Published rates for my stay dates were $239 per night prepaid, nonrefundable or $269 AAA. 15% tax and $40 resort fee on top of that. At 4,000 points per night I was getting redemption value over $60 per 1,000 points.

The day I arrived was unseasonably cold with the temperature in the low 60s and windy. It was Monterey-like fine weather. The locals were wrapped in sweatshirts and jackets. Pool sun bathers were layered in pool towels and other wraps.

Snowbirds were still swimming in the pools in trunks and bikinis.

Cable Beach is the casino competition to Atlantis at Paradise Island. Cable Beach is on New Providence Island, home to Nassau and midway between airport and Nassau/Paradise Island, Bahamas. A toll bridge crosses the harbor from Nassau to the smaller Paradise Island.

Cable Beach is undergoing major development to build Baha Mar convention center project with plans for Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, Rosewood Baha Mar luxury brand hotel, and a Morgans Group hotel. 20 acres of pools are planned along 3,000 feet of uninterrupted beachfront adjacent to the existing Sheraton and Wyndham beach resorts with Crystal Palace casino between them.

Sheraton Nassau Cable Beach sand frontage.

The taxi is a set rate of USD$18 to Cable Beach from the airport. I arrived at 1pm and I was told I had an upgraded room with #915 on the top floor, however the room would not be ready until 3pm. I was checked in and able to use the resort facilities using my 915 room number and name.

I logged onto the internet at the Sheraton Kiosk with four terminals in the downstairs lobby.

I hadn’t eaten since the night before and lunch sounded good. The café had $17 pizzas. The buffet was $25 + tax from 12pm to 2pm daily. I checked the time to see it was 1:40pm. I skipped lunch at the hotel.

I snapped photos before heading into town looking for other food options.

Sheraton Nassau Cable Beach main pool with Edgewater pool bar.

Sheraton Nassau Cable Beach main pool with Dolphin Grill pool cafe. Most food items are $8.00 to $14.00 for hot dog, hamburger, chicken and fish sandwiches.

The hotel food is less expensive here than Atlantis on Paradise Island and the adjacent Wyndham Nassau Resort is even slightly less for food than the Sheraton.

Beach chairs facing away from ocean to maximize afternoon sun exposure to the southwest.

The outdoor activity area has two ping pong tables, checkers and foosball table free for guest play. The inflated tower is some kind of slide ride that I never quite figured out. It is deflated daily in the afternoon and inflated in the morning.

Telegraph Bar in Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort lobby.

Aside from the buffet at Bimini Market with breakfast, lunch and dinner seatings, the Caribe Café in the downstairs lobby is the main food outlet inside the hotel.

Bimini Market

• Breakfast = $21.75 ($19 + 15% tax)
• Lunch = $28.75 after tax.
• Dinner = $32.20 after tax.

Amici a Trattoria is the evening fine dining restaurant at the Sheraton.

There is a small shop with liquor and food snacks in the hallway between the Sheraton hotel and Crystal Palace Casino.

I walked around the hotel and beach and then I headed west into the small town where I had seen fast food and restaurants.

At 4pm I arrived back at the hotel to be told #915 was still not ready and my room had been changed to #415. Same room, but with a completely different type of view since the 4th floor is quite a bit lower than the 9th floor. After 36 hours without sleep I was not willing to wait any longer for a room.

Room #415 Sheraton Nassau Cable Beach Resort

The junior suite was a large room with interesting angles at the juncture where the hotel wing changes direction. The room offered plenty of seating. TV reception was poor with the picture breaking up regularly.

There was a large patio balcony with comfortable chairs.

The bathroom was standard.

The room had a coffee maker and a couple of bottles of water.

The ice machine was just outside my door.

One of my main issues with the hotel was the difficulty of reaching anyone by phone. Several times when I tried the phone there was no answer and there were no clear directions how to dial any of the hotel services.

During my first stay at the hotel I complained about the wireless internet not maintaining a connection in my room. Turns out that on my second stay there was a slip of paper stating that the rooms are wired internet and wireless internet is available in the hotel lobby. None of the staff members mentioned that fact despite my complaints to several staff during my first hotel stay.

The main difference I noticed between the Sheraton Beach Resort and Atlantis is the proactive service at Atlantis. My experience between the two hotels was night and day in terms of service levels. I felt like I was staying at a resort during my time at Atlantis, whereas, the Sheraton had a very laid back attitude.

