A Credit Card For Travelers By peatfire on Feb 13, 2008 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

The Starwood American Express has no annual fee for the first year and comes with bonus points (currently 10,0000) the first time you use it. It is one of the most versatile cards out there if you like to travel. You can use your points for stays at Starwood properties all over the world. Some of the hotels have gone up one or more categories in the past few years, so they cost more points than they used to. However, using points this way can still be a good deal, especially in Europe while the dollar is so low.

You can also transfer your points them into many frequent flyer programs. In most programs, one Starwood point gets you one frequent flyer miles. In addition, if you transfer 200000 points, you will get a bonus of 5000 miles.

The interest rate is high but if you pay your bill in full every month and like travel rewards, this card is worth looking into. When you're close to an airline award, it's great to be able to "top off" your miles with Starwood points.