March 19, 2016

Starwood Amex 35,000 Point Bonus

The Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card has been in my wallet since 2004.  I reviewed the card a couple of years ago and since then, the value proposition of the card has only been strengthened.

Current SPG Amex Bonus
The bonus is up to 35,000 SPG points after spending $3,000 in the first 90 days.  For context, the bonus was raised to 30,000 a few times over the last few years.  Two years ago, the standard offer was 25,000 points.  I remember getting the business version of the card prior to that with a 20,000 point bonus and being very excited.  So 35,000 points is unreal.



Other benefits include:

  • No annual fee for the first year ($95 after but I think it's worth keeping)
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Complimentary SPG Gold status if you put $30K in spend on the card in a calendar year
  • Complimentary internet at over 1M locations around the world from Boingo (post coming on this)
  • Complimentary premium internet at SPG hotels
  • 5 nights and 2 stays towards SPG elite status



After the bonus, you'll have a minimum of 38,000 SPG points.  What can you do with those points?  Here's the SPG award chart:

SPG Award Chart

You'll have enough points for 5 nights in a category 4 hotel (5th night are) or 2 nights in a category 6 hotel during low season.  Category 6 hotels include several St. Regis and W properties.  So there is a ton of value in redeeming points for hotel stays.  In my opinion, this bonus is worth well north of $1,000 in hotel value.  You can also leverage the points to travel to a number of airline partners in blocks of 20,000 where you'll receive a 25% bonus...meaning 25,000 points will be transferred to the airline of your choosing.  This is a great option for topping off Alaska Airlines accounts to fly Emirates First Class.

If you would like to support the blog and would appreciate a referral bonus (offer is the same) please email me with your name and email address and I'll be happy to provide one.  I highly recommend picking up the card with the bonus at this level.  Who knows what is going to happen with Starwood...but either way, you'll have a haul of SPG points to use in a number of different ways.

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