Starwood is one of the premier hotel brands in the world, known for their luxurious hotels and exceptional customer service. With the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express credit card you earn Starpoints, which you can redeem for free flights and hotels around the world.
Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Overview
SPG Amex cardholders earn 1 Starpoint for every $1 in purchases. There is also a special welcome bonus of 10,000 Starpoints, which is enough for up to 2 free nights.
If you reach $40,000 in purchases each year, you will receive a free weekend night award. Plus, receive an automatic upgrade to Starwood Gold Preferred Guest membership when you reach $30,000 in purchases each year.
Members can experience 9 distinct brands within the Starwood family, including St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Le Méridien, Westin, Sheraton, Aloft, Element, and Four Points by Sheraton. Plus, redeem Starpoints for free nights with no blackout dates at over 1,000 hotels and resorts in nearly 100 countries, and redeem Starpoints for flights with no blackout dates on more than 350 airlines.
The annual fee for the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express is $120, with a $50 annual charge for each supplemental card.
Other Card Benefits
The interest rate on this credit card is 19.99%. As with most American Express cards it comes equipped with the following benefits:
- Travel Emergency Assistance
- $500,000 Travel Accident Insurance
- Complimentary Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance
- Flight Delay Insurance
- Baggage Delay Insurance
- Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance
- Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance
Cardholders also receive the Buyer’s Assurance Protection Plan, which automatically doubles the manufacturer’s original warranty up to one additional year when you charge the full purchase price to your Card.
SPG Rewards
It’s difficult to determine the value of a loyalty program like Starwood Preferred Guest because there are so many different factors to consider, including:
- The category of the hotel, which is a rating that takes into account both the quality of a hotel and its location. Categories range from 1 (lowest) to 7 (high end).
- The time of year you travel, as point requirements fluctuate to reflect on and off-peak seasons.
- If you are able to take advantage of special bonus offers and incentives.
But the SPG American Express has long been considered the most lucrative of all the hotel rewards credit cards on the market, even after a revamp of their program a few years ago.
Based on the average redemption for hotel rewards and flights, Starpoints are worth approximately $0.0215 (or 2.15%). And with a 1:1 earning ratio for every dollar spent, that means if you spend $30,000 a year with your Starwood Preferred Guest American Express credit card you will earn a whopping $645 in SPG rewards. Not only that, but the 10,000 Starpoint welcome bonus will give you an additional $215 in rewards.
Final Thoughts
The SPG Amex offers tremendous value for cardholders who love to travel. When you consider that basic no-fee retail rewards credit cards like the PC MasterCard offers 1.00% rebates, the 2.15% rebate offered by SPG Amex looks pretty attractive. Even with the $120 annual fee, you would only need to spend just under $1,000 per month to come out ahead.
Of course, there are two other factors to consider. One, American Express is not widely accepted in Canada, so you will need to have a back-up credit card and won’t be able to take full advantage of maximizing your reward credit cards. And two, you have to determine whether or not travel rewards is more beneficial than receiving cash back or retail rewards like free gas and groceries.
I finally took the plunge and signed-up for the MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard. I always knew this credit card offered the best no-fee cash back rewards in Canada. The only reason that I stuck with my go-to rewards card, the PC MasterCard, was because I felt the MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard advantage was not significant enough to make the change.
Well, this is no longer the case. In a promotion with Great Canadian Rebates, a resource for Canadians to save money shopping online, MBNA Canada is offering a $60 rebate for approved applications if you sign-up through Great Canadian Rebates.
This was just the incentive I needed to make the switch to one of the best rewards credit cards in Canada.
MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard credit card
With most rewards cards you can earn travel points or retail rewards, but it doesn’t get much better than receiving cold-hard cash back just for using a credit card for your every day spending. Here are the benefits for using the MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard:
- No annual fee
- Up to 5% cash back on qualifying net retail gas and grocery purchases for the first 6 months, up to $400 spending a month
- Up to 2% cash back on qualifying net retail gas and grocery purchases thereafter, up to $400 spending a month
- Up to 1% cash back for all other qualifying net retail purchases, up to $1,250 spending a month
- Around-the-clock fraud protection
- Free online access to your credit card account
- 1.99% annual interest rate on balance transfers, access cheques and deposits for the first 10 full months
It’s important to note that the 2% cash back rebate paid on gas and grocery purchases is only eligible for the first $400 spent each month. In other words, if you spend $400 on gas and groceries in a month, the maximum rebate you can earn in a month on that qualifying portion of the program is $8. All other purchases thereafter are eligible for 1% cash back, up to $1,250 a month.
Related: Changes To MBNA Smart Cash Rewards Explained
Once your cash back total reaches at least $50 at the end of any monthly billing cycle, MBNA will send you a cheque in the mail.
How Much Cash Back Will I Earn?
In order to maximize your rewards, you should try and make all of your purchases with your credit card (as long as you pay it off each month). Groceries and gas are simple, but you can also set-up automatic bill payments with your MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard so that your cable, cell phone and utility bills are all helping you earn cash rebates.
I spend approximately $2,500 per month on my Smart Cash credit card, including $400 on gas and groceries. Let’s take a look at how much cash back I can earn from the MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard in the 1st year:
- Initial sign-up bonus through Great Canadian Rebates – $60
- 5% rebate on gas and grocery purchases for the first 6 months – $120
- 2% rebate on gas and grocery purchases thereafter – $48
- 1% rebate on all additional purchases – $102
Total cash rebate in first year = $330
Final thoughts
Now that I’ve done the math, I should have switched to the MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard a long time ago. With the PC Mastercard I was only receiving $312 back in PC Points annually based on my spending habits. I made good use of my PC Points, but getting cash back in the form of a cheque gives me much more flexibility in how I spend my rewards.
I’ll have no problem maximizing the 2% rebate since I consistently spend $400 a month on gas and groceries. The $60 bonus rebate is just the icing on the cake. I’m very happy to nearly be doubling my rewards this year, and going forward I should receive an extra $200 in rebates by switching to the MBNA Smart Cash credit card.
Sign up for the MBNA Smart Cash MasterCard here – (link).