The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express

I haven’t scoured the internet to scientifically confirm this statement, but the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express seems to win the majority of the “Top Travel Credit Card”-type accolades out there.  It’s a critic favorite, and for good reason — each dollar spent earns one of the most valuable and flexible points currencies out there, Starwood “Starpoints,” which can be redeemed for huge value at Starwood properties or transferred to one of nearly 30 airlines.

Signup Bonus and Fees

The signup bonus for the Starwood Preferred Guest® card is currently 25,000 Starpoints – 10,000 are awarded on your first purchase, and 15,000 more are awarded after you spend $5,000 within the first 6 months. The card carries a $65 annual fee, which is waived for the first year.

The Rewards

The reward program for the Starwood Preferred Guest® card is simple: you earn 1 Starpoint for every dollar you spend on the card.  One point per dollar in any other point currency would be rather unimpressive, but Starpoints can be extremely valuable, and are much more flexible than other airline or hotel-specific points.

There are two great options for redeeming Starpoints.  First, you can redeem them for free or significantly discounted (through the “cash & points” program) nights at Starwood hotels and resorts.  The Starwood portfolio includes a variety of high-end hotel brands such as St. Regis, W, Westin, and Le Meridien, as well as Sheraton and a few other mid-range brands.  By using points for free rooms at Starwood hotels, you should be able to extract 2-3 cents – at a minimum – out of each point.  Plus, with award night redemptions, there are no capacity constraints, so if there’s a standard room available for normal (cash) booking, it’s available for Starpoint redemption.  And if “cash & points” redemptions are available – which, unlike regular room redemptions, are subject to capacity controls – you’ll generally get even more value per Starpoint (4-6 cents per point is typical in my experience).

Second, Starpoints can be transferred to some 26 airlines on a 1 to 1 basis.  Better yet, if you transfer points in increments of 20,000, you receive a 5,000 mile bonus, which results in a net transfer ratio of 1 Starpoint to 1.25 miles.  A list of Starwood’s airline transfer partners can be found here.

Note:  You should never transfer Starpoints to United, as you’ll only receive ½ of a United mile per Starpoint.  You’re much better off transferring Starpoints to U.S Airways or Air Canada for access to Star Alliance award space.

The Bottom Line

The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express card is extremely popular, and deservedly so, because it puts some spectacular and otherwise-unaffordable (by my standards, at least) hotels and resorts within reach.  The ability to transfer Starpoints to a number of airlines is a great bonus, but I prefer to redeem my Starpoints at Starwood hotels, where I net at least 2-3 cents per point (and will be doing so on my upcoming honeymoon).