It used to be possible to get another bonus for the SPG Biz card after 12 months had passed. Is this the case or is it now the usual 7+ year wait to churn and get the bonus a 2nd time?

It is the same as any other card issued by American Express USA. If the terms include the sentence below you are not eligible until the prior account scrolls off their live database, in about seven years:

This offer is also not available to applicants who have or have had this product.

Alright, thanks.

I recently opened an SPG business AMEX account (apparently I'm becoming a real hotel points aficionado, which is funny given how many years I went out of my way to avoid staying in chain hotels!). Since I already have the personal card, I was not expecting to receive any additional elite credits from the new card. I almost deleted without fully reading an e-mail informing me that two stays and five nights had been credited to my SPG account (not yet posted, btw). Fortunately, I skipped to the fine print before doing so:

"15 night, 2 stay Credit Upon opening your Card Account and, by February 15th of each subsequent calendar year it is open, you will receive from Starwood credit for 2 stays and 5 nights towards your Starwood Preferred Guest® Elite Status. To receive this benefit, your Card Account must be linked to an SPG Member account in your name. This benefit is limited to one annual credit per Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card Account ("Starwood Consumer Card Account"), and one annual credit per Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card Account ("Starwood Business Card Account"). You will not receive additional 2 stay or 5 night Elite Status credits if you have multiple Starwood Consumer Card Accounts or additional Cards, and you will not receive additional 2 stay or 5 night Elite Status credits if you have multiple Starwood Business Card Accounts or supplemental Cards. However, if you have both a Starwood Consumer Card Account and a Starwood Business Card Account, you can receive a maximum credit of 4 stays and 10 nights. Credits and status are subject to the Terms and Conditions of the SPG program."

Not that that makes any difference to me whatsoever with around 150 nights this year, but it could prove valuable in the future. FYI in case it's valuable to anyone else...

Edit: The additional credits for the second card posted within 48 hours of opening the account.

This is the first I've heard the "about seven years" part. Is there any way to actually check when this has happened?

You can contact Amex and ask if you have ever had a specific card. If they don't see it, then it has dropped off and you are ok to get another.

We did it for my wife's card through chat and just mentioned that we could not recall if she had one in the past. They said no and shortly after that, she applied and received the bonus.

During another chat ,we did the same with mine and they could see it and even gave me the date I cancelled.

How long had it been for your wife since she closed the card they couldn't see?

A few months past 7 years.

I have another 1 1/2 years to go before I can apply and get a bonus again- which will be a big IF, depending on how the merger affects the SPG card.

Did anyone else receive the following promo on their dashboard:

Special Limited Time Offer: Register your SPG® Card until 11/30/2017 and you can earn an additional Starpoint® per each dollar of eligible purchases, up to 5,000 bonus Starpoints®, through 12/31/2017. Terms Apply.

and can click on the "register" link but get to "page not found" ?

Nothing here, but would have loved that promo! Link?

Ha ha ... it's very deceiving since the link does not work and I already spend more than 90 minutes by chat and phone to get Amex to even acknowledge the promo.
I offered screenshots, to no avail.
Will try again tomorrow.

So I've had the SPG AMEX for a very long time but seems that $95 is a bit more than really it's worth to me. I called and they offered 7k points for $1500 spend in 30 days. If I do that spend before the closing date, I can still cancel and get the points right?

Depends on when you get the points. Doesn't seem like an honorable move to me.

Decision coming by end of next month on credit card going forward for Starriott according to the Marriott earnings call this morning.

Actually, the statement did not indicate there would be just one credit card going forward.

The statement from Kathleen (Leeny) Oberg (Marriott CFO & Exec VP) in her prepared remarks:

Our 2017 outlook does not include any impact from the ongoing renegotiation of our credit card agreements with JPMorgan Chase and American Express. We expect to finalize our credit card negotiations by year-end or shortly thereafter, and won't likely be able to estimate the P&L impact to Marriott until early 2018.

In the Q&A session the following on the credit card company negotiations:

Felicia Hendrix - Barclays Capital, Inc.
Thank you. And Leeny, if we could just move on to a question about the credit card deals that you're working on, and I know you said you'll have something to announce maybe by the end of this year, early next year and you're not really prepared to talk more about that, but I'm going to ask anyway. I think that there's a narrative in the investment community about the incremental cash flow that you can get from those deals, and I just – we're kind of calculating something a bit lower than what I think others are saying, and if you look at the transaction that Hilton – that transpired with Hilton, and if you think about the multiples of size that your loyalty program is, I think, folks are coming up with an incremental cash flow to you of $300 million, $500 million. We're calculating something a bit lower than that. So, I was just hoping you could maybe clarify how you're thinking about that.

Kathleen Kelly Oberg - Marriott International, Inc.
So, let's go back just to a little basics on what we talked about last March, just as a reminder, that we talked about the kind of non-hotel revenue-related fees totaling $350 million, of which the credit cards were roughly half. So, call it roughly $173 million in the 2016 numbers. And we've talked about that – we talked today about how that $350 million will grow to over $420 million, close to a 20% increase, and that will be heavily driven by the strength of our credit card business which is – continues to grow really well.

But as it relates to the new credit card deals, I can really only say the following, and that is that we are working with our partners. We – as soon as we have a definitive deal or deals, we will talk about it. And that we had said that these agreements have been some time since they've been renegotiated. So, two things: number one, we would expect from the passage of time that the deal has got better economics. And then number two, frankly, as a result of our combined platform, we believe there's additional benefit there. So that we do believe there will be great economic value, frankly, for Marriott International shareholders, for our owners through a more economic loyalty program – from the contributions from the credit card companies, as well as, frankly, for the customers who are going to be using these credit cards. So, there's tremendous value. But to get into the specifics of where those dollars fall, it's just too soon.

Felicia Hendrix - Barclays Capital, Inc.
So just to – is the – because we're all in the business of trying to anticipate these things, is the math wrong to kind of take what the incremental benefit that Hilton got and to kind of assume that perhaps your loyalty program is four or five times greater and just kind of do the math on that?

Kathleen Kelly Oberg - Marriott International, Inc.
You know, so the first thing should be not surprising, and that is that I really can't comment on Hilton's program. How exactly the structure of their deal and how they – how the credit card companies, what they're so-called paying for i.e., how many points that then need to be paid for as a result of the proceeds that Hilton is receiving, right. When you think about it, a credit card customer is obviously doing all this spend and they're earning lots of points when they use their credit card. Well, those points have to be paid for. And then the question becomes how much do those points cost in the various programs, and then what else are you using the proceeds for relative to strengthening the program, and also bringing profits to the shareholders.

So, I do agree with you. I think, a comparison probably doesn't make a lot of sense given that the programs are likely to be very unique relative to the businesses that Hilton has and the credit card portfolio that they have, as well as the one that we have. We're thrilled with the two credit card portfolios that we have now in terms of through Amex and JPMorgan Chase, and look forward to seeing what comes up when we are done with negotiations.