Introduction
Starwood Preferred Guest (hereafter – SPG) is the most lucrative hotel loyalty program when it comes to the transfer of points to airline loyalty programs. First, SPG allows you to transfer points to numerous airlines at a beneficial transfer rate. SPG has a wider range of travel transfer partners, even compared with such programs as Citi ThankYou, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards. Second, SPG awards you 5,000 SPG miles each time you transfer at least 20,000 SPG points.
SPG has a wider range of travel transfer partners, even compared with such programs as Citi ThankYou, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards.
The only shortcomings of the SPG program are the relatively small number of credit cards that earn points, and the relatively long time for transfer processing. While other programs (Citi ThankYou Points, Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards) transfer your points instantly in most cases, SPG requires a minimum of one day to complete the transfer.
Step 1. Login or setup account
If you already are a member of the SPG program, go to this link and take a look at the right upper corner of the screen, where you will find the login button. Click on it, and a dropdown menu will appear. In this menu, enter your account name or member number and password, and click “Login”.
If you do not have an SPG account, do the same steps, but instead of entering the account name and password, click the “Join” button. The system will redirect you to the page where you have to provide your SPG credit card number and personal information. Complete the registration, return to main page, and log in to the system.
Step 2. Decide on the airline program and register
As noted above, SPG offers plenty of options for points transfer. A full list of airlines eligible for SPG points transfer, together with the transfer rate and estimated time of transfer, is presented in the table below.
| Loyalty Program (Airline) | Transfer Rate | Transfer Time |
| Miles+Bonus (Aegean Airline) | 1:1 | 9-12 days |
| Premier Points (Aeromexico) | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Aeroplan (Air Canada) | 1:1 | 3-4 days |
| Phoenix Miles (Air China) | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Airpoints (Air New Zealand) | 65:1 | 1-2 days |
| Mileage Plan (Alaska Airlines) | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) | 1:1 | Up to 2 weeks(!) |
| MileMiglia (Alitalia) | 1:1 | Up to 2 days |
| Mileage Club (ANA) | 1:1 | 7 days |
| AAdvantage (American Airlines) | 1:1 | 1-4 days |
| Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles) | 1:1 | Up to 2 days |
| Asiana Club (Asiana Airlines) | 1:1 | 9-10 days |
| LifeMiles (Avianca) | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Executive Club (British Airways) | 1:1 | 4-5 days |
| Eastern Miles (China Eastern) | 1:1 | Up to 4 days |
| SkyPearl Club (China Southern) | 1:1 | Up to 3 days |
| Skymiles (Delta Airlines) | 1:1 | Up to 2 days |
| Skyward Miles (Emirates) | 1:1 | 3-4 days |
| Etihad Guest Miles (Etihad) | 1:1 | 4-7 days |
| Gol Smiles (Gol) | 1:1 | Up to 4 days |
| Fortune Wings Club (Hainan Airlines) | 1:1 | Up to 7 days |
| Hawaiian Miles (Hawaiian Airlines) | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Mileage Bank (Japan Airlines) | 1:1 | 3-6 days |
| JetPrivilege (Jet Airways) | 1:1 | Up to 2 days |
| Skypass (Korean Air) | 1:1 | 7 days |
| LATAM Pass (LATAM) | 1:1.5 | 2 days |
| Miles&More (Lufthansa, LOT, Austrian Airlines and others) | 1:1 | 4 days |
| Alfursan (Saudia Airlines) | 1:1 | Up to 4 days |
| Privilege Club (Qatar Airways) | 1:1 | Up to 3 weeks(!) |
| KrisFlyer (Singapore Airlines) | 1:1 | Up to 7 days |
| Royal Orchid Plus (Thai Airways) | 1:1 | Up to 10 days |
| MileagePlus (United) | 2:1 | 2-3 days |
| Flying Club (Virgin Atlantic) | 1:1 | ~1 day |
| Velocity Frequent Flyer (Virgin Australia) | 1:1 | 2 days |
As soon as you decide on the airline you want to transfer points to, you can proceed to the next step. Remember that in order to be able to transfer points, you must have an SPG account as well as an account for the desired airline. If you are not a member of the chosen airline programs, register in them (for the most airlines, this is a completely free and easy process).
Step 3. Transfer points
After you log in to your SPG account, click the “Book and redeem” button located in the upper menu. You will see a dropdown menu where you have to click “Redeem Starpoints”. After that, the system will redirect you to the redemption options list.
The option you are interested in is “Travel”. Click on the “Travel” link as displayed in the screenshot above.
Now scroll down until you see “Transfer Air Miles” and click it. To see where to find it, check the screenshot below.
You will see another page where you have to basically do the same: find “Start transferring” and click “Transfer Starpoints to Air Miles” located right underneath. See the screenshot below to get the exact location of this link.
Now choose the desired airline, mark the checkbox to agree to the terms and conditions, and click the “Go” button. Remember two things: first, a points transfer cannot be reversed (once you have transferred SPG points to an airline, you can’t transfer them back). Second, although you can transfer any amount of SPG points to an airline, only 79,000 SPG points may be transferred per transfer transaction.
This is it. Be patient and wait until the transfer process has completed. The award ticket for the desired airline will be just few clicks away.