Question
I was charged by $30 annual fee and called to ask if it could be reversed or if I could be given extra StarPoints. I have an annual spend in excess of $500,000. Cust Serv Rep and Supv both said no. Am is missing something? Has anyone had any luck?
Answer
Duke-
I hear your frustration, but.....
I've heard this before and it seems that Starwood AMEX is pretty strict about the fee. On the other hand, the value of 500,000 Starpoints is much higher than any other point I know about. I just used 145,000 Starpoints to get two $12,000 FC tickets, NY - Paris. Last summer 48,000 got me a junior suite at the Princeville in Kauai - a regular room, with taxes, went for $600/night. That route alone would yield $30,000 in travel to you for a 6% yield.
It may seem crazy to you - hey, it probably is - but keep it in perspective ;)
Answer
Duke-
I hear your frustration, but.....
I've heard this before and it seems that Starwood AMEX is pretty strict about the fee. On the other hand, the value of 500,000 Starpoints is much higher than any other point I know about. I just used 145,000 Starpoints to get two $12,000 FC tickets, NY - Paris. Last summer 48,000 got me a junior suite at the Princeville in Kauai - a regular room, with taxes, went for $600/night. That route alone would yield $30,000 in travel to you for a 6% yield.
It may seem crazy to you - hey, it probably is - but keep it in perspective ;)
I asked for bonus pts and got 3000 pts instead of fee waiver. I think asking for extra pts may be better strategy than fee waiver. However, a CSR refused to offer any pts last year yr so YMMV (depending on CSR?).
Answer
Back in Sept., there was a thread about AMEX being willing to wiave the fee on a Delta card but would not waive the fee on a Starwood card. The rationale that was given was that, in the Starwood case, the annual fee was paid to Starwood whereas the Delta fee was kept by AMEX.
Have not verified this but that was what was reported at that time.
Answer
I called to cancel my SPG card this Feb. and was offered $30 statement credit which is the equivalent of annual fee waiver.
Answer
I just used 145,000 Starpoints to get two $12,000 FC tickets, NY - Paris.
Which award is that? Do you mean business class? Thanks.
Answer
Which award is that? Do you mean business class? Thanks.
I would guess transfer to CX. CX has very good rates for East Coast to Europe awards. 60k for J, 90k for F.
Answer
They offered me a statement credit a couple of times to offset the annual fee, but refused to do so again last year. The only option they offered me this year was to lower the APR. Since I never carry a balance, I thanked them for the offer, but simply paid the fee.
Answer
called up yesterday to Cancel, as I didnt want the card if SPG goes thru with a 25% devaluation across the board.
the rep offered me a $30 credit (already got this twice before) Needless to say I agreed to keep the card, I didnt ask for anything other then my card to be cancelled.
but if Im not gonna be charged a fee then it pays to keep it and see if in fact SPG does do anything.
The best part was teh CSR said the Credit will appear in 6 to 8 weeks. It was already on there this morning ^
Answer
called up yesterday to Cancel, as I didnt want the card if SPG goes thru with a 25% devaluation across the board.
the rep offered me a $30 credit (already got this twice before) Needless to say I agreed to keep the card, I didnt ask for anything other then my card to be cancelled.
but if Im not gonna be charged a fee then it pays to keep it and see if in fact SPG does do anything.
The best part was teh CSR said the Credit will appear in 6 to 8 weeks. It was already on there this morning ^
Just as a point of reference, what is your typical monthly spend on the card? My guess is that there is a minimum spending threshhold that AMEX uses to differentiate between those customers it is interested in keeping and those it is willing to lose.
Answer
called up yesterday to Cancel, as I didnt want the card if SPG goes thru with a 25% devaluation across the board.
the rep offered me a $30 credit (already got this twice before) Needless to say I agreed to keep the card, I didnt ask for anything other then my card to be cancelled.
but if Im not gonna be charged a fee then it pays to keep it and see if in fact SPG does do anything.
The best part was teh CSR said the Credit will appear in 6 to 8 weeks. It was already on there this morning ^
Better is to go ahead and cancel the card and in a couple of months reapply and get the sign-up points.
Answer
called up yesterday to Cancel, as I didnt want the card if SPG goes thru with a 25% devaluation across the board. ^
What's the 25% devaluation? Did I miss something?
Answer
As to the question about what reward I used, the next guess was right. I transferred 145,000 Starpoints to my Asia Miles account (set up just for this flight). With Starwood's bonus, it yielded me 180,000 Asia Miles.
First Class from the East Coast to Europe is 90,000 AM per ticket. We will be travelling on Cathay Pacific's alliance partner, British Airways.
BTW, this was my very first experience redeeming points within an alliance and it could not have been easier.