The travel niche blog-o-sphere exploded last week with posts on the limited time offer for 5,000 more SPG points on sign-up.  I again decided to wait on posting so as to not have the real message lost in the melee.  There are two reasons you see all the bloggers post when a new offer comes out.  One is selfish.  The other has merit for you.

1. For us bloggers, we receive a commission with every successful card application.

2. But more importantly, the added 5,000 points has real value for you the reader.  Let’s talk about the added value for you.

Of the numerous redemption options available through the Starwood program I’ve found the most valuable to be the “cash and points” redemption for hotel stays.  Depending on the category level you are looking at you can cash in a small number of your SPG points with a little cash and get a terrific redemption.  For purposes of this illustration let’s use the level 5 redemption which allows you to use 4800 SPG points and $90 to redeem for a category five hotel. (less money and less points for the lower categories, more more money and more points for categories 6 and 7)

I spent about ten minutes looking for sample and came up with two, although not as high a value as you can find, they still show the savings involved.

Madrid in March 2013 was 235 Euros or 4800 SPG and $90 US.  The US equivalent of 235 Euros is $291 US less the $90 copay you save $201 for your 4800 Starpoints giving them a value of a little over 4 cents each.

I looked at Sydney during Christmas and came up with 290 AU dollars or 4800 SPG and 90 US.  The savings is $306 US less $90= $216 or about 4.5 cents each in value.

Now these examples are the norm and values can be found considerably higher than these.

The extra value of applying for the SPG card now during this promotion is easily in excess of $200 and could be considerably higher depending on your city of travel and time of year.  I’m sure many of you can find Category 5 cash and points bonuses with a higher redemption value than my examples.

Remember the promotion from American Express is good only until September 4th.

Deal of the Day

For today’s Deal of the Day we have TripAlertz who is donating  $50 in Trip Cash for the best overall travel deal submitted. A great mileage run, mistake fare, partner promo, new card sign-up offer, or the special twist you figured out on a deal today. Add it to the comments section of this post (make sure to include your first name, last inital, and home airport) or this afternoon’s Deal of the Day post to be eligible to win.