My old card doesn't expire until '09 - any reason I can't just keep using it?

It's way to much to hope for to expect a hotel frequent stay program to fix your credit card. Try calling the credit card company instead. :rolleyes:

I would assume that as long as you haven't called in to activate the new replacement card, then I see no reason why you couldn't continue to use your old card until its expiration date.

can someone comment if these new cards have a Holigram Stripe on the back?

Yes!

Should we be worried??
 

We have two accounts, one for personal use and one my DH uses only for business (although not a "Business" account). I received both cards last week, he received only one. Should we be worried its lost?

I'd hate like hell to call AMEX and then have them "cancel" the account as lost on a new nonactivated card. Any suggestions?

BTW I do not intend to activate my cards as they don't expire till 2008 and I don't want to have change all the expiration dates on all my online accounts.

Thanks for the help. After doing a bit more research, I concluded that it made sense to now get the Hilton AMEX and use it for at least all "5 point" purchases. But I've also seen reference to a promo whereby you earn HHonors Gold by spending $20,000/year on the card. That would require shifting the majority of my SPG AMEX spending to Hilton AMEX. I recall that Hilton Gold is a lot better than Starwood Gold. Does it make sense to pretty much abandon SPG for Hilton? And how much of a shock will capacity controls be if you're used to SPG?

Thanks for the help.

SPG offers Gold level for $30K in spending. Being a member of both programs, SPG Gold is MUCH better than HH Gold, especially based on the quality of properties you can stay at as a member of SPG.

Here's a thread about the recent devaluations that also addresses the difference between Hilton and SPG:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=657155


Generally, my feeling is there are more Hilton properties than SPG, so better coverage. However, the quality of the SPG properties FAR exceeds Hilton.

Also, I don't really subscribe to the "SPG devaluation = Sky is Falling" mentality as expressed by some on the boards. SPG is still a quality program with lots of flexibility to stay in great properties or push to airlines with a decent bonus.

SPG Amex still gets all my business.

Fidelity Mastercard - 2% cash back. It's hard to value a Starpoint at much more than 2.0-2.1 cents now, and the optionality of cash, the ability to invest and appreciate vs. the inevitable long-term depreciation of a marginal Starpoint (given my balance, incremental additions wouldn't be used until my balance gets close to 0, possibly years from now), and no annual fee all make cash a better option.

If I didn't have to use my corporate card, I could see using an SPG AmEx for SPG hotel stays, but not much else. In fact, I carry one mostly due to the 5,000 tax payment offer last year, and will use it for that again this year. When the first annual fee pops up, it might go away.

I just recently got the SPG Amex. What is the 5000 tax payment bonus I've seen a few people refer to?

I owe a few grand in taxes this year - does this mean I can get bonus points for putting it on my Amex?

Starwood is great when you transfer 20,000 or more points to an other program.

Isn't the fidelity 1.5% back?

Yes.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=640464

Thanks!

Too bad I only owe any substantial amount of money to the state and not the fed. No bonus points for me.

I'm using Chase Rewards MC - 5% cashback at gas/grocery/pharmacy, 1% cashback everywhere else. When it comes down to it, I always rather take cash.

I do have starwood amex, citi hilton and chase united cards as well - but I only got them for the signup bonuses. It doesn't make much sense from my spending habits to collect points using these cards.

How often does SPG AMEX offer referral bonuses? From doing a search, it seems like this was a rare offer??? Was hoping it might come around again. Thanks.

I've been a cardholder for over a decade and to the best of my knowledge the promo that just ended Jan 22 has been their one and only referral offer.

Are others still missing their stay credits? I looked over my membership materials from the SPG AMEX kit & it indicated that stay credits would post in "4-5 weeks". I am still missing one from 2 months ago.

I just e-mailed AMEX customer service as my last phone call to them was like banging my head against the wall.

I should get 1000 for first stay, the 500 for every stay until 6000 points.
My first stay was September, 2006, however, not seen any stay bouns point posted yet.

I tried to contact SPG, by told it can take as long as 3 months. I feel a little upset with this (especially know they have promo of 10K pts bonus with first purchase now).

You need to contact AMEX - not SPG. Look over the membership brochure that AMEX sent to you. It indicates the stay bonuses should post in 4-5 weeks. My first ones posted in a matter of days, but something is clearly messed up with their system at the moment.

