shadowsjc

Hi all,

Posted a similar thread on the SPG forum.. basically im looking to get a rewards credit card that will give me hotel stays. i am not a frequent business traveler, so i wont be racking up gold or platinum status at any hotel.... all ill be using the card for is standard things (in my case, <$10k / year in charges).

the 2 cards i was looking at were starwood and Hhonors, both by amex. if i sign up for Hhonors, i get the 10k bonus points, plus another 15k after $5000 spending (for a total of 40k points - very good i must say).

starwood gives me the 10k bonus, but after 5000$ i can stay at a decent hotel with them.

keeping in mind that i will not be frequenting either starwood or hilton very much, is there a clear advantage to joining one program over the other? is it even worth it? (or should i look at a different type of rewards card, such as a cashback)

many thanks (btw i'm in the NYC area so there are several hilton and starwoods available)

halothane

The SPG Amex has an annual fee of $45. The benefit of the SPG is that you can transfer 20,000 starpoints to most frequent flier programs at a 1:1 basis and you will get a 5,000 mile bonus. So you really get 25,000 miles for 20,000 SPG on most airlines.

Do you have a preference for Hilton or SPG? With the Hilton Amex you're eligible for AXON awards which saves you around 35K points on a 4 night stay (if I remember correctly). Are you looking for domestic or international award stays? One thing I really like about SPG is cash & points. You can sometimes really luck out with that.


Halothane

kanerf

Keep in mind that the Hilton Amex has no annual fee. They also have occasional bonus options such as last fall when you got double points on everything spent. This meant that you received 10 points per dollar at Hilton properties and 5 points per dollar every where else. Another consideration is where do you want to stay? A problem that I have always had with Starwood is that they simply do not have properties outside of the larger cities like Hilton does with the Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, and Double Tree. Things are different overseas though, but Hilton seems to be starting to build more properties outside of the states. You are also unlikely to find a Starwood property in any but the largest cities overseas as well.

shadowsjc

no real preference for either the starwood or the hilton. i do know that the hiltons tend to be a bit more expensive, though. also, id probably prefer domestic as opposed to international stays. id be using the reward nights either at domestic beach locations (ideally anywhere near the jersey shore, or maybe miami, virginia beach etc.).

hmm..a quick search on both sites shows about 0 hotels for either *wood or hilton near the jersey shore. i guess any free stays would be near NYC then.

this would be my first rewards credit card; up to now im basically just throwing money away for nothing, so it'd be nice to get a little something back for a change. i think the starwood is free for the 1st year, so i'd probably wind up cancelling afterwards if anything.

the only other card i would consider getting is the one for holiday inn (since i have about 16k points with them from a business trip earlier this year). i don't know how good that one would be though (plus i rate starwood and hilton higher than ICH hotels anyway)

gaken01

I've had the Hilton Honors AmExp for a number of years now and have found that it's relatively easy to rack up lots of points if you use it for everyting you can -- gasoline, groceries, eating out, etc. I'm not a business traveler either, but I've found that using this card had enabled me to book 2-3 reward stays per year for weekend vacations, weekend getaways, etc. that I might not otherwise do. In fact I wonder if Hilton regards me as a "deadbeat" in that I generally don't choose a Hilton family property if I'm paying for the stay!

shadowsjc

thanks for the replies. based on this and my own research, i decided to apply for the amex Hhonors card. the amex site said that i would get a decision in under 60 seconds; unfortunately, after i hit submit, it said that they would not be able to give me a decision in that time frame, and that i would have to wait to be emailed with a decision (??). oh well - is there a phone # i can call to see what the status is? or, does anyone have an idea why it may get delayed/

EndlosLuft

The same thing happened to me. It's not a big deal. They will just contact you and may ask for something like proof of income (like a statement from your HR department how much you make). They where quite friendly in my case and it was clear they want you to get the card.

You can check the status of your application online.