Starwood Hotels and Resorts (Starwood Preferred Guest)

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Current State of Co-branded Hotel Credit Cards in Canada

ByMatt

The situation continues to deteriorate with the recent closure of grandfathered Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa. Last year, I wrote a post about the Best Hotel Loyalty Program for Canadians to Collect, but with another shift in the industry, it looks like that post was due for an update. 

In the past few years, I have exclusively redeem hotels points for all my stays. Rarely have I had to pay for a hotel night. However, as hotel partnerships continue to terminate with credit card companies in Canada, this trend will be very difficult to continue in the near future. 

Below are the top ways to earn hotel points without actually staying at the hotels to accumulate points. 

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Gwen Stefani Performs for Loyalty Members in Dubai

ByMatt

Global superstar Gwen Stefani will perform her last international concert of 2017 exclusively for members of Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, SPG and VIP guests on December 4, 2017 at the brand-new Renaissance Downtown Hotel in Dubai.

Marriott Reward Moments has 2 Ultimate Gwen Stefani Fan Experience packages on Marriott Rewards Moments and SPG Moments platforms.

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Best Hotel Loyalty Program for Canadians to Collect

ByMatt

Hotel points has always been a valuable commodity for my travels, as I always prefer to use points to book hotel nights, rather than spending my hard earned cash. The challenge is, how do we earn hotel points without actually staying at hotels?

The quickest way to jump-start your account is with a credit card sign up bonus. Every day spending on that credit card may be the next best way, but it is going to be a slow process.

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Comparing Canadian and U.S. SPG American Express

ByMatt

The U.S. based Starwood Preferred Guest American Express personal and business cards have increased their sign up bonus from 25,000 to 35,000. The last time was about a year ago. My question is, when is it going to be Canada’s turn? Also, what about waiving the first year fee? Let’s take a quick look at the highlights of the four cards in question.

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SPG AMEX Versus the Chase Marriott

ByMatt

Today, we start with the comparison between the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Visa and the American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card. Let’s start with the highlights of each respective cards and then breakdown each factor. As promised, I will discuss tangible and intangible factors.

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Double-Points Promotions with Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Starwood

ByMatt

Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest have teamed up to offer a Double-Points Promotions. You will need to register (between December 15, 2016 and March 15, 2017) with each company respectively to qualify for the promotion.

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[INTERVIEW] Podcast with Marriott Rewards about the Merger with SPG

ByMatt

Last time around, we ended up doing an email interview with Marriott Rewards. This time around, I managed to have a phone interview instead Senior Vice President David Flueck (Starwood SPG) and Vice President Thom Kozik (Marriott). The purpose of the interview get an update on the recent merger between Marriott and Starwood.

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Favourite Hotel Elite Perks Listed by Loyalty Program

ByMatt

I was previously asked what are the best hotel elite benefits. I believe that this is a strongly personal question, because it is based on personal preferences, as well as specific travels. In other words, depending on where you want to go, you may want to take advantage of a different benefit. I would not get too caught up on very specific benefits, it is always better to remain flexible and open minded to what’s available, along with customizing to specific needs.