SPG AX Loyalty bonus (50/50) ?
 

Can someone please advise on this bonus? Is it possibly for referring people to get the SPG AMEX card? Sorry if asked before. Thanks.

Yes, its a referral bonus.

That being the case. I had two friends who applied. One used the code and the other thinks they did. I had two other friends who used the code. Any tried to get a missing credit or work with AMEX SPG to figure out which person they actually got the bonus for? Thanks.

I called today, actually, and was told I have to wait until April 23rd, 12 weeks from the promotion end date.

:td: :td:

I may be wrong but to the best of my knowledge Starwood has to date run two sweeps for SPG Amex referral bonuses: the first posted on Christmas Day and the second posted on March 5.

Hopefully they have at least one more sweep coming as I referred 4 FT'ers that supposedly (hopefully) used my referral code and reported back to me that actually they received the card, I had one referral bonus post in Dec and two posted yesterday so at the moment one bonus is still missing in action.

My 50/50 referral bonus was credited on Jan 12.

got my 50/50 bonus March 5. 5000 for 2 referrals;)

No, what are they going to do if you do? Nothing -they want your business.

This may be the case in this instance, however, I have experience with a Washington Mutual Debit Card that begs to differ.

I arrive in Kansai, Japan and promptly proceed to the Citi ATM in the baggage area to get some yen out for the week. Denied...try a different ATM...denied...I have about $8 US in cash on me. I go to the internet cafe in the baggage area and get online trying to find a number to call WaMu, no use. I send them an e-mail saying "help, your card isn't working, what's up?"

I eventually have to cash advance the entire week. I get back to the states and go to the branch to give them a piece of my mind and close my accounts. They say that they sent me a new card 2 months before (never got it) with a letter saying my current card would be deactivated in 60 days. What timing eh? Anyways, the card I was holding didn't expire for another year or so.

AmEx may operate differently, I don't know; but this gave me the opportunity to tell the story:D


BTW, I've still not gotten my new SPG Amex here in CA

Just noticed the banner ad at the top of the forum page here shows the new red Amex SPG card. I never noticed it before I got the new red card, wonder how long it has been there?

is the referral bonus counted for the adding a cardmember to the account too?

No, this was in reference to a targetted promotion at the end of 2006 in which the recipient was given 4 cards with a referral code on them. For each card used, the referrer received a 5,000 point bonus, to the maximum 4 cards or 20,000 point bonus.

For adding an additional card holder, it is commonly known that you will/should receive a 2,500 point bonus. Simply call and ask.

Cheers,

Adrian

so there is no more 50/50 points availble? i just got my card last week and i could refer a few if possible.

Are current members randomly selected to receive these referral unique IDs? I still haven't seen anything in the mail.

When do bonus points from SPG Amex post?
 

Is it true that we get an extra point/$ for using our SPG Amex cards at Starwood hotels? If so, when do these extra points post and who (Starwood or Amex) is responsible for posting them? I got my SPG Amex statement and don't see the bonus points anywhere. Thanks.

Yes, it's true. I don't know about the printed statements, but I have found that the bonus points appear on my spg.com account activity report on the same day that the points for my AmEx monthly spend do. (Which is to say very quickly -- usually the day after my monthly billing date.)

I've been a card holder for about 10 years and to the best of my knowledge SPG Amex has had a total of only one promo offering referral bonuses - that was the one mentioned above that many of us received and it ended on Jan 22.

Points post to my account about the same day that my AMEX account closes for the month. It's quicker than many hotel stays.

If your points aren't posting yet, it may be because AMEX hasn't properly linked your card to your SPG account. Give them a call and make sure they have your SPG number on file. I had that problem the first month and after calling to fix it the point transfers worked fine.

Fortunately, AmEx is very good at posting points within a day or so after your statement closing.

Just called Amex after getting my statement with the annual fee on it. The rep was clear that she could not offer me anything off the annual fee. But, when I asked if I could get some Starpoints, she offered me 3K. She said perhaps a supervisor could offer me more, but she couldn't. I did not even suggest I was going to cancel the card.

Wonder what happens if I call back in a few months and see about canceling? @:-)