That being said, I found many aspects of the Cable Beach area preferable to Atlantis. There were no crowds at Cable Beach and guests can swim in the pools even when lifeguards are not around. Both hotels have blaring music with dj banter during the day. The Sheraton pool offered daytime activities for fun and prizes.

Room 415 at the Sheraton was definitely a nicer place to vacation. I loved the space.

At checkout I received my folio and another folio for a couple who must have left a day early. I paid $110 + 4,000 points per night. The other couple who had been booked in the room for six nights paid $399 per night for six nights. The published BAR rate for the room category of #415 was listed as a 545 sq. ft. suite at $519 per night at the time I made my reservation.

Room 965

My second stay at the hotel had the identical room type located on the top floor on the opposite wing of the hotel.

The interesting thing about my second stay is the day before at the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Global Conference I had attended a Club Carlson loyalty workshop. They ran a film of frequent guests who participated in a focus group. A top tier Club Concierge member stated that 9 out of 10 times she was not told at check-in that she was upgraded, even though she had been upgraded by the hotel to a higher category room. As I thought about my experiences, SPG came to mind as being great about telling me I had an upgrade.

My first stay at the Sheraton Nassau I was told I was upgraded and then I felt downgraded when my room floor dropped from top floor 9 to the 4th floor, even though the room was the same the view was different. And I kind of felt downgraded after arrival.

Then on my second stay the desk clerk never mentioned that room #965 was a room upgrade.

There were only slight differences in the junior suite room labeled as a suite on the hotel’s website.

The room view #965 overlooks the pools and offers far better views of the ocean compared to the 4th floor room.

Wyndham Nassau Resort

One important benefit to point out is the shared use policy of the beach facilities between Sheraton and Wyndham. Guests of either hotel may use the pools and facilities of the other hotel.

Wyndham Nassau Resort.

Wyndham pool.

Tiki Bar at the Wyndham.

Cruise ships are a regular sighting from Cable Beach.

There was a Canadian man feeding the beach cats. He and his wife were heading home after a week. He recruited a young woman to take over feeding duties. Every night he saved some of his meat dinner to feed the cats in the morning. He reminded me of why I needed to get back home to my own beach town to be together again with my wife and cats family.

All in all I think the Sheraton Nassau is a great deal on category 4 Cash & Point reward nights. This hotel was listed as dropping to category 3 for 2012, but the Sheraton Nassau SPG award category remained unchanged. I suspect this hotel may even rise in category once the Baha Mar resort complex is completed in 2014.

Leaving Nassau, Bahamas.

Related posts:

Dispatch from Cable Beach, Nassau, Bahamas (Feb 14, 2012)

Dispatch from Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas (Feb 16, 2012)

Photo: Rest day on Paradise Island (Feb 18, 2012)

Nassau Bahamas Resort Traveler: 5 things to know (Feb 22, 2012)

Atlantis Resort Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas (Feb 25, 2012)

Aquaventure Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas (Feb 26, 2012)

Atlantis Bahamas Marine Habitats (Feb 29, 2012)

I am asking myself the same question?

You definitely need to know about Starwood’s Beat the Timer site if you are a Starwood Hotels fan and want discount rate options for hotels in Europe.

This post shows a rate analysis for three hotels selected today from Starwood’s Beat the Timer site for discount rates in Europe, Middle East and Africa.

After reading the Very Good Points blog post I did a little more research to find a very short three year old thread on FlyerTalk started October 30, 2009 and only 20 posts to date with just six posts in last 14 months. A post by Brian Cohen of The Gate from February 13 2011 described Starwood’s Beat the Timer.

The thing that blew my mind is I saw I commented on the Starwood Beat the Timer post on The Gate blog last year, yet I was traveling at the time in Washington D.C. for ten days and I got quite sick with the flu and I totally forgot about the Beat the Timer site until the recent BoardingArea blog jogged my memory this past week.

Starwood Hotels beatthetimer.com rates

• Hotels are listed for 72 hours.
• Over 250 participating hotels in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
• 90-day calendar available with rates when a hotel is selected.
• BeattheTimer.com rates are prepaid, no cancellation or changes allowed.
• Limited number of rooms.
• VAT, taxes and service charges may be additional and listed on booking page.

Starwood Hotels Beat the Timer Rate Analysis

My analysis picked three hotels randomly for rate comparisons to other available Starwood website rate discounts.

