Originally Posted by xpstranger
Thank you all for all the info.
I think I started to get an idea how it all works. A long way to go though.
I notice that “starwood from AmEx” is very popular.
Doing my research I found that “Preferred Reward green card” from Amex also allows to transfer point 1 to 1 to 11 FF programs. Which is as flexible as Starwood card. It also gets you 2point per $1 is gas stations, supermarkets, drugstore. Of course it has a hefty fee of $110. but nobody seems to mention, this card on the forum. Is it not popular because of the fee or some other reasons?
Thank you
If you spend $20,000 per year on the Starwood card, you will end up with 25,000 miles when transferring to most airlines. If you spend $20,000 per year on the "Preferred Reward green card", and want 25,000 miles, $5,000 of the $20,000 would need to be at gas stations, supermarkets, and drugstores, or around $100/week. Discount stores like Costco, Sam's, and BJ's don't count, even if you are buying gas, groceries, or drugs. Neither do Walmart, Target, etc.
In addition, some people find that the Starwood points are more valuable used to get hotel rooms at Starwood properties, so they never convert them to miles.
Some FT'ers are single and travel heavily. This cuts down on their CC usage for gas, groceries, and drugs, and they put a lot of charges on their cards for airfare, hotels, car rentals, and restaurants. Your situation may be entirely different, so you will have to evaluate which card is best for you, not for some other poster.