I’m a big fan of the Starwood Preferred Guest hotel program. Therefore I obtained the American Express SPG card last year to earn easy SPG points from spending. I just got a letter in the mail a couple days ago noting some changes to the card and most notably a annual an increase in the annual fee from $45 to $65.
However they try to throw in a few changes to ease the pain.
- Each year you’ll get 5 night credit towards elite status. This means cardholders will have less 5 nights needed to reach either Gold or Platinum. This perk is essentially useless to me because I get gold through the Amex Platinum.
- From Oct 14th 2010 to Dec 31st 2010 you’ll receive a third night free when you book two nights at a Sheraton hotel.
- They are getting rid of the 50%-off award that use to come in the mail annually since they claimed few card members used the benefit. That’s most likely true because the award was useless most of the time because it got you 50% off the hotel’s rack rate which was usually higher than the best available rate.
First American Express conducts a financial review and cuts my card limit from $7k to $1,700 and now this? I know this is a change that affects everyone but I seriously have to re-consider keeping the card. I love the card and think it’s worth keeping but with the stingy credit line which I end up having to pay off 2-3 times per month it may not be worth it to keep the card anymore. I have until April 2011 (my card renewal date) to decide though, hopefully I’ll get a credit line increase by then.
Recent Comments