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Even if you are not a Starwood Preferred Guest member, you can still take advantage of the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card from American Express. This is not your average run of the mill credit card, so you should make sure that the benefits will suit your lifestyle.

If you travel frequently, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express is a card that you should keep in mind. There are many rewards cards that offer travel benefits, but not many of them are as advanced and customer oriented as this one.

Before you apply for a Starwood Preferred Guest credit card from American Express, you should learn as much as you can about the rewards, fees, benefits and much more. This card may not be right for everybody, but there is a good chance that it would fit nicely in your wallet.

For every dollar you spend with your Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express, you will receive one point – known as a Starpoint. To go along with this, if you use your card at participating stores and properties, you will receive double points. Up to 5 points per dollar spent are available for purchases at Starwood Preferred Guest hotels and resorts.

How long can you keep your Starpoints? As you may know, some rewards programs force customers to use their points within a certain period of time. With the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card, this is never the case. As long as your account stays active, you will have access to your points.

Once you sign up for the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card, you will be ready to earn Starpoints. As an added bonus, after your first purchase, you will receive 10,000 points to get started with. If you spend $15k or more during the first six months of having the card, you will receive an additional 15,000 bonus points. Additionally, you’ll receive 5,000 bonus points if you transfer 20,000 points to a frequent-flyer program.

When compared to other programs, you will find that the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card has far fewer restrictions. Unlike many hotel programs, with this card, you never have to worry about blackout dates. If you don’t want to use your points on hotel stays, you are also allowed to cash them in for airline tickets. Points are exchanged at a one to one ratio for airline miles. This has led to many people using the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card to simply earn frequent flyer miles. An economy class ticket on a roundtrip flight in the continental United States will set you back 25,000 points.

Overall, the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card rewards program is geared towards consumers who are interested in travel and the rewards program reflects that.

If your rental vehicle is damaged or stolen, this card will cover you. American Express also offers financial, medical, legal and/or other emergency assistance around the clock for customers that are more than 100 miles from home. Additionally, up to $100,000 in travel accident insurance is available through this card.

If a fraudulent purchase is made on this card, you won’t be held responsible. Also, on manufacturer’s warranties that are less than 5 years long, this card comes with the option of extending them for up to a year. Additionally, if you attempt to return an item within 90 days and the merchant refuses to take it back, American Express may cover the value of the item up to $300 ($1,000 annually). It will also cover damaged items.

The annual fee for this card is waived during the first year. For a complete list of updated rates and fees check the card website before you apply.

Starwood Preferred Guest vs Citi Hilton HHonors Card

The Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card is significantly different than the Starwood Preferred Guest Card. The Starwood Preferred Guest Card is better for those who simply wish to use it for airline travel, as It has solid rewards in this regard. However, the Hilton Card comes with more perks, making it a better deal for those who want a more flexible card. For instance, the Hilton Card offers 6 points per dollar spent within Hilton Worldwide hotels and offers 40,000 bonus points if at least $1,000 is spent within the first 4 months. It also offers 3 points per dollar spent at gas stations, supermarkets and drug stores and 2 points per dollar spent on all other purchases. Reward points can be used to pay for stays at Hilton Worldwide hotels (7,500 to 80,000 points gets 1 night, depending on which hotel you stay at), experiences, airline miles with Hilton HHonors participating airlines and vehicle rentals.

The Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card also has no annual fee. However, It has a higher cash advance fee ($10 or 5 percent, whichever is higher) than the Starwood Preferred Guest Card. It also has a higher foreign transaction fee at 3 percent.

Ultimately, both cards have significant limitations, making neither of them particularly attractive to those who do not wish to be bound by them. The card that is better for you depends on your needs, as there is no clear winner in this case.

Starwood Preferred Guest vs Chase Marriott Rewards Card

The Chase Marriott Rewards Card and Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card appear to be fairly evenly matched at first. Customers who sign up for the Chase Marriott Rewards Card will receive a complimentary night at a Marriott hotel. Additionally, they’ll receive 22,500 bonus points after their first purchase, which is enough to cover 3 nights at a Marriott hotel. That’s 4 nights at no charge right off the bat.

Similarly, customers who use the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card will be eligible for up to 6 nights at no extra charge when redeeming their initial bonus points. While this may seem like the clear winner, keep in mind that $15,000 must be spent within the first 6 months to obtain the full amount of bonus points. If you plan on spending that much anyway, then this is a better bet as far as hotel stays are concerned.

In terms of points, the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card wins – and this is where it begins to become a better deal. Customers may earn up to 5 bonus points per dollar spent and the bonus points go a bit further than with the Chase Marriott Rewards Card. For example, 25,000 bonus points will get you up to 6 nights in a hotel with the Starwood Card while 22,500 points will get you up to 3 nights with the Chase Card. As we can see, the points are worth almost double with Starwood in this case. Additionally, the maximum points per dollar that customers can get with the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card are 3, so you’ll get less points (and they’re already worth less to begin with).

The fees are also in favor of the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card. The Chase Marriott Rewards Card has a lower annual fee of $30 (which is also waived in the first year), but does not have a low introductory APR in any category. It also has a slightly higher foreign transaction fee of 3 percent (versus 2.7 percent). If you were to manage the Chase Card very tightly, then you could actually end up paying a little bit less with it. However, 1 late payment or a lot of spending abroad would probably negate the lower annual payment – and you’d already be getting less rewards. Overall, the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card is the best bet of the two.

Pros

• No annual fee for the first year
• A rewards program that offers both hotel and airline options
• Points can be redeemed on over 350 airlines without blackout dates
• Starpoints can be transferred to over 30 airline frequent-flyer programs, typically on a 1-to-1 basis
• 5,000 bonus points if 20,000 points are transferred to a frequent-flyer program

Cons

• The rewards are mostly for travel. Those who do not travel frequently will not get much benefit from this card

Apply for the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express .

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Starwood Preferred Guest(R) Credit Card from American Express

• Credit Required
  Good Credit
• Rewards Program
  Get up to 5 Starpoints for every eligible dollar spent at SPG hotels & resorts, and 1 Starpoint for every eligible dollar spent everywhere else.
• Signup Bonus
  25,000 Bonus Starpoints
  Enough for up to 6 free nights at a category 1 or 2 hotel. Earn 10K with your first purchase and another 15K when you spend $15k within 6 months.
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CreditShout Rating:

( Very Good )