Originally Posted by
bocastephen
Thanks, I looked at the SPG card, but they need something more 1/1 to get miles. Here is how I broke down their spend for a year
1) General Merchandise/Services - $30K - 30K points
2) Gas/Grocery/Drug - 10K - $15K points
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Total - 45K pts before extra items/bonuses, Amex 1.25 bonus, etc.
The way I see it, they could earn 2 free tickets a year anywhere in NA, and with the sign-up bonuses for CIBC and Amex, they already start with almost enough for 2 tickets.
With the Starwood, let's say they each get an account and they each spend $20k/year. They'd get a total of 40k points. Those 40k points become 50k points when they change them to FF points. The bonus points make Starwood almost 1/1, and then there's the 1.25 multiplier if you convert in 20k blocks. Since tickets are usually 25k, it makes sense to only do 20k -> 25k transfers.
But they wouldn't have to pay the fees. How much are the total fees for the two cards plus the two supplemental cards?
Starwood will give roughly the same number of points, but will save a few hundred in fees. If they don't get all the points they need, they can use the money saved in fees to buy a ticket.
Starwood is a little more complex though. The best way to do it would be to get 2 separate accounts, and supplimental card on each account. Then use one account until spending hits $30k, then switch to the other card. Using the AMEX and Visa is more straightforward, so it depends on whether the extra work is worth the hundreds in fees.