Hardly a post I write about reward cards fails to mention the Starwood Amex Card.\u00a0\u00a0 For my purposes, it is simply the best reward card out there.\u00a0\u00a0 The Starpoints you receive are the most valuable and flexible points in the business, transferable to dozens of airlines or redeemable at any Starwood property with no blackouts or capacity controls.<\/p>\n
Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n Had Starwood asked me what changes I would have liked to have seen, I would have said “none”.\u00a0\u00a0 Unfortunately, that is not how the world works.\u00a0\u00a0 Starwood will be increasing it’s annual fee from $45 a year to $65, starting with all renewals after October.\u00a0\u00a0 They will also be eliminating the the 50% off coupons.\u00a0\u00a0 Those coupons were really of questionable value since the 50% off only applied to the rack rates, which nobody pays anyways.\u00a0 Nevertheless, I once saw value in using it when 50% off the rack rate was somewhat lower than their available discount at a a pricey resort.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Other changes include an automatic 5 stay credit towards premium status with Starwood, as well as your third night free at Sheratons with two paid nights.<\/p>\n What Do I Think<\/strong><\/p>\n This card works for me on so many levels, so I will still pay the annual fee, albeit reluctantly.\u00a0\u00a0 As I normally do, I am sure I will call and ask for the fee to be waived or for them to throw me some Starpoints for being such a good customer.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. \u00a0\u00a0 I am not really excited about the 5 stay credit towards status.\u00a0 I simply don’t purchase hotel rooms that much, yet I still receive status by hitting the $30,000\u00a0 annual spending mark (partial thanks to the US Mint, if you know what I mean).<\/p>\n As for the Sheraton freebie, I might could see using that, it all depends on if there are any restrictions.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If there do not allow it with discounts and promotions, it will be even less useful than the 50% off coupons were.<\/p>\n Who Should Cancel Starwood<\/strong><\/p>\n As the annual fee rises, the card will appeal to a smaller and smaller group.\u00a0\u00a0 The first people who should be particularly concerned are those who are not big spenders.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you value Starpoints at 4 cents each, then you will need to spend $1625 just to break even on your annual fee.\u00a0\u00a0 If you value them at 3 cents each, you are looking at $2,167 to break even.\u00a0\u00a0 What you really have to do is compare it to is the other available reward cards without an annual fee.\u00a0\u00a0 So really you are looking at a baseline of a 1% reward card, although some can give you cash back rewards closer to 2%.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Either way, the Starwood Amex still comes out ahead if you are spending more than $5,000 a year, regardless of how you value your rewards.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nevertheless, people who don’t meet those numbers, and people who don’t normally visit a lot of Starwood properties, should probably be considering other cards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hardly a post I write about reward cards fails to mention the Starwood Amex Card.\u00a0\u00a0 For my purposes, it is simply the best reward card out there.\u00a0\u00a0 The Starpoints you receive are the most valuable and flexible points in the business, transferable to dozens of airlines or redeemable at any Starwood property with no blackouts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n