Canadian SPG American Express

Old Apr 30, 2015, 2:39 pm
  #1801  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: YVR
Posts: 1,846
Originally Posted by OliverB
...
I only bought the 20k Starwood points to top off my existing SPG balance in order to redeem a 10-night stay for an upcoming trip.
Out of curiosity, how many points did you need to redeem for 10 nights in Venice?
pokee is offline  
Old Apr 30, 2015, 3:15 pm
  #1802  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Quebec and Ontario, Canada
Programs: AC*E50, SPG/Marriott Plat
Posts: 1,916
I think something is wrong with these calculations. I believe starpoints are billed in USD, and GST apply. So it may be significantly more than 525$ ?
Yul_voyager is offline  
Old Apr 30, 2015, 3:35 pm
  #1803  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan, Alaska, Marriott
Posts: 435
Yes, it is USD. I got the email recently and went to check it out. Their FAQ says no tax on Starpoints purchases though.

Didnt seem worth it to me.

Since you used your SPG card to purchase the points, you'll get dinged for an additional 2.5% in FX. It will probably work out to around $650 CAD for 20K points, or 3.2+ cents per point, which is likely above most redemption values. Definitely will be some places where it seems worth it.
Cerenity is offline  
Old Apr 30, 2015, 4:35 pm
  #1804  
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,108
Originally Posted by pokee
Out of curiosity, how many points did you need to redeem for 10 nights in Venice?
The total should be 267,740 SPG for a Prestige room at the Gritti. That's by taking advantage of the current 5th free night promo and booking two separate stays with combined itineraries.

Unfortunately I won't be able to redeem the points against this booking for another 1-2 months as we're dual citizens and have 3 accounts in the family registered to different addresses, so I have to wait and go through the 30-day routine with each one to dump them all into a single account. Hopefully I won't have any issues with availability when it comes time to redeem for points in June/July!
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Old Apr 30, 2015, 4:41 pm
  #1805  
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,108
Originally Posted by Cerenity
Yes, it is USD. I got the email recently and went to check it out. Their FAQ says no tax on Starpoints purchases though.

Didnt seem worth it to me.

Since you used your SPG card to purchase the points, you'll get dinged for an additional 2.5% in FX. It will probably work out to around $650 CAD for 20K points, or 3.2+ cents per point, which is likely above most redemption values. Definitely will be some places where it seems worth it.
Thanks for letting me know; I normally wouldn't have bothered were it not for our upcoming stay, which makes it more than worthwhile as we'll be staying for nothing (zip! zero! zilch!) in a room which would otherwise run higher than 10k Euros (with tax etc) for 10 full nights! So as far as I'm concerned, the points purchase in this instance was a great value and while the forex fees are a pain, I suppose it's nice to know I can expect a higher Starpoint earning (~650 vs 525) on the next statement at least, hehe...

Last edited by OliverB; Apr 30, 2015 at 4:50 pm
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Old May 1, 2015, 6:12 am
  #1806  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: yyz
Posts: 1,608
Originally Posted by OliverB
Thanks for letting me know; I normally wouldn't have bothered were it not for our upcoming stay, which makes it more than worthwhile as we'll be staying for nothing (zip! zero! zilch!) in a room which would otherwise run higher than 10k Euros (with tax etc) for 10 full nights! So as far as I'm concerned, the points purchase in this instance was a great value and while the forex fees are a pain, I suppose it's nice to know I can expect a higher Starpoint earning (~650 vs 525) on the next statement at least, hehe...
Not to burst your bubble...but you are paying something for that room. Annual fees on the cards, the points you purchased, opportunity cost for not using a different credit card (e.g. cashback).

Nonetheless, based on the numbers you provide for that redemption you should get CAD5c of value per point (10k Euro/267k SPG points), which is pretty darn good!

Enjoy your trip and good luck with the booking. Keep in mind, it does take another 3-5 days to transfer from one family member to the other, on top of the 30-day qualification period.

I also received a call from SPG about the transfer (as did my wife who transferred to me). They are on the lookout for fraud, as some people sell the points, I guess, by pretending to share an address.
grandgourmand is offline  
Old May 1, 2015, 9:10 am
  #1807  
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,108
Originally Posted by grandgourmand
Not to burst your bubble...but you are paying something for that room. Annual fees on the cards, the points you purchased, opportunity cost for not using a different credit card (e.g. cashback).

Nonetheless, based on the numbers you provide for that redemption you should get CAD5c of value per point (10k Euro/267k SPG points), which is pretty darn good!

