Good news! The Starwood 20% transfer bonus to American Airlines that was supposed to end today is extended!
Now, you’ll have until August 31, 2015, to transfer your Starwood points and earn bonus American Airlines miles!
What’s the Deal?
Link: 20% Bonus Miles Promotion
Link: Should You Transfer Starwood Points to American Airlines Miles?
Through August 31, 2015, you’ll earn 20% more miles when you transfer Starwood points to American Airlines miles.
You usually earn 5,000 bonus miles when you transfer 20,000 Starwood points to airline partners.
But with this promotion, you’ll get 20% more miles.
That means you’ll receive 30,000 American Airlines miles when you transfer 20,000 Starwood points (20,000 Starwood points transfers to 20,000 American Airlines miles + 5,000 mile Starwood bonus + 5,000 mile promotion bonus).
Remember you can use American Airlines miles to fly on partner airlines, like British Airways, Finnair, and Qantas.
Should You Make the Transfer?
This could be a good deal for folks who have a specific use in mind for their American Airlines miles!
Remember that it takes ~7 to 10 days for the miles to appear in your American Airlines account. And note that American Airlines adds the 20% bonus within a week after the transfer posts. So only make the transfer if you do NOT need the miles immediately.
That’s because Starwood can only post 79,999 miles to an airline in a single day. So if you want to transfer a lot of Starwood points, space it out.
Starwood points are valuable for stays at Starwood hotels. And American Airlines miles are terrific for Big Travel with Small Money!
As always, do what is best for you!
Earn Extra Starwood Points
Link: Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express (personal)
Link: Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express (business)
The fastest way to earn Starwood points is to sign-up for 1 of the AMEX Starwood credit cards.
With the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card and the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express you get:
- 25,000 Starwood points when you complete the minimum spending requirements
- 2X Starwood points per $1 spent at Starwood hotels which include Aloft, Element, Four Points, Le Meridien, Sheraton, St Regis, The Luxury Collection, Westin and W brand hotels
- 2 stay credits or 5 night credits toward Starwood elite status
- Terms & limitations apply
I’ve written before about both the personal and business versions of the card. Beginning August 11, 2015, neither card will have foreign transaction fees, but the annual fee is also increasing by $30.
Starwood points are valuable, whether you use them for Starwood hotel stays or transfer them to book award flights. And you can use Starwood points for 5 nights and 2 flights to Disney World.
Bottom Line
The Starwood 20% transfer bonus to American Airlines is now extended until August 31, 2015!
You’ll get 30,000 American Airlines miles when you transfer 20,000 Starwood points.
This can be a good deal for folks who have an award flight planned on American Airlines. Remember, you can use American Airlines miles to book award flights on lots of airline partners. And it can take up to ~2 weeks to receive the full bonus.
What’s your favorite way to use Starwood points?