chooseMoneychooseMediachooseShoppingchoose
@chooseonline
Newsletter
More
choose moneycredit card comparisonpersonal loanscurrent accountssavingsmoney and credit card guide
You are here
Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card

American Express Starwood Preferred Guest credit card

Everything you need to know about this credit card, including how to apply, our review and the small print.

Available to those who are:

- Aged 18 or over
- Have a current UK bank or building society account
- Have an annual household income of £30,000
- Have a permanent UK home address

- Please check the full criteria before applying.

Earn Starpoints on all your spending
10,000 bonus Starpoints available
Redeem for Starwood hotels, flights or swap for air miles
Spend £25,000 each year to get a free weekend night
American Express cardholder services and benefits
Representative Example: 19.9% p.a. variable on purchases. This is equivalent to 34.5% APR representative variable based on a credit limit of £1,200 and including a £75 annual fee. American Express Services Europe Limited, Belgrave House, 76 Buckingham Palace Road, London, SW1W 9AX

What's on offer?

Main summary of this credit card's rates, rewards and services.
purchases Purchases: balance transfers Balance transfers: rewards Rewards: cardholder services Cardholder services:
19.9% p.a. variable Not offered 1 Starpoint for each £1 spent
10,000 Bonus Starpoints Available
Free Weekend Night Available
Online Account Management
Fraud Guarantee
Active Fraud Monitoring
Purchase Protection Insurance
Refund Protection Insurance

Further details and the small print

A closer look at the rates, rewards, services and our review of this credit card.

What we think

Our review and how this deal compares

Please read this first:

This review is based on general information about how the product compares in the market, it shouldn't be taken as a recommendation or advice.

Please see below for more important information relating to the content of this page.

Visit the American Express website to apply online »

Application criteria

Detail
Only apply if you are: - Aged 18 or over
- Have a current UK bank or building society account
- Have an annual household income of £30,000
- Have a permanent UK home address
- Have no CCJ's for non-payment of debt
- If self-employed, you have been trading for over 1 year

Interest rates

Detail Additional
Representative APR (variable) 34.5% APR Including a £75 annual fee.
Based on a £1,200 credit limit.
Introductory Purchases - Not offered
Introductory Balance Transfers - Not offered
Standard Purchases 19.9% p.a. variable -
Standard Balance Transfers - Not offered
Standard Cash Advances 27.9% p.a. variable -

Fees and charges

Detail Additional
Balance Transfer fee None -
Cash Advance fee 3% (£3 min) -
Foreign fee 2.99% This fee is charged for transactions made in non-sterling currency.
Annual fee £75 -
Default charges £12 This charge is made for late payments, returned payments and exceeding the credit limit.

Repayment details

Detail Additional
Credit limit £700 min Maximum credit limit is subject to status.
Interest free period Up to 56 days For purchases if you pay your balance in full and on time. There is no interest free period on balance transfers or cash advances.
Minimum monthly payment 2% (£25 min) The minimum repayment amount will be the greater of:
- £25 (or the total amount owing if less), OR
- any interest, default fees, repayment protection insurance, overdue amounts and 1/12th of any annual fees or the full monthly fee (if applicable to the product you hold) plus 2% of the remaining balance.
Allocation of payments Highest rate balances first. Payments will be applied towards balances bearing the highest interest rate first. In applying this principle, the issuer will first apply payment to amounts that have appeared on your monthly statement, and they may secondly, apply payments to amounts that have not yet appeared on your monthly statement.

Rewards and discounts

Detail
1 Starpoint for each £1 spent Starpoints can be redeemed for hotel nights in Starwood Hotels & Resorts, retail partners including Amazon, GAP and iTunes, flights with 30 major airlines, unique experiences and hotel rewards.
Starpoints can also be transferred to frequent flyer miles (many on a 1 to 1 basis) with the major frequent flyer programs.
10,000 Bonus Starpoints Available Spend £1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening and receive 10,000 bonus Starpoints - enough for 5 complimentary nights in the Four Points by Sheraton Roma West Hotel in Rome, or 2 complimentary weekend nights at the Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort & Spa in the Canaries.
Free Weekend Night Available Receive a free weekend night at any hotel or resort in categories 1 - 4 anywhere in the world when you spend £25,000 in purchases on this credit card each year you hold the account.

