Limited Time: Best-Ever 35,000 Point Sign-Up Bonus With AMEX Starwood Cards Returns!

The highest-ever 35,000 Starwood point sign-up bonus on the AMEX Starwood cards is back!

Through April 5, 2017, you can earn up to 35,000 Starwood points on the personal and small business versions of the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express cards after meeting tiered minimum spending requirements.

That’s an excellent deal! Because 35,000 Starwood points is enough for an award night at the most luxurious Category 7 Starwood hotels, like The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort in Mexico. Rooms there can easily cost $800+ per night!

Million Mile Secrets Team Member Keith Used Starwood Points to Stay at The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort Using Starwood Points and Had an Unforgettable Experience!

I’ll explain the details of this offer. And help you decide if you should consider applying!

Earn a Big Bonus With the Starwood American Express Cards

Link: Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express

Link: Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express

Link: How to Fill Out an American Express Business Card Application

Link: How to Use Starwood Points

With the personal AMEX Starwood card, you’ll earn 25,000 Starwood points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. And 10,000 more Starwood points for spending another $2,000 on purchases within the first 6 months.

And with the AMEX Starwood small business card, you’ll earn 25,000 Starwood points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. And 10,000 more Starwood points for spending another $3,000 on purchases within the first 6 months.

With either offer, you’ll earn a total of 35,000 Starwood points after meeting the tiered minimum spending requirements!

35,000 Starwood Points Is Enough for a Free Night at The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort. Or Any Other Category 7 Hotel – Starwood’s Highest Category!

You’ll also get:

2X Starwood points per $1 you spend at Starwood hotels (includes Aloft, Design Hotels, Element, Four Points, Le Meridien, Sheraton, St Regis, The Luxury Collection, Tribute Portfolio, Westin and W brand hotels)
1X Starwood point per $1 you spend on everything else
Unlimited use of Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots (excluding in-flight)
For small business cardholders, access to Sheraton Club lounges (free breakfast and hors d’oeuvres) for cardholder and 1 guest staying in the same room (3rd-party bookings are excluded).
2 stay credits or 5 night credits toward Starwood Elite Status
No foreign transaction fees
Terms & limitations apply

The $95 annual fee is waived for the first year on both cards.

Note: American Express only allows folks to get the sign-up bonus ONCE per person, per lifetime on ALL their cards.

Is This a Good Deal?

It’s a fantastic deal, because the normal offer for these cards is only 25,000 Starwood points.

I explained why 5,000 extra Starwood points is a big deal. So 10,000 extra Starwood points is even better!

In fact, it’s more than enough for 2 weekday nights or 3 weekend nights at Starwood Category 2 hotels, like the Four Points by Sheraton Charlotte.

10,000 MORE Starwood Points Is Enough for 2 Free Weekday Nights at Category 2 Starwood Hotels

And when you link your Marriott and Starwood accounts, you can transfer points between your Starwood and Marriott accounts at a 1:3 ratio (and get an instant status match between programs!). So the 35,000 Starwood point sign-up bonus is worth 105,000 Marriott points (35,000 points X 3).

That’s enough Marriott points for 2 free nights at a fancy Marriott Category 9 hotel! Like the JW Marriott Santa Monica Le Merigot, which costs 45,000 Marriott points per night.

The Higher Sign-Up Bonus on the AMEX Starwood Cards Is Enough for 2 Free Nights at Any Category 9 Marriott Hotel! Like the Luxurious JW Marriott Santa Monica Le Merigot

Nights here can easily cost ~$550+. So you can definitely get Big Travel with Small Money with the increased sign-up bonus on the AMEX Starwood cards.

Read my post about making the most of your Starwood and Marriott points after the merger.

What Can You Do With Starwood Points?

I’ve written about the best ways to use Starwood points.

They’re valuable because they’re hard to earn, aside from staying at Starwood hotels. And there are LOTS of great ways to use them, like:

Free stays at 5,700+ Starwood AND Marriott hotels around the world
Inexpensive hotel stays using the Cash + Points perk
Many airline transfer partners like American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, and more
The 5th night free perk at Starwood Category 3 to 7 hotels
5 nights and 2 airline tickets to Disney World

And don’t forget, through March 31, 2017, you can earn the Southwest Companion Pass with hotel points. Read about Million Mile Secrets team member Harlan’s experience doing that here.

You Only Have Until March 31, 2017, to Earn the Southwest Companion Pass With Hotel Point Transfers. And the Bigger Offers From the AMEX Starwood Cards Can Help You Earn Some of the Points You Need!

Plus, you’ll get a 5,000 mile bonus for every 20,000 points you transfer to partner airlines with a 1:1 ratio, like American Airlines, Delta, and British Airways.

When you include the points you’ll earn from the tiered minimum spending requirement on the AMEX Starwood personal or small business card, you could transfer the bonus to partner airlines and earn 50,000 airline miles!

Because when you spend $5,000 with either card within the first 3 months of opening your account, you’ll earn at least 5,000 Starwood points. That’s in addition to the 35,000 Starwood point sign-up bonus.

Then you can turn your 40,000 Starwood points into 50,000 airline miles (20,000 Starwood points gets you 25,000 airline miles X 2)! That’s enough for 2 round-trip coach tickets within the US on airlines like Delta and American Airlines!

Should You Sign-Up?

If you haven’t had these cards before, now is an excellent time to apply! Because I doubt the bonus will go higher.

And because AMEX considers the personal and small business cards different card products, if you’ve had the personal card, you can still earn the bonus on the small business card (or vice versa).

If you recently applied for one of these cards with the lower bonus, it’s worth calling AMEX to see if they’ll match the higher offer. But there’s no guarantee.

Remember, AMEX only allows folks to have 5 personal credit cards open at one time. So if you’re denied for this reason, you might try calling and offer to close one of your other cards.

Bottom Line

Through April 5, 2017, you can earn up to 35,000 Starwood points on both the AMEX personal and small business cards when you sign-up and meet the tiered minimum spending requirements.

I’ve only seen the bonus this high once before. And because of the Starwood – Marriott merger, I’m not sure how much longer these cards will last. So if you haven’t had either of these cards before, now is a great time to apply!

Do you plan on taking advantage of this limited-time deal?