Starwood Lurker on FlyerTalk posted last month hotel rates where the third night is free are considered revenue nights and count as three elite qualification nights. These are rates like Z3H and Z3R and the SPG American Express Sheraton 3rd night free special card member rate.

This is one of those finer points and deep questions for SPG elite members clarified.

 

Starwood Hotels launched a new feature this week on its hotel websites with a tab for hotel reviews.

The upper right tab “Reviews” takes you to the message:

Write a Review

If you’ve stayed with us in the past 18 months and would like to write a review for this hotel, please sign in below or enter your reservation confirmation number and last name.

I checked more than a dozen hotels in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and London, but I was unable to locate any hotel reviews published since this new feature launched two days ago.

Here is your chance to be the first and make an impression – good, bad or mixed about a Starwood Hotel where you stayed and have something to say.

I gave the “Write a Review” page a try while writing this piece. I kind of like the idea of writing the first hotel review for a Starwood Hotel on the hotel property’s webpage.

You must log into your SPG account to start the review process.

Step 1 – Your Hotel Rating asks you to rate the hotel in several categories:

Step 2 Your Review

Guests are asked not to state room rate paid or give personally identifiable information. Guests are also reminded to keep the review focused on the hotel.

Steps 3 asks the month of your hotel stay and one aspect of the hotel guests should know.

Step 4 – Personal Information

I blacked out my nickname since the Starwood site remembered me from my first review when I made a screenshot of this step. My nickname is not LoyaltyTraveler or LT. The site asks if you traveled for business, leisure, your elite level, location, age and frequency of travel.

You can also check a box for an email notice when your review is posted on the Starwood hotel site.

Step 5 – Submit additional SPG feedback to customer service.

This page asks you to rate your likelihood of recommending SPG to another. Finding brand advocates is all the hotel industry rage in loyalty programs these days.

I submitted my review and received a “Thank You for your review” confirmation.

Followed by the notice that reviews for a specific hotel will not be posted on the site until there are at least five reviews submitted for the hotel.

So get writing SPG members.

I’ll follow up with a date when my review is finally posted. I am curious to see if it gets posted in 2011.

SPG Access Like No Other has a promotion to fly one SPG member to Barcelona with five friends, stay two nights at W Barcelona with breakfast December 2-4, 2011, meet/greet with Ellie Goulding and hear her play an acoustic show. Sounds like a cool prize for this British pop star sensation. Her Nike sponsored website gives you a two-minute Nike commercial of slow-mo Ellie who is big on running. Make it through the initial video and then a screen opens with a selection of Ellie Goulding song videos.

Enter the Access Ellie promotion between October 19 and November 14, 2011. One entry is free to SPG members registering for the promotion. Earn an additional entry for each eligible paid Starwood Hotel night during the sweepstakes.

Winner will be notified during the week following the promotion and only has 24 hours to confirm prize before an alternate winner is chosen.

 

SPG Moments

SPG Moments never attracted me since they came out with event auctions and I don’t think I ever blogged before about this SPG feature. Many of the SPG Moment offers are auction items and the price can quickly go higher than your current account balance, or at least my balance.

SPG Moments offer experiences like concert tickets, fine dining meal experiences, backstage passes and insider access, and sports clinics and events. Many of the items are auctions, and some are fixed price.

Last year there was an auction event for box seats at the Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo Show with dinner and one night at the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa Edinburgh for 65,000 points. This was certainly a special event opportunity, but those same 65,000 points could buy 7 or more nights at numerous Starwood hotels in Europe.

Another SPG Moments auction event in my locale was this summer’s Pebble Beach Food & Wine event auctioned last March for 65,000 and 86,000 points with VIP Access to the tasting tent.

Fixed price SPG Moments events caught my attention when reading Brian Kelly’s The Points Guy post about getting tickets for Britney Spears in Budapest for 5,000 points.

Sade or Tom Jones in Budapest or Lenny Kravitz in Warsaw or Roxette in London – all concerts with a fixed price of 5,000 points for two tickets.

Ellie Goulding is also 5,000 points to attend the Meet and Greet and acoustic performance at the W Barcelona December 3.

No free airfare for you and your friends or complimentary hotel stay though at the 5,000 points level. You just get to hang around a rock star in Barcelona in an intimate setting. Nice consolation.

