Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Card Review

With the vacation season fast approaching, it is a good time to review one of the highest rated travel rewards credit cards available--The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card by American Express. With the Starwood American Express, cardholders can earn Starpoints faster than with any other card. From up to 25,000 bonus Starpoints, free hotel stays, and 1:1 transfer of Starpoints to most major airlines, the Starwood rewards card is an excellent choice for frequent flyers and those looking for free stays at first class hotels.

Here is a quick summary of the card, followed by details of what the Starwood Preferred Guest Amex has to offer:

Starwood Preferred Guest Card
Earn up to 25,000 Starpoints
enough for up to 6 free nights
at category 1 or 2 hotels!

Starwood Preferred Guest

The Starwood American Express is designed for those seeking to earn Starpoints through the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program. Starwood is the frequent traveler program for 9 hotel brands, including Sheraton, W Hotels, Westin, Four Points, and Le Meridien. In total, Starwood represents over 960 hotels in 97 countries. In addition to a first class hotel portfolio, the Starwood program offers faster points accumulation and zero blackouts on Free Night Awards. SPG is also the first hotel loyalty program to allow members to redeem points for airline tickets on hundreds of airlines, also with no blackout dates.

Starwood Amex--25,000 Bonus Starpoints

One of the absolutely best features of the Starwood card is the bonus Starpoints. New cardholders can earn up to 25,000 bonus Starpoints in the first six months, enough for a week-long stay at a category 1 or 2 Starwood hotel. Cardholders earn 10,000 Starpoints for simply making one purchase with the card in the first year. Cardholders can then earn an additional 15,000 Starpoints when they spend $15,000 in 6 months. Note that it takes about eight to 12 weeks for the bonus Starpoints to be credited to a cardholder's account, so you'll want to plan accordingly if you want to use the free Starpoints on an upcoming vacation or business trip.

Earn Double Starpoints

Beyond the bonus Starpoints, with the Starwood American Express cardholders earn 1 Starpoint for every $1 in purchases. Cardholders earn double Starpoints for stays at participating Starwood hotels and resorts and at selected Starwood retail outlets.

Airline Miles

One of the best benefits of the Starwood card is the ability to convert Starpoints to airline miles on just about any airline.

In addition, if you convert 20,000 Starpoints to airline miles in a single transaction, you'll get 5,000 bonus airline miles. Many standard coach fares requires 25,000 miles, so with the Starwood American Express, you can fly with just 20,000 points. In effect, you'll be earning 1.25 miles for every dollar spent. This is more than most airline cards pay.

There's also another benefit to using the Starwood card for airline miles. Because it works with most major airlines, you don't have to worry about a single airline going out of business or cutting back its frequent flyer program. With Starwood, if one airline shuts down, you can simply convert Starpoints to a different airline.

Starwood Amex Terms & Conditions

There is no annual fee for the Starwood Preferred Guest card for the first year. After that, American Express charges an annual fee of $45. Additional cards can be added to the account with no additional fee. The regular APR on purchases is currently as low as 13.24%. The average daily balance (including new purchase) method is used to calculate monthly balances. You also get a 2.9% fixed rate introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 6 months. There is no balance transfer fee charged during this period.

Here's a recap of the card:

• Earn 10,000 Starpoints® with your first purchase - enough for up to 3 free nights at a Category 1 or 2 hotel.
• Plus - earn an additional 15,000 Starpoints when you spend $15,000 in 6 months.
• Use Starpoints for free nights and upgrades4 at over 890 participating Starwood hotels and resorts in 95 countries
• Transfer Starpoints - almost always on a 1:1 basis - to the frequent flyer programs of over 30 major airlines.
• Earn one Starpoint for every dollar of eligible spending and double Starpoints at participating Starwood properties and retail outlets.
• Pay no annual fee for the first year and only $45 thereafter.