1. Sheraton Essen Hotel, Essen, Germany Thur. April 5 – Sat. April 7, 2012.
2. Hotel Alfonso XIII, Seville, Spain Wed. March 21- Sun. March 25, 2012
3. Sheraton Prague, Charles Square Hotel Thur. April 12 – Mon. April 16, 2012.

Sheraton Essen Hotel, Essen, Germany Thur. April 5 – Sat. April 7, 2012.

Beat the Timer rate = 89 EUR/night (US$118). Prepaid, nonrefundable at time of booking.

Lowest Rate Best Available Starwood Site = 149 EUR/night (US$197). No deposit required and may be cancelled up to day of arrival.

Award night = 10,000 points or Cash & Points for $60 + 4,000 points per night.

Beat the Timer has the best rate by far for the Sheraton Essen Hotel on these dates for a two-night stay.

Hotel Alfonso XIII, Seville, Spain Wed. March 21- Sun. March 25, 2012.

This Luxury Collection hotel is just about to reopen on March 15 after a ten month closure for refurbishment.

Beat the Timer rate = 245 EUR/night (US$324). Prepaid, nonrefundable at time of booking. $1,296 for 4 nights.

AAA or Senior rate at Starwood Site = 248 EUR/night (US$328). No deposit required and may be cancelled up to day before arrival. $1,312 for 4 nights. $16 more on a $1,300 reservation is a premium I would pay for the flexibility to cancel the hotel without penalty up to day before arrival.

Award nights = 20,000 points or 80,000 points for 4 or 5 night stay.

Cash & Points for $150 + 8,000 points per night or $600 + 32,000 points for 4-night stay.

Beat the Timer has the lowest rate, but the flexibility of the AAA rate seems a better deal to me than saving $16 on a nonrefundable hotel stay.

The Award nights option of 80,000 points to save $1,300 gives a very low redemption value for Starpoints of $16.25 per 1,000 points.

SPG Cash & Points is far higher value with $700 in hotel rate savings for 32,000 points and a redemption value of $21.88 per 1,000 points, but that is still a relatively low redemption value. I shoot for at least $30 per 1,000 points and often get over $50 per 1,000 points through SPG Cash & Points awards.

Pay 3, Get 1 Free Starwood Special Rates

Starwood Hotels has special extended-stay rate offers for select hotels and resorts worldwide with 3rd night free, 4th night free, 25% off 5 nights and 2 nights free on 6-night stays.

Hotel Alfonso XIII is available for the dates of March 21-25, 2012 using the 4th night free rate to bring the nightly cost down to 206.25 EUR or 825 EUR for US$1,091 for this four night stay.

This rate has the same prepaid, nonrefundable terms as BeattheTimer rate but saves 155 EUR (US$205) on a 4-night stay.

4th night free Starwood rate is the best deal for Hotel Alfonso XIII in Seville for the dates selected.

Sheraton Prague, Charles Square Hotel Thur. April 12 – Mon. April 16, 2012.

BeattheTimer.com rates for this hotel are as low as 93 EUR per night or US$123.

The lowest prepaid rate for the same dates is US$186 per night.

4th night free rate is US$176 per night.

Beat the Timer has the best rate by far for the Sheraton Prague Charles Square Hotel on these dates for a four-night stay.

Conclusion: Starwood Hotel rates on BeattheTimer.com were the lowest rate by far for two of three hotels surveyed. Using the Starwood site for extended stay discounts returned a 4th night free rate lower than Beat the Timer for Hotel Alfonso XIII, a category 6 hotel.

Add BeattheTimer.com to your favorites. This is a Starwood Hotels special rate website to remember when traveling to Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. And the fact that hotels change regularly while the booking window is up to 90 days in the future makes this a site to check regularly for your future travels with Starwood Hotels.

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.

$28 per 1,000 points is a good value for many hotel rewards where the cost to buy points is lower than the room rate. Reward nights using points cover the room rate and tax. Some hotels have resort fees which are not included in a points reward.

I find SPG Category 4 hotels with Cash & Points availability typically very useful when rates are high. At this purchase price the cost of 4,000 points is $112 + $60 Cash for a reward night. Even with tax added to the $60, the total cost for a reward night is about $180 for many Starwood hotels that can easily be $300 per night. The savings is much smaller if there are only standard rewards at 10,000 points since you pay $280 to buy 10,000 points.

