Up to 35,000 Starpoints for American Express SPG Cardmembers

New and existing American Express SPG credit card holders can earn up to 35,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points through two very different but generous offers. The first offer provides new customers 25,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months and an additional 10,000 points for spending a total of $5,000 or more in the first 6 months. American Express is also being extremely generous and is waving the $95 annual fee for the first year! They are giving 35,000 valuable points away essentially! The second offer, for existing card members, rewards them with 5,000 Starpoints for each successful referral of a new card member. With a maximum of 35,000 bonus point for referrals. This offer is available to card holders in their Amex Offers section.

Both of these offers are fantastic news because Starpoints are arguably the most valuable points in the industry. The vast flexibility of Starpoints go far beyond the free hotel room at SPG hotels worldwide. Starwood is now part of Marriott, which means the points also transfer to Marriott’s Rewards. 35,000 Starpoints transfer to Marriott Rewards as 105,000 points under the amazing 3-to1 conversion rate. Even Marriott’s best credit offer only provides 80,000 points, making this card worth 25,000 more points!

If free hotel rooms are not your forte, do not fret as Starpoints also transfer to a slew of airline frequent flyer programs. For every increment of 20,000 Starpoints, SPG transfer 25,000 points. 20% more points! Not all transfer partners are 1:1 transfer, but for those that are, a large boost towards a free flight is in sight!

If the equation is different, such as for United and Gol, which transfer 2:1, SPG still transferred 25,000 points. In this example, instead of only receiving 10,000 United or Gol miles for 20,000 Starpoints points, 12,500 miles would be exchanged. I personally would not recommend transferring to partners that are not 1:1.

Additional SPG Credit Card benefits

Here are all the American Express SPG Credit Card Benefits:

25,000 bonus points for spending $3,000 in 3 months.
10,000 bonus points for spending $2,000 more for a total for $5,000 in 6 months.
Earn 2 Starpoints for each dollar of eligible purchases at participating SPG & Marriott Rewards hotels.
Earn 1 Starpoint for each dollar everywhere else.
Receive “5 nights” and “2 stays” credits toward SPG elite status each year.
Earn Gold status if you spend $30,000 per year on your card or more.
There are No Foreign Transaction Fees on international purchases.
Receive free in-room premium internet access at SPG hotels.
Complimentary unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi membership for use of Wi-fi at 100,000 places worldwide.
Waived annual fee for the first year, then just $95.

The SPG card is not very generous for earning points, unless you stay at Marriott and Starwood hotels. There are no bonus categories for spending such as restaurants or gas stations. The card also earns more points per dollar at Marriott Hotels than the Marriott Rewards credit card, as this card essentially earns 6 Marriott Points per dollar. The Marriot Rewards Visa only earns 5 points per dollar at Marriott hotels.

The one downside, SPG points will not count towards Life Marriott lifetime status when transferred to Marriott Rewards. Therefore, if you are going towards Marriott Lifetime status, no points earned on this card will help.

Either way, I am just happy for this fantastic offer of 35,000 points which we can all take advantage of!

What 35,000 Points can get

35,000 Starwood points or 105,000 Marriott point is enough points for a night in any Starwood or Marriott Hotel. Starwood hotels tier 1 reward nights start at just 2,000 points on weekends and 3,000 points on weekdays! A tier 7 hotels cost 30,000 to 35,000 points. Use your points wisely, take a ten day vacation or spend the night in pure luxury. Your points, you decide! Below I list just a couple of ideas for longer vacations.

Essentially, with 35,000 points a 5 night stay in Marrakesh Le Méridien N’Fis could be yours for free! And you would still have enough points for another vacation! How about a long week stay in the Scuba Diving Capitol of the Red Sea? Le Méridien Dahab Resort Resort is also only 3,000 points a night and you could finish your vacation at the Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel & Spa. Essentially up to a 10 day vacation for just 28,000 points!

Another awesome redemption strategy for those who do not like to mattress run while on vacation is SPG’s 5^th night free award. Whenever you redeem 5 consecutive nights or more at the same property, the 5^th night is free! The 5^th night free awards are only good at tier 3-8 hotels. Tier 3 hotels only cost 7,000 points per night, so in this case, 28,000 points for a 5 night stay at one of 319 hotels! Consider a five night free vacation at the Westin Resort & Spa in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico or dive into the Andaman Sea with a vacation to Phuket.