Loyalty Traveler » Aloft Hotels

SPG Nice Choice–My advice is don’t choose yet

Ric Garrido — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:12:58 +0000

The teasers are over and the Starwood Preferred Guest “Nice Choice” promotion for summer travel has been announced for three months of earning bonuses. SPG members need to choose their earning period from three choices and you have until June 30, 2012 to register. My suggestion is do not register yet if you are unsure of which offer best matches your travel plans.

May 1 – July 31
June 1 – August 31
July 1 – September 30

The rules indicate that your stay activity applies retroactively once you register and pick a promotion period. By June 30 you should know how you match up for May 1 – July 31 and June 1 – August 31 periods based on the hotel stays you completed and the hotel stays you plan.

My strategy is to pick the best earning choices for my travel and keep that in mind as I make Starwood stays. By June 30 I will have a good idea of which bonuses are within reach and then compare the bonus value with my Starwood stay pattern.

I just have to remember to register for SPG Nice Choice by June 30.

The SPG Earning Choices

There are 11 different earning choices for SPG Nice Choice. You cannot change your earning option once you select a choice which is why I favor waiting until late June to register for SPG Nice Choice, if like me, you do not have your summer travel plans set at this time.

This post covers the six bonus points and free night offers. I analyze the elite credit and gift certificate offers in this follow-up post SPG Nice Choice Elite Credit, Hotel Credit and Merchandise.

1. Double Starpoints beginning with second stay. Minimum of 2 stays to earn any bonus with this choice.

SPG Terms: Members may choose to register to earn double Starpoints beginning with their second eligible paid stay. First eligible paid stay during the earning period does not earn a bonus. Eligible paid stays must be at SPG participating properties during the three-month promotion earning period as selected by the member (see “all offer terms” for a list of earning period options). Non-participating properties can be found at spg.com/t&c, section 1.2. Members who earn double Starpoints will earn an additional two Starpoints per eligible US$1 spent (for a total of four Starpoints per dollar). Elite level extra Starpoints earnings are not doubled. Only the base 2 Starpoints per dollar earnings are doubled. There is no limit to the number of bonus Starpoints that can be earned during the promotion earning period. Bonus Starpoints will be credited to the member’s account within 2–4 weeks of the stay posting to the member’s Starwood Preferred Guest account. See “All Offers” below for additional terms and conditions.

My Take: Double Starpoints favors high spenders. The good value here is there is no earning limit and the bonus is earned starting with the second hotel stay in your three month promotion period.

Personally I evaluate this as if I stay 10 nights and spend $1,000 at Starwood Hotels, then my bonus is only 2,000 points for $1,000 in hotel spend. Poor choice for my travel pattern.

2. Earn 3,000 Bonus Starpoints each 6 paid nights. Minimum 6 nights to earn any bonus with this choice. Maximum earning 9,000 bonus points after 18 nights.

SPG Terms: Members may choose to register to earn 3,000 bonus Starpoints after every six (6) eligible paid nights, up to a maximum of 9,000 bonus Starpoints after 18 paid nights. Eligible paid nights must be at SPG participating properties during the three-month promotion earning period as selected by the member (see “all offer terms” for a list of earning period options). Nights do not have to be consecutive and can be accumulated across multiple stays. Non-participating properties can be found at spg.com/t&c, section 1.2. Bonus Starpoints will be credited to the member’s account within 2–4 weeks of the stay posting to the member’s Starwood Preferred Guest account that has 6th, 12th, and 18th eligible night. See “All Offers” below for additional terms and conditions.

My Take:This choice favors longer hotel stays or low-cost one-night stays. This offer will allow me to earn 500 bonus points per night if I complete 6 or 12 nights during the promotion period. That is not much of a bonus for lots of one-night stays. This is a better deal if staying 5 or 6 nights somewhere and spend is too low to make double points a better deal.

$150 per night x 6 nights = $900 and earns 3,000 bonus points. This is still relatively low value in my analysis.

3. Triple Starpoints after 15 nights. Minimum 15 nights during promotion period to earn any bonus with this choice. Maximum bonus is unlimited.

SPG Terms: Members may choose to register to earn triple Starpoints on all eligible stays once they have stayed 15 eligible paid nights. Bonus is retroactive to all eligible paid stays during the earning period once the member completes 15 eligible paid nights. Nights do not have to be consecutive and can be accumulated across multiple stays. Eligible paid stays and nights must be at SPG participating properties during the three-month promotion earning period as selected by the member (see “all offer terms” for a list of earning period options). Non-participating properties can be found at spg.com/t&c, section 1.2. Members who earn triple Starpoints will earn an additional four Starpoints per eligible US$1 spent (for a total of six (6) Starpoints per dollar). Elite level extra Starpoints earnings are not tripled. Only the base 2 Starpoints per dollar earnings are tripled. There is no limit to the number of bonus Starpoints that can be earned during the promotion period. Bonus Starpoints will start being credited to the member’s account within 2–4 weeks of the stay posting to the member’s Starwood Preferred Guest account that comprises the 15th eligible paid night. See “All Offers” below for additional terms and conditions.

My Take on Triple Points:This bonus is the most lucrative for high spenders. The bonus applies retroactively to all stays during promotion period. Assume $5,000 in hotel spend and this offer earns an extra 4 points/$1 for 20,000 bonus points.

Assume a low spend of $100 per night average and $1,500 in spend earns 6,000 bonus points. Low spenders would do better with 3,000 bonus points for every 6 nights and it will only take 12 nights to earn 6,000 bonus points.

4. 500 bonus Starpoints per night at Sheraton hotels and resorts

SPG Terms: Members may choose to register to earn 500 bonus Starpoints per eligible paid night at Sheraton Hotels and Resorts worldwide. Eligible paid nights must be at Sheraton hotels that participate in the SPG program during the three-month promotion earning period as selected by the member (see “all offer terms” for a list of earning period options) and the stays must be booked online at either spg.com, Sheraton.com, or Starwoodhotels.comwebsites. Stays booked through other channels, including the Starwood customer contact center, are not eligible for the bonus Starpoints. Bonus Starpoints will be credited to the member’s account within 2–4 weeks of the Sheraton stay posting to the member’s Starwood Preferred Guest account. See “All Offers” below for additional terms and conditions.

My Take on Sheraton 500 points – this is brand limiting. This will be a good deal if you plan to spend a lot of nights in Sheraton. This is an option I would definitely wait on and see how travel plans work out. The value of this option is for someone with only one or two stays and no plans to stay at least 6 nights for the #2 choice for 3,000 bonus points for 6 nights. This is the choice if you only have one or two Starwood stays planned and they will be at a Sheraton.

5. Free Weekend Night after 10 paid nights. Maximum 2 free nights after 20 paid nights.

SPG Terms: Members may choose to register to earn one (1) Free Weekend Night in a standard room at a Category 1–5 hotel or resort after ten (10) eligible paid nights, up to a maximum of two Free Weekend Nights after 20 eligible paid nights. Eligible paid stay(s) must be at SPG participating properties during the three-month promotion earning period as selected by the member (see “all offer terms” for a list of earning period options). Non-participating properties can be found at spg.com/t&c, section 1.2. Free Weekend Night(s) Awards must be redeemed and used by December 23, 2012, for any Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night, and can be redeemed by calling your local SPG Customer Contact Center and mentioning Free Weekend Night Award ID NCHFN. Free Weekend Night Award stay(s) and night(s) will count toward elite earning qualification. Free Weekend Night Award(s) are combinable and may be added to existing paid or Award stays; however, the Free Weekend Night Awards are nontransferable and may not be given as gifts. Unused Awards are forfeited. Free Weekend Night Awards will post to the member’s account within 2–3 weeks of the eligible paid stays comprising the 10th and 20th nights posting to the member’s account. See “All Offers” below for additional terms and conditions.

