Who uses SPG amex?

[Anonymous]

I currently have 4 cards and they are -

Chase Freedom

Barclaycard Arrival+

Barclaycard Sallie Mae

SPG Amex (Just got approved)

I was just wondering who uses the SPG amex frequently and/or as their primary card. I do travel frequently and wouldn't mind being loyal to starwood. I put enough ms through the arrival+ to make the annual fee worth it and I like to keep it around because of the no FTF. Since I am out of the country a couple times per year that is really nice.

Now my dilema is which card should be used for all non-category spending. I run all gas/groceries through the Sallie Mae and the Freedom gets used exclusively for the 5% category.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'd like to hear how SPG amex holders use their cards and how much they like to run through them, and also how much they stay at starwood hotels.

[Anonymous]

I used to use it because SPG points are awesome. They are better than MR and UR points. My problem with SPG though is it is hard to accumulate points compared to MR or UR points since the sign-up bonus offers are sparse and the category bonus options are limited. It can be a good supplemental card, but putting all the 1x point spend on SPG is a waste when you can put 2x spend on UR or MR cards for some categories. If you have enough spend to substantiate the use of multiple AF cards, then the Amex SPG can be a good supplemental card to a UR or MR card and you can use it for specialized bonus spend or general spend where no 2x category is available with other cards. SPG points are easily valued at 2 cents per point, so if you have the card, you should prioritize general non-bonus spend on the SPG over 2% cash cards like the Citi Double Cash or Fidelity Amex. 

For me the SPG is not really worth the AF. I have moderate CC spend (~5k a month), but most of it go in specialized categories where I get more than 2 cents per dollar of value. My spend on 2% or lower categories is only 10-15k/year and that is too low to substantiate an AF on the SPG since I value 1 SPG point only at 2.2 cents per dollar (at 0.2 cents per dollar gain over Citi DC, it takes a while before the card makes sense for me). 

At the end of the day, it really comes down to your spend and where you spend. SPG points are awesome and if you frequent SPG properties or if you have enough spend in categories that don't have greater than 2% bonuses with other cards, then this card can make a lot of sense. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I used to use it because SPG points are awesome. They are better than MR and UR points. My problem with SPG though is it is hard to accumulate points compared to MR or UR points since the sign-up bonus offers are sparse and the category bonus options are limited. It can be a good supplemental card, but putting all the 1x point spend on SPG is a waste when you can put 2x spend on UR or MR cards for some categories. If you have enough spend to substantiate the use of multiple AF cards, then the Amex SPG can be a good supplemental card to a UR or MR card and you can use it for specialized bonus spend or general spend where no 2x category is available with other cards. SPG points are easily valued at 2 cents per point, so if you have the card, you should prioritize general non-bonus spend on the SPG over 2% cash cards like the Citi Double Cash or Fidelity Amex. 

For me the SPG is not really worth the AF. I have moderate CC spend (~5k a month), but most of it go in specialized categories where I get more than 2 cents per dollar of value. My spend on 2% or lower categories is only 10-15k/year and that is too low to substantiate an AF on the SPG since I value 1 SPG point only at 2.2 cents per dollar (at 0.2 cents per dollar gain over Citi DC, it takes a while before the card makes sense for me). 

At the end of the day, it really comes down to your spend and where you spend. SPG points are awesome and if you frequent SPG properties or if you have enough spend in categories that don't have greater than 2% bonuses with other cards, then this card can make a lot of sense. 

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I definitely agree with this. The bonus 5,000 you get for transferring SPG to airline points in 20,000 increments is prime. But yeah, its worth is going to be based on your spend. For me, I stayed at a lot of Starwood hotels for work last summer and was able to expense my spending so I was racking up Starpoints and not paying a cent. 

[red259]

The card is good if you use starwoods properties. I use mine for non-cat spend, however I think i may be cancelling it and shifting my non-cat spend on to my amex everyday card. I got the SPG for the signup bonus because I needed AA miles at the time. Starpoints are valuable but unfortunately they are difficult to earn. A large part of my spend is covered by different categories so it takes quite awhile to generate enough starpoints for it to be a real value to me and I don't believe I the value will offset the AF. If I frequented starwoods properties or had large amounts of non-cat spend this calculation would be different.  

