AMEX reached out to me to officially confirm that they will continue to offer the Starwood Consumer AMEX card to new customers after Marriott and Starwood merge their programs in August.
Marriott had told bloggers that Chase would take over the consumer credit card portfolio besides for the AMEX Starwood Luxury Consumer card, but that is not the case. It’s not the only misinformation that has come from Marriott reps, but I’ll write more about that in another post.
I did mention how upset people were about the change from 3 Marriott points per dollar spent to just 2 Marriott points per dollar spent, but unfortunately that change does appear to be set in stone. The free annual night was added to compensate for that reduction, but that’s not going to make the card compelling for everyday spending after 8/1.
As of today, the signup offers for the Starwood consumer and business AMEX cards are very uncompetitive. You’ll earn just $100 for spending $1,000 on a new card and another $100 after making a purchase at a SPG or Marriott hotel. You won’t earn any bonus points for signing up.
I am hopeful that the signup bonus points will eventually return, so I would not recommend signing up for the current card offers. The signup bonus for the SPG Luxury card has not yet been announced.
Once again, here is a comparison chart of the 3 Starwood AMEX cards that will be offered as of 8/1:
| Starwood Consumer AMEX | Starwood Business AMEX | Starwood Consumer AMEX Luxury Card | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $95 | $95 | $450 |
| Points earned on everyday purchases | 2 (0.67 Starpoints) | 2 (0.67 Starpoints) | 2 (0.67 Starpoints) |
| Points earned on US airfare | 2 (0.67 Starpoints) | 2 (0.67 Starpoints) | 3 (1 Starpoint) |
| Points earned on Marriott/Starwood hotels | 6 (2 Starpoints) | 6 (2 Starpoints) | 6 (2 Starpoints) |
| Points earned on US restaurants | 2 (0.67 Starpoints) | 4 (1.33 Starpoints) | 3 (1 Starpoint) |
| Points earned on US gas stations, US wireless service, and US shipping | 2 (0.67 Starpoints) | 4 (1.33 Starpoints) | 2 (0.67 Starpoints) |
| Free elite status level | Silver | Silver | Gold |
| Elite night credits | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Elite status with annual spending | Gold for $30K (2018) Gold for $35K (2019) | Gold for $30K (2018) Gold for $35K (2019) | Platinum for $75K |
| Anniversary free night | Up to 35K Marriott points (11,667 Starpoints) | Up to 35K Marriott points (11,667 Starpoints) | Up to 50K Marriott points (16,667 Starpoints) |
| Annual Marriott/Starwood hotel credit. | None | None | $300 |
| Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit | None | None | Full credit every 4 years. |
| Foreign transaction fees | None | None | None |
| Unlimited Boingo WiFi and in-room premium WiFi | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Priority Pass lounge membership | None | None | Yes, with 2 free guests |
Were you able to signup for a Starwood AMEX before the points signup bonus was pulled?
yes, you made me do it 😉
Still Confusing. In 2019, there will be spg cards and marriot cards? and from Amex and from Chase?????
They told me that there are no plans to discontinue the 3 Starwood cards. So yes, we should have AMEX and Chase options for the new program in 2019.
Applied and it’s pending.
And btw your link to the amex spg is not working
The shift in sign up bonuses seems to be a new trend. Last month it was Barclays and now, AMEX. That’s scary news for mileage junkies…
True story. But these things are cyclical, so I’m not overly concerned right now.
For the US shipping bonus, is there a cap on that?
I have confirmed that there is no cap on any of these bonuses.
Thanks for bringing up the reduction in earnings. What did they say that made it sound like it was set in stone? Did you mention that people won’t spend anything in the cards anymore, reducing fees from interchange fees.
I did mention that. This probably came down from Marriott.
Thank you. Don’t they have terms allowing them to back out of the contract if Marriott significantly devalues the program? I guess the answer is that they don’t want to lose everything to Chase…..
I guess if Amex sees that no one uses the card they may pay extra to give more points to incentivize spend…
I signed up last night but forgot to take screenshot of the offer. Is there anyway to confirm with a rep what offer they have for me before I worry about the spend on it?
Last night was still the 25K offer.
I also signed up last night. What do I get? I felt so compelled by your post I did it. Where can I find what Im getting and what the offers and spending requirements for more are?
