This past year, when the sign-up bonus for your venerable Starwood Preferred Guest credit card rose to its highest-ever level, at 35,000 points, I suggested it might be the last chance for consumers to take advantage of such a points windfall for among the best-ever rewards cards. At the time, after all that the merger that is Marriott-Starwood was pending, and the Starwood card’s future was very much.
I was incorrect.
Here we are almost a year after, and the Starwood and Marriott programs continue to exist and function independently, using their various charge cards, while the merger is a done deal. And Starwood announced it reprised its supply .
Offer Details
Through April 5, a 25,000-point bonus can be earned by new customers for the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card after charging $ 3,000 into the card over the first 3 months, plus another 10,000 bonus points following an extra $ 2,000 in purchases over the first six months.
Deal or No Deal
It’s the most rewarding bonus offered for the SPG card, while barely eye-popping compared to signup bonuses for benefits cards, which spike into the 50,000 — 100,000 points vary. Along with the card is worth having on its merits.
Card Characteristics
- Annual fee: $95, waived the first year
- Annual percentage rate: flexible, currently 15.74 percent to 19.74%, based on creditworthiness
- Earn up to 5 Starpoints percent 1 at Starwood hotels, 1 Starpoint for other buys
- No foreign trade fees
- Annual charge for 5 nights/2 remains toward elite status
- Starpoints transferable to 30-plus airline frequent flyer plans, mostly on a 1:1 basis
- 5,000 bonus points if shifting 20,000 points into a participating airline schedule
- Complimentary in-room premium WiFi at Starwood hotels
- Complimentary, boundless WiFi at Boingo hotspots
That is a lot of utility, and a lot of value, for a card with no yearly fee in the first year.
Although the card may be stopped when the Marriott and Starwood programs are united, there is no threat of SPG members’ points evaporating; they be shifted into the new app. Until then, the SPG card stays among the best rewards cards out there.
Reader Reality Check
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