 

This week’s Starwood Hotels Starpicks offer discounts when booking prepaid, nonrefundable rates at select hotels. W Seattle at $149 looks like a good rate to me considering this hotel was about $100 more two weeks ago when my family wanted to stay there.

These rates must be booked by Friday, October 21. Starpicks Terms & Conditions.

Starwood Hotels with Starpicks Rates for week of October 21, 2011

Note: Use this Starpicks link to see availability calendars for each hotel. The links below only go to the hotel’s webpage.

Argentina

Cordoba Sheraton Cordoba Hotel

Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata Sheraton Mar del Plata Hotel

Canada

Alberta

Calgary The Westin Calgary

British Columbia

Whistler The Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler

Ontario

Mississauga Four Points by Sheraton Toronto Mississauga

Quebec

Dorval Sheraton Montreal Airport Hotel

Montreal Le Méridien Versailles

Montreal W Montréal

France

Roissy Sheraton Paris Airport Hotel & Conference Centre

Germany

Frankfurt Le Méridien Parkhotel Frankfurt

Frankfurt Sheraton Frankfurt Congress Hotel

Frankfurt The Westin Grand Frankfurt

Hamburg Le Royal Méridien Hamburg

Japan

Hokkaido, Sapporo Sheraton Sapporo Hotel

Kyoto, Kyoto The Westin Miyako, Kyoto

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur

Langkawi The Andaman, Langkawi

Malta

St. Julians The Westin Dragonara Resort, Malta

Mexico

Baja California Sur, Los Cabos The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos

Panama, Republic of Panama

Panama City Sheraton Panama Hotel & Convention Center

Poland

Warsaw Le Méridien Bristol, Warsaw

Seychelles

Mahé Le Méridien Barbarons

South Africa

Cape Town The Westin Cape Town

Pretoria Sheraton Pretoria Hotel

South Korea

Seoul Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel

Taiwan

Taipei The Westin Taipei

Thailand

Koh Samui Le Méridien Koh Samui Resort & Spa

Vietnam

Nha Trang City Sheraton Nha Trang Hotel & Spa

United States

Alaska

Anchorage Sheraton Anchorage Hotel & Spa

Arizona

Chandler Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa

Tempe Sheraton Phoenix Airport Hotel Tempe

Tucson Four Points by Sheraton Tucson Airport

California

Costa Mesa The Westin South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa

Los Angeles Four Points by Sheraton Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills

Los Angeles The Westin Los Angeles Airport

Napa The Westin Verasa Napa

Colorado

Greenwood Village Sheraton Denver Tech Center Hotel

District of Columbia

Washington W Washington D.C.

Florida

Hollywood The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Florida

Tampa Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel

Hawaii

Honolulu Sheraton Princess Kaiulani

Indiana

Indianapolis Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre Hotel

Iowa

West Des Moines Sheraton West Des Moines Hotel

Kansas

Overland Park Sheraton Overland Park Hotel at the Convention Center

Mississippi

Biloxi Four Points by Sheraton Biloxi Beach Boulevard

Nebraska

Omaha Sheraton Omaha Hotel

New Jersey

Princeton The Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village

Weehawken Sheraton Lincoln Harbor Hotel

New York

Brooklyn Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel

New York The New York Helmsley Hotel

North Carolina

Charlotte Aloft Charlotte Ballantyne

Durham Four Points by Sheraton Durham at Southpoint

Durham Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center

Morrisville Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Durham Airport

Ohio

Columbus Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square

Columbus Sheraton Suites Columbus

Pennsylvania

Mars Four Points by Sheraton Pittsburgh North

Pittsburgh Four Points by Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport

South Dakota

Sioux Falls Sheraton Sioux Falls & Convention Center

Texas

Dallas Aloft Dallas Downtown

Frisco Sheraton Stonebriar Hotel

Houston Four Points by Sheraton Houston Hotel & Suites, Memorial City

Houston Sheraton North Houston at George Bush Intercontinental

San Antonio Four Points by Sheraton San Antonio Northwest

Virginia

Alexandria Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria

Washington

Seattle W Seattle

Wisconsin

Green Bay Aloft Green Bay

 

Starwood Starpicks offer rate discounts up to 40% for upcoming weekends with some hotels offering discount rates every day of the week over the next three to six weeks. The real value I see with Starpicks is for hotels with typically high weekday rates that are discounted to a set Starpicks rate regardless of the day of week. These rates can save quite a bit on a hotel for a Thursday or Sunday night when rates tend to be higher than Friday or Saturday.