Cardholder services

Offered Additional
Online account management Offered You can log in to the American Express web site and manage your American Express Starwood Preferred Guest credit card account online.
> You can monitor cash back earnings online.
> Optional paperless statements
> SMS & e-mail alerts: Register for "Card Alerts" and choose to receive updates by SMS text message to your mobile phone or e-mail relating to your credit card account. Notification information includes:
> Account balance
> Confirmation of payments
> Advance notification of nearing your credit limit
> Advance notification of due payments
> Notification of missed payments.
Fraud Guarantee Offered If you're a victim of fraud and have taken reasonable care with your account and PIN, you won't be held responsible for any fraudulent charges incurred.
Fraud Monitoring Offered Secure System
American Express will monitor your account for any suspicious transactions and notify you as soon as possible to check if it's fraudulent or not.
Identity Protection Not offered -
Credit Report Access Not offered -
3D Secure Not offered -
OneTouch Payments Not offered -
Purchase Protection Insurance Offered Theft or accidental damage for 90 days after the purchase date.
> Up to £20,000 in any 365 day period.
> Eligible items up to a maximum of £2,500
> £50 excess applies.
> Please note exclusions and limitations apply.
Purchase Delivery Insurance Not offered -
Purchase In-Transit Insurance Offered As part of the 'Purchase Protection Insurance' policy (items must not be left unattended).
Refund Protection Insurance Offered Failure to obtain a refund of an eligible item from the retailer within 90 days of purchase.
> Up to £800 in any 365 day period.
> Up to £250 per item.
> Brand new items only, costing between £25 and £250.
> Please note exclusions and limitations apply.
Comprehensive Travel Insurance Not offered -
Travel Accident Insurance Offered Up to £150,000
Travel accident insurance covers you against serious injury and death when you buy your travel tickets with this card. It is not an adequate substitute for a comprehensive travel insurance policy.
Travel Inconvenience Insurance Offered Flight delay and lost luggage cover.
See policy for full details.
Assistance Abroad Offered Global Assist
24 hour emergency helpline while traveling. Services include help with lost luggage, finding a lawyer or an English-speaking doctor, interpretation, prescription replacement and urgent message relay back home.
Emergency Card Replacement Offered Emergency card replacement almost anywhere in the world.
American Express can additionally help with hotel check-in and emergency cash advance.

Please read the following notice:

The review on this page is intended to provide general information only and does not attempt to give advice that relates to your specific circumstances. If you are unsure as to the suitability of any financial product, you should discuss this with an independent financial advisor.

While we make every effort to ensure and maintain current and accurate information on this site and the review on this page will be periodically updated inline with product changes, it could contain rates, deals or facts which have now changed and therefore should not be solely relied upon.

You should check the full details of any product with the relevant provider before applying, and you are advised to conduct your own research as well.

We aim to provide free reviews and comparisons of consumer products. To keep the site free, we are paid by some providers when new customers take products after they've clicked on our links. We don't allow our editorial content to be affected by those links, however we may not include all of the products available in the market.

Please read our full disclaimer for other important information that relates to the information and service we provide and your use of this site.

If you would like to get in touch with us you can contact us here »

Quick Links

Compare Credit Cards »
Compare Personal Loans »
Compare Current accounts »
Compare Savings accounts »
Money guide & news »

Why not have a look around our other price comparison sections? We also cover home and mobile broadband, home media bundles, mobile phones, shopping and entertainment.

ChooseMedia »
ChooseShopping »

Stay in touch

Keep up to date with the latest deals, product updates and market news from the Choose team.

Simply fill in your details below...

Keep me updated on:


Want to talk?

Have an opinion, want to make a suggestion or just fancy a natter?

Get in touch and we'll be pleased to see what we can do.

Unfortunately, we can't always be as helpful as we'd like, but where we can't help we will try to point you in the right direction instead.

Please read more about contacting us and how to get in touch here »

© 2012 Choose Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Disclaimer | Privacy | Cookies | Sitemap