you gotta think the whole picture.
@ first mark, $6000 spendings, earns u 31,000 points. If i did the math correctly, that is around 5.1 cents per point. so its around 5% return.
@ second mark, $10000 spendings, earns u 45,000 points. 7.5 cents per point. effectively a 7.5% return.
i know the math was done on reddit, but i cant find it... i think thats how its calculated.
Another way to think about it is with the Marriott and SPG merger. 1 SPG = 3 Marriott points. UR from Marriott is 1:1, so there fore its like a 3x card to me. Thats how i see it and i try to swipe my SPG card as much as possible. if no amex card allowed, CFU instead.