These rates are available for booking until Friday, October 14, 2011.

Starwood Starpicks Hotels for week of October 11-October 14 bookings for stays in October and November.

Note: Use the link at the beginning of the post to see availability calendars. The hotels listed below are the participating hotels, but you need to go to the main page to view calendar of available Starpicks dates.

Aruba

Palm Beach The Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba

Bahamas

Nassau Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort

 

Canada

Ontario

Mississauga Four Points by Sheraton Mississauga Meadowvale

Toronto Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto International Airport

 

China

Shandong

Qingdao Four Points by Sheraton Qingdao, Chengyang

 

France

Paris Le Méridien Etoile

 

Japan

Osaka The St. Regis Osaka

 

Malaysia

Kota Kinabalu Le Méridien Kota Kinabalu

 

Mexico

Baja California Sur

Los Cabos Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Golf & Spa Resort, Los Cabos

 

Netherlands

Amsterdam Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center

The Hague Hotel Des Indes, The Hague

 

South Africa

Cape Town The Westin Cape Town

 

United Kingdom

England

West Drayton Sheraton Heathrow Hotel

 

United States

Arizona

Phoenix Aloft Phoenix-Airport

Phoenix Sheraton Crescent Hotel

Scottsdale W Scottsdale

Tempe Aloft Tempe

California

Bakersfield Four Points by Sheraton Bakersfield

Fresno Four Points by Sheraton Fresno

Pleasanton Four Points by Sheraton Pleasanton

Rancho Cucamonga Four Points by Sheraton Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga

San Diego Four Points by Sheraton San Diego

Colorado

Steamboat Springs Sheraton Steamboat Resort

Steamboat Springs Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas

Florida

Lake Mary The Westin Lake Mary, Orlando North

Orlando Sheraton Safari Hotel & Suites Lake Buena Vista

Hawaii

Kauai, Princeville The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas

Illinois

Chicago Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers

Chicago The Tremont Chicago Hotel at Magnificent Mile

Indiana

Indianapolis The Westin Indianapolis

Kentucky

Lexington Four Points by Sheraton Lexington

Maryland

Linthicum Aloft Baltimore Washington International Airport

Nebraska

Omaha Sheraton Omaha Hotel

New Hampshire

Manchester Four Points by Sheraton Manchester Airport

New Jersey

Ewing Element Ewing Princeton

New York

New York W New York – Downtown

Oregon

Portland Four Points by Sheraton Portland East

Pennsylvania

Allentown Four Points by Sheraton Hotel & Suites Allentown Airport

Lakeville Cove Haven Resort

Marshalls Creek Pocono Palace Resort

Mount Pocono Paradise Stream Resort

Puerto Rico

Rio Grande The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico

San Juan Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel & Casino

Tennessee

Franklin Aloft Nashville-Cool Springs

Texas

Fort Worth Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa

Frisco The Westin Stonebriar

Houston Element Houston Vintage Park

Irving Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport North

San Antonio Four Points by Sheraton San Antonio Downtown by the Riverwalk

Virginia

Alexandria The Westin Alexandria

Arlington Sheraton Crystal City Hotel

Ashburn Aloft Dulles Airport North

Falls Church The Westin Tysons Corner

Washington

Seattle Four Points by Sheraton Downtown Seattle Center

Starwood Starpicks Terms & Conditions:

Reservations must be booked online by this Friday at a Starwood website to receive promotional rates.

• Rates are valid at participating properties only for the book and stay period specified on the offer, and are subject to availability at the time of reservation. A limited number of rooms may be available at these rates and additional restrictions and blackout dates apply.
• Guests must arrive on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday at hotels over the following three (3) weekends following the Tuesday launch of the sale. Stays including a Sunday night require a two-night stay including a Saturday night.
• Resorts do not have arrival day or minimum stay requirements. Guests must arrive over the following six (6) weeks following the Tuesday launch of the sale.
• Length of stay restrictions apply to all properties. For hotels, the maximum stay is four nights (Thursday-Sunday) and for resorts the maximum stay is fourteen nights (Thursday – two Wednesday nights later). Not all hotels will have Thursday and/or Sunday nights available and not all resorts will have Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights available.
• Advance purchase required. Credit card will be charged at time of booking. Cancellations are non-refundable; if cancellation takes place, guests forfeit total room charge plus tax.
• Rates are per room, per night, based on single/double occupancy and availability at time of reservation and do not include additional per room, per night charges that may be imposed or state/local taxes.
• Offer not applicable to groups.
• Not to be combined with other special offers or promotions.
• Not responsible for omissions or typographical errors.
• Void where prohibited by law.
• Starwood reserves the right to discontinue this offer at any time.

