UPDATE: The Starwood American Express credit card offers in this post are no longer available, but check Hot Deals for the latest offers!
Did you know folks who live at the same address can transfer Starwood points to each other for free?
Through September 14, 2015, the sign-up bonus on the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express (personal and small business) is 30,000 Starwood points after meeting minimum spending requirements.
If yourself and a partner, friend, or spouse get both AMEX Starwood cards (and live together), together you’ll earn 136,000 Starwood points! I’ll explain why this can be valuable for Big Travel!
Earn Starwood Points With AMEX Starwood Cards
Link: Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
Link: Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
Link: My Review of the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
Link: How to Fill Out an American Express Business Credit Card Application
Until September 14, 2015, there’s an increased sign-up bonus on the AMEX Starwood cards. You’ll get:
- 30,000 Starwood points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening your account (personal card), or
- 30,000 Starwood points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the 1st 3 months of opening your account (small business card)
- 2X Starwood points per $1 you spend at Starwood hotels (includes Aloft, Element, Four Points, Le Meridien, Sheraton, St Regis, The Luxury Collection, Westin and W brand hotels)
- 1X Starwood point per $1 you spend on everything else
- Unlimited use of Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots (excluding in-flight)
- For small business cardholders, access to Sheraton Club lounges (free breakfast and hors d’oeuvres) for cardholder and 1 guest staying in the same room (3rd-party bookings are excluded).
- 2 stay credits or 5 night credits toward Starwood Elite Status
- $95 annual fee, waived for the 1st year
- No foreign transaction fees
- Terms & limitations apply
With the sign-up bonus of 30,000 Starwood points, you can get Starwood hotel stays or transfer them to ~30 airline partners.
Top 5 Starwood Hotels Series Index
- 5 Top European Hotels to Book With Starwood Points
- 5 Excellent Hotels in the US to Splurge on With Starwood Points
- 5 Outstanding Starwood Hotels in the Caribbean & Mexico
- 5 Luxurious Starwood Hotels in Asia & Australia
- 5 Fantastic Starwood Hotels in Central & South America
- 5 of the Best US Beaches With Starwood Hotels
Why Transfer Starwood Points?
When you and a partner get both AMEX Starwood (personal and small business) cards, together you’ll earn 136,000 Starwood points.
That’s because the sign-up bonus on the AMEX Starwood cards is 30,000 Starwood points until September 14, 2015.
The minimum spending requirement on the personal AMEX Starwood card is $3,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of account opening, which would earn at least 3,000 Starwood points.
And the minimum spending requirement on the AMEX Starwood small business card is $5,000 on purchases within the 1st 3 months of account opening, which earns at least another 5,000 Starwood points.
Separately, each person could earn 68,000 Starwood points. And with a partner, together you’ll earn 136,000 Starwood points! The big deal about this is piling your points into 1 account so you have access to bigger travel opportunities.
You can share transfer Starwood points with 1 another to enjoy perks of Starwood points, like:
- Award stays in great locations like here in the US, at a top US beach, the Caribbean and Mexico, Europe, Central and South America, or Asia and Australia
- Free 5th night on award stays
- Cash & Points to s-t-r-e-t-c-h your points even further
- Transfer to ~30 airline partners
- Nights & Flights (which you could use for a Disney World visit!)
- Redeem for an airline ticket
- SPG Moments
You may decide to pool your points if you:
- Want more award stays at top-tier luxury Starwood hotels
- Want to get the 5th night free at Starwood Category 3 through 7 hotels
- Don’t have enough points to transfer to airlines for an award flight together
- Want to redeem for Nights & Flights for a special occasion or getaway
There are many ways to redeem Starwood points. And having a partner to share them with is a great way to get more Big Travel!
For example, if you want to plan a stay at a top-tier Starwood Category 7 hotel with the 5th night free, like The St. Regis Florence, you’d need 140,000 Starwood points.
That’s certainly a lot of Starwood points. But consider you’d save nearly ~$3,000 on your stay in the heart of Florence!
The option to transfer Starwood points makes it easier to get enough points together for a top-of-the-line vacation that would ordinarily cost thousands of dollars.
I’ve written about how to visit Disney World with Starwood Nights & Flights, which costs 70,000 Starwood points.
If you got both AMEX Starwood cards, and met the minimum spending requirements on both, you may wind up with 68,000 Starwood points. That’s only 2,000 Starwood points shy of the 5 free nights and 2 airline tickets to Disney!
But if a partner transfers over those missing 2,000 Starwood points, you’d be able to take that awesome trip.
Note: You can usually only get 1 AMEX credit card per day. But it IS possible to get both AMEX Starwood cards.
How to Transfer Starwood Points
Link: Transfer Starwood Points
There are 2 ways to transfer Starwood points.
You can call Starwood at 888-625-4988 to make the transfer.
Or you can make the transfer online.
To begin, log into your Starwood account.
Click your name, then “Account Overview.” Scroll to the bottom of the page.
In the “Starpoints & Awards” section, select “Redeem & Transfer points.”
Click “More Options,” then “Give Starpoints.”
A box will pop-up. Fill in your partner’s Starwood account number, last name, and how many Starwood points you want to transfer.
Some folks report transfers are instant, but others have waited a few days for points to appear in their partner’s account. So give yourself some extra time.
You can transfer Starwood points to anyone who lives at your address. You do NOT have to be related.
But keep in mind you and the person you transfer to must have had the same address for at least 30 days. Otherwise the transfer will NOT work.
There’s no limit to the number of times you can transfer points back and forth. But it can take a few days each time you make a transfer.
Bottom Line
Starwood lets you transfer your points to another individual who’s been living at the same address as you for at least 30 days.
This is an easy way to combine Starwood points for more award stays, get a 5th award night free that you otherwise didn’t have enough points for, or take advantage of Nights & Flights (including to Disney!) and SPG Moments.
When you and a partner, friend, or spouse get both AMEX Starwood cards (personal and small business), together you’ll earn 136,000 Starwood points, which is valuable for lots of Big Travel on ~30 airline partners, and at beautiful Starwood hotels!
Which of these options is your favorite way to share Starwood points?
@misty
You need some point activity every 12 months to keep your points active. SPG doesn’t have a shopping portal, so that means your only options are to use or earn miles every 12 months, transfer Amex MR points or hope for a small promotion like the bonus for signing up keyless entry.
@Adrian
On the personal cards, you can only get the bonus once per lifetime. On the business card, you can get the bonus as long as you have not had the bonus in the previous 12 months.
How long do I have to wait from the time i closed my first SPG card before I can reapply?
Great article.. thanks!
Question: Do you have to have the Spg card to keep points active?
Or once in the account it is fine to close the card?
You missed an important part of this strategy. Here’s how it should work:
Spouse A applies for both cards: 60K bonuses + 8K spending
Spouse A sends referrals for both cards to spouse B: 10K in referral bonuses
Spouse B applies for both cards: 60K bonuses + 8K spending
That’s a total of 146,000 Starpoints!
Don’t leave points on the table and NOT do this.