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One of the Best results of this merger is the ability to use Marriott Rewards for SPG Cash & Points
The Transitive property of Ballerness has poked its head out again. In case you’re unfamiliar with this property, check out this post where Miles and I explain the transitive property of ballerness and benefits. Marriott points transfer to SPG at a rate of 3:1 and vice versa. This creates some interesting value propositions going forward and lead me to investigate some redemption options with Starwood. I’ve encountered a number of times when it’s tough to get more than $0.007 per Marriott Reward point. I often find it a good deal getting a just penny a point. What I’ve found with transferring points into SPG is the redemption values go up as does choice of property. I think one of best results of this merger is the ability to use Marriott Rewards for SPG Cash & Points rates.
What are SPG Cash + Points rates?
Here’s a look at the rates for SPG Cash + Points. Up to about category 5 there are some amazing deals to be had. I only say Category 5 because the rates start to make considerable cash and point jumps.
What do these look like when converted you use Marriott points to convert into SPG?
| Category | SPG Cash + Points | Marriott Rewards needed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1500 + $30 | 4500 |
| 2 | 2000 + $35 | 6000 |
| 3 | 3500 + $55 | 10500 |
| 4 | 5000 + $75 | 15000 |
| 5 | 6000 + $110 | 18000 |
| 6 | 10000 + $180 | 30000 |
| 7 | 15000 + $275 | 45000 |
What are some properties that can be had for these rates?
I love that SPG provides a very streamlined way of searching. I really like how it allows me so to see which brands are represented under each category. Click the link above if you’d like to do some of your own searches to investigate redemption options.
Go here and search Cash & Points
From there you can select the category: let’s go with Category 4 which would end up costing 15,000 Marriott + $75
A very cool property is listed: Palacio Del Inka, a luxury collection hotel. This hotel is located just outside Machu Picchu. A destination high on travelers’ bucket lists.
What would those rates normally be for this property?
Here’s the rate for a random weekend in October. Low Season for tourism.
Doing the math this would mean your Marriott Points are worth (242-75)/15000 = $0.011 per point. This is quite a bit more than the consensus valuation of $0.007 per Marriott Rewards point. The prices of this hotel go up considerably during High Season.
Sticking with Bucket List destinations: Let’s take a look at the St Regis Lhasa, Tibet
Let’s take a look at a Category 5 hotel: The St. Regis Lhasa which would cost 18000 Marriott Rewards + $110
Holy Cow! This property gives Marriott Rewards a great valuation: (527-110)/18000 or $0.023 per point. Three times what experts say Marriott Rewards are worth. 
The downside of Points & Cash
The biggest downside is that the rates aren’t always readily available. The great thing is that SPG provides a way to search for availability based on the rate. This makes planning a trip much easier, especially if you’re dead set on using Cash + Points.
Honestly, I’m loving this Merger and this is another way to enhance benefits
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.