for a Southwest credit card. Just open a free mileage account on Southwest.com.
Will this count towards spending requirements? I need to spend $3000 on SPG to get sign up bonus.
@exShoYoGuy:
Sure!
Wait, am I reading that correctly, you get 2 points per dollar when you buy star points?
@exShoYoGuy:
Correct.
Spending on SPG hotels, Starpoint purchases, and SPG hotel bed and accessories all earn double Starpoints.
I have lots of amex points, is possible to convert to JAL?
@lovetravel:
Nothing great.
240K AMEX would convert to 80K SPG and 80K SPG would convert to 100K JAL for a round-trip first class to Europe.
How many days does it take for Marriott to transfer the points/miles to Southwest? I will have enough points for the Southwest Companion Pass on 3/27/17, would that be cutting it close to the 3/31/17 deadline? Thanks.
Can you confirm my math? Why do you need to have a total of 90k starpoints to transfer into 270k Marriott points to get the companion pass?
Wouldnt 84,000 Starpoints be enough to transfer into 252,000 Marriott points which would be enough to get 110,000 Southwest points?
Thanks!
@Nate:
As long as you initiate the transfer by 3/31 it will work as it gets backdated to the day of the transfer initiation.
A transfer takes a few days.
@Mordy:
No.
250K Marriott would only get you 100K Southwest+7 nights.
Only transfers to United would get 110K miles for 250K Marriott.
@Nate: @Nate:
I did this a month ago
SPG to Marriott is realtime
Marriot to SWA was about 2-3 days
SWA companion pass was 24 hours within points posting
I don’t see any Cathay flights when searching on alaskaair.com? Do Cathay flights need to be called in?
@Sr:
Yes.
You can search for Cathay partner availability online by using BA.com or Qantas.com
Any way to this through someone giving me 90k points? I have a relative that may be willing to give me points. She does not live at the same address as myself. She has 90k starpoints. I want to be able to get the southwest companion pass together with the Marriot voucher.
Does anyone know if these code as travel for either the Barclay Arrival or Capital One Venture?
I have points with those cards, am looking to close them, and don’t have any travel expenses coming up.
Thank you
I assume the 7 nights voucher is for the cheapest room. Is there an option of upgrading to a suite? I would I go about this?
Dan,
I have approximately 275k Marriott points. I also have about 7k SPG points. I’m trying to evaluate the conversion of Marriott points to the airline and 7 night stay offers. While the Southwest option seems attractive due to the companion pass I live on the East Coast and therefore don’t have many route options for Southwest thus devaluing that offer. The United conversion seems attractive but I don’t know if the 7 night 1-5 CAT certificate for 7 nights is worth much. Most nice Marriott’s in prime cities are at least a CAT 7. I don’t understand the part about returning the certificate for 45k points. 45k points is at most worth a free night or two at a nice Marriott. Why return a 7 night certificate for only 45k points?
To summarize:
1) Would you advise transferring any of the 275k Marriott points into one of these programs or even SPG at I believe 3:1 ratio?
2) Please explain the value proposition in returning the 7 night CAT 1-5 certificate for only 45k points?
Disclaimer: I am Platinum at both Marriott and SPG as I stay at both for business and enjoy the status perks. I don’t think transferring out points hurts my status but in the past I have successfully redeemed in 5 night increments thus getting the 5th night free and increasing point value.
I have SouthWest credit for a flight I couldn’t take. Any suggestions about transferring? I also have 15K SW miles. I moved to a city that doesn’t have good SW connections. Any suggestions.
Dan- can you advise thoughts on this?
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/08/new-york-new-jersey-congressional-members-ask-trump-to-stop-emirates-flight.html
can i still transfer 270k Marriott to Aeroplan for the big bonus?how do i transfer?
Thanks
Where is there a kosher hotel in Niagara?
how many UR points to get to JAL for first class?
Can someone please enlighten me. My husband and I are interested to going roundtrip to ukraine, we dont mind not going direct from Denver, Chicago (or NY). I am thinking of purchasing starpoints today. I have 20,000 points. Would you transfer it to AA or to United? Any suggestions? How could i use american airlines miles to go to ukraine that is cost effective?
@Chany:
virtually impossible
Pardon my naïveté but can someone explain how I would buy star points from Amex points if I want to book the niagara hotel? Is there a waiting period or can I still transfer points and book the hotel today before the sale ends?
@Rosie:
You don’t transfer any points.
Just buy them via the link in this post. You can book them at any time later on.
You can’t buy spg with amex?