Best Card For Starwood Stays: SPG Amex or Amex Platinum?
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Many people have reported being targeted for the 100,000 point offer for The Platinum Card from American Express through the CardMatch Tool. Be sure to check for yourself to see what offers are available to you (there is no credit check)!
This past week, TPG reader JG tweeted me to ask:
"@thepointsguy I'm going on a two-week trip and staying at Starwood hotels. Is it more worthwhile to use my SPG Amex or the Amex Platinum, which just offered me 50,000 points for a $5,000 spend?"
I would recommend putting the actual hotel spend on the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express (which, for the month of June 2014, is offering a sign-up bonus of 30,000 miles for new cardholders) - unless any of those hotels are outside of the U.S. Unfortunately, the SPG Amex charges foreign transaction fees, so I don't recommend using it while abroad. The fees you would accrue from an overseas spend could easily negate most, if not all, of the value of your Starpoints.
While in other countries, use a card like The Platinum Card from American Express, which charges no foreign transaction fees (and recently added some great new benefits for travelers). Personally, I use the Chase Sapphire Preferred card for all my international hotel stays, because not only does it have no foreign transaction fees, but I also earn 2.14 valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points for every dollar spent.
One of my wishes for 2014 is that SPG Amex will dump their dopey foreign transaction fees, just like the Delta Amex cards did in May. SPG is a global hotel brand, and I think it would behoove them greatly to make it more practical for loyal SPG customers to use the company's co-branded credit card at their own properties - no matter where they happen to be located.
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app