Get a 10% bonus on Starwood transfers to Avios – is it worth it?
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Every nine months or so, British Airways runs a co-ordinated promotion among all of the major hotel chains, offering a bonus of 25% for converting your points to Avios.
The last UK outing for this deal was in June. Surprisingly, though, Starwood Preferred Guest – the loyalty scheme for Sheraton, Westin, W, St Regis etc – was not included this time.
Whatever the reason, British Airways and Starwood are making up for it by running a dedicated Starwood transfer bonus.
You will receive a 10% bonus when you transfer your Starwood Preferred Guest points to Avios before 30th September. This is the date by which you must initiate the transfer – it does not matter how long the points take to reach British Airways.
The standard transfer rate from SPG to Avios is 1:1. In addition, when you transfer 20,000 SPG points in one go, you will receive an additional 5,000 miles.
With this promotion, a transfer of 10,000 SPG points will get you 11,000 Avios. A transfer of 20,000 SPG points will get you 27,500 Avios.
Is this worth it?
‘It depends’ is the boring answer. It certainly isn’t a terrible deal but you would still be marginally better off redeeming the points for hotel stays if you chose wisely.
Starwood is unique among the hotel schemes in making luxury redemptions very poor value. Their top properties are 30,000 SPG points per night – not very tempting when the alternative would be to convert to 35,000 Avios points (38,500 under this promotion)!
The sweet spot is generally in the ‘high end but not super-luxe’ market. Being a bit sad I have a spreadsheet of recent redemptions. I apparently got 1.6p per point for a recent redemption in Hamburg (Le Meridien at 10,000 points per night), 1.7p for my stay at the Westin Dublin this Summer (12,000 points) and 1.7p for a night booked in Toronto for next year.
Let’s assume you can easily get 1.7p of value per SPG point from a hotel stay.
Let’s also assume that you value an Avios point at 1p. If you converted 20,000 SPG points, you would receive 25,000 Avios plus a 2,500 Avios bonus, for a total of 27,500. That means you are effectively getting 1.38p of value per SPG point by converting to Avios.
You will therefore be a little worse off by converting to Avios. However, if you don’t actually have a plan to use your SPG points for a stay – or don’t have enough to redeem for a free night – this is as a good an opportunity as you are likely to get for the foreseeable future to convert.
Remember that Gold members must convert at least 1,500 points. Base level members must convert at least 2,500 points.
Eligibility
It seems that only a subset of British Airways Executive Club members were emailed about this offer. The terms and conditions do NOT say that it is restricted, although the details are not (yet?) on ba.com. I feel safe saying that anyone who converts will get the bonus.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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