Last day to apply for the Starwood Amex card with 20,000 points

UPDATE – APRIL 2025:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.  We produce a monthly directory of the top UK travel credit card offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Credit Cards’ menu above.  Thank you.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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Back in early December, many of you have received an email from Starwood offering a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points if you sign up for the SPG American Express card.

The offer closes today, January 6th.

This deal should be a no-brainer as long as you can spend the required £2,000 within three months.

As long as you received the email (and still have it so you can use the special link) – and meet the £30,000 household income requirement – you can get the bonus.   It doesn’t matter if you already have a British Airways American Express, Amex Gold, Amex Platinum etc.  You still qualify for the bonus.

The Amex homepage for the card is here.  This does not show the 20,000 points bonus however. 

I am obliged to tell you that the representative APR is 39.7% variable, including the annual fee, based on a notional £1200 credit limit.  The APR on purchases is 22.9% variable.

Who are SPG / Starwood Hotels?

Starwood Hotels is the chain behind Sheraton, Westin, W, St Regis, aloft and The Luxury Collection.  Their loyalty scheme is called Starwood Preferred Guest.

The company is currently in the process of being taken over by Marriott which makes this sign-up bonus even more bizarre.  We have not seen an offer this generous since November 2013.

Why is this credit card offer so attractive?

The obvious thing to do with your Starwood points is to use them for free nights at Sheraton, Westin, W, aloft etc hotels. Here is the SPG reward chart if you want to see how far 20,000 points will get you – there are also some examples on the Amex website if you scroll down this page.

When my wife got this bonus, I redeemed them for a hotel in Greece that got me £370 of value for my sign-up bonus – see here for that story.

However, you can also convert your 20,000 SPG points into 25,000 airline miles – including 25,000 Avios.

Starwood points convert into airline miles at the rate of 1:1, which is exceedingly generous for a hotel loyalty programme.  The even better news is that when you convert 20,000 points at once, you receive an additional 5,000 airline miles as a bonus.

Your 20,000 SPG points sign-up bonus would therefore get you 25,000 Avios.

SPG has a huge number of airline partners. 20,000 SPG points will get you:

• 25,000 Avios points
• 25,000 Virgin Flying Club miles
• 25,000 Miles & More miles
• 25,000 American Airlines miles
• 25,000 miles with Air Canada, airberlin, Air China, Alaska, Alitalia, ANA, Asia Miles, Asiana, China Eastern, China Southern, Delta, Emirates, Etihad, Flying Blue, Hawaiian, Japan Airlines, Qatar, Saudi Arabian, Singapore, Thai, US
• 12,500 United miles
• 37,500 LAN LANPASS miles
• 385 Air New Zealand points

The card is especially valuable if you want to generate some miles in one of the airline partner programmes apart from Avios.  There aren’t that many easy ways to earn, for example, 25,000 Miles & More or Aeroplan miles from the UK. 

What are the terms and conditions?

The most important thing to know is that there is no restriction on getting the SPG Amex if you already have a British Airways, Amex Platinum, Amex Gold or any other American Express card.  You are OK to apply.

The only people who cannot apply are those who have cancelled the SPG Amex in the last six months.

Here are the facts on the card:

• You receive 20,000 SPG points when you spend £2,000 within 3 months
• You earn 1 SPG point per £1 spent going forward
• There is a £75 annual fee
• There is a pro-rata fee refund if you cancel the card
• £30,000 household income requirement (note household income, not personal)

What else do I need to know?

There are some other interesting benefits to bear in mind:

You receive Preferred Guest Plus status in the SPG programme, which offers you some extra benefits when you stay at any of their hotels

If you spend over £25,000 in a year, you receive a voucher for a free night in a Starwood Category 1-4 hotel.  This is not terribly exciting, to be honest, as Category 1-4 hotels are generally not the greatest.

If you spend over £15,000 in a year, you will receive Gold status in the Starwood Preferred Guest programme.  This is the mid-tier status level, and gives you bonus points on each stay plus other benefits.  (You do not receive free breakfast or free internet, however.)

Starwood points can be transferred – for free – between two members who live at the same address. If you were both targetted, you can get a card in the name of your partner, move the points to your SPG account and then redeem them into your airline account

How to apply

You MUST use the link in the email sent to you by American Express back in early December.  This is the only way to receive the 20,000 points.

Do yourself a favour.  Open a Starwood Preferred Guest account before you apply.  Do not wait for American Express to open one for you, as it generally leads to complications.  Open one now and then put the number on the application form for the credit card.

Remember that the offer closes at midnight tonight.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In 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

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

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

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend 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 offers:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up 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

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review