SPG 35K Offers Ending – Should You Apply?
Currently American Express is offering a “best ever” bonus on both of the co-branded Starwood Preferred Guest credit cards.
The offers are as follows:
While these offers represent the highest we have seen the bonus, American Express has increased the bonus from the normal 25K to 30K each of the past few summers.
Getting the Business Card
Last year I picked up the personal version of this card during the 30K offer. For some reason I had focused on other American Express products and thus had never had the card. American Express limits the bonus on all cards now to “once per lifetime” so I won’t be able to get the bonus on the personal card again under the current rules.
I also have never had the business version of this card and thus decided to apply for the 35K offer a couple of weeks ago. My thinking is that Starpoints are valuable and I might as well grab a huge chunk. While Amex currently has the “once per lifetime” rule on bonuses, that could change, so why not get the card? The other feature that I like is the Sheraton Club Lounge access, although to be honest that wasn’t a deciding factor.
Application Experience
American Express seems to love me lately and they are consistently the only bank with which I don’t have to wait for my application to go under manual review. I applied for the card about two weeks ago and was instantly approved. While the $5,000 minimum spending requirement is a bit steep, I shouldn’t have too much trouble meeting it.
Should You Apply?
So the big question is whether or not you should apply for the 35K offers before they expire. Well, I can’t tell you the answer to that, but I’ll share with you my thinking. The normal bonus is 25K points and we normally see a bonus of 30K points once a year, so you are gaining 10K over the normal offer and 5K over the previous best offer.
If we value Starpoints at 2 cents each, then this bonus is worth about $200 more than the normal offer or $100 more than the 30K increased offer. I don’t know about you, but $200 isn’t life or death. Following that line of thinking, here is what I would do:
- Apply for the 35K offers if they make sense for you. Don’t apply if you aren’t comfortable getting a new card right now and certainly don’t take on more spend than you are comfortable with for a few extra points. It simply isn’t worth it.
- Apply (like me) if you can meet the spending requirements and if applying now makes sense within your overall plan. It is always nice to get the best bonus ever on a card if it makes sense.
Will The SPG Amex 35K Offers Really End Tomorrow?
I have no way to tell, but Amex doesn’t generally have zombie links like some other banks. During the 30K offer last year the public links stuck around a bit longer and some people were able to get approved via the telephone for a short while, but I do expect (based on what has happened in the past) the offers to go back to their normal level pretty quickly after tomorrow.
Conclusion
The 35K offers on the Starwood Preferred guest cards are very valuable in my opinion, but if you aren’t ready to apply or the time isn’t right, then losing out on an extra $100 or $200 worth of a bonus isn’t going to be a huge deal. I’m glad I was able to pickup the business card with a high bonus, but had I not been able to get it, I wouldn’t have lost sleep.
Have you picked up one of these cards during the promotion? What has your experience been like? Let us know in the comments.
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I applied for both personal and business. Got instant approval for personal but pending review for business. Should I call or just wait?
I don’t mind sitting this one out. While the deal for both cards is attractive, given the current MS environment, I need to be a bit more selective.
+1. I really miss Redbird, meeting minimum spend was like taking candy from a baby. Plus, Target has Starbucks.
Applied and auto-denied :(. Called in twice and they won’t tell me why, just that I need to wait for the letter. Hope they offer this again!
google american express app status and you will be able to see the letter once you fill out your info.
Is it 4 cards business and personal combined? Or 4 of each?
4 cards business and personal combined. I just called Amex on last Friday. There might be exception, though.
My wife applied over a week ago and got auto denied for having too many amex cards even though she only had 3 credit cards with them and no charge cards. Thought it was weird but called in and canceled her personal SPG and they put her under review and a decision still has not been made. Hope they don’t try to screw us out of the 35k if she is approved after tomorrow.
Exactly same situation! My SPG biz app was declined and I had to call and close one acct. I did, and Amex put me under review. Decision had not been made yet. But phone agent told me since I applied before 3/30 I should be qualified for 35K once approved.
Now, should I call the number again to have it manually approved?
Just to confirm, this card is subject to the limit of 4 Amex cards right? I know charge cards aren’t included in this but I’d imagine this one is in fact included since my Amex simply cash biz was.
Yes it is subject to the limit of 4 credit cards from Amex.
Arg! Damn Costco card has me maxed out.
I applied the business card the day after my Chase Marriott card was approved (I let it go thru the review process and it took 3 weeks). I was asked to call in after I submitted the application and they only wanted to verify my SSN and that I am the one submitted the application! I was immediately approved for 15k line of credit.. It has been very easy getting Amex cards. I am now at the maximu 4 credit cards, one of which is the personal SPG which I have since 2009.
What do you think about getting the SPG business card under different business names but same tax ID? I can’t remember if I had this card before under a different sole proprietorship.
The “once per lifetime” rule has to do with your social. If you have received the bonus at all before (even if it was under a different bonus) then you are not eligible based on the application terms.
Wish I could hop on this too but all my spend right now is going towards pre 5/24 chase cards