alc

I just learn the 35% off SPG points purchase promo started again. Came here to see any comment but can't find the thread. If there is an existing one, please let merge. Thanks.

Here is the link:

https://storefront.points.com/spg/en-US/buy

----- added -----

Here is the new link:
https://buy.points.com/marketing/spg...g_page/#/en-US

puchong

YMMV, but I did not think this is a great deal.

illyas

It's a decent deal if you transfer to Marriott and do the hotel + miles package.

stant

Whats the best deal thats ever been offered on starpoints?

minz56

According to Loyalty Lobby:

"This is the highest general discount that Starwood has ever sold Starpoints. They had one Mystery Bonus late 2016 where some accounts had up to 50% discount."

I agree buying miles for a Marriott air + hotel package makes this a good deal (currently better than buying points in Marriott). However my fear is that the air + hotel packages may not be available or are repriced in the merged loyalty program.

jiaogulan

I currently have 31K Starpoints. Maxing this out would take me up to 61K + 15K bonus miles when I transfer to an airline. Puts me at 76K total airline miles which you can do a lot with in the right program. Plus it counts as SPG spend when you buy these with the SPG Amex...

I'm not into speculative points buying typically, but I'll probably jump on this as I just burned through a lot of other airline miles as I have some short-term uses since these are so flexible.

BuBu4

i heard there was a 50% but it was highly targeted. The 35% is pretty normal.
im still on the fence on this, i have bought 40k last year though.

HHonors OUTSIDER

What is the right program that you can do a lot with 76,000 miles? Just want to make sure I am maximizing airline miles.

alc

if also purchase some SPG points off a friend of family member that have the same address on the SPG profile and bump your balance to 90K, you can move it over to Marriott to get 120K (or 132K United) + 7-nights CAT 1-5 cert. That is what minz56 is referring to above.

Kacee

This is a pretty good deal IMO. It's Marriott points for .0075 cents each, which is a very easy threshold to clear. Or various airline miles, including KE and LH, at 1.8 cpm (including 25% bonus).

Dr. HFH

I was chatting with some FT friends online last night, and we were doing the math on this. 35% off Starpoint purchases can make for some pretty good Nights & Flights redemptions, depending on where you stay. I expect that I'll be doing at least one in the next few days.

jiaogulan

80K Korean Air miles for Korea/Japan to North America or vice versa, off peak, First Class. 62.5K in Business.

Japan Airlines is similarly priced in Business and First to and from Japan and North America. And Starpoints are the only currency that goes into JAL MileageBank. Can book Emirates awards via JAL this way, but they now have the surcharge issue flying out of most places except Hong Kong and I think some other select cities.

Korean Miles can be made from Chase UR points so I am more inclined to use Starpoints for non Korean uses, but it's still not a bad option.

OneWorld awards using American miles (which can be made from SPG points, but easier to make from Citi and Barclay cards) I think are a very good value from North American to/from Southeast Asia at 70K miles in business. Can fly on Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, etc. Great airlines.

Can book Delta business class to/from North America and Europe very affordably using Korean points. Cheaper than using SkyMiles. I am sure there are other Delta sweet spots using Korean miles, and AirFrance miles.

jiaogulan

That's awesome, thanks for the reminder. My travel patterns work well for one-way award tickets and then staying in places long time, but this look like a great option for a week-long holiday and getting to/from there in style.

Dr. HFH

IIRC AA redemptions between North America and SEAsia must be TPAC.

Kacee

KE J and F availability is unbelievably good, and they have F cabins on many of the intra-Asia routes. 95K in F SFO-BKK.

OTOH, trying to book DL flights using KE miles is a nearly hopeless task. Not sure why they even bother publishing that chart, DL releases basically no seats at the base award level on desirable routes.