Consumer was 25K for $3K in 3 months.
Business was 25K for $5K in 3 months.
So on the flip side will the current Chase Business card be sticking around?
Good question. Not sure anymore.
Yes , I opened for myself as well as my sister and her husband, Thanks again for all you work!
Congrats!
Dan, first of thanks for all the great work you do for us!! secondly, this whole thing is making my head spin. i travel with delta pretty frequently and have a little bit of status with them. would it pay to switch over to the delta reserve card as opposed to amex starwood? not sure if thats something you would have insight on but figured id ask.
Probably better off with AMEX Blue for Biz or AMEX Everyday Preferred
Dan – I can switch my Amex Blue to another Amex ? Like a Delta and/or Platinum Card ?
Call and ask what your options are.
I also assume that the 2 Marriot points per $ moving forward vs. 3 now is to have it more in line with the Chase product – otherwise, chase would be screwed.
True.
Crazy that Chase was offering one point per dollar.
Dan: do you think spending 75k on the SPG personal from the beginning of 2018 (ie now) will carry over to an upgraded luxury when it’s available?
Meaning can we spend that now to take advantage of 3x instead of 2x and retain that spend for platinum status?
It’s possible, hard to say for sure.
You’ll lose out on the signup bonus for the Luxury card if you upgrade to it though.
The Amex Platinum card currently offers SPG Gold status for being a card member, will this AMEX Plat. benefit change in anyway ?
It will still give Gold.
I have a feeling that Chase will also keep their original portfolio, which means the Chase marriott business card and Ritz-Carlton card will NOT be discontinued after Aug 2018.
The Ritz was never going to be killed.
The business card was said to be killed off, but at this point it’s wait and see.
If I have both the SPG and Marriott cards pre 8/1 (with their respective elite nights’ credits totalling 25 nights) will all 25 nights count toward my status in 2018 or will I only get 15?
Any chance they’ll make a luxury business card?
Will platinum status members earn any bonus points when spending at marriot/spg hotels?
Currently a platinum member earns 3 spg points per dollar when using thier amex spg card for marriot/spg hotel charges.
Platinum using SPG AMEX will earn 21 points per dollar!
That’s huge.
What about those with gold status?
18.5
That’s still very good.
I wonder if they’ll make any restrictions for when booking conferences
the 50 k anniversarry night and the 35k anniversarry night caps out at which category? the highest possible category off peak? or the lowest category standard? meaning 50k is seen in 2 categories which one can you get the anniversary night to be used for?thanks
It’s not category based, it’s point based.
hi, should i hold on to my spg points or cash out, will it loose value for airline travel
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/starwood/starwood-marriott-merger-faqs-answers-questions-anniversary-nights-status-existing-cards/
will you be able to transfer membership reward points to marriott after 8/1 and if so at what rate? Currently, you can transfer them to SPG for 3 membership rewards for 1 starpoint and then from starrpoints to marriott
I have the SPG business and got charged my renewal fee on 3/9. I called Amex to see if I could cancel my card and get my money back even though it was longer than 30 days. (My wife has one as well, which I’ll be using until August and I don’t value the free night at all.)
They didn’t refund the money but they did give me 10k SPG points for staying…
Hi dan btw the Citi double cash started offering 100$ sign up bonus.
query- if i have 100,000 points inmy starwood account- in august it will become 300,000- can that be transferred to airlines the same way- meaning i will be able to get 3x the value with airlines starting in august?
No, it will be exactly the same value for airline miles in August.
Any idea if paying for shipping through paypal, to Ebay Inc Shipping, will count towards points on the business card.
Can someone who signed up for the 25,000 personal or business 2 years ago, now sign up for the $100-$200 bonus offer, or once you got the 25,000 offer you cant get any bonus offers?
If yes, is there any point to do it now, or to wait till August, since you cant get the free night till august anyways?
No.
I haven’t used my points of 2 years of spg. The annual night I hear expires after a year is that true and if so is there gona be a way to use that first before the rest of my points or I have to spend all my points before I can use the free night
Will the spg bonus of 5k when converting 20k to airlines stop in August ?
I currently have spg points that I planned on selling, will they lose or gain value after they become marriot points? should I sell them now or wait until August when they become Marriot points?