TPG/Starwood American Express Contest: Win 100,000 Starpoints

Aug. 16, 2011

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3 min read

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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Starwood Preferred Guest points are one of the most valuable points out there. Most points aficionados value SPG points highly because there are many ways to get really good value out of them - such as Cash & Points, airline transfers, free nights (including 5th night free), Starwood Moments and night & flights packages.

To highlight all of the different redemption opportunities, American Express approached me recently with an opportunity too good to pass up: run a contest where TPG readers give their suggestions on how they'd use 100,000 Starpoints and then I get to choose one lucky winner who will receive 100,000 Starpoints. I'll also create a post on how I'd use 100,000 Starpoints and for my efforts, I'm also getting 100,000 Starpoints. Sounds good to me!

To enter, simply comment on this post with how you'd use 100,000 Starpoints. Since I will be the sole judge, I'll be looking for a mixture of point-savvy and creativity. Your proposal must include at least 2 redemption methods (for example, you can't just say you'd convert 100,000 points into 125,000 American miles and get a first class ticket to Tokyo).

While I'd love to learn something new (for example showing how transferring points to an obscure airline transfer partner can be beneficial), I'm really most interested to see how you go about researching the best usages and how these points would benefit you. This contest is for open to everyone with a Starwood Preferred Guest account (if you don't have one, you can sign-up here for free) and most importantly, I want to see that you are having fun with this.

Rules (trying to keep this simple):
1) Your math must total exactly 100,000 points (there can be a cash component if you choose to use Cash & Points)
2) Keep it short and sweet. You can give me background on why you'd use the points, but please don't post a novel. I anticipate I'll have many entries to evaluate!
3) Be original.
4) You can create a video if you'd like, though it can only be 30 seconds and the link to the video must be posted in your comments entry and it must be public so everyone can see.
5) TPG family members and employees/consultants are ineligible (sorry!).
6) You must submit your entry in the comments section of this post by Saturday August 20th at 11am Eastern Daylight Time. The winner will be announced on Sunday, August 21st.
7) One entry per person and you must use a valid email address when you leave your comment (only I will see it).

To get your creative thought processes started, I'll be posting several Starwood related posts in the next couple of days and I'll post my 100,000 point showcase on Saturday after the entry deadline. Feel free to ask any questions below!

This contest coincides with the special limited time offer of 30,000 points for the Starwood American Express when you spend $4,500 within 3 months. A great deal since the $65 annual fee is waived the first year and normally this card only offers 25,000 points after $15,000 in spend (though I could see the bonus going back down to 10,000 after this limited time offer which ends on Monday August 22, 2011).

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments below (don't worry, it won't count as your entry).