Is there really an appreciable difference between those of us who redeem points from CC earnings, and those who redeem points earned on their company's nickel?

I think very few among us earn our points through our own paid stays. Yes, some...but most get the lion's share of their points through dollars not spent out of their own pockets.

You'd be surprised how many of us fit that description.

+1 here!

Yes, because I'm someone who doesn't have any paid hotel stays, thus do not have any status beyond what the CC gives me.

Referral
 

I would like to apply for the SPG Amex card, but not for the 10,000 points currently offered. Is anyone willing and able to refer me to a better offer?

Thanks.

I am not aware of any other offers out there right now, but if you are interested in the standard offer, -- I can send you a referral for both personal & biz cards!:)

what does the referral do?

Earn an additional bonus for the referring member, i.e., win-win.

Yes, it's the same bonus offer that an applicant gets for the card, and the referrer gets a bonus if the application is approved!^

I wonder if an applicant who might be 'borderline' (in terms of approval) might get the extra boost for consideration by being referred by an existing cardmember!

my renewal is coming up soon and i don't think i am going to pay the renewal fee unless i can be convinced it is worthwhile. what benefits am i losing when cancelling the card other than the obvious points for using the card? from what i understand i am still able to transfer points to airlines without having the card. am i still eligible for stays with points and cash without the card? would appreciate any input.

Silly question here...

I just referred someone to the SPG Amex card, in hopes that I get the 5,000 bonus points.

If that person applies via my link and qualifies, does that person also get any sort of bonus points (ie. 10,000)?

Newb Thread - SPG vs HHonors
 

Hey all. Been reading for a while, but it seems my specific question hasn't been answered. I have a bit of an idea, but I thought I'd bounce it off the experts here.

I'm switching to AMEX either way (my credit is great), but I'm unsure if I should do SPG or HHonors. My natural tendency would be towards SPG (which is why I posted this here) since I've accidentally stayed in more Westins than Hiltons (I am only 28) and have felt they're in-line with what I'm looking for style/feel wise I guess. I assume that Hilton has as many nice places to stay though...

FYI: I stay in hotels purely for pleasure, no business travel, and usually in large cities and vacation areas, so I'm not as concerned about rural hotel availability (where Hilton is superior to SPG). My wife and I put every dollar we can on our CC and pay it off every month, thus the interest in these two cards since they let us reach higher tiers w/o tons of travel. In other words, my points will pretty much ONLY come from purchase points, not from stays/nights. Yes, I understand SPG and HHonors points are apples vs. oranges, this is more of a program/hotel/quality question for the respective programs and tiers. So, my question is this:

With SPG I:
- Easily get the 25K new member bonus points (10K for signing up, another 15K for spending $15K on the card within 6 months)
- Can definitely get Gold (spend $30K within a calendar year on the card); but I'm still unsure on the real value of this (I see many comments staying Plat is where you really want to be with SPG and Gold's value is questionable? From what I see I have zero chance of reaching Plat with SPG.).
- Earn 1 point for every dollar I spend.

With HHonors I:
- Easily get the 40K new member bonus points on sign-up
- Probably another 7.5K for extra points over the first 18 months
- MOST LIKELY can reach Diamond VIP (spend $40K within a calendar year on the card); but I'm also unsure of the real value of this (HHonors website was a lot harder for me to parse than SPG.com).
- Earn 3 points for every dollar I spend (6 in other situations like gas)

Any input would be appreciated...

They definitely do not...

Off the top of my head, Hilton Diamond (and its lesser tier of Hilton Gold) would get you breakfast and internet. SPG Gold does not get these things. Upgrades to club floors as a Hilton Diamond are also probably much more likely than SPG Gold. Like you, my husband and I mostly travel for leisure and all of our travel is out of pocket. As a Hilton Gold, the breakfast and internet were very nice to have when we have stayed at Hilton and the club upgrade was a real perk the one time we were surprised with it. However, in the past year we have traveled a lot to Europe and in nearly all cities we visited, the SPG property was in a much better central location than Hilton. The promise of free breakfast or internet didn't sway us to Hilton if it meant staying on the outskirts of town (Venice, Florence, Amsterdam, Rome just to name a few).

We have received some upgrades as Golds, but yes, Platinum is the much better tier in SPG. We get around this by booking the exact room type we want rather than holding our breath for a lucky upgrade. However, Starpoints can be used to upgrade your rooms and as a Gold member, you earn the points faster which is one advantage. Others on this board can tell you about redemption of points in Hilton vs SPG - I haven't gotten to that phase yet although what I've read is that Hilton pales in comparison to SPG in redemption.

Like you, I could've gone either way with the Hilton vs SPG card. I signed my husband up for the SPG card because even as an SPG gold, I think we will get more value out of using our Starpoints towards rooms and upgrades during future vacations rather than being a Hilton Diamond with poor point redemptions and less than optimal hotel locations especially during European travel.

Kudos for this concise, insightful commentary. I would only point out that in order to upgrade using points, one must book the room at one of a few specific rates: RACK, COR, SET, or BAR. (For a discussion of Starwood rate codes, see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...ate-codes.html . RACK is the relatively expensive rack rate (duh). BAR is Best Available Rate; there can be up to 10 BAR codes -- BAR1 to BAR10 -- with none of them the lowest actual rate. SET is a corporate rate.)

So far as I am aware, one cannot use points to upgrade either the lowest rates (typically prepaid) or award stays booked under Cash & Points or Free Nights. Personally, I prefer to book C&P, which usually gives the best value/Starpoint, and hope for the free upgrade based on elite status -- but as you rightly point out, it's a roll of the dice for Golds.