grandgourmand

Using the Westin Grand Central as an example, just assume a USD$300 hotel price (I've seen it much higher). That's $400 Canadian, divided by 24,000 Amex points (that you convert to 12,000 SPG) and you're getting a 1.7% return. It can easily be more than that based on rates I've seen and paid recently (for work trips...I like the Westin Grand Central). But that's not bad and with SPG the 5th night is free on award redemptions, don't forget.

You can crunch these numbers many ways, at the end of the day I'll just echo what others have said. Figure out what you want and if converting makes sense then do that. My only piece of advice w.r.t. SPG is that if there are any exotic trips you might take, it might be worthwhile to hoard the points as they can help you get on some pretty amazing flights.

dominick

Starting from scratch here (last and only AMEX was an SPG I had for 3-4 years cancelled about 3 months ago).

What is my best 12 month strategy to build up MR points?

Based on the past several pages am I able to throw in another SPG card into the mix?

Thanks.

jerryhung

Read my thread on RFD to apply & collect MR (or Aeroplan) points
List of Credit Cards with at least $200+ Welcome bonuses

apply AMEX Gold (25K after $500 spending, FYF)
self-refer for Business Gold (40K after $5K spending, FYF)
self-refer for Platinum if you want (60K after $1K spending, $699/year)


As for getting another SPG welcome bonus with the new T&C, you should be okay, but obviously YMMV

Remember to apply either via GCR for some cashback, or use friend/family's referral link, or I guess use a FT'er link

jwongathon

Any idea how long GCR takes to post for SPG applications?

Smiley90

So I'm reading up on cross-card-type referrals

T&C:

Referral Program Terms
Your account must be in good standing. If this is a personal referral, you agree to only make recommendations to known friends and family members with whom you have a relationship and who have confirmed to you that they want to receive this communication. If this is a referral in the context of your business, you agree to only make recommendations to business contacts who you know and who have consented to receive this recommendation from you. You must not send recommendations to people you do not know. You can only receive a maximum referral bonus of 225,000 Aeroplan Miles per calendar year for approved referrals. Bonus point maximums may change at any time and if you change card products. Should the referral bonus amount change during the calendar year, you may receive a partial bonus depending on the available maximum bonus points. You are not eligible to receive this referral bonus offer if you have already reached your maximum annual referral bonus limit. The referral bonus will be awarded to you based on each eligible referral for which American Express receives an application that is subsequently approved, subject to all applicable terms and conditions. Due to the confidential nature of the approval process, you will not be notified when applications are approved or declined and any individual you have referred must agree to allow your account to be bonused upon approval or you will not receive the referral bonus. If our records indicate that any person you have referred has opted not to receive e-mails from us, your referral will not be sent and you will not receive the referral bonus offered as part of this program. Referral program varies by product and may be modified, suspended, cancelled or otherwise terminated without notice. Cannot be combined with any other offer. If the people that you refer have already applied for the product that you are referring without participating in this program, neither you nor they will be eligible for any referral bonus that may be offered as part of this program. Likewise, if the people you refer decide to apply for a Card through this referral program other than the one you have specifically recommended, the referral bonus for which you and they may be eligible will vary. Referral program participants should allow 8 to 10 weeks for the award of the referral bonus once program criteria have been met and must be enrolled in the corresponding loyalty program (if applicable) when the referral bonus is awarded. All products and services are subject to applicable Terms and Conditions.

Where in there does it say that one should NOT receive referral points for cross-card type? I only have an Amex Gold atm and can easily self-refer any card I want by picking it. And someone on the last page got referral points for a cross-type referral, too. Can someone please inform me on why we're not supposed to get referral points for these? (e.g. Amex Gold/Plat to Amex AeroPlat)

JordanWalker

They always post pretty much instantly or next day.

But you can only request for a cheque in 45(?) days.

JordanWalker

I'm guessing it's covered in

As you're only "supposed" to select the card product that you actually have.

Smiley90

It says "the one I recommended" though, not one I own. Of course they'll have to select the one I recommended - but that's not the issue.

crimsona

It says: Find Your Current Card to Make a Referral

This is actually enforced in the US

mikeycanuk

I was poking around Alaska on Sunday and out of JFK EK F availability on AS is wide open. Wow those are NICE, didn't find the suites on there but wow. 100K miles JFK-DXB-BKK for instance. 90k for DXB but for the extra 10K I will gladly keep flying!

SPG seems the only quick way of getting AS miles beside the 25K sign up bonus on their AS branded MC.

Smiley90

That's why I'm asking - "Find your current card" could very much be just a "recommendation", given that it allows you to refer anyway. I just want to know where it says in writing that it's not supposed to work for cross-product referrals.

grandgourmand

Availability is better out of JFK. But you can also snag some seats out of YYZ. They only fly Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, though. I got two tickets YYZ-DXB-MLE next spring! Convenient arrival time too (930am).

But, back to SPG Amex...those points are great. AS and AA are good conversion options. And SQ Krisflyer.

JJonahJ

At the end of the day, no matter how you want to interpret the English, if you choose, for eg., to use your Amex Airmiles CC to refer someone to the Amex Gold Rewards card, then good luck in hoping Amex will figure a way to compensate you with a satisfactory equivalent for the referral. As unclepants wrote on the previous page, it appears that Amex 'went yard' and gave him Aeroplan points for using his Aeroplan Plus to refer to an Membership Rewards card, but this is an easy scenario since you could quite easily convert 1:1 from MRs to Aeros. But there is no published equivalent/transfer ratio for Aeroplan to Airmiles, so I'd expect Amex to fumble here, in any attempt to help see this referral through.

If you do a cross-product referral, then be grateful if you DO get some referral points, as it CAN happen. The fact is, after reading these threads for the past few years I've seen more people post that it does NOT work, versus those that say it WILL work. So, give it a try, swing for the fences and you might get a home run too.

Preacher7

But I don't think YYZ flies the A380, with the onboard shower, do they? Also, not all the F flights from JFK fly the A380 either. If you choose to go for it, try to get that plane. I just transferred over 300K MR points to SPG today to switch to AS for that reason...

grandgourmand

They fly the A380 to YYZ, yes.