Let’s talk about alternatives to the SPG Amex after the massive Marriott devaluation
 

While everyone in this forum is debating the differences between the SPG/ Marriott loyalty program merger, the one thing that is an undisputed fact is that SPG points earned through the SPG Amex will be devalued significantly. In the past, $1 spent equaled 1 SPG point or 3 Marriott Reward points. After August, $1 spent will equal .67 SPG points or 2 Marriott Points. If you are like me who used the SPG Amex for “ALL” spend, you are probably wondering if there are better alternatives.

I would like to start this thread to discuss alternatives to the SPG Amex. I think most who valued the SPG Amex program did so because of the 20,000 points to 25,000 miles transfer rate to airlines. After August, spending $20,000 will only net you 40,000 Marriott reward points instead of 60,000 since now you will only receive 2 Marriott points per dollar spent. (By the way, I am assuming everyday spend for sake of this thread). So in order to get 60,000 Marriott points, which will also net 25,000 miles, you will have to spend $30K instead of $20K.

The intent of this thread is not to debate the differences between the SPG/ Marriott programs. The intent is to see if there are better credit cards out there to maximize spend. In other words, where can I get more bang for my buck if I spend $20k.

Let's make this a productive discussion.



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I've taken the liberty to try to compile some options that FlyerTalk members have proposed in this thread to make it easier for readers. Please note that these are only suggestions and that I take no responsibility on what you decide to do. This is also not an all inclusive list. These are just suggestions that seem to be the most recurring. There are many suggestions in this thread that might be worth considering. I will continue to update these suggestions as they come in.


1. Become part of the Ultimate Rewards Program with Chase. Currently there is a promotion where you can apply for a fee free Chase Freedom Unlimited Card that will allow you to earn 3 UR points for every dollar spent for a whole year. These points can then be transferred to Ultimate Reward Points using the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve cards. (Note that there are rumors that Chase might put an end to the ability to transfer points between cards.)

2. If you travel a lot, apply for the Amex Platinum Card which pays 5x membership reward points on airfare and 5x membership reward points for hotels booked through amextravel.com

3. If you want to ditch Marriott altogether, apply for the Hilton Aspire card which pays 14 points per Hilton dollar spent, 7 points for airlines, car rentals and dining and 3 points for everything else. Plus you will become a Diamond member instantly which will also generate an additional 20 HHonor points per hilton $1 spent. Don't forget you also get hotel lounge access plus other perks as well. Marriott is getting rid of lounge access for Gold Members which is key to many business travelers.

4. Amex Every Day spend card give 1.5 membership reward points per dollar spent. This is a great card for non-bonus spend.

5. If you want cash back, the Fidelity Rewards Visa is a great choice. This card will give you 2% unlimited cash back on all spend.

I'm leaning towards the Amex Everyday Preferred Card. 1.5x Membership Rewards seems pretty close to 3 Marriott Points and definitely more valuable than 2 Marriott Points. Thoughts?

I agree. Not sure what my card of choice will be after August, but it won't be my SPG Amex. I will be very interested to see what others are suggesting.

Also, I haven't seen much discussion about availability under the new program. My experience has been that SPG availability is very good while Marriott availability is very poor. Given that, I may just shift my spend to a cash back card like Chase Sapphire Reserve that effectively gives me 1.5% back.

Will likely be closing both personal and business SPG cards. Chase Reserve at 3X travel and dining, 4.5 cents of travel spend. E.g. $100k spend allows $4,500 in travel spend, and not tied to SPG.

There is some good news for those with the business version of the SPG Amex. 4 pts at U.S. Restaurants, Gas stations, wireless phone and shipping. Again... Only for U. S. Based purchases. This isn't great for those of us that travel internationally a lot and spend big $ at restaurants. However.... We will be getting what is effectively 1.33 SPG points on these purchases.

Perhaps Chase will beat this deal as they seem to be quite competitive with their offers. Their new premiere plus card doesn't do it but perhaps they'll be more offerings in the future.

Amex can't be happy with this.

One other thing to consider... We don't know what these points are going to be worth until the award charts come out in August. I'm waiting until August to decide where my daily spend is going. In the meantime...I'm making my hotel reservations for next year's travel between now and August.

Count me in for this discussion. I've got business and personal cards, and will likely cancel both on August 1st. Not sure if I should go straight cash-back or move to either a Membership Rewards or other point-based card.

