Can Spouses Share an American Express Starwood Preferred Guest and Chase Freedom Account?

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Million Mile Secrets reader Jason commented:

Hi! I currently have a Starwood account and a Chase Freedom account. I love these cards and want to open them up for my wife.

I want to get us the bonus points for sign-up but don’t want it to be a hassle to have 2 completely separate accounts as the conveniences of joints accounts are obvious. How do you recommend I go about this?

Jason wants to know if he and his wife can share an American Express Starwood and Chase Freedom account.

Unfortunately, Jason’s wife has to have a separate Starwood account number (which she’ll enter in the card application).  And the Starwood hotel points will get credit to her account.

But she can transfer Starwood points from her account to his account for free!   And she can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards from her Chase Freedom account to Jason’s Chase Ultimate Rewards or airline or hotel account for free.

The American Express Starwood Preferred Guest (personal) and (business) cards and the Chase Freedom card have better than usual sign-up bonuses (for a limited time) so now is a good time for Jason’s wife to get these cards.

American Express Starwood Preferred Guest

Link:   Starwood Preferred Guest American Express (personal) card

Link:   Starwood Preferred Guest American Express (business) card

Jason’s wife can get up to 30,000 Starwood points after spending $5,000 in the 1st 6 months on the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card (personal) and (business) IF she applies before June 30, 2014.

With this card, she gets 10,000 points after her 1st purchase.  And an additional 20,000 points after spending $5,000 in the 1st 6 months.

Jason’s wife will also get 2 points per $1 spent at Starwood hotels (Aloft, Element, Four Points, Le Meredien, Sheraton, St Regis, The Luxury Collection, Westin, and W brand hotels) and 1 point per $1 spent on everything else.

Both of the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express cards (personal) and (business) give her 2 stay or 5 night credit towards Starwood Elite Status.  So if she got both cards, she’d get 4 stays or 10 nights credit towards Starwood Elite status.

However, Jason’s wife shouldn’t use her Starwood Preferred Guest American Express cards (personal) and (business) cards when traveling outside the US because the cards come with a 2.7% foreign currency fee.

But the $65 annual fee is waived for the 1st year.  As always, terms & conditions apply.

Starwood points can be used for hotel stays or transferred to certain airlines.

Note:   Jason’s wife can only get 1 sign-up bonus per card, per person, per lifetime.
Welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product

However, because the Starwood Preferred Guest AMEX personal card and business card are 2 different card products, Jason’s wife should be able to get the bonus on both cards.

Chase Freedom

Link:   Chase Freedom card

Jason’s wife can get 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points or $200 cash back after spending $500 in the 1st 3 months on the Chase Freedom card.  The sign-up bonus is normally 10,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points or $100 cash back.  So this is a good deal!

And she can get 2,500 extra points when she adds an authorized user who makes a purchase in the 1st three months.

The 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points sign-up bonus was offered last November for a limited time.  But this is the best offer for this card this year!

The Chase Freedom is 1 of my favorite cards.  It’s a good card to keep for a long time (and possibly improve your credit score) because it has no annual fee.

Every quarter, Jason’s wife can earn 5 points per $1 spent (maximum of $1,500 per quarter) on different bonus categories.  So she can earn an additional 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per year (or $300 cash back) by spending $1,500 per quarter in bonus categories.

Through June 30 2014, she can earn 5X Chase Ultimate Rewards points at restaurants and Lowe’s Home Improvement stores.

Jason’s wife can transfer her Chase Ultimate Rewards points to certain airlines and hotels IF she has the Chase Sapphire Preferred, (no longer offered) Chase Ink Bold, or Chase Ink Plus card.

Transfer Points for Free

Having points in different accounts can be a hassle, but Starwood allows you to book hotels for others using your points.  So Jason and his wife can book their award stays separately using both accounts.

Or they can transfer points between accounts and book using 1 account.

Jason’s wife will have to sign-up for a Starwood Preferred Guest account and enter her Starwood Preferred Guest account in the card application.  After her Starwood points have posted, she can transfer her Starwood points to Jason’s account for free.

And once she applies for a Chase Freedom card, Jason’s wife can follow my step-by-step guide on how to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the Chase Freedom to airlines and hotels IF she has a Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Bold, or Chase Ink Plus card.

And Jason’s wife can transfer her Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Jason’s airline or hotel account instantly on the Chase Ultimate Rewards website.  Technically, the terms (login required) say that she should do this only to transfer points to her spouse or domestic partner:

However, you can only combine Ultimate Rewards points with eligible credit or debit cards belonging to you or your spouse/domestic partner. Transfers to anyone else may result in Chase suspending your participation in the Ultimate Rewards program and forfeiting any points you’ve earned.
Note:   Chase has shut down accounts or sent letters to folks who have repeated transfers to different people.

Bottom Line

The American Express Starwood Preferred Guest (personal) and (business) cards and the Chase Freedom card have higher than usual sign-up bonuses so it’s a good time for Jason’s wife to get these cards.

Jason and his wife can’t have a joint account with Starwood Preferred Guest and Chase Freedom.  Although, it can be a hassle to have separate accounts, Jason’s wife can use her Starwood points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book hotels for her husband and others.

She can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points directly into her husband’s airline and hotel accounts.

If they’d rather only manage 1 account, Jason’s wife can transfer her Starwood points to Jason’s account for free.

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