New offer out! American Express SPG cards finally start earning Marriott Rewards points as of this week, August 1st, to be exact. To celebrate, American Express has released a new welcome offer on both their personal and business SPG credit cards. Check out and compare this 75,000 point offer with other cards here.
I know that I got super excited when I saw a 75,000 point welcome offer on the SPG card, since the previous high welcome offer has been only 35,000 points. But then I realized that now that the SPG and Marriott programs have combined, those 75,000 points are Marriott points (and equivalent to 25,000 of the “old” SPG points) :-). There are a few other benefits though including an anniversary night – see below.
One of the first times I redeemed SPG points – a 3 night stay at the Westin Resort in Cancun!
Here’s the Important Stuff:
- $95 annual fee (which is waived for your first year)
- The new cards earns 6x Marriott Rewards per dollar spent at Starwood and Marriott properties, and 2x Marriott Rewards per dollar spent on everything else
- Anniversary free night award up to 35,000 points (this is new!)
- Free unlimited Boingo Wifi
- Receive 15 nights towards elite status starting in 2019
- Automatic Silver status
- You also have the ability to earn gold status after spending $30,000 on the card within a calendar year (in 2019, you’ll have to spend $35,000)
- Premium internet access at participating Marriott and Starwood properties
- Welcome offer of 75,000 points after $3,000 in spending within the first 3 months
I currently have both the business and personal versions of the SPG cards, and have gotten a ton of value out of them!
Should You Get a New SPG Personal Card?
The new welcome offer on the card is in line with previous SPG point offers. Considering the conventional transfer rate is 3 SPG to 1 Marriott, you’re effectively looking at a welcome offer of 25,000 SPG points. 25,000 SPG was the standard offer on the personal AmEx SPG for a long time. In the past, there have been welcome offers as high as 35,000 SPG points (which would transfer into 105,000 Marriott Rewards).
If you haven’t had the personal SPG American Express card yet, then maybe. The welcome offer is decent, and I really like the added anniversary night benefit.
I may hang onto my current personal AmEx SPG card, just until I get my first free anniversary night. Although, that will keep me from snagging a welcome bonus on the Chase Marriott Business card, so we’ll see…