Ask Randy

Randy Petersen answers reader questions about how to maximize travel-related loyalty programs.

Dear Randy,
On your advice, I applied for and received the Starwood Preferred Guest from American Express card. To my dismay, when I called American Express to verify the miles portion of the agreement, I was told that there were no miles attached to the card.

To borrow a phrase, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” Let me review the advice, so you can hopefully get on the right track to enjoying what others have for years. When you acquire this card, you’re right—there are no miles attached. This is a hotel program credit card, and the program is points-based. But because it seems that whomever you talked with did not take the time to walk you through the program, let me try to help.

As you use this card, you’ll receive a monthly statement from Starwood Preferred Guest, listing the purchases you’ve made and the Starpoints earned with every purchase. These Starpoints may then be exchanged one-for-one for miles with almost all of the major frequent flyer programs.

When you have a need for “miles” in your particular frequent flyer program, simply call Starwood and tell them the number of points you wish to transfer and into which program. The rest, as they say, will be history.

The big deal? Well, for one, the card is free for the first year. You can also choose how many points you wish to transfer into miles, and which program you want to transfer them to, at your leisure. This way, you always have flexibility—something not often offered by airline-specific credit cards. And, finally, the best part: If you spend a lot with the card and find yourself earning at least 20,000 Starpoints (spending at least $20,000), they will become 25,000 frequent flyer miles upon transfer—giving you an actual earning rate by dollar spent of 1.25 miles, the best going rate in the industry.

Now, take this information, recheck your sources, and I think you’ll find that I did steer you in the right direction.

Ask Randy.

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RANDY PETERSEN is publisher of Inside Flyer magazine and is president of Frequent Flyer Services. Email Randy at editor@executivetravelmag.com.