Starwood Preferred Guest now counts award nights for SPG elite qualification so Cash & Points stays are even more valuable awards.

In January 2012 you are eligible to buy another 20,000 points, but you might want to wait until Q4 2012 since this offer looks to be an annual sale offer.

I was surprised at how sparse SPG Cash & Points  award availability is for hotels in California when I looked for a good example of hotel rate savings.

Here is one example:

Four Points Los Angeles Westside Nov. 9, 2011 is $170 all-in AAA rate.

Four Points Los Angeles Westside, SPG category 2 award at $30 and 1,600 points.

• Buy 2,000 points = $56
• Cash & Points cash portion = $30
• 12% hotel tax on $30 + 0.05% California tourism tax = $3.62
• $89.62 Cash & Points rate when buying SPG points vs. $170.48 for AAA rate.

Buy Starpoints link.

Buy Starpoints Frequently Asked Questions.

Award Stays Count for Elite

• Free Nights on SPG Points
• SPG Cash & Points Awards
• Free Nights earned from SPG Promotions
• SPG 5th Night Free Awards count as 5 elite nights.
• Only SPG award stays and nights with check-out date October 2, 2011 or later will count. No retroactive credit for 2011.
• SPG Award stays gifted to another member will be elite qualifying stays for the member who stays on the award and no elite status for the member who gifts the award.

This announcement may be old news to many readers who saw a wikileaks-type pre-release from our own Julian Assange-like hero for the travel loyalty program world. Gary Leff broke the SPG news on Monday, September 26 and then backed up his source in writing when he published a confidential SPG memo to Starwood Hotels General Managers on his View from the Wing blog on Tuesday, September 27.

Starwood Preferred Guest officially announced the new SPG member benefit on Wednesday, September 27 with its webpage “Award Nights Count“.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

SPG members who regularly earn SPG Platinum with 25 paid stays or 50 paid nights are concerned this change will add competition for suite upgrades from more new Platinum members reaching Platinum elite qualification levels through award stays.

Here are links to FlyerTalk and MilePoint threads discussing the award stays count change.

Some SPG members speculate this change may result in SPG establishing a new higher tier above Platinum elite.

Personally, I like this change for Starwood Preferred Guest.

I have had more than a dozen award stays using SPG points and Cash & Points and SPG promotion award nights in the past year. Too bad this program change isn’t retroactive for all of calendar year 2011.

The change will also be useful for SPG credit card holders who can now redeem Cash & Points awards and Standard Awards while earning elite qualification credit. SPG Cash & Points awards require only 40% of the standard award points cost when supplemented with cash.

Gifting SPG Awards

The one term of the new policy that has an interesting new effect is when an SPG member gifts an award stay to another SPG member. I generally gift some Starwood award stays to my parents each year.

Hypothetically a person could be gifted one SPG award stay from 25 different SPG members and qualify for SPG Platinum without ever having spent a penny at a Starwood Hotel. A popular person could become loyalty royalty with SPG on the cheap.

Finding yourself short of elite qualifying stays or nights can be remedied with a little help from your friends and family to get you those few stays needed to make the elite threshold without a big outlay of cash.

Anyone want to sponsor a hotel stay for this loyalty traveler?

SPG American Express Credit Card factor

SPG members with the SPG American Express card automatically receive elite qualification credit each year with two elite stays and 5 elite nights being a complimentary benefit as a cardmember. This means SPG American Express cardmembers need only earn 8 stays or 20 nights in a calendar year to reach SPG Gold and 23 stays or 45 nights to reach SPG Platinum.

SPG members can double up the credit card elite qualification credits by having both an SPG personal American Express card and SPG Business AmEx card to jumpstart elite qualification each year with four elite stays and 10 elite nights.

SPG credit card elite stays and nights credit combined with award stays and nights and the ability to use a family member or friend’s points and receive additional elite credit for award stays gifted from another SPG member provide plenty of opportunities to reach SPG elite with minimal cash outlay.

Cash & Points Awards

The combination of SPG Cash & Points awards and Award Stays Count for Elite sets up an interesting price point for meeting elite qualification with relatively low annual hotel spend.