My Take on Free Weekend Night

I think this is the highest potential value choice for a low spender. The restriction to category 1-5 definitely is a promotion value drop from the last two years when category 6 hotels were in the mix. This is a return to pre-2009 when category 6 hotels were never in the mix for free night promotions.

This offer is likely a 12,000 points value after 10 nights or even 16,000 points for a SPG category 5 hotel in peak season.

Back to my example of $100 per night means this offer is pulling in the equivalent of 1,200 bonus points per night once you reach the 10 night threshold. If you are a low spender and can reach 10 nights with Starwood, then this is a good offer. I will probably take this choice, but I want to be sure I have ten nights planned first.

6. 25%-Off Starpoints Redemption Award with 20 paid nights. Maximum of two 25% off awards after 40 nights.

SPG Terms: Members may choose to register to earn one (1) 25%-off Starpoints redemption Award with 20 eligible paid nights during the three-month promotion earning period as selected by the member (see “all offer terms” for a list of earning period options), up to a maximum of two (2) awards after 40 eligible paid nights during the promotion earning period as selected by the member. Eligible paid nights must be at SPG participating properties. Non-participating properties can be found at spg.com/t&c, section 1.2. 25%-off Starpoints Redemption Award(s) must be redeemed and used by December 23, 2012. Offer is nontransferable. Starwood Preferred Guest members must call 1-888-625-4991 or their nearest Starwood Preferred Guest Customer Contact Center and mention Award ID NCH. Each 25%-off Redemption Award may be redeemed for one stay at a Category 1–5 hotel or resort for up to a five-night stay. This 25%-off Starpoints Redemption Award excludes Category 6 and 7 properties, 5th Night Free, and Upgrade Awards. 25%-off Starpoints Redemption Awards and “no blackout dates” apply to standard room categories only. 25%-off Starpoints Redemption Award stays will count toward elite qualification. Member forfeits percent-off redemption when modifying award reservation outside the offer dates. If a percent-off redemption award is cancelled, only the number of Starpoints used by the member to redeem the 25%-off Starpoints Redemption Award will be credited to the member’s account. Awards will post to the member’s account within one (1) week of the eligible paid stays comprising the 20th and 40th nights posting to the member’s account. Advance reservations required. See “All Offers” below for additional terms and conditions.

My Take on 25% off SPG Redemption Award

20 nights? Are you kidding me?

This would be a deal worth considering if there were not so many limitations like:

limited to a 5-night stay
5th night free not eligible for 25% discount.
category 6 and 7 hotels excluded.
must be redeemed by December 23, 2012.

Since the 25% off does not apply for a 5th night free award stay, then you are paying 45,000 points for a 5-night stay using the 25% off redemption at a category-5 hotel rather than 48,000 points. You save 3,000 points after 20 paid nights at Starwood. You get better value with a 3 or 4-night stay where you might save 9,000 to 16,000 points at a category 5 hotel.

This choice sucks.

You can get two free weekend nights for the same number of 20 nights with Choice #5. That is a 24,000 points value.

This is primarily the choice for the uber-Platinums who can count the discounted award stays toward elite.

I remember once (around 2003?) getting a Platinum recognition gift from SPG for 50% off SPG Redemption Award and that deal saved me 20,000 points on a 5-night stay.

I cover the SPG Nice Choice gift certificates and elite credit choices in this post:

SPG Nice Choice – Elite Credit, Hotel Credit and Merchandise.

SPG Hear the Music, See the World Sweepstakes April 3-30, 2012

Ric Garrido — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:29:38 +0000

Starwood Preferred Guest is promoting its SPG.com/moments experiences with a month of April Hear the Music, See the World Sweepstakes for 9 Grand Prize winners who will have a choice of a music experience at one of nine Starwood Hotels brands in various locations around the globe.

One entry is earned by registering for the sweepstakes. An additional entry is earned for every hotel night booked and stayed in a Starwood Hotel April 3-30. Drawing is around May 4, 2012.

FourSquare check-in at a Starwood Hotel earns one additional entry per day. You do not need to be a guest, just in the immediate proximity to a Starwood Hotel for a FourSquare check-in. I’ll leave the details to registering your SPG account to FourSquare up to the SPG member.

U.S. residents earn a $15 Live Nation concert cash code after first FourSquare check-in.

Hear the Music, See the World Sweepstakes link.

Sweepstakes details

ELIGIBILITY:On Tour with SPG®: Hear the Music, See the World Sweepstakes, (the “Sweepstakes”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (including the District of Columbia), Canada (excluding Quebec), Austria, Australia, China, Indonesia, Ireland, France, Germany, New Zealand, Portugal, United Kingdom, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates who are at a minimum 18 years of age or older and have reached the age of majority in their respective jurisdictions at the time of entry and who are members of the Starwood Preferred Guest® program. Employees of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Live Nation /Worldwide, Inc., Foursquare Labs, Inc. as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. The Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations.

PROMOTION PERIOD.The Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on April 3, 2012 and ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on April 30, 2012 (the “Promotion Period”). Entries submitted prior to or after the Promotion Period will be disqualified.

Grand Prize Destinations

PRIZESNine (9) Grand Prizes: Each winner will be awarded their choice of one (1) of the following nine (9) event trips:

Event 1. The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, Miami, Florida, May 2012.The prize includes access for two (2) to an SPG exclusive pre-show cocktail reception and an SPG exclusive acoustic performance at The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort; two (2) nights accommodations at the hotel in a standard room, double occupancy; round-trip coach-class airfare for two (2) to a major airport nearest the event location from the major airport closest to the winner’s residence. (ARV $2800.00 US)

Event 2. Le Méridien Etoile, Paris, France, June 2012.The prize includes two (2) concert tickets to a local concert selected by SPG, access for two (2) to an SPG exclusive artist after-party at the Le Méridien Etoile; two (2) nights accommodations at the hotel in a standard room, double occupancy; round-trip coach-class airfare for two (2) to a major airport nearest the event location from the major airport closest to the winner’s residence. (ARV $4,100.00 US)

Event 3. Aloft Dallas Downtown, Dallas, Texas, July 2012.The prize includes access for two (2) to an SPG exclusive artist after-party at the Aloft Dallas Downtown; two (2) concert tickets to a local concert with roundtrip transportation to and from concert venue and hotel, two (2) nights accommodations at the hotel in a standard room, double occupancy; round-trip coach-class airfare for two (2) to a major airport nearest the event location from the major airport closest to the winner’s residence. (ARV $2400.00 US)

Event 4. Four Points by Sheraton , China, August 2012.The prize includes access for two (2) to an SPG exclusive pre-party at a Four Points by Sheraton in Asia Pacific, and an artist performance at a local concert venue; roundtrip transportation to and from venue to hotels, two (2) nights accommodations at the hotel in a standard room, double occupancy; round-trip coach-class airfare for two (2) to a major airport nearest the event location from the major airport closest to the winner’s residence. (ARV $4,000.00 US)

