Most of my credit cards do not have an annual fee.   A select few are so worthwhile that I am willing to put up with an annual fee.     Just because I am willing to pay an annual fee, it doesn’t mean that I really have to.     Every year when the annual fee comes up, I call and ask for it to be waived.     Remember, the worst that they can do is say no.

The Worst Happens

Last year, I got hit with the annual fee and I called to have it removed.   I was told that they couldn’t do that, but they could give me some reward points to make it worth my while.    This year, I called again, and they wouldn’t even budget.   No fee waivers, no extra points, just a lecture from a script on how wonderful the card is.    Just don’t think that this experience will keep me from trying again next year.

Does This Reward Make Sense?

Speaking of reward cards, the time has been coming where I feel like I can cash in on my Starpoints that I have been earning from my Starwood Card.     While I usually use my points for transfers to airlines, I have been saving these points for a major hotel redemption.    I just booked a reservation a the Westin in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands.    I have five days their for 48,000 points, which works out to 4 nights  @ 12,000 points with the fifth night free.     The best rate I could find for the property at that time was about $400 a night, but I was able to find $329 a night using my Starwood Preferred Guest 50% off coupon, which will be used by the other party on our trip.     So I am looking at a value of just over 4 cents per point for my Starpoints when compared to the regular stay, and just under 4 cents when compared to the discounted stay.

4 Cents Per Point Is Good

Since all my Starpoints are resulted from my use of the Amex Starwood Card, I might say that I am getting 4 cents per dollar spent.   On the other hand, I would never really spend $400 a night on a hotel.   Since my reservation is cancellation for another couple months, I might just see if we can find anything cheaper elsewhere, like a vacation rental or something.    I figure that 48,000 Starpoints are worth 58,000 miles on virtually any airline, as there is a 5000 Starpoint bonus when with each 20,000 miles you redeem.     That said, it doubtful that I get 2,000 in value from 58,000 miles on any airline.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 20:00 and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.