Originally Posted by
comptalk
There are two questions here. One, if you had to choose one card, an AMEX with 1 MR per $ spent or 1.5% cash back from BOA, which would you choose? Two, why does AMEX to SPG pts have such a low evaluation? Why does AMEX value their pts 66% less than SPG pts? Granted, SPG pts have much more uses than AMEX pts. However, they are both on the AMEX network. Aren't they shooting themselves in the proverbial foot by making their pts so much less valued than their AMEX SPG counter-part?
Most people here are able to get > 1.5cpp for Amex MR, so it would beat 1.5% cashback. With free 2% cashback cards, why settle for 1.5% if you want to go the cash route?
As to your Amex->SPG question, I'll agree with you that Amex points are worth less than SPG but not by 66%! More like 10-20% IMO. With Amex MR your best options are to transfer to airlines or non-SPG hotel programs. The transfer rate to SPG is horrible, so that's why hardly anyone uses it (I hope). Just because MR transfer to SPG 3:1 doesn't make them worth 66% less. Use them for what they're good for. If you only want SPG points, don't get an MR card. Also, remember that you can earn Amex MR at rates faster than 1x (PRG gets 3x on airfare and 2x on grocery). Everything earns 1x on SPG card. So while SPG points are slightly more valuable than MR points, a $ spent on SPG card isn't necessarily better than a $ spent on an MR card.