well depending on the value you can get for the points. For example Starwood is a very nice card mainly because you can get a lot for each point.

$120+ a night Sheraton Category 2 hotels which are very nice imo can be had for 4,000 points. Value is 3 cents per point.



where most points are valued at around 1 cent a piece like Ultimate rewards points with cash back would be 1600 points would mean $16

but if you use points and pay with Starwood 1600 points + $30 to book a Cat 2 Sheraton in Nha Trang, Vietnam the cost is 3,870,000 dong (vietnamese currency) or $185.61

Since your $30 charged could equal 3x Starpoints = 90 points so it's really 1510 points + $30. Although with the Foreign Transaction fees would lower the benefit, the 3% would still make the Starpoints lucrative imo.

You would still get 90 starwood points for paying the $30 with 3% foreign transaction fee it's $30.90
(FTF is probably why it's $30 cash instead of most $35 in the States)

So for this hotel $185.61 - $30.90 = $154.71

Since you get 3x points for spending Starwood in a Sheraton that's 90 points. So technically your only paying 1510 points + $30.90

Starpoint in this case would get you 10.34 cent per point. In this case even buying Starpoints for a full 3.5 cents a piece x 4000 points straight would cost you $140.00 saving you $45.61 for booking a room here.

This is one of the reasons why people love Starwood points =) it's all in how you spend it, and if it's ideal for you. If you have a Starwood hotel in access to where you want to go.







this is the view from Cat2 hotel in Nha Trang Vietnam which I plan to stay in the summer, very nice view and nice hotel, I've stayed there before without the Starwood card =(