JIMCHI

I can't wade through 450 prior message. What is the exact date when my AMEX purchases will convert to Marriott points at a 33% devaluation. As Amex points convert to SPG points convert to SPG points only at the end of a billing cycle, I want to stop all AMEX purchases when they will no longer earn 1 SPG point. I'll then cancel the card. Thanks for any advice.

ESpen36

This thread is worth reading to hear about everyone's strategies for optimizing non-category, non-bonus spend starting when the AMEX SPG card earnings are devalued.

The date you are looking for is AUGUST 1, 2018. Starting on this date, your SPG card spend will earn 2/3 of the previous value....2 Marriott points instead of the previous 3 Marriott points. All SPG points will be converted to Marriott points on this date.

Following extensive discussion and reaching out to both AMEX and SPG, I believe our current hypothesis is that, regardless of when your statement closes for the month, ALL eligible purchases made through 11:59:59pm on July 31, 2018 will earn SPG points under the old earning scheme (equivalent to 3 Marriott points). However, effective at 12:00:00am on August 1, 2018, the 33% devaluation will go into effect for all further purchases.

surfmonkey89

I'm leaning heavily toward moving from SPG to Amex Everyday Preferred for my daily spend. The only thing I question is that my yearly grocery spend far exceeds 6K per year. Should I just suck it up, and switch to my CFU for groceries after I meet the 6K limit, or is there a better option that I'm missing? BTW, if I move everything to the Amex, I will easily meet the 30 transactions per month as well.

EdofFX

I think the value of being Gold in the new Starriott program is just not there - no lounge access, no breakfast, no 4 pm late check out, and having to bet for 2 pm late check out. I often have a hard time to tell the difference between an "enhanced" room and a regular room.

1.My current plan is still to keep the AMEX SPG for another year to see whether the free night certificate is worth anything to me, but have no plan to put any non-Starriott spend on it.
2.Put all bonus spends through CSR and Freedom. The UR points can be then be transferred to Hyatt or airlines.
3.Put the first $15,000 of non-bonus spend through my new AMEX Hilton Ascend card for a free weekend night certificate. That card gives me Hilton Gold automatically, which gives me breakfast and lounge access.
4. Use the remaining non-bonus spend to meet the spend requirements for other new credit cards that I will get in 2019.

rfrost

Question about time zones, as I will be in Asia then: Is it 11:59 pm on July 31 in the zone where the card is used, or 11:59 pm on July 31 at Amex headquarters? And are you sure it's when the charge is incurred, or when it posts?

bgriff

I think it's whatever the transaction date listed for the charge is, which would generally be based on the local time of the merchant. If you're thinking of any last big spending I wouldn't do it on July 30 or 31 though since there's occasionally a chance that a transaction date could come through later than the actual transaction for whatever reason (and for online spending many places will use a transaction date of when the purchase ships, not when it's ordered). For normal day-to-day spending you may have to settle with a couple of days of risking inefficient card use one way or the other...

rfrost

Thanks. I am not planning huge last minute spend (I agree that would not be prudent), but will be incurring some charges on July 31 and August 1 (Japan time). I think I'll use the SPG Amex on July 31, but not on August 1.

Cledaybuck

This sounds a lot like what I am doing, except I have CSP instead of CSR and I think I am going to cancel the SPG AMEX. I am also putting restaurants on the Ascend for now, but may or may not change once I hit $15k for the year. 6HH seams about equal to 2 UR to me.

Boraxo

rfrost

I am not sure whether that implied question was for me, but if it was, it is not a question of float, but of logistics. There are some things I want to buy in Tokyo, but because of my arrival time there on July 31, I may not be able to buy them until the morning of August 1, hence my question.

paytonc

My plan for August:
- CSP for travel/dining.
- Amtrak Guest Rewards for non-bonus spend. The points are worth 2.9c apiece, and as an Acela-corridor resident I can spend them pretty quickly. Bank of America just brought back the 30,000-point signing bonus; after the first year, I might downgrade to the no-annual-fee version, since I won't really be using the bonus categories.
- Keep SPG in the sock drawer, to charge Marriott stays and the annual free night.
- I should wait a few months before another Chase application, so I'll consider Hyatt or CFU then.

I'll prepay some bills on the SPG card this weekend before bidding it adieu.

Boraxo

Makes sense. However, there's never a guarantee on the purchase or posting date, particularly when processed overseas. If you are satisfied with the possibility of earning 2 Marriott points instead of 3 per $1 then go for it. Personally I would take 1 Chase UR point > 2 Marriott points but it's your call.

damon88

glocklt4

Ding Ding!

damon88

That's good for airline but doesn't help much with hotel points.