Event 5. Element Houston Vintage Park, Houston,Texas , August 2012.The prize includes access for two (2) to an SPG exclusive pre-party at the Element Houston Vintage Park; round trip transportation to and from concert venue to hotel, two (2) tickets to artist concert (concert TBD), two (2) nights accommodations at the hotel in a standard room, double occupancy; round-trip coach-class airfare for two (2) to a major airport nearest the event location from the major airport closest to the winner’s residence. (ARV $2400.00 US)

Event 6. Westin hotel in NYC (exact hotel TBD), New York, New York, October 2012.The prize includes access for two (2) to an SPG exclusive pre-show cocktail reception and an SPG exclusive acoustic performance at the hotel; two (2) nights accommodations at the hotel in a standard room, double occupancy; round-trip coach-class airfare for two (2) to a major airport nearest the event location from the major airport closest to the winner’s residence. (ARV $2500.00 US)

Event 7. Grosvenor House, Dubai, UAE, November 2012.The prize includes access for two (2) to an SPG exclusive acoustic artist performance with pre-performance cocktail reception at the Grosvenor House; two (2) nights accommodations at the hotel in a standard room, double occupancy; round-trip coach-class airfare for two (2) to a major airport nearest the event location from the major airport closest to the winner’s residence. (ARV $4100.00 US)

Event 8. W Santiago, Chile, November 2012.The prize includes access for two (2) to an SPG exclusive pre-show cocktail reception and an SPG Exclusive DJ performance at the W Santiago; two (2) nights accommodations at the hotel in a standard room, double occupancy; round-trip coach-class airfare for two (2) to a major airport nearest the event location from the major airport closest to the winner’s residence. (ARV $3500.00 US)

Event 9. Sheraton Macau, China, December 2012.The prize includes access for two (2) to an SPG exclusive pre-show cocktail and an SPG exclusive acoustic artist performance at the Sheraton Macau two (2) nights accommodations at the hotel in a standard room, double occupancy; round-trip coach-class airfare for two (2) to a major airport nearest the event location from the major airport closest to the winner’s residence. (ARV $4100.00 US)

Only a few of the musical acts have been announced and you can see them when rolling mouse over the map on the SPG site.

There is plenty of fine print for these prizes. You can read it here.

I like this warning clause best:

By entering this Promotion and accepting the Grand Prize, the winner agrees to maintain his/her behavior in accordance with all applicable laws and generally accepted social practices in connection with participation in any promotion- or prize-related activity. The Grand Prize winner understands and agrees that Sponsor or prize providers have the right, in their sole discretion, to disqualify and remove the Grand Prize winner or his/her designated guest from any activity at any time if the Grand Prize winner’s or his/her guest’s behavior at any point is uncooperative, disruptive, or may or does cause damage to person, property, or the reputation of Sponsor or otherwise violates the policies of the prize providers, and in such a case, the Grand Prize winner will still be solely responsible for all taxes and other expenses related to the prize.

Good Luck …and Behave!

Starwood Restaurants & Bars: SPG member discounts and sweepstakes

Ric Garrido — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:49:51 +0000

Starwood Preferred Guest launched a new feature last week for member discounts of 10% to 20% at more than 500 participating Starwood Hotel restaurants and bars globally. Starwood Hotels has offered Starpoints for hotel dining spend the past several years, even when not a registered hotel guest.

Link: Starwood Restaurants and Bars

San Francisco – 2 hotels and 4 restaurants

Checking San Francisco shows only 2 of 7 Starwood Hotels in the city participate in this program at present. The Palace Hotel has 3 of the 4 participating restaurants and bars and each offers a 10% discount.

If you have never been to the Pied Piper Bar at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, I recommend this as one of the must see tourist attractions to view the Maxfield Parrish mural behind the bar.

Around the World in 5 Meals Sweepstakes – Win an Around the World Food Journey

To celebrate the launch of the new culinary benefits, SPG is launching an exclusive SPG member only, global sweepstakes, ‘Around the World in 5 Meals.’

SPG members are invited to create a tailor made ‘around the world’ food experience by selecting five destinations from all participating venues on a world map.

SPG members submit their journey to be entered into a sweepstakes and one lucky member will then win their around the world culinary experience. To reward those SPG members that dine in participating restaurants and bars on an ongoing basis, every meal in a participating venue represents an extra entry to the sweepstakes. Register at www.SPG.com/aroundtheworld.

Sweepstakes Entry period runs from March 27, 2012, at 00:00:00 a.m. Central European Time (“CET”) and ends June 29, 2012, at 23:59:59 p.m. CET.

The Prize: A ten (10) day round-trip for the winner and one (1) guest a total of two (2) persons) to visit and have one (1) meal at all five (5) Starwood Restaurants that formed their winning entry. The cost of each meal shall not exceed $300.

The prize includes round-trip coach-class airfare to the five (5) destinations; two (2) nights’ standard room accommodation, double occupancy (cost of the hotel room and room tax/service charge only) at the Starwood hotel at each destination; a breakfast (not exceeding $20) for each person every morning of the stay (room service is not included); there will be no money provided to cover spending money and/or expenses. The final route for the destinations shall be decided at SPG’s sole discretion. Retail value of the prize is $23,000. The winner’s guest must be aged 18 or over.

Analysis of SPG Hotel Category Changes March 1, 2012

Ric Garrido — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:55:26 +0000

Starwood Preferred Guest announced hotel category changes for reward nights effective March 1, 2012. The net effect is something like 138 hotels will drop in category level while 183 hotels rise in category level.

Update March 15, 2012: The tables here were based on the initial February 16 release of SPG category changes in a pdf. I copied those changes into a spreadsheet. Several of the hotels showing category changes in these tables were removed from the final change list. Starwood Lurker on FlyerTalk stated March 2 that the initial pdf was outdated.

Here are a few of the hotels originally listed that did not change category and some new hotels that did change category since the February 16 list was published.

Le Meridien Bora Bora remains category 7. This hotel was listed as dropping to Category 6.
Westin Key West Resort went up from a category 5 to category 6. This hotel was not on Starwood’s original list.
Le Meridien Istanbul Etiler went up from category 4 to category 5. This hotel was not on Starwood’s original list.
Le Meridien Chiang Mai remains at category 2 and did not drop to category 1. This hotel is still listed on the current SPG list as dropping to category 1.
Four Points Long Island – remains at category 3 and did not drop to category 2.
Sheraton Bradley Airport Hartford, CT remains category 3 and did not drop to category 2.
Sheraton Denver West – remains category 3 and did not drop to category 2.
Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort – remains category 4 and did not drop to category 3.
Westin St. Louis – remains category 4 and did not drop to category 3.
Le Centre Sheraton Montreal listed as dropping from category 4 to 3 in the current SPG changes pdf online is actually now SPG category 5 according to its hotel website.
Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers remains Category 5 and did not rise to Category 6. This is good news for New York guests and the one positive change from the original list.

[original Feb 21 post content continues below]

The numbers shown in this post may be off by a couple of hotels compared to the Starwood pdf. There are some hotels listed on the Starwood pdf of category changes that are no longer in the system (Syria) or exiting the Starwood family soon (Le Meridien Cancun). Four Points Seattle is shown as a change rising from category 2 to category 3, yet that hotel already is listed as category 3 on the SPG site.

