Loved the old SPG. By far the best perk was getting 1 point per dollar, then being able to transfer that to almost every airline. American was 20K points for 25

Loved the old SPG. By far the best perk was getting 1 point per dollar, then being able to transfer that to almost every airline. American was 20K points for 25K miles. International Business class tickets would be around 120K miles round trip, so $100K spend for $5K plane tickets (5% return). Back in the day american used to count all miles towards the 2M mile club (lifetime platinum), so I was able enter it mainly using credit card earned miles. Hotel stays were often times 12K points for a $400/night hotel in maui (3.3% return). When they converted SPG to marriott they did it at a 1spg:3marriott conversion rate, but ongoing only earns at a $1:2 point rate. The card is a significantly worse value.