[Edited 9/5/12: This offer has now expired and I've removed the links.]

In the unlikely event you haven’t read about the limited time credit card offer from Starwood and American Express, here it is.

If you apply for the card before September 4, 2012, you can earn up to 30,000 bonus Starpoints in the SPG hotel loyalty program. Both the Personal Card and Business Card feature this upgraded bonus, so for those of you who have a business (sole proprietorship included), this could be a fantastic way to rack up 60,000 bonus Starpoints.

Application page for the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Credit Card

Application page for the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Business Credit Card

Here are the offer details:

• Earn up to 30,000 bonus Starpoints – 10,000 bonus points after making your first purchase on the card and 20,000 bonus points if you spend at least $5,000 in the first 6 months of cardmembership.
• $0 annual fee for the first year, $65 each year thereafter.
• Earn up to 5 Starpoints per dollar spent at participating SPG hotels and resorts and 1 Starpoint everywhere else.
• Receive credit for 5 nights and 2 stays annually towards SPG elite status (or 10 nights and 4 stays if you get both the personal and business card.)
• Stay 4 nights and get the 5^th night free through December 25, 2012, plus up to $100 of resort credit at participating Hawaii and French Polynesia resorts.
• Redeem Starpoints at more than 1,000 hotels and resorts and for flight on more than 350 airlines through SPG Flights, all with no blackout dates.
• For the business card: Save 3% to 10% on business expenses from FedEx, Hertz, OfficeMax, and more with American Express OPEN Savings.

The full text and specifics of the offer, as well as card terms and conditions, can be found here for the Personal AMEX or here for the Business AMEX.

I’m sticking with Hilton and Radisson (Club Carlson) at the moment for my programs of choice, so I’m not personally taking advantage of this offer. I hear, however, that many find the Starwood Preferred Guest program, and this card, particularly rewarding. Starwood properties include:

• Sheraton
• Four Points by Sheraton
• Westin
• W Hotels
• Element Hotels
• St. Regis
• The Luxury Collection
• Aloft
• Le Meridien

I receive a referral credit if you use the links on this page and successfully apply for a card. I remain grateful to any who use my links as blogging is my full-time job. The decision to apply for credit is yours and includes the responsibility to read and understand all terms and conditions.

In other airline, hotel and travel industry news last week…

• United Airlines shifted its Washington Dulles to Buenos Aires flight over to Newark on Friday. They didn’t totally Continental it up, though, as they’re using a legacy United 3-cabin 767 on the route. The airline is also ending service to Accra and Copenhagen later this year, according to Airline Route. Washington Dulles to Accra ends July 3 and Newark to Copenhagen terminates on September 26.
• US Airways has completed conversion of 14 of its 16 Airbus A330 aircraft with the new Envoy Class and is expected to get the remaining two birds completed by the end of summer. The seats are actually pretty darn nice looking and setup in a reverse herringbone 1 x 2 x 1 configuration. The airline was also awarded the “2012 MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) of the Year” award last week by Aviation Week and Overhaul & Maintenance magazine.
• Virgin America officially launched service to Philadelphia last Wednesday from Los Angeles and will begin San Francisco-Philly service tomorrow. Sir Richard Branson greeted the first arrival at PHL and hosted a “tailgate on the tarmac” party with a bunch of invited guests. Later that night, the official launch party was held at Hotel Palomar downtown and based on some Twitter reports, it sounded like a fantastic time.
• Allegiant Air began charging passengers with new reservations from last Wednesday for large carry-ons, joining Spirit Airlines in charging for the privilege to use the overhead bins. One bag is still free, but it must fit underneath the seat. You can get a discount on the $35 fee if you book the space in advance online.
• Southwest Airlines shifted some the flying it took over from AirTran in Atlanta back to the carrier, including flights to Los Angeles, Chicago Midway, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas. A combination of IT issues and route optimization appear to be the reason. A Southwest spokesman said, “In some cases, until we get to a point a little bit further down the road, it makes sense to transfer some of that flying from Southwest to AirTran.”
• Starwood Hotels will open a dual-branded ski resort complex in China later this year. Both a 257-room Westin and 296-room Sheraton are opening in August next to the slopes of the Changbai Mountains.
• My “air traveling idiot of the week” award goes to a man who tried to smuggle a knife through security in a jar of mayonnaise. What? Yes, that’s correct. He was flying from New York’s Kennedy airport to Mexico City when the banned items were found and confiscated during routine screening. Amazingly, he was still allowed to catch his flight.

Finally, here are some other noteworthy items from last week:

• A TSA screener throws coffee on a pilot at JFK.
• A Delta Air Lines flight attendant was removed from a flight for irregular behavior.
• Alaska Airlines will begin testing a nextgen ATC system at SEA in June.
• Qantas’ stranded A380 in Singapore will return to service in May.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I collect all kinds of airline memorabilia that I’ve come across over the years. On the back of one of my old 1982 ticket jackets is a chart of Mileage Plus awards that I’ve posted below. Keep in mind United wasn’t flying internationally at this point, so no, you could not get a free First Class round-trip to Tokyo for just 50,000 miles. I forgot about it until reading through the awards, but United did used to send out car and hotel vouchers with each batch of 20,000 paper mileage certificates. Here the hotel awards seem even more generous, where at that 50,000 mile level you’d also get three free “anytime” nights at a Westin hotel. Nice!

What I don’t recall was the earning structure and any bonus mile opportunities, aside from the 1,000 mile head-start this ad claims to give. I didn’t join until 1988, but United did have the Premier levels rolled out when I had joined. Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the Premier Executive level required 75,000 miles back then, and I’m not sure the 1K level had even been introduced.

It’s kind of amazing how much the programs have evolved over a relatively short amount of time!