The bad news is the hotels going up are concentrated in the upper tiers while hotels going down are primarily in lower tiers. This means that many resorts and high priced urban hotels will cost more points while many Sheraton and Four Points hotels already in the lower tiers will cost even less as of March 1.

SPG members can book hotels at the lower reward price until February 29, 2012. Pay attention to the cancellation policies.

Link to pdf of SPG Hotel Category Changes…

Members on FlyerTalk report being able to book reservations as far out as July 2013. You may need to try more than one agent to get someone willing to work with you on reservations far in advance.

Analysis of Category Changes

Category 1 Hotels = 3,000 points/night or 2,000 points Friday/Saturday. Cash & Points Award = $25 + 1,200 points per night.

27 hotels are in SPG Category 1 currently in February 2012.

17 hotels drop down from category 2 to category 1.
3 hotels rise to category 2.

There are currently 27 SPG category 1 hotels worldwide. For several years now I have stated each year that SPG category 1 is being emptied as the proportion of hotels dropped from around 20% of the global chain to less than 3% in the past decade.

The good news is the March 1, 2012 changes are repopulating SPG Category 1 as 17 hotels drop down from category 2 while only 3 hotels rise out of the lowest category 1 to category 2. There will be 41 hotels in SPG category 1 as of March 1, 2012.

Category 2 Hotels = 4,000 points/night or 3,000 points Friday/Saturday. Cash & Points Award = $30 + 1,600 points per night.

213 hotels are in SPG Category 2 currently in February 2012.

17 hotels drop down to category 1.
27 hotels rise to category 3.
1 hotel, Sheraton Baku Airport, Azerbaijan rises to category 4.

Category 3 Hotels = 7,000 points/night. Cash & Points Award = $45 + 2,800 points per night.

318 hotels are in SPG Category 3 currently in February 2012.

60 hotels drop down to category 2.
22 hotels rise to category 4.
2 hotels, Aloft Harlem, NYC and Sheraton Guangzhou, China rise to category 5.

The category 3 to category 2 shift is the most favorable consumer change. From here the changes are not so favorable as the higher SPG hotel categories see more hotels going up than down.

Category 4 Hotels = 10,000 points/night. Cash & Points Award = $60 + 4,000 points per night.

335 hotels are in SPG Category 4 currently in February 2012.

53 hotels drop down to category 3.
104 hotels rise to category 5.

Category 4 sees the largest shift in hotels of any category.

The real impact of shifting up to category 5 is the addition of peak season rates. The SPG changes mean about 10% of Starwood hotels globally will be added to category 5 and be subject to peak season rates. Not all Starwood high category hotels have peak season rates, however, many of the category 5 hotels currently have as many as 16 weeks of the calendar year at peak season rates. This can be an increase from 10,000 points per night to 16,000 points per night in the new category.

Category 5 Hotels = 12,000 points/night or 16,000 points/night during peak season dates specified by hotel.

Cash & Points Award = $90 + 4,800 points per night.

135 hotels are in SPG Category 5 currently in February 2012.

4 hotels drop down to category 4.
17 hotels rise to category 6.

Category 6 Hotels = 20,000 points/night or 25,000 points/night during peak season dates specified by hotel.

Cash & Points Award = $150 + 8,000 points per night.

54 hotels are in SPG Category 6 currently in February 2012.

1 hotel drops down to category 5, Grosvenor House, Dubai.
7 hotels rise to category 7.

Category 7 Hotels = 30,000 points/night or 35,000 points/night during peak season dates specified by hotel.

Note that many category 7 hotels do not have standard rooms and require double points or more for award nights. Some hotels require as many as 140,000 points per night.

Cash & Points Award = Not Available for Category 7 Hotels.

19 hotels are in SPG Category 7 currently in February 2012.

3 hotels drop down to category 6:

Le Meridien Bora Bora.
W Retreat Koh Samui, Thailand.
St. Regis Punta Mita Resort, Mexico.

7 hotels rise to category 7 from category 6.

Observations and thoughts on SPG category changes

Sheraton Sofia Bulgaria is a Category 2 Luxury Collection Hotel. 26,000 points for 7 nights. Sounds like a deal to me. I’d love to see Sofia. Magnificent cultural history to delve into with time to relax in the big city.

Le Meridien Budapest at category 3 is a good deal. Budapest is one of the cheapest cities in Europe for a vacation.

Portugal is a great deal with several new Category 3 hotels, down from category 4. Three hotels dropped including the Luxury Collection Convento do Espinheiro Resort & Spa in Evora.

Sheraton Algarve rises 4 to 5.

Westin Kierland Scottsdale was category 5 in 2008, dropped and rises again.

San Francisco hotels all rise to category 5 and this change fits with fact that San Francisco had some of the highest rate hikes of any city in the U.S. for 2011. The increased rates kept me out of the city most of the past year.

Boston and Cambridge see four hotels rise to Category 5

W Hotels rise from 4 to 5 in Atlanta, Chicago, New Orleans, Minneapolis and Seattle and Taipei and Santiago.

Minneapolis sees three hotels move up from 4 to 5.

New York City has five Manhattan hotels rise from 4 to 5.

Four Points Kuwait rises to Category 5.

Four Points Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia is going to be a category 5. This hotel was a category 2 in 2003 when I stayed there.

Many hotels and resorts in China rise from category 4 to category 5.

Bali Nusa Dua is up to category 5 from category 4 hotels. These two hotels were category 2 (Westin) and category 3 (Luxury Collection) when I stayed there in 2003.

Chile and Argentina and Brazil all see most hotels rise.

Westin Riverfront Mountain Villas Beaver Creek in Avon, Colorado rising to Category 6 is a real drag, especially for summer travel. This Starwood Vacation Ownership property will be a poor redemption value outside of peak ski season. This resort was peak season all summer 2011. The Westin Riverfront hotel resort will remain at category 5. This area typically has relatively low priced summer rates around $200 or less per night and favors spending cash rather than points.

St. Regis Aspen and Steamboat Villas, Colorado rise to cat 7. I didn’t think the St. Regis Aspen had that much to offer as a category 6 reward and now I see little value in this hotel at category 7.

Chatwal Hotel Manhattan, W South Beach Miami and St. Regis Puerto Rico rise to category 7. Costa Rica and St. Regis Florence rise to category 7. WOW!

My interest is seeing what peak season dates are added to the hotels when the new category ratings come out March 1.

SPG Birth Year Rates can be huge discount

Ric Garrido — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:36:22 +0000

SPG Birth Year rates are probably one of the lesser known rate discounts with the potential to cut your Starwood Hotel stay rate in half. The basic deal is you pay a generally higher than Best Flexible rate for the first night, then pay your birth year for the second night, and third night at some hotels. I was born in 1960 so my rate is $60 per night for the second and third nights. Even better is the flexible cancellation policy for these rates. Many hotels allow day before arrival or day of arrival cancellation with no penalty.

I have been writing about the birth year rate offer since 2009 and SPG has extended this offer for stays through 2012 at participating hotels.