Starwood Hotels St. Regis Florence, Italy is a hotel built in the 15th century Giuntini family palace in the center of the city near the Uffizi Gallery and within 500 meters of the Duomo. This SPG category 6 hotel has River Arno views and commendable reviews on FlyerTalk since the hotel rebranded from Luxury Collection Grand Hotel Florence earlier this year. The hotel history is available on the St. Regis website.

SPG.com Starwood Hotels Compare Rates Tool

The main point of this article is to examine features of the SPG.com Compare Rates tool that allows three additional Starwood corporate, group and promotional rates to be compared to Standard Rates in a display.

My initial rate checks for the St. Regis Florence pulled up several dates with low rates at 550EUR or USD$752 per night in October and November 2011. This certainly seemed the appropriate time to search the SPG.com Compare Rates and Browse Dates/Rates tools. I also checked St. Regis Florence hotel special offers.

SPG Compare Rates allow me to check different rate types while Browse Dates/Rates allow rates on different dates to be compared far more quickly than simply plugging dates into the homepage calendar search.

Finding the SPG Compare Rates and Rate Calendar tools

1. Go to SPG.com or StarwoodHotels.com.
2. Enter City Location and preferred dates.
3. Hotel search results page looks like these two examples.

St. Regis Florence – No available rooms October 20-24, 2011 (click on image to open full size)

Both screenshots show the option to compare more rates or browse dates/rates. My account is set to show AAA rates shown as SET/Corporate Account # 298940.

Compare more rates allows three rates to be compared and even a specific promotional or corporate rate code to be used.

When my interest is paid rates rather than using points, then I can compare AAA, Senior and Breakfast rates together.

Different dates I tried resulted in rate differences of a couple hundred euros per night.

Promotion Code Z3H is a third night free offer I entered into the Compare Rates option and the St. Regis Florence returned availability.

The 3 nights for the price of 2 rate is prepaid and nonrefundable. The rate discount looked to be the best deal going.

Two special offers at the St. Regis Florence showed a 20% discount for a 3-night stay and 30% discount on a 4-night stay. These rates have the same prepaid, nonrefundable terms as Z3H and provide a smaller discount for a three night stay compared to Z3H for November 3-6, 2011.

St. Regis Florence Rate Comparison November 3-6, 2011

Deluxe King (no river view)

• Z3H = 290 EUR/night
• 20% = 335 EUR/night

Deluxe King – Panoramic river view

• Z3H = 340 EUR/night
• 20% = 393 EUR/night

Premium Deluxe Panoramic River View

• Z3H = 390 EUR/night
• 20% = 445 EUR/night

 

St. Regis Florence Rate Comparison on 4-night stays

St. Regis Florence has a hotel special offer 30% discount on four night stays. This rate should be lower than Z4H fourth night free which works out to 25% discount. I went back to the SPG.com Compare Rates function to input Z4H.

Search results show no Z4H availability, but the lowest rate is the 30% discount on a four night stay.

The lowest rate so far is 262 EUR per night on a four night stay November 20-24, 2011.

Rate Calendar for Quick Checks of other dates

The 30% discount special rate on 4-night stays is the best deal seen. The Starwood Rate Calendar allows a quick check of other four-night dates to see if there are even lower rate dates for November 2011.

The 262EUR rate is for November 20-24, 2011. I can enter alternate dates and see a quick rate display.

Shifting the arrival date one day earlier pushes the rate up 100EUR per night for the entire stay from 262EUR/night to 363 EUR/night. About $600 more to arrive one day earlier on a four night stay. The calendar rate function shows this rate instantaneously once dates are inserted into calendar.

Shifting the Arrival date one day later has no impact on the 262EUR rate. I can quickly check every date of the month using four night stays and find 250EUR/night is available beginning November 24.

