Originally Posted by
NJUPINTHEAIR
I don't have an issue with your calculations or where you spend your lodging $$, only your original assertion that the IHG card annual fee was a lot more than it actually is -- You said it was $95.00 and it is $49.00 and it gives you 1 FREE NIGHT at ANY IHG PROPERTY.
Therefore, it is far less than the $95.00 that you had claimed and it gave you 1 free night that you totally omitted.
All of the above all have no Foreign Transaction Fee as will the SPG card.
Inasmuch as your point was that the increased annual fee of $95.00 for the new SPG card w/o a transaction fee was a fair offset to you -- that is fine, but then you compared it erroneously to a number of other credit cards that had no FTF while stating that they, too, charged a $95.00 AF.
As demonstrated above, many of those that you had mentioned -- and some that you did not -- DO NOT CHARGE A $95.00 AF, AND NOT ONLY DO THEY PROVIDE NO FTF, YOU ALSO GET 1 FREE NIGHT AT VARIOUS OF THEIR PROPERTIES.
That is a much better straightforward deal than the new SPG card, period.
I can accept that SPG points are more valuable to you and that the increased fee will be more than offset by your spending overseas, but by tying to make your case, you undid your argument for same by providing erroneous information and by not providing the other benefits that comparable FTF free hotel cards provide.
Therefore, comparing the new SPG card to the competition it still comes up lacking, although the improved benefits may work for you -- they certainly won't work for most, especially when a straight comparison is made between the products being offered.
Again, the SPG card comes up short.
It may work for you but the card as proposed is still inferior to what is currently on the market. @:-)
I just don't understand AMEX anymore.
Now, they are raising the annual fee on the SPG Amex by almost 40% for very little value in return for most American customers who won't spend all that much overseas, anyway.
You are correct, I erred when describing the annual fee of the IHG card. So many of my cards charge $95, I forgot IHG was less.
However annual fee is just one way to analyze a cards worth. As you correctly identify you must look at the benefits offered. With IHG you are given a free night. Let's assume the value of that night is $300. So with IHG you pay $49 and get $300 in value plus when you redeem points you earn approx $.01 per point.
Let's assume you spend $2,000 per month on your card. This gives you 24,000 points (more if some of your spend is actually at IHG properties). But for simplicity - let's assume it all isn't. That is worth $240 dollars in redemption (+ the $300 free night) for a total of $540 annually.
For SPG the same spend gets you 24,000 points but since Starwood points are worth more (about $.03 per point) you get $600 in value. More than IHG - but of course since the annual fee is more ($95) you must subtract that. That makes the SPG card worth $554 in value. So at this spend - about break even without considering the other benefits. Starwood allows you to transfer to Airlines at 1:25 to 1. A nice perk over IHG. And of course if you spend more than $2,000 per month the Starwood card is even better. Now not everyone does and I'll be the first to admit this is a rudimentary analysis. But my point is that you cannot just look at the annual fee. You must look at your spend pattern and then what points are valued at to identify which is better for you.