Some changes I noticed in my recent review of these rates:

Fewer participating hotels than in past years. Most of the high-end hotels in the W, Luxury Collection and Westin brands are not participating in 2012. SPG Birth year rates look to be primarily Sheraton and Four Points hotels in 2012.
Far more hotels have a two night limit for the birth year rate. Since the first night is generally a much higher rate than say AAA rates, the two-night limit is not going to generate high savings at many hotels.
Numerous hotel property blackout dates. Sheraton San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf has all of March and April 2012 blacked out.
Besides the list of participating hotels with Birth Year Rates are a list of other hotels in the state. California has numerous hotels participating in the Birth Year rate. When you click on Hawaii you find all hotels listed under the heading “Additional hotels in Hawaii” with 10 hotels listed, yet none of these hotels offer Birth Year rate.

Starwood Hotels with Birth Year Rates show the rate in the blue ‘Book Now’ box.

If you click on Hawaii you only see hotels showing Best Available Rate information in the blue ‘Book Now’ box.

SPG Birth Year Rate Analysis

My dad is celebrating 80 years and a birth year of 1932 makes for some cheap hotel nights with the Birth Year Rate.

Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City, California is near the Los Angeles Zoo and Griffith Park.

Best Available Rate = $229 and Pay your Birth Year rate is $249 for a Club Level standard room. Both rates allow day before arrival cancellation.

The Birth Year rate is $340 total for three nights at $32 per night after the first night paying $249.

The AAA rate for the same room and dates is $195/night = $675 for three nights.

$675 AAA – $340 BirthYear rate = $335 savings on this 3-night stay.

SPG BirthYear rate (1932) = $340 after tax for 3 nights.
SPG BirthYear rate (1960) = $405 after tax for 3 nights.
SPG Birth Year rate (1985) = $463 after tax for 3 nights.
SPG AAA rate = $675 after tax for three nights.

My birth year rate at $60 per night raises the price of a 3-night stay by another $65, but that is still a $270 savings. A person who is 25 years old will still have around a $200 savings with the Birth Year rate when paying $249 plus $87 for two additional nights rather than $195 per night for three nights.

Third night free rate compared to Birth Year Rate

Sheraton Universal Hotel also offers a Buy 2 and get Third Night Free rate using the same $249 used for Birth Year rate.

SPG Birth Year rate (1960) = $405 after tax for 3 nights.
SPG 3rd night free = $575 after tax for 3 nights.
AAA = $675 after tax for 3 nights.

Starwood’s 3rd night free rate is prepaid and nonrefundable. This makes the Birth Year rate even a better deal than just a rate reduction for this hotel stay.

SPG Birth Year Rates

SPG Birth Year Rate T&C

Starwood Starpicks look good this week

Ric Garrido — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:16:09 +0000

Starwood Starpicks offer discount rates over the next six weeks at select properties. The discount is typically 20% to 33% off the Best Flexible Rate. AAA and senior discounts are generally 10% off Best Flexible Rate.

Some hotels only offer Starpicks rates for weekends and other hotels offer discount rates seven days a week. Main point to know is these hotel rates are prepaid and nonrefundable. You can’t change the reservation or cancel. You lose the entire stay deposit if you need to change or cancel the hotel reservation.

The Starpicks list looks unusually large this week. January is the slowest period of the year in many places. My search of hotels in California and British Columbia show some good deal low rates at several hotels.

The format has changed and I do not see a webpage with a full list of hotels like in past weeks.

Sample of Starwood Starpicks hotels:

Paris – Le Meridien Etoile 149 EUR

Paris – Westin Vendome 272 EUR

Vancouver – Westin Bayshore 129 CAD

Vancouver – Sheraton Vancouver Wall 135 CAD

Montreal – Le Meridien Versailles 109 CAD

Avon, Colorado – Westin Riverfront $299 (Park Hyatt Beaver Creek and Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch in same neighborhood and next to ski lifts on mountains. Westin is located at valley floor in town of Avon.)

Aspen, Colorado – St. Regis $499 (recently remodeled)

San Francisco – W San Francisco $179. Good rate for this hotel that frequently is $100 per night more.

San Francisco- St. Regis $335 (one of best beds I’ve ever slept in and great tub.)

Napa – Westin Verasa Napa $143 (some rooms have full kitchens)

Hollywood – W Hollywood $199

Here is the Starpicks link for Starwood hotels that must be booked by Friday, January 27 for these rates over the next six weeks.

Starpicks Terms & Conditions. Main one to know is hotels have a four-night limit on stays at Starpicks rate. Resorts have 14-night limit.

SPG 2x/3x points registration live for Jan 9-April 8 stays

Ric Garrido — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:19:36 +0000

Starwood Preferred Guest launches its “Better by the Night” 2012-Q1 promotion on January 9 with double points for two night stays and triple points for longer stays through April 8, 2012. There are no bonus points for one night stays. There is no limit to bonus points members may earn with this offer.

Registration is required by March 15, 2012.

: Registration confirmation page for SPG 2012 Q-1 promotion.

This promotion is valid for about 70% of Starwood Hotels worldwide with all Asia-Pacific hotels opting out of this offer. About 50 hotels in the USA are not participating, so check the hotel exclusion list carefully when planning your stays so you are not surprised when your $1,000 3-night stay does not earn an anticipated 4,000 extra bonus points with the triple points offer. Germany, Italy and Greece have many nonparticipating Starwood Hotels. Link to hotels excluded from this offer.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

As a rule of thumb I estimate I will earn 1,000 bonus points from SPG promotions per stay. I am not that impressed by this offer. One night stays earn no promotional bonus points with this offer.

Stay two nights and spend $300 and you earn an extra 600 bonus points with double points.

Spending $1,000 on an extended stay will earn 4,000 bonus points (3x points bonus) with this promotion. That is a decent bonus on a high-priced extended stay, but is not appealing to me as a promotional incentive when I can get two free nights with Marriott Rewards after four stays (under $500) or 10,000+ points on a cheap $180 two-night weekend stay with Hilton HHonors.

Spend-based bonuses like this SPG offer leave minimal opportunity to leverage cheap stays into free nights like the Hilton and Marriott offers for Q1-2012.

SPG has a good offer for free weekend nights at Asia Pacific resorts with Two Days of Happy running through March 15, 2012. This SPG promotion earns one free night after five nights and two free nights after 9 nights when paying with MasterCard. There are over 200 hotels for earning free nights and nearly 90 resorts for redeeming free weekend nights by April 10, 2012. Nights do not need to be consecutive nights at the hotels. Five one-night stays at participating Starwood hotels will earn one free weekend night.

Fine Print Nuances for this Offer

Starwood’s FAQ for this promotion has an interesting term regarding a stay that includes a reward night on points or Cash & Points night combined with paid nights.

If part of my stay has an Award Night or a night using Cash & Points, will my stay qualify?

No.
Free Night Awards and Cash & Points are not Starpoints-eligible rates. Even if part of the stay is Award and part is paid, the member will not receive bonus credits for any part of the stay.

You do not want to include a reward night within a paid consecutive nights stay at a Starwood Hotel during this promotion. For example, if you booka 5th night free reward from Sunday-Thursday followed by two paid nights on Friday and Saturday, then you will not receive double points for the Friday and Saturday night portion of the stay stay since these paid nights are part of the same 7-night stay as the 5th night free reward.

Other fine print:

Bonus points will be earned for a Starwood Hotel stay started before January 9 if guest checks out after January 9. Double or triple points will be earned for entire stay. The same principle applies for stays having arrival date before April 8 and check-out after April 8. Double or triple points will apply to entire stay.
Members who register by March 15, 2012 will receive retroactive credit for all eligible stays during the promotion period completed prior to registration.
Members may receive double or triple points for up to two rooms as long as SPG member is one of the guests.
Third night free and other extended stay rate discounts count all nights for this promotion according to Starwood Lurker on FlyerTalk since revenue is divided up between all nights.

