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25% discount when you buy SPG points – a way of buying cheap(ish) airline miles

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Starwood is (again) offering a 10%-25% discount when you purchase SPG Starpoints before 31st May. The link to buy is here.

The discount is staggered. You get 10% off purchases of up to 9500 points, 15% off 10000 to 14500, 20% off 15000 to 19500 and the full 25% off only when you buy 20,000 points.

At the top end, 20,000 points will cost you $525 (£350). These can be converted in 25,000 airline miles in the majority of programmes. The price per mile works out at 1.4p, which is certainly not a bargain but less than a lot of airlines charge for buying their miles directly.

£350 would also get you the 20,000 points you need to get a pair of tickets for the SPG Suite at the O2 which I reviewed last week.  This may be a decent deal for a sold out concert although it is obviously pricey.

The rules are straightforward – points post within 24 hours, maximum purchase of 20,000 points per year, your SPG account must be 14 days old to participate.

The ‘sweet spot’ with Starwood was historically their ‘cash and points awards’ for mid-tier properties. Starwood ‘cash and points’ deals were ‘enhanced’ in 2013 and offer poorer value than they did, albeit that they are now available at a wider range of properties.

If you are interested, you can buy via this link.


How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (November 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Comments (13)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Mark says:

    £325 for two tickets in a suit is a bargain!

    • danksy says:

      Depends on the suit 😀 £325 for a suit could be good if its Armani, not so if its by George! 😀

      Sorry for being a pedant … 😀 😀

  • Anders says:

    Does this transfer work with lh miles and more?

    • idrive says:

      yes of course! it’s the alternative way for LH and AA. I keep it as a jolly for those programs. actually I bought on 31/12/2013, missed last year but prefere to buy in the autumn promo so next one is mine.

    • Rob says:

      It does. That is my main use of SPG points when I convert to airline miles. I have even been known to do Amex to SPG to Lufthansa.

  • Simmo says:

    Just bought 30,000 + 12,000 Bonus HH Points for $300 = 42,000 HH Points for £200ish

    Used them for 10 nights in Egypt currently selling for £115 a night.
    10 nights (5,000 x 10 – 2x 5th night free = 40,000 HH points)

    So £1150 for 10 nights cash or £200 buying the points first.

    Bargain.

    • idrive says:

      hey, what is the easiest and quickest way to check redemption rooms on Hilton? I am trying to figure out if there is anything of interest but so far no big availability in the searches i performed.

      • Rob says:

        Don’t log in. If you log in, it only shows rooms if you have enough points, oddly. When not logged in you see everything.

        Really should not have any problems with availability. Randomly picking May 19th, well over 50% of the portfolio in London is available at the standard redemption rate. Ignore premium reward nights which are bad value usually.

        • Idrive says:

          I will give it another go. I was sesrching while logged in and ‘use points’

      • Kai says:

        AFAIK, as long as a standard room is available for sell, it is available for redemption.

  • Simmo says:

    I just manually search for ”Use HH Points” for the dates I require.
    Never really had an issue with availability, maybe I am just lucky – Egypt, Thailand, USA, (maybe 25 nights over the past 12 months).

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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