kaw753

I am now doing CSR for bonus categories and Barclay Arrival for non-bonus.

mdcubsfan

Does anyone know how do I confirm the points on spending before the devaluation on August 1 were posted at the previous earning amount? Was on my AMEX CC webpage and it redirected me to my SPG website and it wasn't there either....

Thanks

zorbachs

At this point, I think it may be best to just move all my spend to the BofA Premium card. With my status at the bank, I get 2.67% back on all spending and 3.5% back on dining/travel. I can use that cash to buy rooms rather than try to get the devalued points. I wanted to get the SPG business card for the bonus, but it just does not seem worth it anymore.

Explore SE Asia

You might pick up the Bank of America Cash Rewards card. You will get 5.25% cash back on gas, 3.5% cash back on grocery stores and wholesale clubs (Platinum Honors member). I plan on combining the Bank of America cards with the CSR.

PS I might pick up the Chase Freedom.

zorbachs

I do have the cash rewards too. In total, I get 5.25% back on gas, 3.5% back on groceries/Costco/dining/travel with the two cards. I think that's good enough for me and beats accumulating new Marriot/Starwood points. I have a Platinum Amex for a travel card, but I rarely spend on it, and I already have 475k MR points

SHLTP

I would like the Hilton Aspire esp with the new 150,000 bonus that went into effect today. My problem is where I am based most of the time (Asia), they have very few compelling resorts to get the $250 USD credit. If they switched that to spending in any hotel like SPG Luxury then I would get the card instantly. Hilton just has too few nice resorts in Asia, esp at the Conrad and WA level.

ralphs

I would value that resort credit at $0 in that case. I stay in a Hilton resort at least once if not twice a year, but unfortunately (for the AMEX Hilton) I end up putting that spend on the Citi Prestige for the 4th night free.

tods27

Logged onto my AMEX account today and I now have the 100K bonus for $5000 spend upgrade offer. Previously (before Aug 26) my offer was 15,000 miles for upgrading the card. I'm not completely clear if I can get this bonus as I just got a Chase Marriott Preferred Plus card for the 75K bonus and will be getting that soon (completed spend today). I need to read more of the T&Cs

nologic

I like to use my miles/points for international F redemptions to Europe/Asia, etc.

IMO, the SPG cards used to be best w a 1 point to $1 earning rate plus the 25% transfer bonus. Now it's equivalent to a .667 point per $1 earning rate which jumps to a whopping .834/$1 rate with the 25% bonus.

So, clearly any 1 point to $1 card with a broad range or partners is better than any SPG card (except for SPG earning and SPG redemptions).

But I want to focus on F redemptions on the likes of AF, LH, SX, SQ, QF, CX, JL, NH...possibly expanding to ER and EK at the best rates...

AF is out because you need to be top tier...maybe same with SX and SQ.

Right now, I am using a combination of Alaska Airlines Visa and BA Visa (BA Visa is only good for the $30K spend 2 for 1 award redemptions and then I book an annual trip to Europe in F for 150,000 Avios round trip for two plus $2000-$2500 in crazy fees.

But I am considering Chase UR, or a Citi Card, and AMEX MR card, or maybe a Barclays card?

Also, some people have said airlines like KE, LA, AV, and even AC have the "best" premium F redemption values.

Your suggestions?

ckelly14

This whole exercise has been a big eye opener for me. I was quite happy with my SPG card for 10+ years. If Amex kept non-bonus spend at 3 points/$, I probably would still be using it or perhaps upgrading to the Luxury card, all in blissful ignorance.

I am currently using CSR, and although I like it, I would probably consider going back to the Amex if they increased regular spend back to 3/point. I'm a Starwood and American Airlines guy (my wife and I have elite status on both), and CSR really doesn't work for transfer partners, and I have always found the best value booking through the portal at 1.5 cpp. I admit that I am usually booking domestic economy and I won't get the stratospheric returns that people get when booking international business or first class flights.

I have the luxury card, and I switched back to using it, until my double bonus point offer (2 extra points up to 30,000) is up. Not sure what I will do on October 23rd for my anniversary. Will Amex continue to offer these double bonus offers? If so, I may continue with the luxury card. Otherwise I will get the CFU and continue using the portal for a very good return of 2.25- 4.5 cpp.

christianj

I have sockdrawered my SPG card and am using CSR for travel and dining, AMEX EDP or Chase FU for everday spend and HH Ascend for groceries and dining until I get to $15k. I got the Marriott card to take advantage of the 100k sign-up bonus but it will only be used for MR and SPG stays. Plan is to decide after year 1 if the old SPG card and MR Premier Plus Visa are both worth keeping or what I do BUT they are definitely NOT getting any spend outside of MR/SPG.

bgriff

It sounds like cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or some of the Amex Membership Rewards family of cards would be perfect for you.

The SPG Amex used to be a good way to get very specific awards (like, back in the day before they were devalued, Emirates awards through Alaska for example) where you need a particular type of miles that are hard to accrue. But if you're willing to be somewhat flexible with what airline you fly and what miles you use to get there, the Chase UR and Amex MR transfer partners give you lots of options. And with certain combinations of cards, like CSR + CFU or Amex Preferred Rewards Gold + Amex Everyday Preferred (plus Amex Platinum if you have a lot of airfare spend), you can earn significantly more miles per dollar than the 1-1.25 that the SPG Amex used to get you, at the cost of a smaller set of transfer partner options. (Citi TYP can also have similar benefits, but IMO with their somewhat clunkier set of transfer partners, there's not much reason to choose Citi as a first pick now that their sign-up bonus bonanza is over.)

The one area where the Amex and Chase transfer partner portfolio is somewhat weak is oneworld awards; you can transfer either type of points to BA for F awards on CX, JL, and QF, but BA's miles requirements and fees on longhaul awards can be steep. (Though AA miles aren't quite as attractive as they used to be for some of those awards, either.) And Amex does sometimes have bonuses like the current 40% bonus on transferring points to BA that can take some of the sting out of BA's high award prices. But if it's just a matter of "I want to fly to Asia in a decent first class product" and you're not picky about the exact airline you fly on, you can usually find a good enough option via transferring Amex or Chase points to one of their Star Alliance transfer partners.

Cledaybuck

Do you find any value with AA miles in domestic economy? I admit, I am not a big AA flyer, but every time I look for domestic miles redemption, the options are horrible.

UA-NYC

AA miles best for OW partners...I have used for CX to/within Asia, IB to Spain/Europe, etc. As you note their domestic / own metal availability is pretty bad.

tygran37

Did you guys see the changes that look like they are coming to the PRG? For those who haven't the revamp looks like it is going to be: 4x Restaurants (possibly US only), 4x Grocery Stores (up to $25k/year), new $120 restuarant credit/year (only usable at specific places, $10/month), will keep the $100 airline credit. I could see myself moving to Amex and using a primary combo of the BBP and PRG.