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Answers (6)

SPG: to pay or not to pay cash ?

SPG: to pay or not to pay cash ?

  1. duane New Member

    hi ben/tiffany
    how do you decide when to pay and when to use SPG points? case in point: Amman Jordan Le Meridien — 40,000 SPG points vs. US$1300 + earn even MORE points for premium cabin-long haul travel on Eithad/Cathay/Qatar ?

  2. Gaurav Community Ambassador

    Well, I would divide the cost by the amount of points spent plus the points earning foregone so 130000/(40000+2600)=3.05 cents/pt. Most people value SPG points at 2.2cpp so this would be a decent redemption if you wanted to spend the points on hotels. Personally I would rather transfer them to airlines and use other points for hotels.

  3. No Name Member

    What creditt card are planning to pay with duane? And are you an SPG elite member?

    If paying with an SPG AMEX you would earn 2600 points, plus 2 points as a basic SPG member or 3 points as a gold or higher

    Basic plus SPG Amex 130000/(40000+5200)=2.87cents/pt
    Gold plus SPG Amex 130000/(40000+6500)=2.79 cents/pt

    As Gaurav says it would be a good use of points, comes down too what you value/have the most of cash or points?

  4. Anonymous Guest

    Yep, that’s exactly what I do. As SPG gives elite credit even on award stays that isn’t a factor anymore. Sometimes I’ll factor in benefits that might be available on paid but not award stays (like if there’s a great FHR rate, or if I want to use a Hyatt Diamond Upgrade), but for SPG it’s a pretty simple formula.

  5. duane New Member

    thanks everyone. i’d be paying with my SPG AmEx card — i “think” that i am still Gold SPG. in comparison, Mero @ Points Plus just got me my Qantas F Sydney-LHR priced today at $6600 for 80000 AA points (which only cost me 60000 SPG points because of that promotion which has been extended till next Mon i believe) — so using that formula, the SPG points are a LOT MORE valuable for long haul premium cabins ? 14.60 cents/point (did i do my maths right?) 6600000/45200. Thanks Tiff! i LOVE this game!

  6. MidSouthSkier Community Ambassador

    And now Lucky has written a blog post:

    [URL]http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/08/31/should-you-redeem-points-for-a-hotel-stay/[/URL]

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