I recently signed up for the new Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Card by American Express.  Two days later I received my card and have been using it diligently ever since.  I chose to sign up for this card because of the sign up bonus – after spending $5,000 in three months you earn 100,000 Marriott Points.  Today, I received a surprise gift from AmEx – the Beagle 2.0.

Beagle 2.0 seems like an odd gift from American Express.

What is the Beagle 2.0

What is it exactly?  Well, it’s a bluetooth tracking device, like Tile, Protag or TrackR.  If you aren’t familiar with these devices, you attach them to your keys, your wallet, your dog or anything else that could get lost and you’d want to find in quick order.  You connect the device to your mobile phone and when you lose it, you can find it with your phone.  These ubiquitous devices are given away quite frequently; I get them at conferences all the time.

Now, it’s not necessarily strange to get these from a credit card company, but what I do think is strange is that it arrived with no warning.  Usually credit card companies like to tout the additional benefits they are giving their members.  There wasn’t even a welcome letter or real instruction on how to use the device.  The only thing in the box was a card with the app name – other than the disclosures.  The first of which, says that AmEx will not be tracking me with this new tracking device they’ve gifted me.  Well, isn’t that nice of them?

Who else received Beagle 2.0 from American Express?  Is it just me, or does this seem like a strange gift?  Do you find any value in these bluetooth trackers?