bgriff

These are not related questions. You could possibly cancel the credit card and you would still keep your SPG points -- unlike loyalty programs directly at the banks like Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards, your SPG points continue to exist independent of your credit card account.

That said, personally I think the free night justifies paying the annual fee, but up to you. And the transfer to airline option will remain exactly the same going forward -- your 170K SPG points will become 510K Marriott points, but either amount would transfer to 210K airline miles, so there's no urgency to transfer.

krazykanuck

VFTW reporting it'll be the 23rd. https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2018/08/02/new-starwood-luxury-card-launch-date-is-august-23/

GrnLantern

I also just confirmed with a CSR that it will drop on 8/23.

I'm hoping I can PC my Delta card over to it, but I'm not feeling positive on it: USA card product conversions...

robchow

I plan to keep mine through 2019 to see how the "off-peak/peak" plays out on free night usage.

Splittin' Aces

The annual fee on my SPG and my wife's SPG both posted in July. Cardholders since 2010. $6K last 12 mo spending on mine, $12K on my wife's. Called retention since we won't get a free night certificate for a year - both got offers of 20K points (I assume the "new" points) after $2K of spend in 3 months, or $75 credit after $2K spend in 3 months. Took the point offers and will re-evaluate keeping the cards next year afer we see how much "peak" pricing can impact/hurt the use of these free night certificates (based on future Flyertalk reports).

Kagehitokiri

conversion supposed to happen aug 1
now aug 5 and i still have starpoints

maybe will be done closer to aug 18 ?

krazykanuck

I suppose so, assuming Marriott doesn't delay and change the date again.

sdsearch

It's already been announced that all such SPG changes are happening exactly on August 18th. (There's a sticky thread about that date in the Starwood forum here on FT.) But beware: It's also been announced that there may be a Marriott/Starwood website "outage" of unknown duration starting on Aug 18 . (One may hope it would only last hours, but one can fear that it might last days.)

Kagehitokiri

you are saying they changed the long announced point conversion date?

wasnt long ago i got more emails from amex, and paper statement, saying aug 1 again

i was only referring to point conversion date, then referencing date everything else happens

bgriff

The Amex card started earning under the new scheme on August 1. Your existing Starpoints convert August 18. Pretty straightforward.

sdsearch

It was Amex that implied both that its changes and SPG's changes would happen on Aug 1. I don't think SPG itself ever announced an Aug 1 date, it was only Amex. And Amex has no control over SPG, so they made a mistake in assuming it was going to certainly going to be Aug 1. (SPG and Marriott themselves for months had just been saying "August", with no specific day within August.)

The so the changes that Amex has control over (its own) still happened on Aug 1. The changes that SPG controls (its own) are happening on August 18. Amex will handle that by simply delaying transferring points (on accounts whose statements close between Aug 1 and Aug 18) until after Aug 18, since it won't be until then that SPG will be ready to receive the new points that Amex is already issuing.

bswiz

My wife and I have both had the personal SPG Amex for the past couple years, but considering dropping hers as she also has an AA card, and doesn't spend enough to justify two cards with an annual fee. Am I correct that she can transfer her points to my account for free? And I assume we should try to do this before the upcoming conversion to Marriott points?

I see the cards will start getting a free night each year but not sure that's enough to keep the card....

Kagehitokiri

amex also stated aug 1 conversion date

they may have simply chosen to say that even if they knew it may happen in aug after that date

marriott may have changed date, and could theoretically change it again

kingofkingsforu

Anyone waiting for points to be posted on the spg account for statments closed after aug 1st. My statement closed on aug 3rd , and usually the points will be posted to my SPG account by 6th . But till now there is no sign of it. When checked with Amex , they told points are already in transfer pending state and nothing can be expedited from their side.

Anyone facing this issue ? I am planning on purchasing 1 more travel package , but the delay in posting the points concerns me.

dw