For a limited time, through March 30, 2016, you can earn 35,000 bonus Starpoints when you apply for a new Starwood Preferred Guest credit card from American Express and spend at least $3,000 in your first 3 months of cardmembership. You can also earn the same 35,000 Starpoint bonus by applying for the Business version of the card and spending $5,000 in your first 3 months. 35,000 Starpoints is the highest signup bonus ever offered for the card.

As a point of comparison, 30,000 bonus Starpoints had previously been the high-water mark for SPG Amex bonus, typically offered just once per year, while 25,000 Starpoints is the standard offer.

For those unfamiliar with the card, see the following links:

• Read a full review of the SPG Amex
• Read about the most recent changes to the card

Note that the card carries a $95 annual fee, which is waived for the first year. Also, if you currently have the card or have had it in the past, you are not eligible to receive a new bonus. For bonus purposes, the Personal and Business versions are treated differently. So if you’ve only had the Personal version in the past, you would still be eligible to earn the sign-up bonus for the Business card and vice versa.

Update 4/1/16: The 35,000 Starpoint offer has expired.

For more information or to apply for the current deal, see the following links:

• Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express (Personal)
• Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express (Business)

One word of caution about an otherwise excellent deal: With Starwood merging with Marriott beginning this summer, it’s unknown what the fate of the Starwood Preferred Guest program will be. Will the SPG Amex continue to exist after the merger? Will cardmembers be transitioned to another card? How will the value of SPG points be affected? These are open questions that remain to be answered. It’s certainly possible that these 35,000 points may end up being worth less than 30,000 “old” points, but that is pure speculation right now.