Jun 12, 2014, 11:11 am
Last edit by: CodeAdam10
For discussion of the now expired offer for a 35K signup bonus, see Amex SPG 35,000 business and personal cards-2016 [No referral offers in this thread.]
USA-issued card benefits changed on August 11, 2015. (Announcement & extended discussion at American Express and Starwood enhance cobrand credit card benefits.) The benefits are slightly different for personal and business cards:
Public Links:
- The Annual Fee is $450.
- Earn 6x at Marriott properties; 3x on restaurants and airfare; 2x on all other purchases.
- Enjoy up to $300 in statement credits each year of Card Membership for eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
- FREE NIGHT AWARD: Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel.
- COMPLIMENTARY GOLD ELITE STATUS: Enjoy complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status with your Card. Earn Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status after making $75,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- Other Highlighted Benefits: Priority Pass Select Membership, Global Entry credit, No Foreign Transaction fees.
- $125 Annual Fee (If application received before 03/28/19, $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95)
- Earn 6x at Marriott properties; 4x at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services & on U.S. purchases for shipping; 2x on all other purchases.
- Free Night Award: Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel.
- Complimentary Silver Elite Status
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
Other related discussion:
USA-issued card benefits changed on August 11, 2015. (Announcement & extended discussion at American Express and Starwood enhance cobrand credit card benefits.) The benefits are slightly different for personal and business cards:
Public Links:
- Personal [Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card]: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/marriott-bonvoy-brilliant
- The Annual Fee is $450.
- Earn 6x at Marriott properties; 3x on restaurants and airfare; 2x on all other purchases.
- Enjoy up to $300 in statement credits each year of Card Membership for eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
- FREE NIGHT AWARD: Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel.
- COMPLIMENTARY GOLD ELITE STATUS: Enjoy complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status with your Card. Earn Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status after making $75,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- Other Highlighted Benefits: Priority Pass Select Membership, Global Entry credit, No Foreign Transaction fees.
- Business [Marriott Bonvoy Business Card]: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/c...s-credit-card/
- $125 Annual Fee (If application received before 03/28/19, $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95)
- Earn 6x at Marriott properties; 4x at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. gas stations, on wireless telephone services & on U.S. purchases for shipping; 2x on all other purchases.
- Free Night Award: Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card account anniversary. Award can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at a participating hotel.
- Complimentary Silver Elite Status
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Discussion of Amex "one bonus per lifetime" policy (personal & business cards)
- Annual fee retention bonus for Starwood Amex Card
- American Express and Starwood enhance cobrand credit card benefits
- How to keep SPG points from expiring after 12 months of account inactivity
- New Card Art for the US Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express
SPG American Express [Master Thread]
Mar 14, 2019, 8:04 pm
#3811
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador
Posts: 598
Apologies if this has been answered already, but in my Bonvoy account in the recent activity of points from the cad, it says "Ax Dintrv Spe." Any ideas what the "dintrv" refers to?
Mar 14, 2019, 9:57 pm
#3812
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: TUL
Programs: AA EXP 2MM; Marriott Titanium; Hilton Diamond; Hyatt Explorist; Vistana 5* Elite; Nat'l Exec Elite
Posts: 6,177
That's the bonus for charges with U.S. restaurants and flights booked directly with an airline.
Mar 14, 2019, 10:21 pm
#3813
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,720
All I know is I just transferred 100K of my Marriot Bonvoy points into my HawaiianMiles account to purchase airfare. Marriot claims they transferred another 15K bonus points. My HawaiianMiles account shows a transfer of 33.3K regular points and 5K bonus points. I’m no math expert, but pretty I’m sure that means I’m only netting 1/3 of my original points. Also, it took Marriott Bonvoy two weeks to effect the transfer when it took SPG only two days. I guess I'm lucky, Bonvoy told me it could take up to six weeks!
I love Amex so I called them and asked if they offered a better rewards card. The rep told me they have been getting a lot of calls from former SPG members. She admitted the Marriot rewards card benefits fell short compared to the old SPG card. She told me the regular Amex Gold card offers a 1:1 points to air miles transfer ratio into most major airline clubs. The drawbacks are that there are no transfer bonuses and the annual renewal fee is $250. Thinking this over. In the meantime, I will have to pay cash for part of my air travel, thanks to Marriott.
I love Amex so I called them and asked if they offered a better rewards card. The rep told me they have been getting a lot of calls from former SPG members. She admitted the Marriot rewards card benefits fell short compared to the old SPG card. She told me the regular Amex Gold card offers a 1:1 points to air miles transfer ratio into most major airline clubs. The drawbacks are that there are no transfer bonuses and the annual renewal fee is $250. Thinking this over. In the meantime, I will have to pay cash for part of my air travel, thanks to Marriott.