Calculating Double and Triple Starpoints

SPG members earn 2 Starpoints per US$1 as the base rate for earning Starpoints.
Double Starpoints = 2 bonus points per US$1 total earning rate.
Triple Starpoints = 4 bonus points per $1 total earning rate.
SPG Gold and Platinum elite members earn 1 bonus Starpoint per $1. Elite member bonus is one additional point per $1 on top of the 2x/3x rate.
SPG American Express cardmembers earn an additional 2 bonus points per US$1 if Starwood Hotel stay is paid using SPG AmEx card.

Excluded Hotels for SPG Better by the Night promotion

(Once again there are no city/state identifiers for hotels. As if it isn’t bad enough to have a large list of excluded hotels for a hotel loyalty promotion, the hotel loyalty programs expect SPG members to know the hotels by name and deduce the geographic location on your own!)

UNITED STATES

Aloft Charlotte Ballantyne
Aloft Frisco
Aloft Las Colinas
Aloft Milwaukee Downtown
Aloft Phoenix-Airport
Aloft Plano
Cove Haven Resort
Four Points by Sheraton Destin Fort Walton Beach
Four Points by Sheraton Charlotte-Pineville
Four Points by Sheraton Jacksonville Beach
Four Points by Sheraton Louisville Airport
Four Points by Sheraton Newark
Four Points by Sheraton Punta Gorda Harborside
Four Points by Sheraton Tallahassee Downtown
Four Points by Sheraton Norwalk
Four Points by Sheraton San Jose
Lakeside Terrace Villas, Avon / Vail Valley
Le Parker Méridien Palm Springs
Paradise Stream Resort
Pocono Palace Resort
Sheraton Bellevue
Sheraton Grand Sacramento
Sheraton Mahwah Hotel
Sheraton Metairie – New Orleans Hotel
Sheraton Reston Hotel
Sheraton Salt Lake City Hotel
Sheraton Suites Key West
SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills
Sunset Key Guest Cottages
The St. Regis Deer Valley
The St. Regis Atlanta
THE US GRANT
The Westin Bellevue
The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites
The Westin Edina Galleria
The Westin Galleria Houston
The Westin Houston, Memorial City
The Westin Imagine Orlando
The Westin Key West Resort Marina
The Westin Los Angeles Airport
The Westin Reston Heights
The Westin Riverfront Mountain Villas
The Westin South Coast Plaza
The Westin Tampa Harbour Island
Vistana’s Beach Club
W San Diego
W Silicon Valley
Walt Disney World Dolphin
Walt Disney World Swan

ALGERIA

Le Méridien Oran Hotel & Conference Center
Sheraton Oran

ARGENTINA

Sheraton Mar del Plata

AUSTRALIA

Four Points by Sheraton Geelong
Four Points by Sheraton Sydney, Darling Harbour
Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort
Sheraton Mirage Resort and Spa Gold Coast
Sheraton Noosa Resort & Spa
Sheraton on the Park
The Westin Melbourne
The Westin Sydney

AUSTRIA

Schloss Fuschl, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Fuschlsee-Salzburg
Sheraton Fuschlsee Salzburg Hotel Jagdhof

BANGLADESH

The Westin Dhaka

BRAZIL

Sheraton Barra
Four Points Curitiba

CAMBODIA

Le Méridien Angkor

CANADA

Sheraton Cavalier Saskatoon
Four Points by Sheraton Edmonton Gateway
Four Points by Sheraton Edmonton West

CHAD

Le Méridien Chari

CHILE

Sheraton Miramar

CHINA

Aloft Beijing, Haidian
Aloft Haiyang
Aloft Nanhai, Foshan
Aloft Yancheng
Aloft Zhengzhou Shangjie
Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian Hotel and Serviced Apartments
Four Points by Sheraton Guangzhou, Dongpu
Four Points by Sheraton Hainan, Sanya – Opening March 31, 2012
Four Points by Sheraton Hangzhou, Binjiang
Four Points by Sheraton Lhasa
Four Points by Sheraton Lianyungang
Four Points by Sheraton Qingdao, Chengyang
Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Daning
Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Pudong
Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen
Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhou Peninsula Resort – Opening January 1, 2012
Four Points by Sheraton Suzhou
Four Points by Sheraton Tai’an
Four Points by Sheraton Taicang
Four Points by Sheraton Yangzhou, Hanjiang – Opening March 31, 2012
Le Méridien Chongqing, Nan’an
Le Méridien Cyberport
Le Méridien Qingdao
Le Méridien She Shan Shanghai
Le Méridien Shimei Bay Beach Resort & Spa
Le Méridien Xiamen
Le Royal Méridien Shanghai
Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel
Sheraton Changsha Hotel
Sheraton Changzhou Wujin Hotel
Sheraton Changzhou Xinbei Hotel
Sheraton Chengdu Lido Hotel
Sheraton Chongqing Hotel
Sheraton Dameisha Resort, Shenzhen
Sheraton Daqing Hotel
Sheraton Dongguan Hotel
Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel
Sheraton Guangzhou Huadu Resort
Sheraton Guilin Hotel
Sheraton Guiyang Hotel
Sheraton Haikou Resort
Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort
Sheraton Hohhot Hotel
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
Sheraton Huizhou Beach Resort
Sheraton Jiangyin Hotel
Sheraton Jinan Hotel
Sheraton Jinzhou Hotel
Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort
Sheraton Nanchang Hotel
Sheraton Nanjing Kingsley Hotel & Towers
Sheraton Nanning Hotel
Sheraton Ningbo Hotel
Sheraton Qiandao Lake Resort
Sheraton Qingyuan Lion Lake Resort – Opening January 1, 2012
Sheraton Sanya Haitang Bay Resort – Opening February 18, 2012
Sheraton Sanya Resort
Sheraton Shanghai Hongkou Hotel
Sheraton Shanghai Hongqiao Hotel
Sheraton Shanghai Pudong Hotel & Residences
Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel
Sheraton Shenzhen Futian Hotel
Sheraton Shenzhou Peninsula Resort
Sheraton Shunde Hotel
Sheraton Tianjin Binhai Hotel
Sheraton Tianjin Hotel
Sheraton Urumqi Hotel
Sheraton Wenzhou Hotel
Sheraton Wuxi Binhu Hotel
Sheraton Xiamen Hotel
Sheraton Xian Hotel
Sheraton Xian North City Hotel
Sheraton Yantai Golden Beach Resort – Opening February 20, 2012
Sheraton Zhenjiang Hotel
Sheraton Zhongshan Hotel
Sheraton Zhoushan Hotel
The Astor Hotel, Tianjin The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel Beijing
The Royal Begonia, Sanya – Opening February 18, 2012
The St. Regis Beijing
The St. Regis Lhasa Resort
The St. Regis Nanjing
The St. Regis Shanghai
The St. Regis Shenzhen
The St. Regis Tianjin
The Westin Beijing Chaoyang
The Westin Beijing Financial Street
The Westin Bund Center, Shanghai
The Westin Changbaishan Resort – Opening April 30, 2012
The Westin Fuzhou Minjiang
The Westin Guangzhou
The Westin Hefei Baohe
The Westin Nanjing
The Westin Ningbo – Opening January 1, 2012
The Westin Pazhou
The Westin Resort, Macau
The Westin Shenzhen Nanshan
The Westin Tianjin
The Westin Wuhan Wuchang
The Westin Xiamen – Opening February 23, 2012
The Westin Xian
W Hong Kong

