The Big 35K SPG Offers Are Ending – Who Should Apply?

 

I am sure you will see a fair amount of digital ink spilled about this as the day goes on since it does expire tomorrow. But, it does deserve some of it as this is likely the last time that we will see this big offer from Amex and SPG before it gets enveloped into the Marriott Rewards program. So, here are some thoughts on who should apply for this 35K SPG offer.

The Big 35K SPG Offers Are Ending

First of all, I know some people are down on these offers saying they are not that great but when you combine the flexibility of SPG Starpoints with the difficulty in earning them via spending, it makes for a very compelling offer. I absolutely love the flexibility I get with these points so I can certainly speak from the position of a satisfied customer!

To sum it up, here are the offers and links – note, these links were picked at random from readers’ affiliate links on this page. Thanks for helping fellow readers get more points!

Link: 35K SPG Points on the Personal Card

Here are the details for the 35K SPG points on the Personal Card from American Express.

• Earn 25,000 bonus Starpoints^® after you use your new Card to make $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months
• Earn an extra 10,000 bonus Starpoints after you make an additional $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months
• Annual fee – $95 (waived the first year)
• Receive elite status credit of 5 nights and 2 stays each year
• You are not eligible for this bonus if you have ever had the card before!
• Offer ends 4/5/2017

Link: 35K SPG Points on the Business Card

Here are the details for the 35K SPG points on the Business Card from American Express.

Who SHOULD Apply?

Who SHOULD NOT!

First of all, if you have ever had one of these cards, you are not eligible to get the bonus again on that specific card. If you had the SPG personal in the past, you can absolutely get the SPG business and still earn the bonus points. But, you cannot apply for the business and get the points if you had the business card before. Yes, I know, very restrictive but that is the way Amex has been playing it for a while.

Like Unique Experiences? Apply!

Read: SPG Moments Auctions

This is one of the things I love about the SPG Starpoint program – it’s not all about travel! You can redeem your points for some great experiences that take place around the world. These range from sporting events (like court access at an NBA game!) to food experiences to other special opportunities. If you save up your SPG Starpoints (getting both of these offers will net you 80,000 Starpoints after meeting the spending), you can get some truly amazing SPG Moments to bid on!

Like Easy, Cheap Elite Status? Apply!

This is one of the great things about the SPG cards – they each give you 2 stays and 5 nights towards elite status each year. With SPG Platinum (highest tier) only requiring 25 stays in a year, having both cards puts you just 21 stays away from having SPG Platinum, and thereby Marriott Platinum and United Silver status.

To make it even easier, award stays count towards elite status! So, with 80,000 Starpoints, you could easily get to Platinum by staying at lower category hotels – and it would not even cost you a dollar to get there! Not bad at all!

Like All-in-One Packages? Apply!

SPG has their Nights+Flights packages that let you use a set amount of points to get 50,000 miles in your airline account of choice and 5 nights at a Category 3 or 4 hotel. This is a great way for a couple to plan a getaway and just concentrate on a single program to get the points needed. In fact, if that couple applied for both cards (each person), that would give them a total of 160,000 points (after meeting the spending) – and you can pool points! So, that could be 2 separate trips with airline awards and a 5 night stay both covered! Not bad!

Like the Most Flexibility? Apply!

Most miles and points aficionados would agree – SPG Starpoints are among the most valuable, if not the most valuable, point currency out there. You can redeem them for hotels (complete awards or points and cash mixed), redeem them for “paid” flights (and get credit for the miles flown), transfer to over 30 airlines at a 1:1 ratio with a 5,000 mile boost for every 20,000 points transferred (that means you could get cheap transatlantic business class awards), experiences – even gift cards (please don’t do that!).

SPG points feed into so many airlines around the world that you could just about book any trip you need, taking advantage of every award sweet spot out there. That is one of the things that SPG members love the flexibility for!

Like Longer Stays? Apply!

SPG offers the fifth night free on award stays so it would make a Category 4 (10,000 points per night) only cost 40,000 points for an entire 5 night stay. That is the perfect amount of time for many locations and being able to shave off 20% of the points normally required is a great deal.

Takeaway

There are many other reasons to apply as well but those are just a few to get you started thinking. These offers probably will not be around again (though I actually wouldn’t’ be surprised if Amex pushed out a 40K offer in August/September to try and get as many cardholders as possible – would be great!) so it would be a good time to apply.

If I didn’t already have both cards in my past, I would definitely be applying now. But, I leave it up to you to determine if it works best for you. It requires a stiff amount of spending so make sure you can swing that before you apply.

What are some other reasons you would suggest as reasons to apply?