Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

starwoodlogoSo I am having what Milenomics likes to call the “Eleven Month itch” – several of the credit cards that I got back in my first ever churn are coming due, and while there were annual fees for the card, they were waived for the first year.  But with the anniversary of the card coming up, so are the annual fees.

One of the cards that I got was the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express

.  Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) rewards are one of the best ones out there, being able to be used not only for stays at Starwood hotels (where you can get a pretty nice hotel for only 2000 points), but also transfer to most airlines (with a 25% bonus if you transfer at least 25,000 points.

I’ve used it for 1 night at a Starwood hotel, but other than that I have a balance of about 30,000 points.  I currently have no plans for any stays, and I have a few other hotel options (Hilton, Club Carlson) where I have more attractive redemptions and point levels.

Similarly, I currently have enough miles in the airlines programs where I am most likely to travel.

So, why do I want this card?  Well, I don’t know, which is why it’s hard for me to justify paying the annual fee for the card!!  The only thing that I can think of where SPG points would be great, is that Starwood has 2 properties actually on-property at Disney World (the Dolphin and the Swan).

disneyswan

Swan hotel by Starwood on site at Walt Disney World – 10,000 SPG a night

We have vague plans of a family Disney trip in a few years when my youngest is a bit older, and these two hotels are (to my knowledge) the only points-redeeming hotels on-property at Disney World.  Still, I don’t need to have the card open to redeem points, but what I DO need are a few more points.

There is currently an expanded offer for the SPG Amex (30,000 SPG points instead of only 25,000), PLUS you can refer a friend for an additional 5,000 points.  So is the extra 10,000 SPG points worth paying the $65 fee?  I’m not sure about that but it’s probably close.

I’ve chatted twice with Amex agents to try and get the fee waived but am 0/2!  Not even an offer of a retention bonus (I’ve heard talk of bonuses anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 SPG, though my spending on this card hasn’t been a ton).  My plan is to call on the phone one more time and see how my luck goes, and if I’m 0/3 well then I’ll have to make a decision on that.

What about you?  Has anyone had luck getting the annual fee on the SPG (or any Amex for that matter) waived?

 


Points With a Crew has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Points With a Crew and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them

User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.

BoardingArea