As the new year begins, all mileage and point earning programs are reset, meaning you must stay or fly the required amount of miles/nights to earn your elite status for the next one. One program that I have gotten a jumpstart on is Starwood.

I’ve been a Starwood Platinum member the past several years by earning 50 nights a year, however 5 of those nights each year come from just having the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. This is a great card if you’re looking to earn Starwood Platinum.

I just logged into my SPG account online, and as you can see these nights/stays from the card have already posted.

The great thing is that you can actually double-dip and earn 10 nights/4 stays for SPG Platinum status if you have both the personal  Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express as well as the Starwood Preferred Guest Business Credit Card from American Express giving you 20% of the required nights you already need to earn the status, if you choose to qualify by nights.

We recently wrote about the Surprise SPG Platinum Gift we received, so I definitely plan on maintaining my status for another year. You can view all the benefits of SPG Platinum Status here.

However, if you’re looking to earn Starwood Gold Status, there are two credit cards I would recommend. The Platinum Card from American Express gives gold just for having the card. Similarly, you can earn SPG Gold with the  Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card by spending $30,000 on the card in a calendar year.

What are your strategies for earning Starwood Platinum or Starwood Gold Status? Feel free to share your ideas!