Originally Posted by
Smiley90
I know this is just the case in general, but it really bugs me how screwed we Canadians get on the SPG Amex
Signup Bonus:
Canada - 20k
USA - 25
okay, that difference isn't too big...
Annual Fee:
Canada - 120.-, no FYF
USA - FYF, then 65.- (84CAD)
... okay, pay more but get less.... why?
Starpoints earned:
Canada - 1 for everything
USA - 2 for stays, 1 for rest
... that's quite a big difference if one wants to focus on SPG stays&points
Elite Status nights:
Canada - nada
USA - 2 stays&5 nights towards next elite level
After August 11, the annual fee in the US will increase to 95 (so, basically same annual fee as us), BUT they also get additional benefits:
-NO FOREX FEES (yeah, wish we had more than ONE of those here...)
-Free Boingo Wifi (ever been to an airport with Boingo and no free wifi? yeah, it sucks)
-Sheraton Club Lounge access, aka free daily breakfast at Sheraton's
-sigh-
Sometimes I wish I had a credit file in the US, this would be so much better than the Canadian SPG, especially with no forex fees, you can easily just use it everywhere in Canada.
I absolutely disagree. SPG is the one and only one place Canadians have it better.
As yall know, I'm a double dipper. And yes, you need an SSN and U.S. physical address to get a US credit file. I play the game big time both down here and north of the border.
Re: the SPG card, the referral is 10K, plus the bonus, that's 30K per hard pull. US is only 25K. So you're paying less than $100 US for 5K extra points. Not great, but better than you made it out to be.
But the real bonus is on the MR transfer rate: 1 to 2 v. 1 to 3. Canada wins. In fact, I believe that the key to aspirational travel for Canadians is via this method. Now that the Aeros to US/AA via points.com transfer option is dead, I believe transferring to SPG is the way to go, and that's what I'm doing with mine.
Plus, the Sheraton lounge access is only for Biz cards anyway.
My 2 cents. Or Starpoints.