Last Day to Transfer Amex Points to the Current SPG Program
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Beginning August 18, the Starwood Preferred Guest program as we know it will be no more, as Marriott launches its own combined loyalty program.
Some changes kick in tomorrow, though, when new reduced earning rates begin for Amex's co-branded cards — the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express and the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express. Now we just learned of one more Amex change that'll go into effect beginning tomorrow, too.
As of August 1, you'll no longer be able to transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards to Starwood Preferred Guest. Transfers will effectively return on August 18, when you'll be able to send points to the new combined program directly from your Amex account.
As Amex explains:
"As part of the updates to the new Marriott loyalty program occurring on August 18th, Membership Rewards points to SPG transfers will be temporarily unavailable starting tomorrow, August 1. Starting on August 18th, Card Members will be able to transfer Membership Rewards points to their SPG, Marriott Rewards or Ritz-Carlton Rewards accounts at a 1:1 transfer ratio."
For the rest of today, July 31, for every 1,000 Amex points you transfer, you'll end up with 333 points in your SPG account. Come August 18, you'll get 1,000 Marriott points for every 1,000 Amex points you transfer, but since SPG balances are being multiplied by 3, you're effectively ending up with the same number of points, so the value proposition won't change after today.
The one unknown is how long it'll take for transfers to Marriott to complete — currently, points appear in an SPG account right away, and hopefully that'll be the case for Marriott as well, once the migration is complete.
Aside from avoiding the possibility of slower transfers, you'll also want to complete a transfer today if you need to boost your SPG or Marriott balance ahead of an award booking you're planning to make before August 18. After today, you'll be out of luck for two and a half weeks — now's the time to act if an SPG boost is something you need.
Also note that today's your last chance to transfer points from SPG to Amtrak Guest Rewards, as that partnership will dissolve on August 1.
For more on the changes coming August 18, see: