shawbridge

Three years ago, I solicited and followed FTers advice on credit cards and got an SPG Amex card for one business and a Priority Club for another. I also have Costco Amex for personal and Amex Platinum as a spare business card.

I spend 10K+ per month on the SPG card and probably 3-5K on the PC card. Somehow this, combined with a few IC/CP/HI stays has gotten me Platinum on PC, though I can't see great benefits to this (though I learned that I probably could have gotten to stay at the Indigo in London even though they were booked because of the status]. I'm just Gold on SPG.

I know that there have been significant changes in credit card programs and wonder if the choices I made 3 years ago are still the best. I have considered switching to the Amex OPEN business card as this gets discounts for FedEx and other things. But, I don't stay at that many SPG hotels. I stay near Paddington in London relatively frequently and tend to stay either at the Hilton or the Indigo. Elsewhere, my hotel stays are dictated largely by proximity to client. In the last year, I've stayed in a Hilton in Stockholm, Four Seasons and IC in Mexico City, Marriott in DC, non-chain hotel in Copenhagen, Kempinski in Boston, Jury's in London, Marriott in Huntingdon UK, Mercure in Munich, Hilton in Munich, etc.

Would it make sense to switch to the Hilton Amex or another credit card instead of the SPG? Is the Priority Club card still a good choice?

In terms of what I value, it would be a) upgrades to club floor or right to use club; b) free rooms every once in a while for family vacations. I don't care about upgrades to suites.

stevens397

Without knowing how much you run thru cards, it's hard to answer. But to me, I love the Starwood program because my credit card usage gets me great family vacations. Where else can you redeem so few points for such wonderful hotels? Yes, they cost more than they did a few years ago, but so does everything else. But this summer, we are looking at a short getaway to Paris in August, and we have to choose between the Prince des Galles and the Westin Paris, both of which are available on Cash & Points. I know of no other program that offers such great value.

If there were another program that you used all the time, it might make sense to switch. But I hardly ever pay for hotels - very, very little business travel - so all the stays are pretty much on Starwood.

Hope that helps.

Norton26

While it is fashionable to bash Amex these days, and SW properties don't equate with 4 Seasons or Ritz Carlton in every city, I second Steven's comments.

Someone please let me know if another program offers more value for the points to a small business owner like me who earns his points the old fashioned way... by spending money on his credit card.

pjoalfa

To be honest, if you don't care about suites and do care about lounges and breakfast, then perhaps the Hilton Amex would do you well. I know Hilton points are worth less than SPG points, nevertheless you can keep Gold status with Hilton just with $20k annual spend and that gets you the Exec lounge most of the time, and breakfast as well. ($40k will get you HH Diamond on the Surpass version of the card -$75 fee).

shawbridge

stevens, I'm not sure what you mean by running through cards. I have had the same cards for three years.

We actually were going to use the SPG points at two hotels in Paris this week, but my wife had to cancel the trip. However, the vast bulk of my hotel stays are paid for by clients. I'll typically be in a city for two or three days, although sometimes I'll stay in Sydney, Melbourne, KL or London for five days.

pjoalfa, the value of points has to do with the points used for a comparable hotel room? So, $50K of spend buys more Starwood hotel rooms (of comparable quality) than Hilton hotel rooms? I can hit $40K quite easily. So, I'll investigate adding the Surpass version.

Norton, I get my points both ways.

What about the Priority Club card? Do you think that card is worth keeping and Platinum status is worth having?

TTT103

That statement is questionable.

I was with Starwood for years and had their AmEx card since it's inception; however, I moved over to the HHonors AmEx about a year ago. While I was a huge Staarwood fan, I was turned off by the category creeping and addition of cat's 5-7.

Hilton's Axon5 and Axon6 awards afford a 4 night stay for 125K and 145K points, which would require $41,666 and $48,333 in spending on the HHonors AmEx card. This does not include double bonus points for fuel purchases, etc.

For a comparable Starwood hotel, one would have to charge $40,000 for a cat4, $48,000-$64,000 for a cat 5, $80,000-$100,000 for a cat 6, and cat's sevens are probably more comparable to the Waldorf Collection. In addition, you have thre times as many HHonors properties than Starwood properties, and yes breakfast is included on HHonors award stays.

pjoalfa

Totally agree on the questionability.

Personally I have always found the value of the points from SPG to be in airline redemptions. 80k SPG for a J ticket to Europe for example seems a better value than 4 hotel nights. Better still if it's J to Asia. That's why I called SPG points more valuable. Of course, that's my personal opinion based on the use I give them, and I concede that others with different preferences/patterns will have different valuations.

mikeef

I get a ton of value out of the SPG card. Definitely gets me more than the 2% that other cards offer cashback.

Hmm, I wonder if I could set up a frequent flyer/hotel point consulting business for the 99.9% of the world that doesn't know FT exists?

Mike

TTT103

Good point on the air miles conversion. As you mentioned it is a matter of what one values. I have a boat load of air miles, so it's the hotel points that I'm after. There is no question; however, that SPG is far superior to HHonors when it comes to points to mile conversions.

BudgetJetsetter

Why not just continue earning on the Amex SPG for flexibility.

You could always transfer SPG points to Hilton HHonors at a rate of 1 spg point to 2.5 HHonors points if desired.

TAHKUCT

How? Are you talking about transfering via aa? or is there another way?

MilesTalk

Is your SPG Amex for the business not a business card??

I'm wondering if you got it before SPG had the business flavor. The SPG Business Amex is part of OPEN and is the same annual fee as the personal card. So if you use it for business, you definitely want the business flavor. Plus with your spending level, you'd easily get 25K bonus points on that new business card.

That said, yes, I still think the SPG Amex is the best all around bang for the buck - between high end resorts around the world and airline redemptions, you're pretty well covered. You can also use them on spgmoments.com for some pretty nice experiences.

shawbridge

daveland, I applied for this before there was an OPEN card. I actually know the folks who run that group, who offered to switch it over for me, but I never got around to it. But, if I'm not mistaken, even the OPEN card is really not a business card but the liability is of the business owner. Am I mistaken about that?

MilesTalk

Not sure exactly what you mean - all OPEN cards, including the SPG Amex, are not "corporate" but rather aimed at small businesses. Yes, liability remains in the hands of the company owner and indeed you also lose a bit of consumer protection by having a business card.

However, you mentioned that perhaps you should get an OPEN card for the discounts. If you were to go this route I maintain the SPG version is the best one - I use one myself. And I do save a significant amount of money just with the FedEx discount alone

I would just say, though, at your spend level - get a new SPG Biz acrd if you go that route to enjoy the 25,000 bonus points. If your friend has your card converted (which I didn't think personal > business worked that way, but perhaps it can in some instances), you won't qualify for the 15,000 bonus points after $15K ni spend bonus.