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Old Jul 15, 2005, 4:10 pm
  #1  
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Better to add card to account or create a new account?

I am building points as quick as possible right now to use on my honeymoon next summer. The question I have is, should I add my fiance' as an additional card on my SPG Amex or have her create her own card for the sign-up bonus? She will not be charging any hotels or travel expenses throughout the year and probably only spends 500 - 1000 per month on the card. If she starts her own account I will have her create her own SPG account and then can I transfer her points to me before the honeymoon?
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Old Jul 15, 2005, 4:30 pm
  #2  
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Originally Posted by pwdump
The question I have is, should I add my fiance' as an additional card on my SPG Amex or have her create her own card for the sign-up bonus? She will not be charging any hotels or travel expenses throughout the year and probably only spends 500 - 1000 per month on the card.
You'll get the signup bonus, and her $1k in spend will come out of an entirely different credit line ... meaning you have more credit to use for your own monthly spend.

If she starts her own account I will have her create her own SPG account and then can I transfer her points to me before the honeymoon?
Correct. If she doesn't provide an SPG number to Amex when applying, they'll open one for her. Key is to either open the account with the same home address as your card, or to change the address later... Starwood lets you transfer points between accounts at the same home address.
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Old Jul 15, 2005, 5:07 pm
  #3  
 
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Sorry to hijack this thread somewhat but I have a similar dilemma that I hope someone can help me with...

Normally, my wife and I travel together and I simply use our MBNA MasterCard SPG card (with our SPG number) and it credits our account appropriately.

The question is, "If she travels alone, and I use the card to book the room with our account number, will we still get the points ?"

Thanks for any insight anyone can lend,

Cheers,

Singlepoint
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Old Jul 16, 2005, 1:56 am
  #4  
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Alright.....

So it sounds like the best option is just to get her an additional card on my account and earn points in my SPG account for her spending.

No real benefit for her to apply on her own, right? Note: she does not have an SPG account now, so I could just sign her up with my address.
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Old Jul 16, 2005, 5:20 am
  #5  
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Originally Posted by pwdump
No real benefit for her to apply on her own, right?
1. Bonus points for signup
2. Bonus points for first 10 or so Starwood stays
3. Her spend won't take away from your credit line, so you can spend more and earn more points
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Old Jul 28, 2005, 10:56 am
  #6  
 
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I seem to remember at one point there was a referral bonus if you recommend the SPG Amex to someone else. Does this no longer exist? Or was it something targeted?
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Old Jul 28, 2005, 11:53 am
  #7  
 
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One disadvantage to separate card is additional cost--but it is only $35/year. I believe that another card on your account is free.
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Old Jul 28, 2005, 3:31 pm
  #8  
 
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I think there's still a current promotion where the card is fee-free for the first year, so it'd be no cost either way (and you could always close the card and transfer her points to your account after the free year if you didn't think it was worth the $)
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Old Jul 29, 2005, 11:56 am
  #9  
 
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Originally Posted by miAAflyer
One disadvantage to separate card is additional cost--but it is only $35/year. I believe that another card on your account is free.
It was free for me to add my wife to my SPG Amex -- it's just another card with the same credit card number but a different name on it. I was going to have her open her own account but her travel and monthly spending didn't warrant the additional annual fee.
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Old Jul 31, 2005, 12:36 am
  #10  
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I just decided to have her open her own account for the initial bonus. Then, after the points posted and before the first free year is over, cancel hers and add an additional card to mine. That way I transfer her points to my SPG account and all further points will be posted there.
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Old Jul 31, 2005, 9:49 am
  #11  
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Originally Posted by jeffshih
It was free for me to add my wife to my SPG Amex -- it's just another card with the same credit card number but a different name on it. . .
It's a small point, but are you sure the numbers are the same? In every case I've experienced with various AMEX cards over the years, the additional cards have similar numbers but the last few digits are different. That's the case with my SPG AMEX account. It's nice in that on the bill, charges are broken down and sub-totaled by person.
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Old Jul 31, 2005, 12:23 pm
  #12  
 
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Originally Posted by AZ Travels the World
are you sure the numbers are the same?
You're right, the last two digits are different. I hadn't even noticed until this morning when I went to compare the two.

Edited: brain was not in sync with fingers when typing earlier...

Last edited by shibang; Jul 31, 2005 at 8:23 pm
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Old Jul 31, 2005, 4:48 pm
  #13  
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Originally Posted by jeffshih
You're right, the last two digits are the same. I hadn't even noticed until this morning when I went to compare the two.


Given that you too say that AZ Travels the World is right, do you mean to say that that last two digits of your Amex are different from that on the other card?

My experience is the same as AZ Travels the World in that the cards have a a very slightly different card number (eg, two different digits at the end).
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