This holds true only if you value the credit card as a hotel credit card. But many SPG Amex holders used the card for the lucrative airline transfer rate. And Marriott has made the devaluation crystal clear when it comes to earning 2 point per dollar vs 3 points per dollar spent. If you are someone who values the SPG Amex for airline miles, you are almost better off going with an actual airline partner. At least you'll get dollar for dollar points to miles. So $30K spend will most likely equal 30K miles versus 25K miles with Marriott.

You are correct as I value my spg cards for hotel use only.

Wouldn't the CSR be better for airline miles regardless?

I already have two CC (costco for costco, food, and gas and SPG for everything else) that I use. I want a card where I don't have to think, so I am leaning towards the fidelity or citi cards that give 2% cash back on everything and no annual fee.

I'm sure I'll sign up for the new cards for the bonuses, but at the end of the day I'll likely shift all my spend to Chase Sapphire Reserve (and Chase Freedom for the 5x bonus categories). A large portion of my charges are travel and restaurant anyway, and the incremental difference on base spend that I might get from a cash back card likely isn't worth the hassle. Then I'll keep using Amex platinum for airline charges.

I have enough SPG points to cover my airline transfers for the next few years, and other than occasional JAL and Asiana transfers, I've been able to handle my typical international air travel reasonably well using Ultimate Reward points. It will be a little weird because the SPG card has been my go to since the early 2000s, but I don't need the annual night credits anymore since I'll have lifetime platinum anyway, and I'm not sure the other benefits will be worth carrying the card if my spend is going to be minimal.

Anyone know how the program is/might be changing for Canada? I was planning to get a Amex SPG personal/business this year.....is it still worth it?

I've been searching for info on this all morning - nothing.

In Canada, there are a lot of implications. Think about the fact that us Canadians just got over the loss of our beloved Marriott Chase Visa, and then were offered the SPG Amex as an alternative. Well, that alternative may not even be around much longer. Amex in Canada must agree to rebrand the card. And I would assume they have until Feb 2019, when the SPG website will disappear forever.

For me, this announcement comes with a lot of uncertainty, because I hold both the SPG Amex and the new Cobalt Amex. The Cobalt earns Tier MRs (which are MRs, but cannot be transferred directly to airline programs - but can be in a roundabout way by being transferred to SPG 2:1). So...what happens when SPG is officially the combined program in August? Will they still be able to be transferred to SPGs until the SPG program is officially wiped? Or will the ability to transfer be taken away?

I'm annoyed that this announcement gave all the answers to US credit card holders, but left Canadian credit card holders in the dark....

Current SPG personal card holder. Also have CSP/Freedom. Currently use the Chase cards in bonus categories and the SPG everywhere else. Thinking about switching to the Hilton Ascend card, as I am not really tied to any hotel program. I don't travel enough to have any meaningful status. I would have earned about 140,000 HH points based on last years spend or 64,000 MR points. Not that concerned about airline transfers, as almost all my travel is domestic and I have CSP to use for UA or WN. I am not interested in the $450 AF cards. Thoughts?

Speaking of which, I do hope AMEX Canada has something in the works. Perhaps partner with Marriott so we can at least transfer MR to Marriott points 2:3.

I appreciate all the professional opinions in the forums, everyone makes this place a real resource. I currently utilize 3 CC for everything, CSR for restaurants and travels spend, FREEDOM for 5% categories only, and then SPG AMEX for everything else. I pretty much utilize the chase cards to buy airline tickets, and the SPG points for for hotel stays. I don't travel for work or anything like that, so I will not earn any loyalty status with anyone from stays really. I did spend roughly $50K on the SPG AMEX last year, getting me gold stauts for SPG (and subsequently Marriott ).

Going forward, I will look to move my everyday spend to either chase FREEDOM UNLIMITED or perhaps the new Chase Marriott Card coming in May. Anyone have suggestions for someone in this scenario? Assuming a $50K spend stays the same, what is the best route to go?

I valued my SPG card as it was pretty much the only way to get bonused spend for American Airlines AAdvantage miles. Now the airline credit card will a better choice for collecting AAdvantage miles.

+1 on the Fidelity card. I have LTP so don't need a Stariott card for the EQNs. Might make sense to have one for the free night but I don't think I'll spend on it. Currently I use Sapphire Preferred for restaurants and rental car, Amex Plat for flights, and SPG Amex for everything else. In future, I think I'll go with 2% in actual money on the "everything else" which seems to beat spending on any of the hotel or airline card options. Especially since a cash balance should gain value, while a points hoard in any program tends to lose it. Not sure if the Fidelity card has good warranty protection etc. so it may make sense to purchase some things on the Sapphire.