 

Starwood Rate Comparison and Rate Calendar make searching for the best rate a simpler task. The features could be improved by showing lowest daily rates on calendar without having to enter specific dates.

Finding the lowest rates for your hotel stay can be challenging. Starwood’s tools make the task a little bit easier. There is still room for improvement.

 

 

 

Starwood Starpicks for this week are available for booking by Friday, September 16, 2011. These are prepaid and nonrefundable rates, so be sure your plans are firm.

This week’s offer includes the Tremont Chicago Hotel at Magnificent Mile. Last October I was touring Chicago hotels and I looked into this property. It is a Starwood Hotel with no SPG participation.

Basic Starpicks Terms

• Must book by Friday of the week Starpicks are posted. Hotels have been changing every week lately.
• Starpicks reservations are prepaid and nonrefundable. No changes allowed.
• Non-Resort Hotels require arrival on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Maximum stay is four nights. Must stay Saturday night for a Sunday night Starpicks rate.
• Resort hotels allow arrival any day of week with maximum stay of 14 nights. No minimum stay requirement.

Not all dates are available for Starpicks. Hotels offer select dates over the next three weeks and Resorts over select dates over the next six weeks.

Starpicks for week of September 16, 2011

Argentina

Buenos Aires Sheraton Libertador Hotel

Mar del Plata Sheraton Mar del Plata Hotel

Canada

Alberta

Calgary Sheraton Suites Calgary Eau Claire

Calgary The Westin Calgary

Quebec

Montreal Le Méridien Versailles

Montreal W Montréal

China

Guangdong, Guangzhou The Westin Pazhou

France

Paris Le Méridien Etoile

Germany

Frankfurt The Westin Grand Frankfurt

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur

Langkawi The Andaman, Langkawi

Mexico

Los Cabos Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Golf & Spa Resort, Los Cabos

Los Cabos The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos

Cancun The Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort Villas, Cancun

Netherlands

The Hague Hotel Des Indes, The Hague

Saudi Arabia

Jeddah Le Méridien Jeddah

Seychelles

Mahé Le Méridien Barbarons

Mahé Le Méridien Fisherman’s Cove

South Africa

Cape Town The Westin Cape Town

Thailand

Bangkok Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers

 

United States

Arizona

Phoenix Aloft Phoenix-Airport

Phoenix Sheraton Crescent Hotel

Tempe Aloft Tempe

Tucson Four Points by Sheraton Tucson Airport

California

Fresno Four Points by Sheraton Fresno

Palm Desert The Westin Desert Willow Villas, Palm Desert

Pleasanton Four Points by Sheraton Pleasanton

Rancho Mirage The Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas, Palm Springs

