SPG AMEX

LIMITED TIME: 35,000 Point Sign-Up Bonus For Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Via Referral

October 5, 2017By Edward Pizzarello5 Comments

The SPG AMEX is a card I’ve held in my wallet for over a decade. Well, two cards, since I have both the business and personal versions. This is the highest sign-up bonus I’ve seen since February. I’m not sure we’ll see it again.

Biggest Sign-Up Bonus For The SPG Amex is Back

February 16, 2017By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

Who knows if the SPG Amex will be around next year, given the merger between Marriott and Starwood. If you don’t have these cards now, it’s time to consider them.

SPG and Marriott Quickly Expand Ways To Earn Points

October 18, 2016By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

Marriott and Starwood continue to make much faster progress with integration after the announcement of the merger than I expected. After quickly moving to status match and give members the ability to transfer points, Marriott and SPG have another announcement that members are really going to enjoy.

Chase Ultimate Rewards Becomes More Valuable

May 23, 2016By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

I carry 3 Chase cards in my wallet at all times for a reason. Ultimate Rewards is one of the best currencies out there for earning and redeeming points for award travel. Chase just quietly made Ultimate Rewards better.

Biggest Bonus Ever For Both SPG Amex Cards; Referral Bonus As Well

March 3, 2016By Edward Pizzarello4 Comments

Starwood Preferred Guest announced an increase in the sign-up bonus for both the personal and business version of the American Express card to 35,000 points. It’s a limited time offer and represents a really good value.

Discount on Gas, Upromise Referral Bonus. Best Of The Rest For August 14, 2015

August 14, 2015By Edward Pizzarello0 Comments

See a speaker the size of your thumb and other travel news….

Why The SPG AMEX Business Card Is Better Than You Think

July 10, 2015By Edward Pizzarello3 Comments

Starpoints still reign supreme as one of the best currencies out there. But, don’t forget about the hidden benefits the business version of this card has.

2022 Hotel Elite Status Recap And 2023 Goals

I recapped my airline status achievements for 2022 last week. I finally got a free moment to talk about where I ended up in regards to hotel elite status last year. The title of this post is only a little deceptive, in that at most I have one hotel status goal for 2023. But, let’s take a look back at 2022 first. You can also hear us discuss hotel elite status on a recent podcast episode. Hyatt Globalist Status This is probably the lowest night count I’ve had at Hyatt […]

TODAY ONLY: 100% Transfer Bonus To Hawaiian Airlines And Double Points On All Spending Except Rent!

I earn affiliate credit if you sign up for the Bilt Rewards Mastercard using links in this story. Today I’m emptying my Bilt Rewards account. My only regret is that I only have 130,000 Bilt Rewards points to transfer. For one day only Bilt Rewards is partnering up with Hawaiian Airlines to offer the most lucrative transfer bonus I’ve taken advantage of in years (maybe decades). Today, February 1st, all transfer from Bilt Rewards are not the normal 1:1 ratio. For every Bilt Rewards Point you transfer you’ll get two […]

Great Rent Day Promo: 100% Transfer Bonus To Hawaiian Airlines, One Day Only

I earn affiliate credit if you sign up for the Bilt Rewards Mastercard using links in this story. In 2022 Bilt Rewards introduced the concept of bonus earning on the first of each month, referred to as “Rent Day”. It started with double points on all transactions (except for rent) on the first day of the month for Bilt Rewards Mastercard holders. Now, Bilt has started announcing additional promotions for Rent Day, and this month is excellent. In fact, I’m debating draining my entire Bilt Rewards account for this one. […]

EXTREME? I Had Five Different Tickets Booked For Our Flight Home This Week

It still amazes me how much a seemingly small change during the pandemic has come to my rescue so many times. Near the beginning of the pandemic virtually all US airlines eliminated change fees. United went first, Delta and American quickly followed suit. At the time it wasn’t something that moved the needle because nobody was traveling. But, I had the sense then that this would be a big deal. One of the biggest benefit to elite status was the ability to reduce or waive some fees that airlines typically […]

2022 Airline Status Recap & 2023 Status Goals

I’m finally getting a moment to breathe and look back on my 2022 year in travel. Let’s start with airline status. If you want to hear more about my airline status goals we had a detailed discussion this week on the pod. At a high level, 2022 was a year where I continued to choose whatever airline offered me the best itinerary to maximize my time. A nod was paid to cheap first class fares since it’s virtually impossible to be at peak productivity. It was also about trying to […]

I Flew Frontier, Saved $400 And Didn’t Die. My Frontier Airlines Review

Those low-cost carriers always have very appetizing fare sales. Who wouldn’t want to pay $20 to fly somewhere? But, what does $20 really buy you? I found out exactly what Frontier does (and doesn’t) offer customers on my first flight with them recently.

How To Use New Metro Silver Line To Get Between Dulles and Reagan National Airports

People talk about how bad the traffic is in places like Los Angeles with plenty of adjectives. And, it is quite bad. But, the traffic in DC is what I refer to as “stealthy bad”. It doesn’t get the same press that LA traffic does, but a trip that normally takes an hour can easily turn into a 3-hour ordeal. With visiting dignitaries, protests and construction as variables, weather can also wreak havoc on a system that consistently backs up during rush hour. For those of us that live in […]

Update: American Airlines Variable Choice Plus Pricing A Feature, Not A Bug

I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with the original announcement that American Airlines was creating bundled pricing that included change fees at a lower apparent cost. Things got a little better when American also announced they were expanding the timeframe you could request a same day change to your flight. And, then things started to get a bit screwy. It started with just one flight I couldn’t get to price right with Choice Plus as an add-on. But, then I did a bit more digging and found out […]

A Summary Of United Airlines Global Services Benefits

As travel has gotten more stressful the benefits of elite status are even more valuable. In some cases, what used to be free for everyone is now only free for those customers that fly most frequently. I value my American Airlines Executive Platinum status more highly than any status I’ve earned, including 1K service with United Airlines. However, Global Services is another matter. For those not aware, Global Services is an invitation-only status level that United bestows on their best customers. What defines a best customer? Well, United doesn’t list […]

Is Foursquare Dead?

Venture Beat doesn’t think so, and I’m not 100% sure they’re wrong. But, before I discuss the article, a little background on why someone allergic to social media like me became a Foursquare nut. A few years ago, a company called TopGuest came up with this concept where you could earn airline miles and hotel points for checking in at various places on Foursquare. I can’t say I thought it was a terribly good business model, but they convinced a bunch of hotel chains to hand out miles for this. […]