Enjoy your trip and good luck with the booking. Keep in mind, it does take another 3-5 days to transfer from one family member to the other, on top of the 30-day qualification period.

I also received a call from SPG about the transfer (as did my wife who transferred to me). They are on the lookout for fraud, as some people sell the points, I guess, by pretending to share an address.
Well yes, I realize I'm paying something but that something is pretty negligible in context to the overall costs on a per night basis. If I'm being completely honest, the points purchase was actually a gift from a family member so technically, I'm not paying outright - though I did use the AmEx for added earnings... and as a quick, easy launch to top the min. spend for the 2k bonus.


Re. the telephone call; is that a new policy enacted by SPG in which they now need to confirm every transfer?

I initiated a transfer the other day and apart from the final confirmation screen, I received no email notification, confirmation number, or any sign that a transfer was processing. The transfer page indicated that it could take up to 5 business days but otherwise, my balance has not been affected and everything on my account seemingly remains as it was prior. Is this normal?

Last edited by OliverB; May 1, 2015 at 9:19 am
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Old May 1, 2015, 10:39 am
  #1808  
alc
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 4,519
Originally Posted by OliverB
Re. the telephone call; is that a new policy enacted by SPG in which they now need to confirm every transfer?

I initiated a transfer the other day and apart from the final confirmation screen, I received no email notification, confirmation number, or any sign that a transfer was processing. The transfer page indicated that it could take up to 5 business days but otherwise, my balance has not been affected and everything on my account seemingly remains as it was prior. Is this normal?
I just did an internal transfer from my wife account to mine and no issue and no call. I did have issue earlier this year and it turn out to be an issue with the email address on my wife account. Once I update the email address, re-submit the transfer, my wife got an email from SPG within a few minutes. In fact, when it was not working, right after we submit the transfer, there were a message telling us about having issue communicate to my wife and ask to check the email address.
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Old May 19, 2015, 12:27 pm
  #1809  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: YVR
Posts: 1,846
SPG Is Sooo Dependable!

My SPG Amex Bonus came over like clockwork - and same with transfer to BA Avios, plus two transfer bonuses! I sure love this card...! ^
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Old May 21, 2015, 1:48 am
  #1810  
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: Top Tier Flyertalk Member
Posts: 652
Originally Posted by pokee
My SPG Amex Bonus came over like clockwork - and same with transfer to BA Avios, plus two transfer bonuses! I sure love this card...! ^
You transferred your SPG points to BA? Or your Amex MR's?
JordanWalker is offline  
Old May 21, 2015, 10:38 am
  #1811  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: YVR
Posts: 1,846
Originally Posted by JordanWalker
You transferred your SPG points to BA? Or your Amex MR's?
Transferred SPG to BA. SPG gives a 5,000 bonus for every 20,000 transferred, PLUS till the end of this month BA is offering an extra 10% bonus for SPG transfers! ^
pokee is offline  
Old Dec 31, 2015, 11:17 pm
  #1812  
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: YVR
Programs: AC E75, SPG Plat, HH peon-by-choice (ex Gold)
Posts: 8,090
Guys, a Q for clarification. I was about to renew my SPG Amex and a friend of mine told me Amex instituted the "once a lifetime" bonus scenario. I thought that was only in the US.

Can anyone confirm the situation in Canada?
Braindrain is offline  
Old Dec 31, 2015, 11:22 pm
  #1813  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Canada
Programs: *void
Posts: 2,408
Originally Posted by Braindrain
Guys, a Q for clarification. I was about to renew my SPG Amex and a friend of mine told me Amex instituted the "once a lifetime" bonus scenario. I thought that was only in the US.

Can anyone confirm the situation in Canada?
All Personal Amex-Canada card products started showing the "once a lifetime" in the footnotes, on July 1st, 2015. The Business versions do not say the same though. Anyway, people have reported getting the welcome bonus once more, on Personal SPG card applications submitted after July 1st, but no guarantees.
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Old Dec 31, 2015, 11:49 pm
  #1814  
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: YVR
Programs: AC E75, SPG Plat, HH peon-by-choice (ex Gold)
Posts: 8,090
Thanks for the info!
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Old Jan 7, 2016, 2:21 pm
  #1815  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: YVR
Posts: 1,846
Does anyone have any updates on Marriott buying out Starwood? My year is almost up and I am not sure if I should renew and pay the AF if the card will be phased out of Amex's lineup....
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