San Diego Sheraton Mission Valley San Diego Hotel

Colorado

Avon Lakeside Terrace Villas, Avon / Vail Valley

Avon Sheraton Mountain Vista Villas, Avon / Vail Valley

Steamboat Springs Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas

Florida

Fort Walton Beach Four Points by Sheraton Destin-Fort Walton Beach

Hollywood The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Florida

Jacksonville Aloft Jacksonville Airport

Miami Beach Four Points by Sheraton Miami Beach

Georgia

Atlanta Atlanta Perimeter Hotel & Suites

Atlanta Sheraton Gateway Hotel Atlanta Airport

Atlanta W Atlanta – Buckhead

Illinois

Chicago The Tremont Chicago Hotel at Magnificent Mile

Indiana

Indianapolis The Westin Indianapolis

Minnesota

Minneapolis Le Méridien Chambers Minneapolis

Mississippi

Biloxi Four Points by Sheraton Biloxi Beach Boulevard

New Jersey

Princeton The Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village

New York

New York The Manhattan at Times Square Hotel

New York W New York – Downtown

North Carolina

Cary Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh-Cary

Chapel Hill Sheraton Chapel Hill Hotel

Charlotte Aloft Charlotte Ballantyne

Charlotte The Westin Charlotte

Morrisville Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Durham Airport

Ohio

Columbus Sheraton Suites Columbus

Oregon

Portland Four Points by Sheraton Portland East

Pennsylvania

Langhorne Sheraton Bucks County Hotel

Puerto Rico

Rio Grande The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico

San Juan Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino

South Carolina

Columbia Sheraton Columbia Downtown Hotel

Tennessee

Knoxville Four Points by Sheraton Knoxville Cumberland House Hotel

Memphis Four Points by Sheraton Memphis East

Texas

Arlington Sheraton Arlington Hotel

Frisco Sheraton Stonebriar Hotel

Galveston Four Points by Sheraton Galveston

Houston Four Points by Sheraton Houston Hobby Airport

Houston Four Points by Sheraton Houston Southwest

San Antonio Four Points by Sheraton San Antonio Downtown by the Riverwalk

Virginia

Alexandria Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria

Alexandria The Westin Alexandria

Falls Church The Westin Tysons Corner

Washington

Bellevue Sheraton Bellevue Hotel

Seattle W Seattle

Wisconsin

Green Bay Aloft Green Bay

I stayed at the Sheraton Libertador in 2007 in the Presidential Suite. The corner grocery store a block away had Stella Artois 1.0 liter bottles of beer for the equivalent of US$1.

I enjoyed my hotel stay. That property is one of this week’s Starpicks hotels.

SPG Broadway Sweepstakes is a chance to win 100,000 Starpoints by simply registering your SPG number with Audience Rewards, the official rewards program of Broadway by Sunday August 28. You can earn additional entries and a small number of points by answering trivia questions (20 points or so per answer).

I had planned to write up this offer yesterday just as a last minute opportunity to win some points for a simple sweepstakes registration entry. The promotion has been ongoing for about six weeks now.

Then, I took a look at BoardingArea to see Mommy Points had already written a far more comprehensive piece than I had planned and posted yesterday morning on this same SPG Broadway Sweepstakes promotion. I recommend you read her post for more trivia on this offer.

 

 

Starwood Hotels now offers Starpicks as a weekly buying opportunity for discount rates of 20% to 40%. The new format for Starpicks is the release of a new list of hotels every Tuesday and the opportunity to book hotels through Friday for the following six weekends or other days of the week at resorts and select hotels.

Bookings for this week’s Starpicks must be made by Friday, August 12.

This week I see better rates at some hotels than I noticed last week. The hotel selections are different this week. This is primarily a USA (95 hotels) and Canada list with more Starwood Hotels offering Starpicks rates in Canada (19 hotels) than the rest of the international world regions combined (11 hotels).

The good news is this week’s offers are more than 12% of the total Starwood Hotels globally. I see very few hotels on this week’s list from last week’s Starpicks. If the participating hotels change every week, then over the course of six weeks (the booking window for each week), most Starwood Hotels worldwide or at least in the U.S. and Canada have a good chance of appearing on the Starpicks list.

Starpicks Terms and Conditions

• Rates are prepaid and nonrefundable at time of booking.
• Starpoints are earned on these rates.
• Must arrive Thursday, Friday or Saturday at most hotels.
• Sunday night stay requires two-night booking including Saturday night.
• Starwood Resorts do not have arrival day restriction or minimum stay requirement.
• Maximum stay is four nights for hotels and 14 nights for Starwood Resorts.

SPG Airline Direct Deposit is a program for automatically transferring Starpoints earned from hotel stays directly into miles with a frequent flyer program. The member enrolled in Airline Direct Deposit earns Starpoints at the regular rate for earning points and then points posted from hotel stays are converted into miles. When points post from a hotel stay they will be automatically converted to miles and this may take two weeks or so for some programs. Even SPG Platinum elite amenity points, typically 500 points for most Starwood brands, will convert automatically to miles. One time promotion bonuses may not transfer automatically to airline miles with SPG Airline Direct Deposit.

United Mileage Plus and Continental OnePass members improve miles earning with SPG by choosing Airline Direct Deposit with a 1 Starpoint = 1 Mileage Plus mile exchange rate compared to transferring Starpoints to miles with these two programs where the exchange rate is 2 Starpoints = 1 mile.

Transferring 20,000 Starpoints with a 25% bonus only earns 12,500 miles with Continental or United.

Airline Direct Deposit of 20,000 Starpoints = 20,000 Mileage Plus miles.

Note Continental OnePass will cease December 31, 2011 and merge with United Mileage Plus for 2012.

 

The Air China Syndrome

Air China Phoenix Miles is another frequent flyer program where there appears to be an advantage to choosing Airline Direct Deposit. Phoenix Miles is a program based on kilometers rather than miles. SPG Terms & Conditions for Airline Direct Deposit specifically state Air China Phoenix Miles members earn 1.6 kilometers for each Starpoint converted.

