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American Express suspends Membership Rewards transfers to Starwood Preferred Guest

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American Express Membership Rewards has suspended transfers into Starwood Preferred Guest until 8th August.

This is inconvenient if you were hoping to pick up a Marriott Travel Package before they shoot up in price on 18th August, or indeed book a redemption at a property which is going up in cost on the same date.

Membership Rewards transfers to Starwood Preferred Guest suspended

8th August is an odd choice of date.  I would have expected transfers to be suspended until 18th August, to ensure that there is no confusion over the ratio.

I am expecting the transfer rate to move from 2:1 to 2:3 on 18th August in line with the 1:3 alignment of Starwood Preferred Guest with ‘new Marriott’ although this has not been confirmed.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – January 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our January 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. 

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here.

British Airways American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and a companion voucher for spending £20,000 Read our full review

BA Premium Plus American Express card BAPP

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

Nectar American Express

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

American Express Platinum card Amex

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Virgin Rewards Plus credit card

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

15,000 points bonus and the most generous non-Amex for day to day spending Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these:

American Express Business Gold card

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

Amex Platinum Business American Express

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express card

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

Earn both Avios and BA On Business points with your business spending Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history.  By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker.  Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.

Category

American Express Membership Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (100)

  • GabeS says:
    30 Jul30 July 15:31

    Hi Rob&Anika
    Is there any new Amex Gold holders Amazon offer or has the previous one been extended?

    • Rob says:
      30 Jul30 July 16:18

      Last time I checked it had not been extended again.

      • Rob says:
        30 Jul30 July 16:48

        Thanks Ewan. That’s weird, I checked a couple of weeks ago and it hadn’t changed. Let’s see if it flips over again.

      • EwanG says:
        1 Aug1 August 14:25

        Yes Rob – extended again. ‘Shop with points’ promo now extended to finish on 31/8/2018

  • dicksbits says:
    30 Jul30 July 15:41

    OT: Does anyone know if you book a BA holiday and fly American Airlines in Economy, can you reserve the Main Cabin Extra seats (if available) as Gold (One World Emerald) for free? I assume you could by logging into American with your code to select a seat…but wondered if you could do it for both of us if the other half doesn’t have status…? Anyone guidance would be greatly appreciated.

  • Jason Wiltshire says:
    30 Jul30 July 16:04

    Does anyone know if the SPG to Airline Miles transfers at 1:1 will be affected by the SPG/Marriott merger?

    • Rob says:
      30 Jul30 July 16:16

      It may change for smaller quantities but the ’60k ‘new scheme’ points for 20k miles plus a 5k bonus’ will remain.

  • Jason Wiltshire says:
    30 Jul30 July 19:47

    Thanks Rob, as always

  • the real harry1 says:
    30 Jul30 July 20:42

    When in Rome?

    My wife is taking 2 chimps to Rome next week – big 5 – oh.

    I bowed out. We all need a holiday from our wives.

    But I got her & the kids a great hotel in Central Historic part of town.

    Now, if you could just recommend 1 good thing to do in Rome, what would it be? I don’t mean ice cream. Something more meaningful or memorable.

    • Mr(s) Entitled says:
      30 Jul30 July 21:20

      St Peter’s Basicalla. It’s free (big plus) and the queues move quickly (unusual in Rome) but better to get there early to avoid the longest lines.

      It is without doubt the most impressive building I have ever been in. I’m no Catholic and would not register on the religious scale but it is awe inspiring. Then you think about how it was funded… makes for an interesting visit whichever side of the religious divide you sit.

    • Peter K says:
      30 Jul30 July 22:16

      Just walk and enjoy the scenery, seriously gorgeous. I found the coliseum a bit meh but if she wants to go get her ticket from pallatine hill as she can then skip the queue at the coliseum.
      The hop on hop off bus is good for a general overview.
      The pantheon was nice, free and central.
      Evening meal on the rooftop of the hotel indigo – St George was great. Wonderful views of the Vatican etc lit up at night and decent food.

      • the real harry1 says:
        31 Jul31 July 01:38

        Thanks both – will recommend.

        As it happens, I did my Italian A level at St George’s School, Rome – I arranged this exam independently, got an A, was back in about 1985. So rings a bell, St George’s just invigilated it.

        Tell your kids they can do the same. I got 2 more A grade A levels in Italian & Spanish whilst I was at university – always impressed the interview panels but were really a mere piece of ploop & good fun.

        • LB says:
          31 Jul31 July 17:46

          An audience with the Pope?

        • the real harry1 says:
          1 Aug1 August 21:14

          Languages are just easy – A grade A level is within everybody’s reach, just go onto Rosetta Stone or do an intensive course in the country 🙂

          Raffles – German? – shame on you lol

  • Mike G says:
    30 Jul30 July 22:35

    Damned annoying that Amex suspended SPG transfers – I’m trying to pick up a travel package before they screw up all the rates!

    • Martin says:
      1 Aug1 August 21:06

      Amex Reward point transfers to SPG suspension extended to 21st August, which makes sense in the context of the merger. Total lack of info from Amex on how transfers will work after that – will 2 MR points convert into 3 “New Marriott” points? Who knows? Certainly not Amex CS rep’s who appear to have been told absolutely nothing. A bit of Amex communication with their Customers would be useful.

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