The Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card From American Express OPEN is a powerhouse business rewards card if you’re into redeeming your rewards for hotel stays. Starwood owns a number of premier brands, including: Meridien, Westin, The Luxury Collection, aLoft Hotels, Four Points (Sheraton), Sheraton, Element by Westin, St Regis, and the W Hotels.
The source of this plastic’s power doesn’t come from years spent on the planet Krypton, nor is it derived from the sheer number of Starpoints® you earn. Rather, the secret is in the potential redemption value of each Starpoint earned. GetDebit has estimated that Starpoints® are worth 2.26 cents each when redeemed for stays at Starwood hotels. Impressive, most impressive…
Key Features of the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card From American Express OPEN
| Sign-up bonus | 10K starpoints after first purchase; additional 15K points after spending $5K within 1st 6 months of card membership. |
| Rewards | 1 starpoint on each dollar of qualified purchases; 2 starpoints for any spend at Starwoods hotels and resorts. |
| Annual fee | $0 first year, then $65/year |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | 2.7% of amount after converting to USD |
Going a Bit Deeper on Earning Starwood Rewards
If you’re serious about amassing a large number of Starpoints® which you can then deploy, like a digital army, for free stays at Starwood hotels around the globe, then for sure you’ll need this credit card in your arsenal-just belonging to the loyalty program itself won’t be enough.
At our estimated value of 2.26 cents per Starpoint®, if you can achieve the full 25,000 Starpoint® bonus, that’s a cool $565 in estimated savings that you otherwise would have shelled out on hotel rooms.
So What Can You Get with your Starpoints®?
Starpoints® can be redeemed through the SPG website for a variety of rewards, including hotel stays (of course!), airline tickets, and gift cards. You can even transfer your Starpoints® to any one of more than 30 frequent flyer programs, mostly at a 1:1 exchange rate.
However, according to our own analysis of the value of Starpoints®, your best bet is to redeem your points for hotel stays at Starwood properties, where we estimate these points to be valued at around 2.26 cents each. Gift card redemptions represent the worst strategy (imagine placing your Spy in the front row in a game of Risk), at roughly 1.05 cents per Starpoint®, estimated.
Getting Starry-Eyed Over the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card From American Express OPEN
Well, there you have it. If you’re pre-disposed to staying at Starwood Hotels, and want to rack up more Starpoints®, then this super-solid hotel credit card may be right for you-as long as you primarily redeem your points for hotel stays within the Starwood network.
The 25,000 Starpoints® that can be earned through a combination of sign-up and spend-range bonuses is also no laughing matter, and could ultimately save you more than $560 in Starwood hotel stays.
It would have been nice to see some additional bonus earnings categories on this card, but alas you only earn extra points when you stay at a Starwood property. But overall this is a highly performant card, and we squarely recommend it.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.
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