Yet Another Example of Airline Mileage Awards Losing Their Value
Attention, Starwood American Express Card fans: You might get better
value using your points for hotel stays than for airline tickets. Above, the new Westin Paris across from the Tuileries.
by Wendy Perrin
Remember a few weeks ago I lamented that the Starwood AmEx Card--which I love because it lets you transfer your accumulated points to the frequent-flier programs of 30 different airlines, usually on a 1:1 basis, with Starwood throwing in a bonus 5,000 points for every 20,000 you redeem--had changed the transfer ratio for trading Starpoints into Continental miles to 2:1? What this means is that 80,000 Starpoints are now worth only 40,000 Continental miles. Actually, that's not true: They're worth 60,000 Continental miles, once you include the free bonus miles. Still, the value of your points has diminished considerably if you're looking to fly Continental.
Now I learn from mileage expert Gary Leff over at View From the Wing that the transfer ratio for changing Starpoints into Singapore Airlines miles has also been lowered to 2:1. Not only that, but soon we'll no longer be able to redeem Starpoints for flights on Qantas.
The good news? Starwood still offers 1:1 transfers with most airline programs. "It's still my favorite currency," says Gary. The bad news is "the tenuousness with which even the best currencies offer a store of value. When you want an award, it's best to redeem it because tomorrow's value is unlikely to be better than today's."
Many travelers I know say they get better value using their Starpoints for free hotel stays than for airline tickets. Conde Nast Traveler's executive editor, Ted Moncreiff, for instance. He recently traded in 60,000 Starpoints for three nights at the swank new Westin Paris. Because of the weakness of the U.S. dollar, those three nights would have cost him about $3,000 otherwise. Some Starwood properties are available for far fewer than 20,000 points per night. Free hotel nights start at 2,000 Starpoints and go all the way up to 35,000, depending on the type of property.
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Wendy,
We've been watching this, and presume that the same with come to pass with the transfer to Hawaiian Miles (the one we usually do). So I'm about to transfer my remaining miles before they are downgraded, then switch to the Hawaiian Miles Visa when I want to get their miles.
From then on we'll just plan to do as you suggest and use the Starpoints for hotels.
Aloha, Jeff
http://beatofhawaii.com
Posted by: beatofhawaii_com | April 25, 2008 at 04:51 PM