This is an SPG.com mileage transfer question (m)

Normally, when I transfer points from spg to Hawaiian airlines. I think, Hawaiian airlines says the name must match the mileage person's name. Is there a way to transfer to my name on the mileage account? It is a joint American Express account because I'm sure if he dies I'm responsible for it ;-)

I'm thinking of using Alaskan for our next trip but it would be nice if we could use my name for 2 sets of tickets and his for the other 2 sets of tickets.

I just transferred SPG SPs to AA FF miles. (60K SPs to 90K AA miles - and used them to book our 2015 flight to STT)

It is correct that generally the miles can only be transferred to the FF account with the same name as the SPG account. What I did was transfer some of Robin SPs to my SPG account - and then transferred the SPs from my SPG account to my AA account.

It is an airline thing - making transfers even between family members (at least for the airlines that I use - AA and UA) is generally charged heavily - from what I can recall when I tried to transfer some of Robin's UA miles to my UA account (since I have status...).

Thank you for your help... I have a few more questions if you don't mind.

So, can I create my own spg.com account? Then, could I transfer miles from our joint account to a SPG account in my name and then, use those points to transfer to the mileage account. Would I still get the extra 5k points for transferring 20k in points on the SPG account? Or do I need have an American Express card attached to my spg account to get the extra points transferred?

Are you talking about a joint SPG account? Do those exist? We both have our own SPG account. If your name is on the joint SPG account (if it exists), then the transfer to HI-Air should not be an issue.
I will assume that the SPG account is in your DH name, and the HI-Air is in your name (thus the issue). If so, open a SPG account in your name and then transfer the SPs into you account from his, and then transfer to HI-Air into your account.
Does this make sense? Or am I missing something?

Yes... it is a SPG process to add the 5K bonus for every 20K transferred. Nothing to do with the AMEX-SPG card - that just accumulates SPs into the associated SPG account.

There may be two (or several) people in your family who have the same AMEX account number, but there is always a primary cardholder -- the person who actually applied for it and whose SSN it is under. Other cardholders are considered secondary account holders. (A spouse may be liable for any charges made on it by virtue of being married, but that has nothing to do with him/her being a secondary card holder.) It is the primary account holder who will receive the SPs earned on the SPG AMEX.

If you want to transfer SPs to an airline award program, most will only transfer to an account under the same name and same mailing address. So if the SPs are in your husband's name, the Alaskan account should be in his name. (Check Alaskan or Flyertalk to see what their rules are.) But that person can usually book award trips in anyone's name, including friends, although sometimes you have to call them to do this because they automatically fill in account holder's name online.

They do make it clear that the FF mileage account must be in the same name as the SPG account. I had to call to get my transfer since it wold not go thru on-line. The Rep was very specific about this.

One small complication to opening a new SPG account is that you'll need to wait 30 days before transferring points between the two accounts. There's an exception if you're a Starwood timeshare owner, but I'm not sure if you are one.

Also, I can't tell from your post whether you want to transfer to Hawaiian or Alaska. If it's Hawaiian, I sent you a PM.

The Spg.com account attached to our American Express account is in my DH's name. I do have access to his SPG.com account as I'm on there. The points belong to both of us. We earn most of our points through a business we own and the charges that go through it. We do not earn points from hotel stays, etc... So, normally I use these points to pay for our airfare.

Yes, my dh can book all our awards flights. However, 3 family members have about 7K in points each on our Alaskan mileage accounts. So, I would need to transfer 21K points to his account so he could book the travel plus he has a bunch would be one free flight. However, Alaskan would charge us about $300 to make that transfer. With Alaskan it is $10 for every 1,000 points you transfer plus $25. So, each transfer would be $95. Also, I want to book 4 award tickets and Alaskan generally only allows 2 tickets to be booked at a time. So, someone on the travel board suggested booking them at the exact same time on separate computers. Then, that got me to thinking how could I just transfer the points to me. It would save us $95. The transfer cost seems crazy...

Alaskan is more complicated that it is worth. With Hawaiian, I can transfer the points from my dh's spg account to his Hawaiian miles account. However, since the credit card is in my name I have to transfer the points to my account because I get more benefits. Currently, Hawaiian does not charge for the transfer. So, I transfer my kids miles to my account as well. Then, I figure out how much I really need to make the awards travel.

All this stuff should be in both of our names legally. I was so annoyed a couple weeks ago when I tried to check into our Marriott timeshare and they would let me because my name was not on the reservation. I explained that both my husband and I own the unit. They wanted to see his driver's license as ID. But I refuse based on principal. They went over to the sales office to look up that I was indeed an owner as well. But they only grab the first name on the deed for reservations. UGH.... So, they told me to avoid this in the future I need to put the reservation in my name by calling. Whatever... that is crazy... But another issue for another day.

FlyerTalkers speaketh on the matter:

From Post #26:
"4.1 Transferring Starpoints.
4.1.a. SPG Members Who Reside at Same Address. In Starwood's sole discretion, an SPG Member may be permitted to transfer Starpoints from one SPG Member account to another SPG Member account under specific conditions. Generally, Starpoints may transfer if both SPG Members are active, consent to the transfer, and share the same residential mailing address that is not a P.O. Box, APO or SPO address for a minimum of 30 days prior to requesting the transfer. SPG Members may be required to provide proof of residency prior to Starwood transferring the Starpoints between the two accounts. Elite membership status and the related benefits will not transfer to the recipient of the Starpoints."

So while you cannot have joint accounts, you can transfer the SPs from your husband's SPG account into yours, and then convert the SPs into Alaskan miles. But you have to open up an SPG account.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/star...77274-why-cant-spg-have-joint-accounts-2.html