smorin

The annual limit has been raise from 20k to 100k, surely not a good deal at this time, but with some promotions, like 25% or maybe 50%!

So 80 000 SP, cost 2 800$ = 100 000k almost any Good Airlines!

Starpoint Purchase for You

Need extra Starpoints® for a free night, free flight or room upgrade? Now, you can buy 1,000 Starpoints for as little as $35.00 USD. If you have a special promotion code, please enter it on the next screen.
Purchase up to 100,000 Starpoints in a calendar year. Starpoints are available in increments of 500.

*Purchased Starpoints are non-refundable and should post to the appropriate member's account within 24 hours. Purchased Starpoints do not count toward elite status. Recipient of a Starpoint purchase/gift must be a member of Starwood Preferred Guest for a minimum of one month before being able to purchase/receive Starpoints.

stevens397

Why not 75%?

bjurra

Good news for you Yankees...For some reason, Europeans aren't allowed to buy Starwood points. Is there an official explanation?

Starwood Lurker

Yes. The vendor who does this does not accept international credit cards. The last I heard, they were working on several agreements that would open it up beyond U. S. credit cards, but until they do, it is what it is.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

richfish13

So does anyone know a promotion code for this?

sc flier

So technically the offer is NOT limited to US members. It is limited as follows: "You may use any valid American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or Diners Club card that has a billing address in the 50 U.S., Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands."

If you can get a card with such a billing address, then you can purchase points. I'm sure that there are a number of ways to accomplish this -- especially with reloadable pre-paid credit cards.

And if you know and trust someone else with such a credit card, then you can have someone else purchase Starpoints as a "gift" to you.

I guess couples are now limited to 200K points. 100K per person which can then be transfered between accounts as needed. So 200K Starpoints for $7000 -- enought to get 12 nights (two 5th Night Free + two regular nights) at a Cat6 for an average of $583. Actually not a bad price compared to the $895 BAR (+ 10% taxes) that I saw for W Maldives.

This got me a little intrigued, so I calculated these out. If you were to buy points for a Fifth Night Free award with the $35/1000 points rate, here are the costs. Many may be quite favorable for certain properties on certain dates:
Cat3
28,000 = $980 ($196/nt)

Cat4
40,000 = $1400 ($280/nt)

Cat5
Off-Peak 48,000 = $1680 ($336/nt)
Peak 64,000 = $2240 ($448/nt) (Worth considering: St Regis Aspen in early March)

Cat6
Off-Peak 80,000 = $2800 ($560/nt)
Peak 100,000 = $3500 ($700/nt)

starLA

The price of 3.5 cents per starpoint, in my opinion, is still too high. If I am not mistaken, the consensus here was that each *point should be valued at approximately 2.5 cents/each. Also, I'd be curious to see others weigh in on the value of a starpoint in light of the category creep scheduled to take place in February.

mattm199

sc flier,
can you give an example of such a reloadable prepaid credit card? I have seen the prepaid Visa, but don't think it's reloadable. It would be very useful for reservations, and for other US bookings like airlines that want a US-issued card

ac/elite

Normally I'd agree it is too high, but it really depends where you're going and whether you have an immediate need for points. I just today spent slightly over 77,000 points on the 7 night European Holiday award for Elite level members, using it for a combination of nights at the Westin Excelsior Rome, Westin Excelsior Florence and Westin Europa and Regina in Venice for a trip this coming May. Looking at the lowest available rates for each of those hotels for my nights, had I booked conventionally the total would be 3607 Euros, around $4700 US. I happened to have enough points, but even if I had purchased the 77,000 points for $2695, I'd still have saved $2000.

thesilb

I guess nothing ever came of Working Advantage's promise to have a new Starpoints program in place by August 2006?

I was happy to have purchased 300,000 starpoints at $2200 per 100,000...wish they would bring that one back.

olimaspecto

Though you are neglecting to add-in the opportunity cost of the points you would have earned had you paid for the stay (assuming elite status and using an Amex SPG): 23,500 SPG points (4700 x 5).

RLG

I suspect that someone willing to pay for starpoints could do better than these rates over in coupon connection.

ozzie

I have purchased Starpoints before using a European card. I put in a random state and entered my correct (UK) postcode and this worked. Not sure if this is still the case.

BalluBallu

I purchased before using a European AMEX, my VISA-cards would not work

DCBob

I can. It's the American Express Travelers Cheque Card:

http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif...1,18622,00.asp

If you are a UK resident, here is the link:

http://www.americanexpress.com/uk/tc..._en_nu=leftnav

It's not linked to your bank account.
If your Travelers Cheque Card gets lost or stolen, you don't have to worry about funds not budgeted for your trip. The Card is prepaid and not linked to a bank account.

It's refundable in 24 hours.
If your Travelers Cheque Card goes missing, your available funds at the time of loss or theft will be refunded, virtually anywhere you are within 24 hours.

It's accepted at millions of places worldwide.
The Travelers Cheque Card is accepted everywhere that welcomes American Express Cards, including ATMs around the world (ATM fees apply).

It's reloadable
You or someone you authorize can add more funds to your Card at anytime from anywhere by simply calling 1-888-412-6945 from within the United States and +1-801-945-9450 (collect) from outside of the United States. Fees apply.

Funds never expire
The funds on the Travelers Cheque Card never expire, which means that leftover funds can be kept on the Card and used for future travel.**

Passport and Credit Card Replacement Assistance.
Lost or stolen passports or major credit cards don't have to be a major crisis. We'll help you replace them with this no sign-up service.***

Worldwide Customer Service.
We're here for you anytime, anywhere with assistance, account maintenance and charge inquiries. Call us in the U.S. at 1-888-412-6945, and internationally at +1-801-945-9450 (collect).