Going forward, as explained in detail above, your everyday spend on Marriott Amex will earn you 2 points per $1 spend, which are worth about 2/3 of an original SPG point. So yes, you are earning less but only 1/3 less. And if you register for the current promo that is offered to all pre-Bonvoy SPG Amex holders, you will earn a bonus of 25k points for every 25k spend, essentially restoring you to the old earn rate of 3 Marriott points per $1 spend (in this case $25k spend = 75k points).
Personally I hate Amex but I am loathe to pass up a decent opportunity to earn Marriott points which we use frequently for family trips. At 2 points per $1 I would cancel the card (actually Mrs. B's) - at 3 points per $1 we will keep it - for now. And I ordered a Luxury card a while back which came with a 125k signup bonus. That is equivalent to 41.5k old SPG points, higher than I can recall seeing pre-Marriott.
Mar 19, 2019, 7:37 am
#3814
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,710
Going forward, as explained in detail above, your everyday spend on Marriott Amex will earn you 2 points per $1 spend, which are worth about 2/3 of an original SPG point. So yes, you are earning less but only 1/3 less. And if you register for the current promo that is offered to all some pre-Bonvoy SPG Amex holders, you will earn a bonus of 25k points for every 25k spend, essentially restoring you to the old earn rate of 3 Marriott points per $1 spend (in this case $25k spend = 75k points).
https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.c...t-spend-offer/
Even the new link William posted doesn't work for me and others I know.
Also as for earning less but "only 1/3 less" that is a huge depreciation. Another way to look at it is I have to increase my spend 50% to earn the same amount of points that I earned before (assuming one doesn't have the bonus offer).
Mar 19, 2019, 9:07 am
#3815
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,720
Fixed that for you there is a sizable minority of us who have not qualified for the offer on the personal card. I am one and I have had the card for years and spent heavily on it until it got sock drawered last August.
https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.c...t-spend-offer/
https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.c...t-spend-offer/
Mar 19, 2019, 10:43 am
#3816
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,710
I honestly don't know if it is intentional, some technical error or that they are just still deploying the offer. To be honest I find the personal card offer fairly marginal for my purposes since I care mostly about transfers to airlines. Basically it is 1.25x airline miles per dollar of spend (assuming you just hit the spend and transfer bonus thresholds). The number of transfer partners with Bonvoy is large but with multiple cards with other currencies earning 1.5x or better I consider it a wash at best. Now if I had been targeted for the better business card spend deals that would for sure get me to shift my spend to Bonvoy.
Last edited by 36902BRF; Mar 19, 2019 at 10:55 am
Mar 22, 2019, 12:45 pm
#3817
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 209
Data point - Just got denied for the Bonvoy BUSINESS cc. Totally under 5/24, and haven't opened any amex cards since 2016. Excellent credit.
got the message "based on your history with American Express welcome offers, introductory APR offers, or the number of cards you have opened and closed, you are not eligible to receive this welcome offer."
I am very meticulous and stay within the limits of applying for cards, so i called AMEX to see why... I already knew I had the SPG PERSONAL before in 2016, but I NEVER HAD the spg business CC. HOWEVER, that is why i got denied for the Bonvoy Business. I clearly read on the terms if you've had the "Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product or The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express." But it says nothing about having the PERSONAL SPG. Apparently though these are the same now according to AMEX, PERSONAL = BUSINESS.
I thought personal and business were different cards, but just wanted to share so no one else wastes their time if in the same boat. The language in the offer does not state if you have had "personal"spg cards you are excluded, only business ones, but you still cant win. big waste of time.
got the message "based on your history with American Express welcome offers, introductory APR offers, or the number of cards you have opened and closed, you are not eligible to receive this welcome offer."
I am very meticulous and stay within the limits of applying for cards, so i called AMEX to see why... I already knew I had the SPG PERSONAL before in 2016, but I NEVER HAD the spg business CC. HOWEVER, that is why i got denied for the Bonvoy Business. I clearly read on the terms if you've had the "Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product or The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express." But it says nothing about having the PERSONAL SPG. Apparently though these are the same now according to AMEX, PERSONAL = BUSINESS.
I thought personal and business were different cards, but just wanted to share so no one else wastes their time if in the same boat. The language in the offer does not state if you have had "personal"spg cards you are excluded, only business ones, but you still cant win. big waste of time.
