DC777Fan

Hyatt's card offers bonus points on airline tickets and restaurants (not just Hyatt stays), a free night annually, mid tier status, EMV chip and NO FOREX FEES at $75/year. There's no good reason you'd use any other card to pay for your Hyatt stay anywhere in the world if you're a frequent Hyatt guest or elite.

Hilton has several cards, but Citi's version has bonus points on airline tickets and car rentals, a free weekend night annually, mid tier status, an EMV chip and NO FOREX FEES at $95/year. There's no good reason you'd use any other card to pay for your Hilton stay anywhere in the world if you're a frequent Hilton guest or elite.

Marriott's card offers bonus points on airline tickets, restaurants, and car rentals, annual free night, annual elite credit, elite credits for spend, an EMV chip, and NO FOREX FEES for $85/year. There's no good reason you'd use any other card to pay for your Marriott stay anywhere in the world if you're a frequent Marriott guest or elite.

SPG offers no bonus points anywhere but SPG hotels, no free night credits, a barely-published low tier status (Plus), and (barely better) mid tier status only with high spend, a decent elite credit annually, no EMV chip, and prohibitively expensive forex fees for $65. Any card offering bonus points on travel and no forex fees would be better to use on a foreign SPG stay.

I'd gladly pay $10-25/yr extra for a free night at a mid-tier hotel, an EMV chip, and no forex fees so I can actually use the card at foreign SPG hotels.

It's pretty amazing that SPG's own card is not advantageous to use at the majority of their hotels due to forex fees. In fact, the SPG card is really not designed around the needs of frequent SPG guests. It's much better as a daily spender card for somebody in the US who wants to take advantage of the 1.25mi/$ airline transfer but with no particular hotel loyalty.

controller1

Yes, I wish the SPG Amex were a true travel card. I would be satisfied with double points on rental cars and restaurants in addition to Starwood hotels and no Foreign Exchange Fees for Starwood Hotels (if it could not be for all charges).

As for the EMV chip, that is available today. All one has to do is call Amex and request an SPG Amex with EMV chip and one will be on its way.

MSPeconomist

For companrison, until the beginning of this summer, all of the DL AmEx cards, even the Reserve card with its annual fee of almost $500, had foreign exchange fees.

AZ Travels the World

Not necessarily. While it does provide a vehicle for those with no particular hotel loyalty, I'm very loyal to SPG and I consider this feature of the card to be of higher value than most of the additional benefits provided by the other cards you cited. (It's the Forex fees that make me stop and think about it -- this really should be eliminated from this card IMO.)

But this feature is probably my biggest motivator for using the Starwood AMEX. I have flexibility between using the points for aspirational points stays (though that is diminishing with some of the ridiculous points requirements of late for the nicest hotels) or transferring to an airline program that I may not have the necessary points in for a particular award.

This unique benefit has to be a significant component in the total cost of benefits for the SPG AMEX. I suspect it's the primary reason we don't see some of the other benefits provided by competing cards.

3Cforme

Use at Starwood hotels beats $0.0125/point on a bad day - handily.

curl

Hm, I don't know. We find it pretty valuable - have used it to stay in some AMAZING hotels around the world. For $65, I feel like I'm getting quite a bit.

AZ Travels the World

Note that you can also make the request via online chat on the AMEX website.

I was impressed that they would do that. So many financial institutions won't process anything via online chat requiring any level of security. AMEX has built in a system for confirming security information with the same questions they'd ask you over the phone -- so it was a breeze. For me, so much more convenient than having to call in.

WheelsFirst

If SPG points weren't worth at least double Hyatt points it would be a different story. I still find this card to give close to double the benefit of most if not all other travel cards. No forex would be nice but I'm not sure I'd want to pay more than $10-20 annually for that. Also, keep in mind every airline and hotel that partners with Chase goes through a major devaluation due to the insane ease of earning points in Chase programs. You can get several hundred thousand points by applying for a couple personal and business cards, clearly they have needed to raise redemption categories as a result. Just any asking who uses UA, WN, Hyatt, Marriott.

imverge

I never use my Starwood AMEX when staying in hotels (including Starwood) when I travel outside Canada. The 2.5% currency fee is ridiculous. I always use my Chase card.

Besides, if AMEX gave me bonus points for Starwood hotel stay spend I might reconsider but that's not a benefit either.

MrHalliday

Cards all have different upside...
I have had Marriott, Hilton, many others...

..none of which come close to the total
received value of the AX SPG signup bonii
(alternating personal and business almost every year).

Of course, this is about sign-up, not spend.
And I expect the AX game is now over with the new rules.

DC777Fan

I'm not suggesting they should become a 1:1 transfer partner with Amex. I agree that's a one way street to devaluation (though Hyatt's still wasn't very bad IMO).

I do disagree with your assessment of relative value, however. At the top end, the best Hyatt hotels and SPG hotels are all in the 20-30k per night range--some SPG being 35k (to say nothing of the "all suite properties" ... some SPG properties are over 70k!!). I'd put it more like 1.5 to 1 at best after the devaluation of C&P. SPG has a much larger portfolio and therefore more value opportunities in the 10-20k/nt range, but not enough for a 2:1 valuation IMO.

I also fail to see how being the only card left with a forex fee is going to stave off devaluation.

SNA_Flyer

I think they are aware of the issue of features compared to the other hotel cards. I received a lengthy survey from Amex that wanted me to value all sorts of different possible new features for the card. FX fees, upgrades, extra points, etc. It appears they are seeing what some current card holders are looking for in terms of new benefits.

pricesquire

Am I the only one who pays the 2.7% premium & uses SPG AMEX to pay hotel bills at non-US properties?

I just don't stay at SPG's enough to justify not using my SPG AMEX. I need those CC points.

Disclosure: I can barely hit Gold, as a leisure traveler...especially now that my preferred hotel network includes non-SPG hotels.

mahasamatman

You might be, but if you find 1.85˘/point (based on the ubiquitous 1% cash back cards, or more depending on your alternative) to be reasonable, that might be fine for you.

worldtrav

They do, 2 points per $ for Starwood spend instead of 1 point for all other categories.

I forgot to add, I have the SPG Amex for the 2 stay/5 night credit and because I want it for Costco purchases. 90% of my travel is international and I wouldn't dream of paying that FOREX fee, that's quite a bit of spend that all goes to Chase.