Last Chance to Earn 100k Points With the Starwood Luxury Card

Oct. 24, 2018

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2 min read

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

The Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card has been offering a 100,000-point welcome bonus since it launched in August, but that offer will end next week, on Oct. 31.

To earn the 100,000 points, you need to spend $5,000 in the first three months. That's a considerable minimum spending requirement for a personal credit card, but this elevated offer is worth a very solid $900 based on TPG's valuations.

The Luxury Card has a $450 annual fee, but helps justify that with a variety of high-end perks, including up to $300 in statement credits each year for purchases at Marriott and SPG, an annual free night award (up to 50,000 points after card renewal), automatic Gold status and 15 elite night credits beginning in 2019.

The card earns 6x points at Marriott and SPG properties (equal to a 5.4% return based on our valuations), 3x points at US restaurants and on flights purchased directly from the airline and 2x points on everything else. Remember, post-Starwood/Marriott merger, the SPG Amex cards are no longer an enticing choice for everyday, non-bonus spending; 2x points is effectively a 33% drop in earnings compared to the previous rates. But for purchases at properties in the Marriott and SPG brands, the Luxury Card is a solid choice, and the complimentary Gold status you get as a card holder gets you a few perks like priority late checkout and a welcome gift of points.

The SPG Luxury Card's main draws are its elevated welcome bonus of 100,000 points, which you can put to use at a ton of great properties in the combined Marriott/SPG portfolio; its $300 statement credit for Marriott and SPG purchases each card member year; and an annual free night award for properties that cost up to 50,000 points. While the latter two perks aren't going anywhere for now, the 100,000-point bonus is, so make sure you apply within the next week before it ends on Oct. 31.