Aug 5, 2009

The BEST credit card

Cash is and will always be the king compared to credit cards. However, certain cards are too good to pass on such as the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express. Starwood is the parent company of Westin, Sheraton, W, St Regis and they have the most number of hotels/resorts all over the world including India.

Sign Up Bonus: $195+
If you apply for this card right now, you will automatically get 10,000 Starwood points just for applying. This is good for at least 3 night stay at a decent Starwood hotel. If you spend roughly $65 (incl tax) for a Motel 6 that comes out to $65*3=$195. Just for applying for this card you are getting a value far more than $195 for free and you get to use it on a Starwood property instead of a Motel 6 or another similar motel. If you use it for a category 2 hotel which is normally $80/night, you will get 3 free nights or roughly $240 in value!!!

Using the Card: roughly 2.43% Cashback on all purchases
Most cards give you a flat 1% cashback or something similar in rewards points or miles. AMEX Blue & Discover cards that promise 5% are scams since the 5% is applicable on all purchases on top of $2000 which means the first $2000 you spend/month are earning only 1% cashback.
Check out the following Scenario where you spend $1400/month on 2 cards:
CITI Platinum Cash reward: $14/month or 14*12= $168/year
Starwood AMEX points: 16,800 points/year


You can get 3 free nights at a Westin where a typical room is $230/night. So 3 nights free is a $690 value. Spent 1400*12=$16,800 and got a value back of $690 which is roughly 2.43% on ALL purchases.
  • Starwood lets you transfer points to airline miles and they even give you a 5000 miles bonus for every 20,000 points you transfer.
  • They also let you combine points from cards in the same household for free.
  • For every 4 nights at the same hotel redeemed using points, the 5th night is free
  • No BlackOUT dates at ALL for redeeming points for a hotel night stay as long as they have any available rooms.
Apply for this card right now thru this unique link to get 3 free nights & no Annual Fee!
    The card has an annual fee after the first year that easily pays for itself, but you can cancel before the year is up. With an airline credit card, you get stuck with that airline and most of the times can't even redeem the miles due to blackouts, availability and in general some other airline always has a cheaper rate or a better itinerary or airport. When you travel, you ALWAYS need a HOTEL room unless you crash at a friend/relative's place. This card lets you enjoy a hotel room with no blackout dates for less than motel prices!!


    Full List of Benefits

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