Originally Posted by MikeBOS
Why would you keep the SPG Amex as your general spend card after they drop the points by 1/3? At that point there are many other options in this thread that give you a better return than the ~1.5% that would be worth. CSR is much better because the general spend value is the same (~1.5%) but the high bonus categories are considerably broader than either one of the SPG Amex cards (travel + restaurants vs. Marriott only).
I don't necessarily intend to keep it as a general-spend card, but I'll keep it solely because of the longevity and the fact that the annual free night more than pays for the annual fee. I'm merely questioning whether I should upgrade it to the $450 version and also make it my Priority Pass card. The $300 credit would be easy for me to claim every year, making it a $150 card.
Originally Posted by TravelinSperry
What about the Hilton Aspire card instead of your Ascend cards? At $450 it grants Diamond without spend req of Ascend and gives you unlimited PP. Easily can get $450 back with their credits at resorts/air. Plus their spend for air/restaurant is 7x, amazing return on those categories and in-hotel as well.
My understanding is that the air credit definition is super-narrow with this card. Basically bag fees, inflight food/bev, etc. I don't pay those fees. Really, no Flyertalker should pay much in the way of these fees. A basic airline ticket does not count, and from what I understand, neither do paid upgrades and lounge memberships.
As for the $250 resort credit, that one is somewhat easier to obtain, but I actually go years without planning a stay at one of the participating hotels listed. If I had the card, I'd certainly find a way to get to one, but it's just another thing I'd have to think about and not forget to do. Doesn't seem worth it given that there are other cards in the $450 tier that make their rebates much easier to obtain through my normal everyday travels.
If the air credit was a straightforward $250 off of any airline ticket (like the Citi Prestige card is), I could probably live with the resort limitation.
Originally Posted by TravelinSperry
I value Hilton at .6 cents per - making 7x 4.2%. No other card can beat that except CSR. Obviously if you value HH points at .45 cents per that would change the calc significantly.
A quick perusal in Paris France shows a redemption in June available well over .6 cents per. Not sure why you are saying it is a fixed value. Although I do see many poor redemptions as well. But clearly it's not a fixed value when you can find some redemptions over .6.
I still value my HH in the .6 range, but I'll also admit it's getting harder and harder as time passes to find those redemptions. I fear the program is phasing out better opportunities - moving towards a model where you're getting a half-cent everywhere. The endgame on HH really appears to be straight-rebate awards at this point.
Originally Posted by xooz
Maybe.. Let's assume I booked using points right now. 35K Marriott points used in Manhattan gets me a couple of Fairfield Inns, one Courtyard and one Residence Inn, almost all near the WTC end of the island. That point value at current Starwood rates (less than 12K) gets me no hotel on Manhattan. A weekend night at a Hilton gets me a night at virtually every property in Manhattan. London would be a worse deal again for getting a Starriott property compared to Hilton. These are where I usually spend my points... in large expensive cities.
Thus I think a Hilton free weekend night has a good likelihood of holding value past Aug 1, and I do not yet have confidence that there will be some revaluation at Starriott that will cause hotels currently out of reach to somehow drift down into the 35K point range. And a hotel in the $200 range I would likely pay for with cash rather than use points. All a crap shoot at this point however....
Agreed that a Hilton free weekend night is worth more than an anyday 35k Marriott night. But *both* are worth well more than their associated annual fees. I've been vocal in the past about the diminishing value over time of a Category 5 Marriott certificate. However, I still always find a $150-ish use for it, so I keep my two cards that generate them for $85 each.
Originally Posted by HPN-HRL
Your analysis makes sense to me, given your point usage patterns. The Hilton Free Weekend Cert is definitely a good deal in expensive locations as long as the weekend restriction isn't an issue for you - I redeemed one once in Saratoga during racing season when rooms were going for $500. I guess my point is that if you are going to be making any stays in places where Marriott has a 35K hotel that you would be willing to use, the cash price for that hotel will be notably more than $95 - so you come out ahead if you use a Marriott cert (which is not restricted to Sat/Sun). I will be keeping my SPG cards and probably getting a Hilton card as well - all of these have their uses to me.
In recent years, I've been using my Marriott Cat 5's when I need to do an airport stay. IME, bad airport hotels are quite awful, and Marriott tends to have good airport hotels. Since airport hotels are often $150-200/nt across the board and I'm always there exactly one night, they make a nice spot for the certificate.
