One of the hottest credit cards lately is the AMEX SPG credit card. The current welcome bonus is a record-high 30,000 SPG points, and the annual fee is waived for the first year. This limited-time offer ends today (September 14). If you're a serious procrastinator like OneMoreDay (I also waited until the last minute when I applied for the SPG card), now is the time to decide whether you need this card. If you think you do, apply today—otherwise, knowing AMEX, you may have to wait another year for a promotion this good to come around again.
What can you do with SPG points? You can redeem them for hotel stays or transfer them to airline miles for flights. ymlulu previously wrote an excellent guide to using SPG points (Starpoints), covering ways to earn SPG points and their major uses. Today, OneMoreDay will add a few more details.
Hotel Redemptions
SPG points can be redeemed for hotels under the Sheraton umbrella, with the number of points required based on the hotel category (Cat). Below are the hotels included in each category (clicking the links will redirect automatically; click your browser's stop button X before the redirect completes). The number in parentheses is the points required per night:
- Cat 1 hotel list (3,000 points on weekdays, 2,000 points on weekends, or 1,500 points + $30)
- Cat 2 hotel list (4,000 points on weekdays, 3,000 points on weekends, or 2,000 points + $35)
- Cat 3 hotel list (7,000 points, or 3,500 points + $55)
- Cat 4 hotel list (10,000 points, or 5,000 points + $75)
- Cat 5 hotel list (12,000-16,000 points, or 6,000 points + $110)
- Cat 6 hotel list (20,000-25,000 points, or 10,000 points + $180)
- Cat 7 hotel list (30,000-35,000 points, or 15,000 points + $275)
For Cat 3 and above, if you redeem four consecutive nights, the fifth night is free.
Airline Mile Transfers
20,000 SPG points can be converted into 25,000 airline miles. Some of the best-value options include the following:
- American Airlines miles (AA): One of the best values for business class and first class on Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, and other carriers on U.S.-China routes. For redemption basics, see chanye's AA mileage redemption beginner guide and advanced guide 1.
- Air Canada miles (AC): Best value for Star Alliance business class on U.S.-Europe routes and for flights from China to Southeast Asia. For more, see AC miles intro (1) and AC miles intro (2).
- Japan Airlines miles (JL): Short domestic U.S. hops can cost as little as 10,000 miles (the SPG credit card signup bonus is enough for three tickets!).
For more, see JL miles intro (2).
- Alaska Airlines miles (AS): Great value for Cathay Pacific business class and first class, generous one-way stopovers, and even Emirates A380 first class. For more, see AS miles intro (1) and AS miles intro (2).
- ANA miles (ANA): The best option for Star Alliance business class on U.S.-China routes.
For more, see ANA miles intro (1) and ANA miles intro (2).
- British Airways miles (BA): The king of short-haul on oneworld, hard to replace. For more, see BA miles intro (1).
- Virgin Atlantic miles (VS): One of the best redemptions for ANA round-trip first class between China and the U.S., and outstanding value for Air China first class between China and the U.K. For more, see VS miles intro (1).
- Singapore Airlines miles (SQ): To be continued.
- Korean Air miles (KE): To be continued.
- Delta miles (DL): To be continued.