A Review of the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card

The Starwood Preferred Guest credit card from American Express is one of the most valuable hotel credit cards. This credit card can be an ideal choice for people who travels a lot and love to stay in the thousands of Starwood hotels. The Starwood Preferred Guest Card also allows you to transfer reward points to your frequent flyer program accounts mostly at a 1:1 ratio.

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express Starpoints® Bonus: 10K with your first purchase and another 15K when you spend $5k within 6 months - enough for up to 6 free nights at a category 1 or 2 hotel Free nights, free flights: Redeem Starpoints with over 350 airlines through SPG Flights and more than 1,000 hotels and resorts worldwide. No blackout dates. 2011 SmarterTravel® Award for "Best Travel Rewards Card" $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $65 Click here for official application, terms, and details

Intro APR Intro APR Period Regular APR Annual Fee N/A N/A 15.24% - 19.24% variable $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $65

Starwood Preferred Guest credit card has a flexible starpoint rewards program. Starpoints can be accumulated when checking in at any Starwood hotels or resorts. Overall, Starwood owns thousands of hotels at different tiers around the world such as Westin, St Regis, W Hotels and Sheraton, where additional starpoints can be accumulated.

Earn Starpoints

Earn 10,000 Starpoints after your first purchase and an additional 15,000 Starpoints when you spend $5,000 in 6 months, enough for 6 free nights at category 2 hotels and 2 free nights at any category 5 hotel.
Earn up to 5 Starpoints for every eligible dollar spent at SPG Hotels & Resorts - 2 Starpoints per dollar spent on the Card in addition to the 2 Starpoints you can get as an SPG member. Plus, 1 more Starpoint with SPG Gold or Platinum status.

Redeem Starpoints

Start redeeming Starpoints with as few as 1,500 Starpoints for free nights with a combination of Cash & Points. Starpoints can be redeemed for free nights at over 1,000 hotels and resorts in nearly 100 countries. It can also be redeemed when booking flights with over 350 airliners without any blackout dates.

Transfer Starpoints to Frequent Flyer Programs

Starpoints can also be transferred to frequent flyer programs mostly on a one-to-one basis. With a 5,000 starpoint bonus provided if individuals transfer 20,000 of them to the frequent flyer program. They can be converted to a variety of airliners such as American, US Airways, LAN, Alaska, Virgin Atlantic, Air France and Alaska, and there is no expiry date for starpoints that are accumulated.

Travel Benefits

When you travel with Starwood Preferred Guest card, you are backed by the Global Assist Hotline from American Express.

Also, You can protect yourself and your family when you travel with up to $100,000 in Travel Accident Insurance.

If you need to rent a car, simply use your eligible Card to reserve and pay for an auto rental, and decline the collision damage waiver at the rental car counter. As a Cardmember, you can be covered if the car is damaged or stolen. and it provides comprehensive coverage in the event of theft or accident.

Shopping Protection

American Express will protect you from unauthorized purchases and fraud. Notice a charge you didn’t recognize on your statement? They'll investigate and, while the charge is in dispute, you won’t be responsible for paying the charge.

American Express also provides extended Warranty which can extend the length of the original manufacturer’s warranty, up to one year on your eligible purchases that have U.S. warranties of 5 years or less.

If you try to return a designated item purchased with American Express within 90 days from the date of purchase and the merchant won't take it back, American Express may refund the full purchase price, up to $300 per item, excluding shipping and handling, up to a maximum of $1,000 annually per Card account.

Did the kids break something? No worries, accidents happen. The Card membership can help you repair it, replace it, or reimburse you for up to the amount charged on the Card.

Account Management Options

The Starwood Preferred Guest card also has a variety of account management options. The card’s accounts can be managed online or with mobile phones, and these include a number of options. End of year statements with summaries that include graphs such as pie charts and bar charts are also provided for the card.

Summary

The Starwood Preferred Guest credit card has no annual fee first year, $65 thereafter. It has been recognized as one of the best value cards. With its starpoint scheme, frequent flyer program, account management options and free travel insurance deals, it is rated as one of the best travel and hotel credit cards.

Click here to go to the official American Express website to apply online for Starwood Preferred Guest^® Credit Card now.