Rewarding, No Fee Card
Written: Jan 19 '00 (Updated Jan 19 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: no annual fee, 1 airline mile per dollar spent in most case, many award choices
Cons: some places take only MC and Visa, high APR
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| trajmar's Full Review: Sheraton Starpoints (American Express) |
I have had an American Express Sheraton Starpoints Credit Card for over two years. It is the first card I reach for wherever American Express is accepted.
There is no annual fee!
You earn one Starpoint for every dollar you spend. These points can be exchanged for lodging at Starwood Hotels & Resorts or one to one for frequent flier miles for most major airlines including American, Continental, Northwest, USAir, United.
You earn two points for charges at Starwood properties.
You also get Sheraton Gold Preferred Guest membership free for one year. This has benefits such as room upgrades, late checkout, and a free newspaper at Starwood properties as well as bonus Starpoints earnings for Starwood charges. There is an annual fee for Gold status (after the first year), but you can cancel after one year and continue as a "standard" Preferred Guest.
I have transferred Starpoints to my American AAdvantage account and used them for free travel. It is a fairly pain free process, but does require some lead time.
They also offer a bonus of 5,000 miles whenever you transfer 20,000 Starpoints to an airline frequent flier account.
Customer service is good and information about your American Express account (http://www.americanexpress.com) and Starwood Preferred Guest Program (http://www.preferredguest.com) can be accessed from the web.
Since I pay my bill off monthly, the interest rate does not really concern me, however it is rather high (17.99%).
I think it is a great card. But I do keep at least a Visa also in case the merchant does not accept American Express.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID: trajmar
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Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 3 members
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