Last edited by mymyles; Mar 22, 2019 at 1:09 pm Reason: update:
Mar 22, 2019, 1:10 pm
#3818
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 209
update: just got the chase boundless with no problem (under 5/24). amex = no more of business
Mar 22, 2019, 1:15 pm
#3819
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,954
Mar 25, 2019, 3:24 pm
#3820
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Nevada
Posts: 11
I just got off the phone with Amex. I was approved for Amex Bonvoy Business Card on 3/9 and called them to confirm that I have the 100k point bonus offer, no annual fee first year, then $95. He told me that the offer wasn’t attached and that he would open a research request. (Response in 4-6 weeks. ��) Now I am wondering if they they won’t honor the bonus since I had a Personal SPG in 2016 and received the bonus at that time. Also, I don’t want to spend $5k and then not receive the bonus. Grrrrrrr! He didn’t seem to think that a 4-6 week response time was a problem.
Mar 25, 2019, 9:19 pm
#3821
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: SAN
Programs: AA, SPG, UR, MR
Posts: 181
I'm trying to downgrade my SPG Business (now Bonvoy) card to avoid the annual fee. Can anyone tell me if there is a way?
I called in and tried the following to find a solution:
1. I called in to ask to downgrade the card to a fee-free version. Rep said no.
2. I asked if I can somehow get the fee waived / credited. Asked for retention specialist. Rep said no.
3. Asked if I can at least move the $25,000 credit line to another fee-free AMEX card. Rep said no.
Are there any options here? Or do I have to cancel the credit card, lose the credit line AMEX gave me, and that's that?
I called in and tried the following to find a solution:
1. I called in to ask to downgrade the card to a fee-free version. Rep said no.
2. I asked if I can somehow get the fee waived / credited. Asked for retention specialist. Rep said no.
3. Asked if I can at least move the $25,000 credit line to another fee-free AMEX card. Rep said no.
Are there any options here? Or do I have to cancel the credit card, lose the credit line AMEX gave me, and that's that?
Mar 29, 2019, 5:43 pm
#3822
Join Date: Apr 2014
Programs: Hilton - Diamond, IHG - Spire Amb
Posts: 901
I'm trying to downgrade my SPG Business (now Bonvoy) card to avoid the annual fee. Can anyone tell me if there is a way?
I called in and tried the following to find a solution:
1. I called in to ask to downgrade the card to a fee-free version. Rep said no.
2. I asked if I can somehow get the fee waived / credited. Asked for retention specialist. Rep said no.
3. Asked if I can at least move the $25,000 credit line to another fee-free AMEX card. Rep said no.
Are there any options here? Or do I have to cancel the credit card, lose the credit line AMEX gave me, and that's that?
I called in and tried the following to find a solution:
1. I called in to ask to downgrade the card to a fee-free version. Rep said no.
2. I asked if I can somehow get the fee waived / credited. Asked for retention specialist. Rep said no.
3. Asked if I can at least move the $25,000 credit line to another fee-free AMEX card. Rep said no.
Are there any options here? Or do I have to cancel the credit card, lose the credit line AMEX gave me, and that's that?
Mar 29, 2019, 6:35 pm
#3823
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,954
Account Services > Card Management > Transfer Available Credit to Another Card
HOWEVER, you cannot transfer credit from a Business card to a personal card, and (typically) you cannot transfer to or from an account that is less than 13 months old.
HOWEVER, you cannot transfer credit from a Business card to a personal card, and (typically) you cannot transfer to or from an account that is less than 13 months old.
Mar 30, 2019, 12:00 am
#3824
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,720
Had no trouble transferring CLs between SPG luxury and Hilton cards even though latter is < 1 year. Did this twice already as I originally reduced Hilton (never used it after transfer from Citi) and then had to increase it when I upgraded and needed to spend for bonus. Of course this is only 1 data point and both are personal cards.
Apr 11, 2019, 4:39 pm
#3825
Join Date: May 2005
Programs: AA Platinum Pro, VS Gold
Posts: 95
Problem with points earn on SPG Amex at an Autograph Collection hotel
My March stay at the Bankside Hotel in London, a Bonvoy Category 6 hotel, was paid for on my SPG Amex. However, Amex only issued 2 points per dollar spent. Apparently they don't recognize that this new hotel is a participant in the Bonvoy program. Participating hotels are supposed to earn 6 points per dollar on the SPG Amex.
After I saw this on my statement, I made an inquiry with Amex and got a written reply reiterating that 2 points per dollar was the correct amount.
Has anybody else had a similar experience? How did you get it rectified?
After I saw this on my statement, I made an inquiry with Amex and got a written reply reiterating that 2 points per dollar was the correct amount.
Has anybody else had a similar experience? How did you get it rectified?