[IWOL]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I currently have 4 cards and they are -

Chase Freedom

Barclaycard Arrival+

Barclaycard Sallie Mae

SPG Amex (Just got approved)

I was just wondering who uses the SPG amex frequently and/or as their primary card. I do travel frequently and wouldn't mind being loyal to starwood. I put enough ms through the arrival+ to make the annual fee worth it and I like to keep it around because of the no FTF. Since I am out of the country a couple times per year that is really nice.

Now my dilema is which card should be used for all non-category spending. I run all gas/groceries through the Sallie Mae and the Freedom gets used exclusively for the 5% category.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'd like to hear how SPG amex holders use their cards and how much they like to run through them, and also how much they stay at starwood hotels.

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I use my SPG and SPG Biz for a lot of non category spend.

The best card for earning SPG points us actually the Diners Club Elite card. For spending in the 3x Diners categories you end up earning 1.8 SPG per $1.

Unfortunatly you can't app for Diners now but maybe they will open apps in the future. If you combine Diners for category spend with SPG for non category you can earn good amount of Starwood points.

[mikelo22]

Is there ever any special signup bonus that Amex will offer during the year, or is the current signup bonus pretty much the best you're gonna get?

[bz386]

There is usually a 30000 point bonus either in spring or in autumn.

If you do not stay at SPG properties often, don't bother with the card. If you do, keep in mind that the card has a foreign transaction fee, so if your stays are abroad, don't bother either.

[dilettante]

I use my Amex SPG only for my bi-monthly Costco runs and once in awhile for other non-categorical spend.  I've put about 25k in the 6 months since opening the account and was able to transfer 60k miles to airlines and received 15k in bonus for transferring in blocks of 20k. 30k of the points was from sign up bonus.

I'm not brand loyal to hotels (except Four Seasons) but did stay at a Westin last year and have a reservation scheduled for a stay this year.  It is nice if you have the card and stay at SPG since you'll receive 2X more points besides your 2X or 3X base points.

I've been using the Diner's mostly to transfer points to SPG account but will keep the Amex for Costco and if I need to have a big non-category charge once-in-awhile.

@mikelo22 - last year, they had the 30k offer in June but usually it's offered in late summer/early autumn.  If you have an SPG account, sometimes they will send that offer earlier before it goes public.

[mongstradamus]

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@IWOL wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I currently have 4 cards and they are -

Chase Freedom

Barclaycard Arrival+

Barclaycard Sallie Mae

SPG Amex (Just got approved)

I was just wondering who uses the SPG amex frequently and/or as their primary card. I do travel frequently and wouldn't mind being loyal to starwood. I put enough ms through the arrival+ to make the annual fee worth it and I like to keep it around because of the no FTF. Since I am out of the country a couple times per year that is really nice.

Now my dilema is which card should be used for all non-category spending. I run all gas/groceries through the Sallie Mae and the Freedom gets used exclusively for the 5% category.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'd like to hear how SPG amex holders use their cards and how much they like to run through them, and also how much they stay at starwood hotels.

---

I use my SPG and SPG Biz for a lot of non category spend.

The best card for earning SPG points us actually the Diners Club Elite card. For spending in the 3x Diners categories you end up earning 1.8 SPG per $1.

Unfortunatly you can't app for Diners now but maybe they will open apps in the future. If you combine Diners for category spend with SPG for non category you can earn good amount of Starwood points.

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the 300 AF may be prohibitive for most people to use or get that card when you compare to spg that has AF around 65 dollars with an signup bonus.

[CreditJim]

I have the personal and biz SPG cards, and use them as my primary for almost all spending. I have recently started using my Discover and Freedom for category spend, gas and groceries this quarter, but everything else goes on the SPG. I have a small business with 4 employees who travel on business so they all have an employee SPG card to increasing my star point earning, and then I have a full time job with a lot of reimbursable travel expenses.

I don't get too caught up on the point values vs the other cards I have, because when I do redeem for personal hotel stays I usually always get over 3c/point sometimes as much as 8c/point redemption. So for me it's a no brainer, especially with it being one of Amex's lowest AF cards. My only wish is that it didn't have a forex fee, then I really would use it everywhere.