LETTERBOY

But how would double points for US restaurants get people to increase their use of the card abroad? That would have no effect one way or the other. Dropping the FTF would get people to use the card abroad more than they do. So if they're trying to get people to use the card abroad, dropping the FTF would have the desired effect.

NYCRuss

How does Boingo get people to increase use of their card abroad?

prmetime

+1

cyberjet

Skeptic in me says the check the foreign exchange rate just to see if the FTF gets embedded there. FTF were mostly just a pain for expense reports, but not an actual cost.

Boingo might be useful if/when performance is better ... Lounge access is already offered by SPG.

Net net: a price increase, but still a value.

TMM1982

lol

bhrubin

SPG points are far too valuable for SPG Amex to give 2x at restaurants. IHG and Marriott cards can do that because their points are worth far less relative to their typical redemption levels. That's also why the Chase Hyatt card doesn't bonus restaurants.

Giving SPG Amex any more bonus categories simply increases the number of outstanding SPG points...which simply means SPG would devalue again. I'd rather not have that. Be careful what you wish for.

One of the reasons SPG points are so valuable, and why SPG hotel awards haven't been as badly devalued as with other chains, is because there aren't many ways to accumulate them--other than with actual SPG stays and SPG Amex spend. That encourages SPG elites to have the SPG Amex cards and earn the most points, giving SPG elites the best chances for awards (and to use points for more airline awards, too).

TMM1982

Absolute rubbish. UR's are very comparable to Starpoints (Yes Starpoints still have the edge). But the Freedom has a 5x bonus right now on dining and the CSP offer 2x dining and 3x on every first Friday of the month.

Plus the CSP gives 2x for travel with the SPG does not. Both cards carry a $95 annual fee.

No reason why SPG can't offer 2x on dining.

Starwood clearly thinks we're idiots and that would be jumping up for joy to get Boingo. And I'm sad to say that a few folks on here have fallen for it.

LETTERBOY

The Chase Hyatt card actually does give double points at restaurants, but you're otherwise correct.

It also means the annual fee would go up even more than it did. And then people would be whining about that.

UR has fewer transfer partners than SPG, and except for UA, all of the airline partners charge YQ (for people who care about such things), and UA's rates for partner redemptions are sky-high. SPG also has the 20% bonus if you transfer points to miles in blocks of 20K.

It saddens you? Seriously? You're actually saddened that other people might find the new benefits to be worthwhile to them?

tangfish

Same here, canceled the day I read this announcement. Hey- I still think that Starwood is the best hotel chain out of all of the large ones, I just don't think that either the card or the Platinum level SPG membership are worth the cost anymore, and the deal ain't bad just cruising at the gold level and having the mercenary discretion to stay at whatever hotel happens to be the best combo of convenience and price.

Lastly, I don't think of the no FTF as something they're giving me as an upgrade. To me it was an unreasonable fee to begin with for a cobranded card that by definition should have been intl-travel friendly.

schley

Love the no FTF! Thanks internationally based and have a new primary if they accept AMEX. Other stuff doesn't matter but i'll gladly accumulate more SPG points via this new change thanks SPG.

schley

Jeepers people..... get with planet earth here. I understand we all want more for less, but come on no FTF is an upgrade regardless of what your ideology may brainwash you into thinking.

TheTourVan

Excatly.


Not true at all. The Chase Hyatt card does give it and its the reason so many have found it more valuable long term, especially for those not on corporate travel and paying their own rate, because the lower end properties at Hyatt are much better than the lower end properties at SPG (subjective, but general consensus by many).

Getting double points for restaurants is a HUGE perk and one that makes the Hyatt card so valuable. Then add that many are domestic travelers as a primary and the increase in annual fee for the card, for virtually nothing is a kick to the jimmy.

NJUPINTHEAIR

I'll just mention that among those lower end Hyatt properties are many Hyatt Houses and Hyatt Places and not only are many new builds, or newly renovated, they all offer free breakfast. ^

bhrubin

We all think about these things differently. I LOVE URs and have Ink Plus & Bold & Cash, as well as CSP. But URs transfer only to UA, BA, Virgin Atlantic, Korean, and Southwest, while SPG points transfer to 32 airlines--plus SPG points automatically bonus 25% for every 20k airline transfer. Comparable, yes...but not the same. Every 1 SPG point is comparable to 1.25 UR point with airline transfers, as a result.

The Freedom has limits of $1,500 for each 5x category, so ultimately (no pun intended) we're not talking about as many points as most would prefer to think we are. To me, that limit is the reason I haven't bothered yet with the Freedom, while obviously having every other Chase UR card. CSP does offer 2x dining and 3x on first Fridays, but the Citi Premier offers 3x on all dining--but is limited by its lack of domestic airline transfers. Every card has its strengths and weaknesses on earn and burn categories/types. I don't see it the way you do because my priorities are obviously different than yours--and that's OK.

Comparing the CSP to the SPG Amex is apples and oranges. CSP and the other UR Chase cards are NOT comparable to hotel credit cards.

UR cards are far more comparable to Amex MRs and Citi ThankYou cards--all are transferrable points cards.

SPG Amex is a HOTEL branded card more comparable to the Chase Hyatt card, the Chase IHG card, the Citi Hilton cards, and Marriott cards. These hotel cards largely are usable only for hotel rewards, since their airline transfer ratios are HORRIBLE. SPG Amex is by far better than any other hotel branded card because the SPG points transfer BOTH to its SPG hotels AND to 32 airlines at mostly 1:1.25 ratios (with the 25% bonus).

Everyone wants to compare the hotel branded SPG Amex with the multiple transferrable point programs like Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards and ThankYou--forgetting that SPG is the ONLY hotel branded card that actually competes against those. SPG is the best hotel branded card out there for a reason for most people--myself included. It therefore doesn't need to offer the bonus categories, since it's still better for most than any of the other hotel branded cards.

[quote]No reason why SPG can't offer 2x on dining.[quote]

For you. Not for me. I'd much rather not have the 2x on dining and still be able to transfer my SPG points to 32 airlines. No other hotel card allows anything like that at all.

Starwood doesn't think you're an idiot. But I think you are failing to see the value for the SPG card in proper perspective to the other hotel branded credit cards. The SPG wins hands down in my opinion, because it's the only hotel branded credit card that largely functions in competition with the transferrable program cards from UR, MRs, and TYs. No other major hotel chain credit card even comes close.

You're welcome to disagree. The fewer people who SPG Amex means the fewer people earning more SPG points against whom I have to compete for my awards.

bhrubin

Except you can only use the Chase Hyatt points towards stays at Hyatt hotels. I can use SPG points for SPG hotels AND for 32 airlines--not to mention get the 25% bonus on each 20k transfer to an airline.

You stick with the Chase Hyatt card and get as many of those as you want. I'd much rather accumulate Chase UR points than Hyatt points--since UR points transfer 1:1 to Hyatt anyway. I'd much rather have the SPG Amex of all the hotel co-branded cards, and that is why I have both the SPG Amex and SPG Business Amex...and not a single other hotel branded card.

I will only get the Hyatt card when I'm wanting to use the 2 free nights...and then I'd never use it again. As most people do. I use the SPG Amex all the time...and am able to transfer points to far more options as a result.

Everyone can whine all they want about what they think the SPG Amex should or shouldn't offer. I'm GLAD they don't bonus in the ways everyone else seems to think they should--because if they did, they'd likely find it too expensive to allow transfers to as many airlines and also find they had so many outstanding SPG points that they'd have to devalue SPG points by adding higher hotel categories requiring more points for awards.