also disappointed in it being Amex, although i suspected that it would be. We had a good thing going with the no annual fee MBNA card......it was accepted at everywhere i went, and if you capped your spending at 30k....got great mileage out of it.
i already have an amex and im unsure what to do about this as i dont want another card where i pay an annual fee...
Everyone gets 2 SPG points per dollar, Golds get a 50% bonus, so another 1 SPG point per dollar. Anything you get from your AMEX is an AMEX bonus and you'd get that even if you weren't Gold, so it's not what I'd call a Gold bonus. Even adding the Gold and AMEX bonus, that's only a 150% bonus on points earned (but again, I wouldn't count AMEX since it's available to anyone regardless of status).
I know Platinums who don't even get upgrades on every stay, so you should consider yourself very lucky to get upgrades on every stay as a Gold. I certainly don't get upgraded on every stay as a lowly Gold.
Actually in my original post, I never said 3X more, but I should have phrased it as 3 points per dollar spend. Would that make you happier?
And I added the SPG AMEX part as it is relevant to this thread, if you used another cc, you obviously would not get the extra SPG points.
BTW, upgrades mean to a better room, not suites, which Plats are usually referring to. For example, 4 hotel stays in Hawaii booked at city view were changed to corner rooms or ocean view. Club room in Toronto, Park view at Sher Sydney.... As for upgrades, yes, I consider myself very fortunate to get upgraded, what's your beef?
Not excited about the Amex announcement, but not donning a black armband... as I was about to do when they first notified us of the impending cancellation of the MBNA card.
I love, love, love SPG points, and I am a VERY infrequent hotel stay-er. Even the old 2-1 ratio has given us scads of AS and AA miles. We are about to fly 5 of us to BKK and 50% of those miles have come from SPG. The flexibility of transferring SPG points has made them #1 for me.
As for when we do stay at SPG properties: we are not gold, but they even upgraded us on a Priceline stay. Maybe I just lead a charmed life : ) but you can call me their greatest fan.
Although I will need to think about whether to keep my Amex AirMiles card, I can't see this new card being a bad thing, especially with the removal of the $30,000 ceiling on bonuses. Combined with my AS MBNA (for businesses that don't take Amex), my miles collecting life should be good.
While the replacement of the MBNA card is good news (I really hated dealing with them) I think this creates a problem for many who already hold Amex cards. I am a long time Amex Plat cardholder and got in on the initial offer of a free AeroPlat card, so I have the benefits of both for only the (exorbitant) price of the Plat. Now I am being offered both a Centurion card and soon will be able to apply for this SPG Amex for some undefined level of annual fees. It's extremely difficult to try to compare the values of all of the potential offers from Amex, especially when you know the terms will change from year to year. If the SPG card has a low annual fee I may chuck everything and only use it.
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Oh Canada!
Standing on guard for thee...
....Listen, I'm not going to argue that it's less widely accepted outside the US or North America, but to claim "its not accepted at all" outside of North America is just ridiculous.
If it wasn't for Costco we likely wouldn't have an Amex. Just today, popped into a mall to purchase a gift cert for a Christmas gift and nope, don't take Amex. Can't think of a place that doesn't take Visa or MC, they would have been my first choice also...will have to rethink my Amex AP Gold.....
On the plus side, Amex is actually accepted quite well in.....South America believe it or not. I use it to buy groceries (well, wine), so go figure.
Don't you know, they have a great produce section at Holt Renfrew!
Mitsukoshi, Takashimaya, ... Huh? This is Canada, not Japan and we don't all live in TO (Pusateri's) or BC & TO (Whole Foods).
But seriously, Amex is not accepted everywhere, but still... this new card is better than nothing and usually in Canada that's what we get when it comes to credit cards...
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New Brunswick SPG Member
Last edited by NBSPGMEMBER; Dec 18, 09 at 6:43 am..
Those are places to use the CIBC Aeroplan cards. 1.5x!
I'm still wishing Whole Foods got with Aeroplan instead of Sobeys, it's a challenge finding things to buy at Sobeys. If WF's had Aeroplan I'd be a happy boy.
Those are places to use the CIBC Aeroplan cards. 1.5x!
I'm still wishing Whole Foods got with Aeroplan instead of Sobeys, it's a challenge finding things to buy at Sobeys. If WF's had Aeroplan I'd be a happy boy.
Sobeys is based in Atlantic Canada and we love it here, ours (Sobeys) are way nicer and have more stuff than the ones in Ontario or elsewhere. Sorry.
Those are places to use the CIBC Aeroplan cards. 1.5x!
Nah, shopping with CIBC aeroplan card at Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya won't give you 1.5x because they're department stores.
Shopping at other grocery stores in Canada like Pusateri's or Whole Foods, I would use Amex aeroplan plus platinum which gives me 1.6x!!, better than CIBC Aerogold visa!
But seriously, Amex is not accepted everywhere, but still... this new card is better than nothing and usually in Canada that's what we get when it comes to credit cards...
I agree that it's better than nothing, but it is also worse than what we had before.
Is noone else embarassed to present a card that isn't accepted? I sometimes feel like I'm trying to pay with my library or Blockbuster card - and that's with a fancy platinum card!
Maybe they'll bring the big fancy Marriott card to Canada soon, though I still need a 2nd card.
Everyone gets 2 SPG points per dollar, Golds get a 50% bonus, so another 1 SPG point per dollar. Anything you get from your AMEX is an AMEX bonus and you'd get that even if you weren't Gold, so it's not what I'd call a Gold bonus. Even adding the Gold and AMEX bonus, that's only a 150% bonus on points earned (but again, I wouldn't count AMEX since it's available to anyone regardless of status).
...
, better than CIBC Aerogold visa!