SPG Points-to-Miles exchange rate is shown for Air China Companion as 1:1 and I think this means the rate is only 1 Starpoint = 1 kilometer (Companion is old name of Phoenix Miles program). I do not see anything in the SPG rules indicating there is a separate miles to kilometers conversion when exchanging Starpoints to Phoenix Miles.

Airline Direct Deposit with Air China Phoenix Miles makes 20,000 starpoints worth 32,000 kilometers whereas points-to-miles transfer of 20,000 Starpoints at 1:1 with 25% bonus = 25,000 kilometers. This makes Air China Phoenix kilometers a far better deal through SPG Airline Direct Deposit.

Airline Direct Deposit 20,000 Starpoints = 32,000 km in Air China Phoenix Miles.

SPG points-to-miles exchange 20,000 Starpoints = 25,000 km in Air China Phoenix Miles.

 

The LAN Advantage in SPG points-to-miles exchange

LAN Airlines is the only other kilometer-based frequent flyer program for comparison to Air China. The SPG Airline Direct Deposit terms specifically state 1 Starpoint = 1.6 miles, and I assume this is based on the kilometer conversion.

LAN Airlines is the only SPG points-to-miles airline partner with a 1 Starpoint= 2 miles transfer ratio.

Airline Direct Deposit 20,000 Starpoints = 32,000 km in LanPass

SPG points-to-miles transfers 20,000 Starpoints = 50,000 km in LanPass.

 

Airline Direct Deposit is a confusing program and with some of the material on the SPG webpages out of date including labeling Air China’s frequent flier program Companion and showing Southwest Airline members earns 0.5 Rapid Reward credit per stay when that frequent flier program now uses points rather than credits does not help members clearly understand their options when choosing miles for Starpoints.

Airline Direct Deposit and Incidental Spend on award stays and other incidental spend.

Here is another interesting aspect of SPG Airline Direct Deposit where earning miles may be more valuable than points. Award stays like free night rewards and Cash & Points do not earn elite credit for stays and nights. Incidental spend is eligible for earning Starpoints for charges to the hotel folio like meals, drinks, spa and other items that earn Starpoints.

The Southwest Airlines factor:

Change your earning to Southwest Airlines SPG Airline Direct Deposit for ineligible Starwood stays and dining-only visits to Starwood Hotels. Incidental spend stays and any points earned are converted directly to Southwest Airline points and the flat rate for SPG is 600 points per stay. For example a $30 meal on a Cash & Points award will earn only 60 or 90 starpoints. This is less than $3 value.

600 Rapid Rewards points is about a $10 value.

 

¹ Air New Zealand members earn a flat 40 Airpoints for stays within Australia and New Zealand, and a flat 20 Airpoints outside Australia and New Zealand.

² El Al Israel members earn a flat 12 points per stay.

³ Southwest Rapid Rewards members earn a flat 600 Rapid Rewards Points per eligible stay at any hotel that participates in the Starwood Preferred Guest® program.

 

CONVERSION EXAMPLES

1:1 example

A Preferred (base) member who has an eligible spend of $420 at a participating Starwood hotel will earn 840 Starpoints, which are then automatically converted (at a 1:1 ratio) to 840 airline miles. A Gold or Platinum member will earn 1,260 Starpoints, which then convert to 1,260 airline miles.

2:1 example

A Preferred (base) member who has an eligible spend of $420 at a participating Starwood hotel will earn 840 Starpoints, which are then automatically converted (at a 2:1 ratio) to 420 airline miles. A Gold or Platinum member will earn 1,260 Starpoints, which then convert to 630 airline miles.

10:1 example

A Preferred (base) member who has an eligible spend of $420 at a participating Starwood hotel will earn 840 Starpoints, which are then automatically converted (at a 10:1 ratio) to 84 airline miles. A Gold or Platinum member will earn 1,260 Starpoints, which then convert to 126 airline miles.

Conclusion

Do these programs actually work this way for earning miles with SPG Airline Direct Deposit?

I am pretty sure the Mileage Plus miles are earned in the way I have shown in this post. The other topics are how I think the Airline Direct Deposit program works.  I found little anecdotal evidence for members using SPG Airline Direct Deposit. Please comment if you have direct knowledge confirming or contradicting the information in this post.