Starpoint Sale. Should You Buy?

Courtesy of View From The Wing, Starwood Preferred Guest is selling Starpoints at up to a 25% discount right now.

Like all new things, I came to the hobby of collecting miles and points with a ton of excitement and not enough information.  But, I did have a goal.  This was probably a decade ago or better and I really wanted lifetime Gold status on American Airlines.  The problem?  I didn’t fly a whole heck of a lot.

I learned about Starwood and the ultra-cool ability to transfer points to airlines with a 25% bonus, so I bought some.  And I asked my family to buy them for me for Christmas gifts.  Kinda like bringing a beebee gun to a nuclear war.

I had the right general theory but I didn’t understand the value of specific currencies.  Sometimes it’s okay to ignore value in pursuit of a short-term goal but it’s usually not the case in the game of miles and points.

So, consider the value of those dollars before stocking up on Starpoints.  There are a ton of Starwood properties where you can earn more than the 2.7ish cents points are being sold for right now, but it’s probably best to pass unless you have an immediate plan to stay somewhere at those values.