Update: just checked -- looks like the Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature benefits include comparable warranty extension to the SPG Amex.

Aren't the new Chase card and the new AmEx ($95 AF version) essentially exactly the same?

For EVERYDAY spend that does not fit into a bonus category I will likely do AMEX EDP or Chase Freedom Unlimited both at 1.5 points per $1.

I put all my non-bonused spend on my Business SPG AMEX ( a little over $1M/year). I use my SPG points exclusively for airline transfers. I will likely move it all over to an AMEX Everyday Preferred in August. I'm open to other suggestions as well.

Well, they'll have to do SOMETHING...considering it doesn't look like the card is going anywhere as of August 1st.

They just announced some BIG changes to SPG Amex in Canada though: change the earning to 2 points instead of 3 for hotel stays PLUS, the sign-up bonuses are gone - and instead replaced with crappy statement credits. I referred my hubby a week ago, so I certainly hope they don't try to screw us out of our 5K/20K bonuses...

Which airlines are you moving the SPG points to?

I currently use the CSR for travel/dining, Everyday Preferred for gas/groceries, and SPG Amex for all else. I think the only options that make sense for us now are the Everyday Preferred (1.5x Amex points), Freedom Unlimited (1.5x Chase points when paired with a Sapphire product), or a 2% cash back card. You could also leverage the $0 annual fee US Bank Cash+ for its two 5% cash back categories (chosen by you, not rotating).

I realise that this is a somewhat unhelpful contribution, but as a non-American I would kill for a card which would give me 2 Marriott points per dollar.

A pretty diverse mix, I would say my top three are SQ, JL, and Aeroplan. I transfer to A3, OZ, AA, NH less frequently.

I'm sitting on about 2 million SPG points at the moment, so I might start moving spend over before August. I figure Membership Rewards would probably be best for me since I can use them to transfer to SQ and NH. UR points also transfer to SQ but the other transfer partners are not appealing to me, I have more UA points than I would like.

I read that the cards will offer 6 points per dollar for Marriott spend.
If so, would that not be good? Use this card for hotel spend and other cards for other purchases where it makes sense.

It's the same as what we get now with 2x SPG points per $1 at SPG/Marriott. The other side of the coin is what the new award chart will look like.

The UK card is due to be launched in August, but will only give 1pt/£ for domestic spend.

I use CSR for dining + travel. Citi 2% for everything else. I value the 2% cash back card higher than the 1.5 pts per $1 spend card mainly due to the flexibility that I get from having actual cash vs. having to spend the points in some certain program and thus having to worry about devaluation, rule changes, etc.

Does anyone have any information on the status of the Sheraton Lounge access benefit that the SPG Business Amex provides?

It used to be pretty much a no-brainer to stick my Marriott or SPG stays on the SPG card since I was getting 6 MR points. But once they likely devalue with the new chart, it is probably going to make more sense just to put it on the CSR card and get minimum 4.5% on the Chase travel site. Actually, that might make sense already.

Since Marriott lifetime status is no longer tied to points, there isn't a great reason to prioritize those.

It's gone effective 8/1.

Think I will look into that.
Thanks.

Thinking outside of the box....

Anyone thinking of Amazon Visa Signature? 5% cash back at Amazon and Whole Foods, 2% cash back on restaurants, gas stations, drugstores, and 1% cash back everywhere else. No foreign transaction fee or annual fee (aside from Prime membership).

Not sure if the rewards point have any value, but the website does say you can redeem for travel or gift cards...

Current plan is to use Costco Visa for everything BUT Marriott/*wood stays for which I'll use the *woodAmex. (I had been using Costco for Gas/Costco/Restaurants/Non-*wood travel and the *woodAmex for everything else.)

2% cash back seems like a good option in general. It doesn't have the same "cachet" as spending $300k to "earn" a week at some luxury resort. But 6k can get you quite a lot.

I do think there are some good arbitrage opportunities for point utilization vs. cash, but its harder to justify these days.

I am drowning in Ultimate Rewards and UA miles...but I never have enough Starpoints.

So for my unbonused spend, I might just bite the bullet and keep using it...missing a better alternative.