Posted 8/24/2015
I love earning extra miles/points on purchases. However, when I am making a purchase that does not fit into a category in which I will earn extra points, I need to decide which card to use.
Up until recently, I had been breaking out my Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard for purchases of this sort, as I earn 2 Barclaycard Miles per $1 spent on every purchase. These miles can be redeemed for statement credits on travel purchased with the card. However, lately I have been breaking out my American Express Starwood Preferred Guest card for my other purchases. There is a method to my madness…
You see, I am trying to accumulate Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) points to stay at the St Regis in Aspen. The hotel is an SPG Category 7 and the rooms are a hefty 25,000-35,000 SPG points per night and I am trying to get 2 rooms. (Gulp!)
Here is my loose plan to try to accumulate about 200,000 SPG points….
1. I have a small amount of SPG points currently in my account (about 20,000).
2. I have a big deposit (about 120,000) of Starwood points coming to me on October 1. Not sure if I mentioned this, but we own a prime week timeshare at the Westin Riverfront Resort in Beaver Creek and another at the Sheraton Mountain Vista. If we do not use these weeks in a given year, we can convert them to SPG points. I have already converted my 2016 weeks into SPG points and now I am impatiently waiting for the SPG points to be deposited into my account.
3. I am going to spend, spend, spend, on my Starwood Amex. Luckily it is fall (maybe unluckily), and I will have a lot of bills to pay for my family’s extracurricular activities. Remember, I once told you that September, was a good time to meet minimum spend bonuses because you may be spending a lot during that month? I will be using my Starwood card for these activity fees!
Also, I happen to be writing this post from the lobby of the Westin hotel in Whistler, Canada. Although, we are staying on points at this hotel, I am earning 5 Starpoints for every dollar I spend here on incidentals. I am earning 3x points per dollar because I am an SPG Gold Member and an additional 2x per dollar because I will pay for our incidentals with my Starwood Amex. We are not spending a ton on incidentals here, but every little bit helps!
4. I keep hoping for an offer from Amex that gives a better transfer rate on transfers between American Express Memberhsip Rewards points and SPG points. Don’t forget, if you are an American Express Membership Rewards member you can transfer your Membership Rewards points, in 1,000-point increments, to your Starwood Preferred Guest account. But, it is so NOT WORTH IT IN MY OPINION as your points transfer at 3:1 value. That means three American Express Membership Rewards points equals one Starpoint. Sometimes there have been 2:1 limited time offers, although I have not seen one in a long time. But here’s to hoping….
I will let you know what ends up happening. If I don’t accumulate enough SPG points for the St Regis, maybe I will ditch our Aspen plans and come here to Whistler to ski. It is soooo nice here!!!