To me, the Starwood Card is the best, because on a $ per point basis, hotel awards usually come out ahead. AMEX points convert to Starwood points on a 3:1, whereas with this card you get 1 Starwood point per dollar spent, get a bonus for spending at Starwoods, and get upgraded to Starwood Gold, which has gotten me upgraded 70% of the time, and earns a 50% point bonus. I just stayed 8 free nights at Sheratons in Morocco by using these points!