Last Time: 4 Reasons to Consider Buying Discounted SPG Points Now

While there are some that would disagree, I think many of us would agree that SPG Starpoints are among the most valuable point currency around due to the flexibility in uses and the difficulty in getting them (1 point per dollar via the credit card, if you go that way). Not only that, but with the programs of Marriott and SPG coming together on August 1, there are just a few days left to take advantage of some of the great ways you can use SPG point sales like this.

Note: If you use the link below to purchase SPG points, I will receive a small commission. Please make sure that this is the best deal for your uses before you buy, however. What might make sense for one person might make no sense for another so please do the math to see if buying these points is the best deal for you!

New Hotel Categories: If you want to see which hotels will cost how many points post-August 1, check out this link here.

4 Reasons to Consider Buying Discounted SPG Points

 

Link: Buy SPG Points

So, when sales come around, it can pay to take a look at value you may get with SPG Starpoints. They normally cost 3.5 cents each so getting them for less can be a bargain – depending on how you use them. This will be the final SPG Starpoints sale and it ends tomorrow, July 20!

SPG Discount Details:

• Transactions must be completed by 11:59 PM ET July 20, 2018
• Purchased points do not count towards Preferred Guest, Gold Preferred Guest, or Platinum Preferred Guest Status.
• Transactions are final and nonrefundable. All other terms and conditions of the Starwood Preferred Guest Program apply.
• Please Note: Excluding promo periods, cost is $.035 per point. Purchase up to 30,000 per account per calendar year; points are applicable toward all Starpoint awards but do not count toward elite status.
• Starpoint purchases can be made by members whose accounts have been active for a minimum of 14 days. Accounts that are less than the required 14 days in age will have the purchase attempt cancelled.

Here are what I think are 4 reasons to considering buying SPG Starpoints with the 35% discount.

SPG Moments

I Got a Great Father’s Day Present Using Just Starpoints!

SPG Moments can have incredible value, depending on what you go after. With some of the Moment packages things that cannot normally be bought with money, being able to buy Starpoints at a discount is a great way to go about that. Consider something like some of the MLB packages.

The Huge Potential of SPG Moments – and Marriott Moments

There are some packages that can be had at some decent Starpoint prices. If you were to buy those same seats, you may pay anywhere from $100 to much more if you were to pay cash. Buy SPG points is a nice shortcut to getting some decent packages on a discount.

Post August 1: These packages will still be around in the new Marriott program. I have a post coming tomorrow about my favorite use of SPG points and it was with a recent Moments package (actually from Marriott).

Airline Transfers

My preferred transfer partner (airline) for SPG points is Aegean’s Miles + Bonus program. With business class redemptions only being 45,000 miles between the US and Europe, it is possible to get quite a bargain on some great airlines. Since every block of 20,000 Starpoints to an airline receives a 5,000 mile bonus in transfer, you would only need to transfer 40,000 Starpoints (and get 50,000 Aegean miles) to get a business class ticket that might otherwise cost way over $2,000.

Of course, keep in mind that the limit on purchasing Starpoints is 30,000 points per calendar year. It used to be possible to transfer between members of a household but from what I understand, the points transferred cannot be ones that were purchased that will put the receiver over the 30K limit (I could be wrong on what the current handling of this is – feel free to correct me in the comments).

Also take into account the fuel surcharges that each airline might charge, of course, when you tally it all up.

Another great transfer partner for Star Alliance flights is Aeroplan. This is especially true when they run their transfer promos of 25% or 35% on hotel points transferred over (like this one from earlier this year). With it costing 55,000 miles for a one way between the US and western Europe in business class, stacking promos like this and the transfer promo (when it comes around again) could make it cheaper than Aegean (and you can have more than one connection plus no award surcharges on airlines like Turkish).

Post August 1: Airline transfers will be around in the new Marriott program

Marriott Redemptions

Since you can transfer SPG Starpoints to Marriott at a 1:3 conversion, buying the maximum of 30,000 Starpoints will give you 90,000 Marriott points. That can give you a significant savings on many higher category Marriott properties but it is also a great way to bulk up your Marriott account for their Hotel and Air packages.

Also, this is another way for people in the same household to maximize this as you are allowed to combine Marriott points when redeeming for an award. So, if you have 2 people max out this SPG discount, it would translate to having 180,000 Marriott points toward a package. That’s a great start!

Remember that Ultimate Reward points do transfer to Marriott at 1:1 as well but that is not the strongest of transfer partners unless you are topping up for a redemption like the Marriott Hotel and Air awards.

Post August 1: The flight and air packages under the new Marriott program will not be very good at all! So, if you want to take advantage of any last great deals, this would be something to jump on to use now!

Last Chance!

With the integration coming between Marriott and SPG on August 1, SPG points will be converted to the Marriott program at the current rate of 1:3. There will be a lot of things changing with the combination of the two programs, including the rates for a lot of hotels. It may make sense to have a nice stash of SPG points for when that comes. With this sale ending on July 20, this is likely to be the last sale ever for SPG points! 😢

But, make sure you are comfortable buying SPG points speculatively like that going into the conversion stage of this merger!

Takeaway

A 35% discount on SPG Starpoints can be a great deal if you have a plan to maximize them. If you max it out, you will be paying $682 – not small change so make sure that you are going to get at least $750 in value (to take into account the points you could earn if you paid outright).

I will not be buying any points this time around. Part of that is I already purchased some earlier this year so could not purchase the full 30,000 points (though I could purchase them for a family member and merge them through Marriott). But, mostly, I would rather not sit on those points without having a definite use for them. I know there are some sweet spots in the new program but my schedule is not loose enough to take advantage of some of the best ones.

But, that is just me!