One of the first few rewards credit cards I applied for long, long ago was the SPG Amex. Its points were very valuable; they were more flexible than most available at the time and I really liked SPG (now Marriott) properties. But after today, that card is not only getting a new name and a new look, but it is closing to new applicants — forever. As in, if you don’t get this card today, you will never be able to get it. That would be a shame as it is still a very solid card to have.
Apply for the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express today before it closes applications forever on Feb. 12!
If you do act by the time they pull the application links for good tomorrow (though it could be early in the day, so don’t wait until the last second), you’ll have the card presumably for as long as you want. American Express isn’t forgetting about new card holders, it just won’t be able to issue the midrange personal Marriott credit card after today. That right is going exclusively to Chase, while Amex will continue to issue the high-end luxury Marriott card. You can read about all of the changes happening to the Marriott/SPG cards starting tomorrow.
However, this isn’t the story about what is becoming what, this is the article that highlights three reasons why your family should get the SPG Amex today.
1. Get 75,000 Bonus Points Worth $675First things first, you want to get the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express today because you don’t want to miss out forever on 75,000 Marriott bonus points that are awarded after $3,000 in spending in the first three months. TPG values these points at $675, though it is entirely possible to do better than that with the points, as my family recently did at the ski-in St. Regis Deer Valley.
But you don’t have to want a high-end family vacation to do well with redeeming Marriott points. You can stay near Disney World at the Sheraton Orlando Lake Buena Vista for 25,000 points per night, head to the massive Gaylord Texan complex near Dallas for 35,000 points per night (currently a PointSaver of just 32.5k points) or float the lazy-river at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. A 75k bonus would be enough to cover two to three nights at properties such as those.
Westin Kierland Resort (Photo courtesy of hotel)
2. Get a 35,000 Point Certificate Every Year
When SPG and Marriott became one, the SPG Amex credit card picked up a new perk — it awards an annual certificate at each card renewal that can be used at any Marriott property available for 35,000 points per night or less. The annual fee for the card is $95 after the first year ($0 intro annual fee the first year) (See Rates & Fees), but it is pretty easy to find a use for that certificate that is easily worth more than $95.
Some of my favorite uses of the 35k certificate for family vacations include:
Sheraton Kauai Resort The Westin Snowmass Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa
Use a 35k point certificate at the Sheraton Kauai. (Photo courtesy of the hotel)
All of those properties can easily go for more than $300 per night during peak seasons — which is often exactly when families want to travel. My husband and I have multiple SPG/Marriott credit cards that each award a 35k night certificate at every anniversary, but that isn’t a bad thing. That means we could use those certificates to piece together a long weekend or similar one night at a time somewhere like the ski-in Westin Snowmass during the ski season when paid rates are close to $1,000 per night. Deciding between $1,000 per night or using a 35k certificate is a pretty easy call.
3. Have a Marriott Amex Without the $450 Annual Fee
After today, the only personal Marriott cobranded credit card issued by American Express will be the $450 per year Starwood Preferred Guest® American Express Luxury Card (soon to be renamed the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant) (See Rates & Fees). I think that luxury card can actually be a great match for families, but of course not every family wants a $450 per year credit card.
Since American Express doesn’t follow rules like Chase’s 5/24, it may be easier for some people to get an Amex card rather than a Chase card. This might mark today as the last realistic chance your family has in the near term to get a personal Marriott credit card without jumping into the luxury-end of the rewards pool.
(Photo by Isabelle Raphael/The Points Guy)
Amex cards are also very useful to have thanks to benefits such as Amex Offers that can save you real money on things you were going to buy anyway. You will also earn 6x points per dollar on charges at Marriott properties, have automatic Marriott Silver elite status (which doesn’t mean much, but still) and you get 15 elite night credits toward earning a higher level of status.
Note that the night credits toward elite status do not stack, so having multiple Marriott cobranded cards won’t get you a greater number of elite credits.
Bottom LineMy family has multiple Chase- and American Express-issued Marriott/SPG credit cards and that’s a good thing. We plan to do very well with the annual 35k award nights that cards like the SPG Amex confer, I should requalify for Marriott Platinum status thanks to the 15 nights toward status from the card and earning 6x at Marriott properties sure doesn’t hurt either. But — if you are getting the SPG Amex for the first time, earning 75,000 bonus points before the card goes away forever to new applicants forever is a very nice cherry on top.
See Also:
Why You Should Apply for the SPG Amex Before It’s Gone Forever FAQ About the New Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards From Amex and ChaseFor rates and fees of the SPG Amex Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the SPG Luxury Card, please click here.
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