Everything You Need to Know About the SPG Business Card Before You Sign Up

Editor’s Note: American Express is a partner of Fundera.

Some small business owners are firmly rooted in one spot. Others are all over the place—traveling to meet clients, building new partnerships, and attending conferences. Whatever it takes to grow their business’s network.

If this is you, odds are you spend a lot on a business credit card when you travel. And if you absolutely have to spend money on travel for your business, why not earn valuable bonus points on it and redeem them for your future travels?

That’s right—if you’re a frequent business traveler, you should have a travel rewards business credit card. And the perfect travel business credit card for you might just be the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card from American Express, better known as the SPG Business Card.

SPG Business Card: The Basics

Before we dive into the extra bells and whistles that make the SPG Business Card great for frequent travelers, let’s cover the absolute need-to-knows of the SPG Business Card.

The Rewards Rate on the SPG Business Card

The SPG Business Card is a bonus points reward card. That means that every time you swipe this business credit card, you’ll earn what’s called “Starpoints.”

Starpoints can be super valuable for business owners who are always on-the-go. We’ll get into exactly how to redeem Starpoints for maximum valuable, but first—here’s how you’ll earn Starpoints on the SPG Business Card:

• Earn 2 Starpoints for every $1 spent on eligible purchases at participating hotels and resorts.

• Earn 1 Starpoint for every $1 spent on everything else.

Plus, you get a pretty sizable welcome bonus when you sign up for the SPG Business Card that American Express just upped:

Pocket 25,000 bonus Starpoints after you make $5,000 in purchases on the card in the first 3 months of owning it. You’ll now earn an additional 10,000 bonus Starpoints after you make another $3,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of owning the card. This stellar welcome offer of 35,000 Starpoints ends on 04/05/2017, so get this card while the offer lasts.

When you earn these Starpoints while you’re traveling for your business, you can redeem those points for travel expenses down the line. Starpoints are redeemable for free nights at over 1,300 hotels and resorts in over 100 different countries—with no blackout dates. Or, you can redeem Starpoints for free flights on over 150 different airlines with SPG flights—again, with no blackout dates.

Rates and Fees on the SPG Business Card

For the first year you have the SPG Business Card, you won’t have to worry about an annual fee. It’s waived for the first year, but after that, you pay a $95 annual fee.

As far as annual fees go, $95 isn’t too bad. Plus, you don’t pay a fee on balance transfers, and there’s no foreign transaction fee on the SPG Business Card.

The SPG Business Card doesn’t have an intro APR offer, and the variable APR with this card is 15.99% to 19.99%.

4 Other Reasons to Love the SPG Business Card

The SPG Business Card really shines with a top-notch rewards rate that attracts frequent travelers.

But American Express adds in a few extra perks that make the SPG Business Card also a great option for small business owners.

Added Travel Perks

If you’re an SPG Business Card member, you get a few extra perks that will make your business travel that much better.

As a card member, you receive complimentary access to the Sheraton Club Lounge. On top of that, you get complimentary, unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi on up to 4 different advices at more than 1 million different Boingo hotspots worldwide. You need to enroll to be eligible for this perk, but it’s a great way to stay connected while you’re traveling.

Build Your SPG Status

As you spend on your SPG Business Card, you’ll earn certain levels of SPG Status.

Once you’ve spent $30,000 or more in purchases in a calendar year, you’ll be bumped up to SPG Gold Status. As a SPG Gold Status member, you’ll earn even more on your travel expenses.

And once you’ve reached SPG Elite status, you’ll receive annual credit for 5 nights and 2 stays at Starwood hotels.

SPG Airline Transfer Program

If you redeem your Starpoints for airfare with SPG Flights, you can get a lot of free flights with a bunch of different airlines.

But if you find that you’re booking flights that aren’t eligible on the SPG Flights program, you can participate in the SPG Airline Transfer Program and transfer Starpoints to over 30 airline frequent flyer programs. When you transfer 20,000 Starpoints to a participating frequent flyer program, you’ll get a bonus of 5,000 Starpoints. And when you do transfer your points, you’ll usually be able to do so at a one-to-one value basis.

Employee Cards

If your employees are always on-the-go too, you can get them additional employee cards.

Employee SPG Business Cards come at the exact same rewards rate for every eligible purchase. Plus, they don’t come with any annual fee.

Is the SPG Business Card Right for You?

If you’re a frequent traveler or an absolute Starwood Guest loyalist, the SPG Business Card is a great choice for your business credit card. You get a strong rewards rate, and you can score free hotel stays and flights from the Starpoints you rack up.

Now, you might hesitate on the SPG Business Card for its annual fee. While no one likes paying annual fees, the value you’ll get from your Starpoints will well surpass $95 each year. So if you’re ready to maximize your Starpoints earnings, then there’s really no reason to worry about this annual fee.

When it comes down to it, the SPG Business Card is a strong travel rewards card that will make your business trips stress-free and your travel expenses a little easier to swallow!

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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/spg-business-card