Maximizing Your Starwood Points

Due to repeated requests, I am re posting this article. (It was originally posted 01/01/08)

This article is a synopsis of the Starwoods loyalty program. With proper participation, you can get free hotel stays and round trip tickets around the world on the airline of your choice with minimal effort and best of all, absolutely free!

(read till the bottom- it's well worth your time!)

Starwoods is the parent company of a large chain of hotels including Sheraton, Westin W Hotels, St. Regis, Ritz Carlton and more. The loyalty/points program is called the Starwoods Preferred Guests program. There are a few ways to redeem Starwood points

#1. Hotel stays.

Points can be used for unrestricted no blackout date hotel stays. That means if there is room available you can reserve it with points. Awards range from 2,000 to 25,000 points

#2. Cash and Points.

This option allows reduced point stays while paying a small portion in cash. For example a category 3 room that is regularly 7,000 points or about $250, can be had for 2,800 points and $45 dollars under this portion of the program.

#3. Upgrades.

Starting at 1,000 points a night for a category 1, going up for higher class hotels.

#4. 5th Night Free.

When you reserve a category 3 hotel and up, a five night stay will cost you only enough points for a four night stay.

#5. Nights and Flights.

This offer gives both airline points and hotel stays as follows: 60,000 points will get you 50,000 miles to the airline of your choice and 5 nights at a category 3 hotel 70,000 points will get you 50,000 miles to the airline of your choice and 5 nights at a category 4 hotel.

#6. Transfer to Airline Miles.

The reason Starwood points are so valuable is because they transfer out to any loyalty/miles program at a 1:1 (or sometimes 1:2) ratio! All other programs come no where near -if they allow transferring out at all. Not only that, but when you transfer 20,000 points to an airline mileage program you get a 5,000 point bonus, so 20,000 points transfers into 25,000 miles, and that is enough for a domestic round trip ticket on almost any large airline.

There are various way to accumulate Starwood points is either by staying nights at a Starwood hotel or by spending on a Starwoods Preferred Guest credit card from AMEX. Both of these methods take very long for the average person to accrue meaningful amounts of Starwood points.

There is a quicker way.

American Express issues two credit cards that offer points for the Starwoods Preferred Guest program. The Starwoods Preferred Guest consumer credit card and the Starwoods Preferred Guest business credit card. Each one offers a 10,000 point bonus after the first purchase. If you sign up for both cards (and anyone can-even without a Federal Tax Identification Number(TIN), by making a name for your business, let's call it Jack's Services and as a Sole Proprietorship, or self owned business you don't need a TIN, rather your social security number takes the place) that will quickly put you at 25,000 points, when you transfer them to an airline miles program!

As of now there is nothing against the rules of the program to sign up and receive the bonus more than once. So after sixty days pass, apply once again for these two cards and once again you'll receive a 20,000 Starwood points bonus.

As an added tip if you want you can do this for your wife as well and get an additional 20,000 starwood points, or 25,000 airline miles. You can even combine both accounts afterwards at no cost , so long as they both have the same address !

All in all, Starwoods Preferred Guest Point Program is one of the best programs credit cards offer both in terms of sign up bonuses and ease of use- be it for redeeming rooms or transferring to airlines mileage programs.

Sign up for the Starwood program Here

Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express.


Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express