COLOMBIA

Four Points Cali
Four Points Medellin

EGYPT

Sheraton Cairo Hotel, Towers and Casino

EL SALVADOR

Sheraton Presidente San Salvador

FIJI

Sheraton Denarau Villas
Sheraton Fiji Resort
The Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa, Fiji

FRANCE

Prince de Galles, Paris

GERMANY

Four Points by Sheraton Muenchen Olympiapark
Four Points by Sheraton Muenchen Central
Four Points by Sheraton Brauneck
Le Méridien Grand Hotel Nuernberg
Dom Hotel
Le Méridien Parkhotel Frankfurt
Le Méridien Munich
Le Méridien Stuttgart
Sheraton Frankfurt Congress Hotel
Sheraton Offenbach Hotel
Sheraton Munich Arabellapark Hotel
Sheraton Munich Westpark Hotel
Sheraton Munich Airport Hotel
Arabella Sheraton Alpenhotel
Sheraton Essen Hotel
Sheraton Hanover Pelikan Hotel
The Westin Grand Frankfurt
The Westin Grand Munich
The Westin Grand Hotel Berlin
The Westin Bellevue Dresden

GREECE

Hotel Grande Bretagne, Athens
Vedema Resort
Blue Palace Luxury Collection Resort and Spa
Mystique, Santorini
The Romanos, Costa Navarino
Santa Marina Resort & Villas, Mykonos
Sheraton Rhodes Resort
The Westin Resort, Costa Navarino

HUNGARY

Le Méridien Budapest

INDIA

Aloft Ahmedabad, SG Road – Opening February 1, 2012
Aloft Bengaluru Whitefield
Aloft Chandigarh Zirakpur – Opening February 1, 2012
Aloft Chennai, OMR – IT Expressway
Aloft Coimbatore Singanallur
Four Points by Sheraton Hotel & Serviced Apartments, Pune
Four Points by Sheraton Jaipur, City Square
Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai, Vashi
Four Points by Sheraton Visakhapatnam
ITC Grand Central, Mumbai
ITC Grand Chola, Chennai – Opening February 1, 2012
ITC Kakatiya, Hyderabad
ITC Maratha, Mumbai
ITC Maurya, New Delhi
ITC Mughal, Agra
ITC Rajputana, Jaipur
ITC Royal Gardenia, Bengaluru
ITC Sonar, Kolkata
ITC Windsor, Bengaluru
Le Méridien Ahmedabad
Le Méridien Bangalore
Le Méridien Coimbatore
Le Méridien Jaipur
Le Méridien Kochi
Le Méridien New Delhi
Le Méridien Pune
Le Royal Méridien Chennai
Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway
Sheraton New Delhi Hotel
Sheraton Park Hotel & Towers, Chennai
Sheraton Udaipur Palace Resort & Spa
The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi
The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace
The Westin Mumbai Garden City
The Westin Pune Koregaon Park
The Westin Sohna Resort & Spa

INDONESIA

The Laguna Resort & Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali
Keraton at The Plaza, Jakarta – Opening February 15, 2012
Le Méridien Jakarta
Sheraton Bandara Hotel
Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers
Sheraton Lampung Hotel
Sheraton Media Hotel & Towers
Sheraton Mustika Yogyakarta Resort and Spa
Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort
Sheraton Surabaya Hotel & Towers
The St. Regis Bali Resort
The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali
W Retreat & Spa Bali – Seminyak

IRELAND

Sheraton Athlone Hotel

ITALY

Gritti Palace
Hotel Pitrizza, Costa Smeralda
Hotel Romazzino, Costa Smeralda
Hotel Cala di Volpe, Costa Smeralda
Sheraton Diana Majestic
The Westin Palace Milan

JAPAN

Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers
Sheraton Grande Ocean Resort
Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel
Sheraton Hiroshima Hotel
Sheraton Miyako Hotel, Osaka
Sheraton Sapporo Hotel
The St. Regis Osaka
The Westin Awaji Island Resort and Conference Center
The Westin Miyako, Kyoto
The Westin Nagoya Castle
The Westin Osaka
The Westin Sendai
Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers

JORDAN

Sheraton Amman Al Nabil Hotel & Towers

LEBANON

Four Points by Sheraton Bhamdoun
Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun

LITHUANIA

Le Méridien Vilnius

MALAYSIA

Le Méridien Kota Kinabalu
Four Points by Sheraton Kuching
Four Points by Sheraton Langkawi Resort
Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur
Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel
Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort
The Andaman, Langkawi
The Westin Kuala Lumpur
The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa

MALDIVES, REPUBLIC OF

Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa
W Retreat & Spa – Maldives

MAURITIUS

The Grand Mauritian Resort & Spa

MEXICO

Sheraton Ambassador Monterrey

NEW CALDONIA

Le Méridien Ile des Pins
Le Méridien Nouméa

NIGERIA

Sheraton Lagos Hotel

OMAN

Sheraton Oman Hotel

PAKISTAN

Sheraton Karachi Hotel

RUSSIA

Le Méridien Moscow Country Club

SAUDI ARABIA

Le Méridien Jeddah
Sheraton Jeddah Hotel
Sheraton Riyadh Hotel & Towers
Sheraton Dammam Hotel & Towers
The Westin Jeddah

SINGAPORE

Sheraton Towers Singapore
The St. Regis Singapore

SOUTH KOREA

Sheraton Grande Walkerhill
Sheraton Incheon Hotel
Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel
The Westin Chosun, Busan
The Westin Chosun, Seoul
W Seoul – Walkerhill

SPAIN

Hotel Maria Cristina, San Sebastian
Castillo Hotel Son Vida, Palma de Mallorca
Hotel Alfonso XIII, Seville
Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel
Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa
St. Regis Mardavall, Mallorca

SWITZERLAND

Hotel President Wilson

SYRIA

Le Méridien Lattakia
Sheraton Aleppo Hotel
Sheraton Ma’aret Sednaya Hotel & Resort
Sheraton Damascus Hotel

TAIWAN

Four Points by Sheraton Chung Ho, Taipei
Le Méridien Taipei
Sheraton Hsinchu Hotel, Taiwan
Sheraton Taipei Hotel
The Westin Taipei
W Taipei

THAILAND

Aloft Bangkok
Four Points by Sheraton Bangkok, Sukhumvit 15
Le Méridien Bangkok
Le Méridien Chiang Mai
Le Méridien Chiang Rai Resort, Thailand
Le Méridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort
Le Méridien Koh Samui Resort & Spa
Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort
Le Méridien Suvarnabhumi Golf Resort & Spa
Plaza Athénée Bangkok, A Royal Méridien Hotel
Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel & Towers
Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok
Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa
Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort
Sheraton Pattaya Resort
The Naka Island, Phuket
The St. Regis Bangkok
The Westin Grande Sukhumvit, Bangkok
The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa, Phuket
W Retreat Koh Samui

TURKEY

Le Méridien Istanbul Etiler
Sheraton Ankara Hotel and Convention Center
Lugal, A Luxury Collection Hotel Ankara
Sheraton Cesme

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Four Points by Sheraton Sheikh Zayed Road
Le Méridien Dubai
Le Méridien Fairway
Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina
Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa
Le Méridien Al Aqah Beach Resort
Grosvenor House
Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel and Towers
The St. Regis Abu Dhabi
The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina

UNITED KINGDOM

The Lanesborough, a St. Regis Hotel

URUGUAY

Sheraton Colonia

VIETNAM

Sheraton Hanoi Hotel
Sheraton Nha Trang Hotel & Spa
Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers

YEMEN

Sheraton Sana’a Hotel

SPG Two free nights after 9 nights Asia/Pacific Nov 29-Mar 15, 2012

Ric Garrido — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:23:57 +0000

Starwood Preferred Guest has a promotion specific to Asia Pacific hotels for one free weekend night after staying 5 nights and a second free night after 9 nights from November 29, 2011 through March 15, 2012 when stay is paid with a MasterCard. The nights are cumulative during the promotion period so can be done in one hotel stay or nine hotel stays. Maximum two free nights may be earned per member.

