I've been an AMEX customer for 8 years and wanted to transfer $5k of my available balance over from my AMEX Delta Skymiles to my AMEX Starwood card. I called two weeks ago and they hassled me about it. After speaking with 3 CSRs about it and each of them giving me a different excuse as to why it couldn't be done, I realized they had no idea what they were talking about. So I continued to escalate it until I was transferred to the credit limit department in India and they got the balance moved in a matter of two minutes. Squeaky wheel gets the grease, I guess. :confused:

My company has started to require use of the corp AMEX card. Does anyone know if I can convert this card into a SPG point earning device? I know i can sign up for AMEX rewards, then covert, but you only get 1/3 the points.

I have had 0 luck transferring my CL over from another card despite have 2 "unlimited spend" charge cards, and another with an actual CL I don't use. I offered to close any of my lines in exchange for raising my measly $2000 Starwood AMEX limit, but no such luck.

After complaining to the the CSR that it is impossible to use this card because I use my limit weekly just with my hotel stays, he advised me to request a Credit Limit Increase. To anyone else considering this.. I would say not to bother. After doing a hard pull, AMEX came back and said that my mid 700s credit score is "not high enough to warrant a credit line increase". The letter then advised me on things that lead to such a poor credit score.... Thanks AMEX!

Wow, AMEX is not on top of their game! I request a credit increase too and have very good credit but received a letter saying I couldn't get an increase within 6 months of my last request. So I called them up and it turns out I'd never requested an increase before. Not sure if they just got sloppy with sending out the rejection letters or what!

But after reading the rest of this letter, I feel bad for .....ing about my "low" $10k Starwood AMEX credit limit.

I guess I missed the fee increase last year, and just noticed it this year. $45 for a credit card seems a bit extreme. Is there a fee waive for SPG gold?

Nope. Not for Platinum either.

Are there any secret flyertalk ways to get out of the fee? The benefits, for me, aren't really worth $45 a year.

Yeah, cancel the card before the fee is due, and then sign up again for a new card. You won't get any welcome bonus, but you can get out of paying the fee.

My SPG Amex credit limit is currently $20K and I don't want to risk getting my CL axed by cancelling and signing up for a new card just to get out of paying the fee. I have decided to just bite the bullet and pay the annual fee in exchange for keeping my relatively high CL on this card. As far as fee's go, I generally don't like paying CC fees, but for the benefits the SPG Amex card provides, I don't feel that $45 is excessive.

hum... I have spent more than $35K YTD on the SPG AMEX and haven't seen the bonus points. Now I wish they perform an "audit" and find out they "forget" to credit the points. Any advice if I should send them an email about this?

well, yes, there is. Be a really big spender, and speak to someone beyond the first person that answers the phone. And once you reach that next person, be very kind and confident, and persistent. I haven't been disappointed before, and I wasn't disappointed again this month.

aloha

Where did you read this and what are the terms and conditions? I've looked around since you posted. Thanks.

new spg amex survery regarding business card changes
 

i received an email from amex asking if i would take a survey about enhancements to the spg amex card. after taking the survey ( and getting 10 bucks for it) it appears they are looking at enhancing the basic card and creating a premium version of the card.

here is what i got from the survey:

they are looking at changing the basic card to $65 and for that you would get 1 free weekday night and a $50 gift card after your first redemption. this is probably worth it if you use the benefits.

a premium card that cost $200. they presented two versions of this, one of which i liked and one i thought was worthless. note that neither version allowed you to spend yourself to platinum ( as you can to diamond at hilton) and i like that for spg( although i intend to spend myself to diamond at hilton).

here is the version i liked:

Premium Level Business Card
It's time for a better travel rewards Card. This is the Card that provides you with hotel and airline rewards--giving you the best of both worlds.

New features (in addition to the core features):

"For every 20,000 points you redeem in SPG flights, you will receive a 5,000 points bonus. Fly anytime, anywhere, when you redeem at SPGFlights.com
Elite status in Starwood partner Car Rental programs
If you need to cancel or change a flight, we will cover up to $200 per year in airline change fees.
Freedom to cancel your hotel reservation at the last moment, even on pre-paid hotel rates.
Baggage Insurance for lost, stolen or damaged bags.
Annual Fee of $200. "

This one looks like a clear winner for those who travel. just the ability to book prepaid rates and cancel would save me well above the $200.

The other version for $200 looked like a waste of money:

4 nights upgraded to a suite if available
3 nights upgrade for a travel companion
5 free continental breakfasts
access to a travel planner after you make a reservation ( isn't this platinum concierge???)

my take after completing the survey was that the first version had all the high end benefits and the second had the low end ones and that the product will be somewhere in the middle as they asked you to rate all the benefits from both cards at the end of the survey.

anyone else get the survey??

Looks like at least one other person did. ;)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...ex-survey.html

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

I would pay the $200 annual fee for either of the cards listed above provided that it also allowed for you to reach Top Tier status like Hilton's card does. Say if after 40-50k in spend you get SPG Plat. If it had that, I'd be all over the new cards even with a $200 AF.

Starwood Lurker are you reading this! :)

:confused: Man, I'm having a serious case of deja vu here.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]