The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express and the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express are favorites at NerdWallet. For frequent travelers, the cards not only offer great redemption rates on free hotel stays but also give you the flexibility to transfer your points to more than 30 airlines.
With some Starwood Preferred Guest loyalists worried about the recently announced merger with Marriott International, American Express is making it difficult to stay on the fence as it offers the highest sign-up bonus ever on these cards:
- Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express: Get 35,000 bonus Starpoints® after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Offer ends March 30, 2016.
- Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express: Get 35,000 bonus Starpoints® after you use your Card to make $5,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Offer ends March 30, 2016.
NerdWallet values Starpoints at 2.3 cents each on average, making the sign-up bonus worth $805.
The perks add up
Between the value of Starpoints and other benefits, the limited-time offer on these cards isn’t the only reason to jump on the deal:
Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
- Earn up to five Starpoints per $1 spent on eligible purchases at participating SPG hotels — two points as a cardholder and an additional two or three points depending on your elite status. Earn one Starpoint per $1 spent elsewhere.
- Free in-room premium Internet access.
- Complimentary, unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi on up to four devices at more than 1 million Boingo hot spots worldwide.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Annual fee is $0 for the first year, then $95.
Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
- Earn up to five Starpoints per $1 spent on eligible purchases at participating SPG hotels — two points as a cardholder and an additional two or three points depending on your elite status. Earn one Starpoint per $1 spent elsewhere.
- Free in-room premium Internet access.
- Complimentary, unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi on up to four devices at more than 1 million Boingo hot spots worldwide.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Free access to the Sheraton Club lounge.
- Extra discounts and benefits as a member of American Express OPEN.
- Annual fee is $0 for the first year, then $95.
Should you jump on the limited-time offer?
Considering this is the best sign-up bonus these cards have offered and there’s no promise we’ll see it again, this limited-time offer is hard to ignore. If you’ve shown interest in either card before but haven’t applied for whatever reason, now’s the time.
If you’re still worried about the potential ramifications of the Starwood-Marriott merger, Marriott’s CEO Arne Sorenson recently addressed the concern:
“We’ve heard from SPG members loud and clear when they say ‘Tell me I’ll be OK,’ ” Sorenson said. “You’ll be OK. I want to make sure we continue to earn that loyalty.”
While that reassurance doesn’t provide any specifics about what’s going to happen, speculation won’t earn you any rewards points. Check out our full review on each card before making your decision:
- Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
- Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
Ben Luthi is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: bluthi@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @benluthi.
Image via iStock.
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