The nice thing about a steady travel partner is doubling up on these bonuses. I can earn two free nights and my wife can earn two free nights and then redeem all free nights on a single hotel stay of four nights.

This offer is available to all SPG members globally and requires promotion registration.

SPG Members must register for this promotion at http://www.spg.com/mastercard2days or by calling the nearest Customer Contact Center and saying “I want to register for 2 days of Happy!” requesting Registration Code “4MC” no later than March 15, 2012.

Twice as many hotels to earn free nights than burn free nights.

The particpating properties is an interesting aspect of the offer. There are about 220 Starwood Hotels in Asia Pacific for earning the free nights, but fewer than 90 hotels for redeeming the free nights. Granted that Four Points and Aloft may not be where you want to spend free nights when you can stay at the Westin Tokyo or Le Meriden Koh Samui Resort & Spa, but if you find yourself with a free night credit about to expire and the Four Points is the only thing around…

Redeeming Free Nights

Contact SPG customer service and mention Award ID 4MCFN.

Free night valid at participating hotels Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights
Redeemable between January 1, 2012 and April 10, 2012.
Free night may not be transferred to any other SPG member.

Participating Starwood Hotels for Redeeming Free Nights

Participating Starwood Hotels for earning free nights

Loyalty Traveler analysis:

This is a good value promotion offer if you have a MasterCard and find yourself in Asia Pacific. Many of these hotels for earning free nights have daily rates under $75 per night meaning the cost of earning two free nights could be under US$700. And if you are ultimately being reimbursed and not paying the hotel bill then price is not so important. Nine nights over the course of 14 weeks should be an easy bonus to earn.

Redemption properties include only two category 6 hotels with the W Retreat & Spa Bali, Seminyak and Westin Tokyo.

Assorted Category 5 hotels like Westin Sydney and Westin Melbourne in Australia and St. Regis Lhasa, Nepal or St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort are redemption options. Thailand has seven Le Meridien hotels and resorts. Most of the hotel redemption choices for free nights are SPG category-4 properties. You can value these free nights at 10,000 points per night and “good for you” if you redeem for a higher hotel. This offer looks to be the equivalent of earning 2,000 bonus SPG points for every eligible night. Keep that in mind when you are comparing rates and other promotion offers.

Of course we can all try and redeem at the W Retreat Bali.

SPG-MasterCard Two Days of Happy Earn Nov 29-March 15 / Burn Jan 1-April 10, 2012

Starwood Starpicks-Book by Oct 28

Ric Garrido — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:50:37 +0000

This week’s Starwood Starpicks offers are available until Friday. I must state I am not impressed by the rates I see in San Francisco, Boston, and Amsterdam. Fresno Four Points at $79 looks reasonable, but my two stays there this year were both disrupted by late night partiers.

Westin Market Street at $299 for a Friday night makes me cringe. San Francisco has priced me out of the market this year. I miss the $99 weekend rates I periodically enjoyed the past three years from late-2008 through 2010. Those are just a memory in 2011 for the city that has seen the highest hotel room rate increases in the U.S. in 2011. I have primarily been burning through loyalty points this year when I go to urban hotels.

Take a look and perhaps something here works for you. Just remember to compare rates. W Boston was only $4 a night more ($263 vs. $259) for a flexible cancellation AAA rate compared to the prepaid, nonrefundable Starpicks rate.

Starpicks Hotel List and Availability Calendar links. Use this link to access availability calendars for Starpicks dates. The links below take you only to the hotel’s webpage.

Starpicks Hotels for Bookings by Friday October 28, 2011.

Belgium

Brussels Le Méridien Brussels

Brussels Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel

Brussels Sheraton Brussels Hotel

Canada

British Columbia

Vancouver The Westin Grand, Vancouver

Ontario

Toronto Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel

Quebec

Dorval Sheraton Montreal Airport Hotel

Montreal Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel

France

Paris Le Méridien Etoile

Mexico

Baja California Sur

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

Netherlands

Amsterdam Hotel Pulitzer, Amsterdam

Amsterdam Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center

The Hague Hotel Des Indes, The Hague

Portugal

Portimão Le Méridien Penina Golf & Resort

United Kingdom

England

West Drayton Sheraton Heathrow Hotel

United States

Arizona

Phoenix Aloft Phoenix-Airport

Phoenix Sheraton Crescent Hotel

Scottsdale Sheraton Desert Oasis Villas, Scottsdale

California

Fresno Four Points by Sheraton Fresno

Garden Grove Sheraton Garden Grove – Anaheim South Hotel

Rancho Cucamonga Four Points by Sheraton Ontario-Rancho Cucamonga

San Francisco The Westin San Francisco Market Street

San Francisco The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square

San Francisco W San Francisco

Florida

Fort Lauderdale The Westin Fort Lauderdale

Lake Mary The Westin Lake Mary, Orlando North

Orlando Four Points by Sheraton Orlando Studio City

Georgia

Atlanta Sheraton Suites Galleria-Atlanta

Atlanta The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta

Atlanta W Atlanta – Downtown

Hawaii

Honolulu The Royal Hawaiian, Waikiki

Maui The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka’anapali

Illinois

Chicago Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers

Chicago The Tremont Chicago Hotel at Magnificent Mile

Chicago The Westin Chicago River North

Indiana

Indianapolis The Westin Indianapolis

Massachusetts

Boston W Boston

Springfield Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel

Minnesota

Edina The Westin Edina Galleria

Minneapolis Le Méridien Chambers Minneapolis

Minnetonka Sheraton Minneapolis West Hotel

Woodbury Sheraton St. Paul Woodbury Hotel

Nebraska

Omaha Sheraton Omaha Hotel

New York

Hauppauge Sheraton Long Island Hotel

New York The Manhattan at Times Square Hotel

North Carolina

Charlotte The Westin Charlotte

Puerto Rico

San Juan Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel & Casino

Tennessee

Nashville Sheraton Music City Hotel

Texas

Houston Sheraton Houston West Hotel

Houston The Westin Houston, Memorial City

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

Virginia

Falls Church The Westin Tysons Corner

Washington

Bellevue Sheraton Bellevue Hotel

Seattle Sheraton Seattle Hotel

Starwood Starpicks – Book by Friday Oct 14

Ric Garrido — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:04:22 +0000

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.

Le Meridien Des Indes, The Hague, Netherlands (147 EUR/night)