Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here – Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American ExpressSome families collect miles and points to spend them on five star luxury blowout trips that they otherwise couldn’t afford. Other families collect miles and points to be able to travel across the country to visit relatives once a year. Many fall somewhere somewhere along that spectrum. While the focus of hotel points on blogs often falls at the aspirational end of the spectrum (because face it, who wants to see a review of a Holiday Inn Express in the middle of the country?), there are many very nice Category 1 properties that will probably surprise you with how much you get for so few points.I posted recently on some pretty great Hyatt Category 1 properties that cost just 5,000 Hyatt points per night, but Hyatt isn’t the only hotel chain with some surprises at the Category 1 level. This post is on some of the best Category 1 properties that Starwood Preferred Guest has to offer.Cost of SPG Category 1 Properties:SPG Category 1 properties go for 3,000 points per night on weekdays, 2,000 points per night on weekends, or you can spend 1,500 points + $30 via cash and points rates. It may also be interesting for traveling families to note that suites at Category 1 properties can be had for 3,000 points + $75 via cash and points. When you compare that to the 30,000 - 35,000 points a night that it costs to stay somewhere like the St. Regis Kauai (that I loved), it is clear how great of a deal a Category 1 property can be if the goal is to stretch points to their max.Now up front I have to say that the SPG Category 1 list is very light in some parts of the world, including the United States. Most of the “nicer” looking Category 1 properties are in parts of the world that naturally have lower hotel rates such as China, India, and Egypt. Unlike with Hyatt, I’ve not had a chance to stay at any of the current Category 1 SPG properties, but here are a few on the list that jumped out at me. Honestly there were many interesting properties that looked pretty nice for just 2,000 SPG points!Sheraton Sharm El Sheikh Hotel and ResortLe Méridien Dahab ResortSheraton Senggigi Beach ResortSign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Le Méridien YixingFour Points by Sheraton PenangFour Points by Sheraton Puntacanta VillageAloft Jacksonville AirportIf you haven’t looked a the lower category SPG hotels in a while, I encourage you to take a peek. There are some interesting properties at the Category 1 level, and the list gets even more varied at the Category 2 level (more on that soon). With the current sign-up bonus of up to 25,000 points via the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express, that could translate to nine straight award nights at Category 1 properties (5 weekdays plus 4 weekend days) from just one sign-up bonus!I’ve just given you a small selection of some Category 1 SPG properties here, but I’d love to hear if you have stayed at one and had a good time!
