trilinearmipmap

I had an Amex Platinum card a few years ago. I dumped it partly because for my spending pattern, over 1/3 of establishments would not accept Amex.

Particularly small (non-chain, non-franchise) retail establishments in Canada tend not to accept Amex.

If the first year's fee were waived I might accept this card for a one year trial. Then again, given the number of people affected by Amex's credit line reductions, financial reviews and other hijinks discussed in depth on these forums, I might not accept it even if it were free. I cannot afford to have my credit line suddenly frozen while my family and I are halfway around the world .

Braindrain

IMO, can't compare the 2 cards. SPG points give way more flexibility. AP points can only be used on Star Alliance flights.

schnitzer

$120 is not worth it. Especially in Vancouver.. Nobody takes AMEX, unless you are at a Big Box store.

I sure hope this isn't set in stone.

thebobmc

Sadly, I suspect that you are right. They probably don't want me. And they may very well get what they want ( or was that get what they don't want ? ).

But poor people spend money too. I have always managed to get to the $ 30K spend with the SPG MC, to maximize the bonus points. But I have had to work at it.

Spending $ 40K on an AMEX in one year will be just about impossible for me. And the free night doesn't mean a great deal to me. I don't travel on business. And when I travel for pleasure I usually stay at hostels, mostly because of the great people I meet but also because I am cheap. Now if they were offering 15,000 bonus SPG points with $ 40K spend that might motivate me.

So I am on the sidelines for now with this card. Too bad because SPG is a GREAT program. You can be sure that Starwood had some say in the setting of the annual fee. And if they have made the decision that they are only interested in high spend customers then they will definitely be losing low rollers such as myself.

P.S. Thanks JWL for the update.

ciana

Just got the AMEX aeroplan card for the bonus points. Add myself and my husband to the list of those will not be getting the AMEX Starwood card.. not enough benefit to warrant the $120 fee

JWL

Obviously the AMEX fee is higher than the MBNA card. But just saw an interesting evaluation in another forum on the Cdn SPG Amex fee vs. the US SPG Amex fee.

Because of the difference in FX rates between Canada and US dollars (assume 20% over the long term), US$50 = Cdn$60. Pretty obvious.

Less obvious is that 1 SPG point per Cdn$ is 20% more generous than 1 SPG point per US$. Further, if 1 SPG point costs Amex 1 cent, the difference over $30K of spending is: $30,000 x 20% x 0.01 = $60.

$60 + $60 = $120.

Still more than MBNA charged, but perhaps overall value/cost of the Cdn and US SPG Amex is pretty comparable when you compart them in detail.

Braindrain

Actually, no economist is predicting that FX rate, long-term. If anything, most predict 1:1 or higher over the next few years.

Having said that, I still think a free Weekend night/yr (Cdn card) is preferable to a one-time 15K point bonus (US card).

rankourabu

I just got the Aeroplan Amex 2 weeks ago, figured $120 for 20000 AE miles was justifiable. I planned to cancel the card and the get SPG card in a few months, but I m finding AMEX pretty much useless for everyday purchases.

Have already been told 3 times by various merchants, they dont take Amex.

RIP MBNA SPG.

pkeung

Fair enough on the $120 fee for positioning but when CIBC and RBC's Visas are accepted everywhere and Amex seems very limited I don't see Amex/SPG as providing enough additional features to make it competitive with CIBC and RBC.

Big from me. I was waiting eagerly for this card but will definitely pass.

pkeung

Same here, I hesitated at first as I wanted to wait on the SPG offering but now am satisfied with my decision as I have my 20,000 points and will keep this card only unless SPG improves the offering.

pwrshift

$120 for a card that give less than what we got for a free card that could be used everywhere? Forget about it! Dumb move by SPG...they've just killed it.

Marriott did the same with their Canadian VISA card ... it just doesn't compare to their Premiere card in the USA.

Now, if the Amex SPG card did the same as the Marriott US card, I'd take it for sure.

Take a look at this ... read it and weep:
http://news.marriott.com/2010/02/mar...n-in-2010.html

thebobmc

A humble suggestion to the mods of the SPG forum.

Since this thread has been mostly speculation about the new SPG AMEX Canadian card, now that the details about the card are emerging perhaps it is time to close this thread and direct posts to the new thread.

Just to keep all of the discussion about the cost / benefits of the new card in one place.

soitgoes

Didn't the old MC give 1 pt per $2 CAD?

thebobmc

The MBNA SPG MC did give one SPG point for each $ 2 charged on the card. But at each $ 10 K spend during the year we received 5,000 bonus SPG points. Up to a maximum of $ 30 K spend during a card year.

So the effect was an earn of 1 SPG point per $ 1 spent up to $ 30 K spend.

expressboy

I was a happy user of the MBNA SPG card doing 30K/yr spend. The $120 fee for the AMEX is too much and I will not go for it. Avion or one of the Aeroplan cards for me please :-)