The cost to reach SPG Platinum elite is potentially as low as $625 and 30,000 points for someone spending 25 award stays on Cash & Points at a category 1 hotel. But that is not really a practical hotel stay pattern unless you are in some specific places in Asia. Cash & Points awards for Category 1 and 2 hotels in the U.S. are seldom offered in my experience searching hotel rates in the U.S. since these awards were introduced for U.S. hotels early 2010. This change to count award stays for elite qualifying credit probably won’t help expand the Cash & Points availability for U.S. category 1 and 2 hotels.

Category 3 and Category 4 hotels are a viable option for finding widespread Cash & Points availability in the U.S.

Qualifying for SPG Elite on One-Night Cash & Points Award Stays

The SPG Cash & Points chart above shows the cost to reach SPG Gold or SPG Platinum solely through one-night stays (10 or 25 nights) or 50 nights on Cash & Points awards.

Earning SPG Platinum only on award stays for a U.S. member who likely needs to be staying at Category 3 and 4 hotels to realistically make this work for Cash & Points hotel stays in the U.S. still needs $1,125 and 70,000 points at Category 3 hotels or $1,500 plus 100,000 points for 25 nights on Category 4 Cash & Points awards.

Earning 70,000 to 100,000 points in a year is an achievement that will be limited mostly to SPG American Express credit card holders making 5-digit charges annually. Anyone earning those kinds of points with hotel stays likely already earns SPG Platinum elite from paid stays.

For the rest of us, award stays will likely offer the ability to pick up a few additional elite qualifying stays and nights per year.

I figure I can probably earn about 20,000 to 30,000 Starpoints per year from 15 hotel stays if the promotions are good and I pick up a few Best Rate Guarantee bonuses. I have the SPG American Express card so that is another two stays. And I typically have about 8 SPG award stays per year which I can likely sustain with the points earned from about 15 paid stays. The cost to maintain SPG Platinum can be around $2,000 a year for me with this award stays count for elite change.

Making top-tier elite is the best advice I can give to loyalty program members. The benefits provided during hotel stays for top-tier elites pays back the effort and loyalty. And I don’t think SPG will be flooded with new Platinum elite members.

If I was a SPG American Express credit card big spender who is not already SPG Platinum, then I think I would really love this change. The SPG Cash & Points award chart above shows how you can turn those points and a bit of cash into elite credit with Cash & Points award stays to reach mid-tier SPG Gold. Top-tier SPG Platinum offers additional hotel stay benefits like free internet and complimentary room upgrades, including suites.

Award Stays Count is not exclusive to SPG

Hilton HHonors has long counted award stays for elite status. This was a great benefit for me for several years when I was funneling hundreds of thousands of airline miles into HHonors points and redeeming dozens of free nights on points every year. Qualifying for HHonors Diamond elite generally required only about 20 paid stays and award stays made up the balance of my elite qualification requirement of 28 stays for HHonors Diamond status.

Choice Privileges added the benefit of counting award nights for elite qualification in January 2010.

As a leisure traveler over the past decade, I have felt that an adequate annual budget for maintaining top elite status while primarily staying in upper-upscale market segment hotels takes between $3,000 to $4,000 a year. I’ve spent more and I have spent less, but $3,000 is typically around the minimum spend I can expect when planning to earn top elite like SPG Platinum, Hyatt Diamond, Hilton Diamond or Carlson Concierge elite. 

Marriott will likely take more than $3,000 for Gold elite at 50 nights and much more for Platinum at 75 nights, although elite rollover nights can reduce the annual spend somewhat. Priority Club qualification on points should take far less than $3,000 to earn 60,000 points for Platinum. I requalified for 2012 Priority Club Platinum elite status yesterday after less than $500 in hotel stays in 2011.

My Priority Club account has earned 117,330 points in 2011 and Platinum elite membership is earned with 60,000 points in a calendar year. I have earned Platinum elite status through December 31, 2012 after just 5 paid hotel nights in 2011. 

Maintaining hotel elite status in a city of rising rates

Upper-upscale market segment hotels like full service Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and Starwood properties will frequently have rates in the range of $150 to $200 per night. 

The highest rates might be during midweek nights like in downtown San Francisco where business travelers and convention goers fill hotels on high rates. The highest hotel rates may be weekend nights like in my hometown of Monterey where many Californians come to vacation on weekends. 

$150 to $200 per night hotels on a $3,000 to $4,000 budget gets you 15 to 26 nights a year in hotels. It is tough to earn top-level elite status with fewer than 30 nights a year in hotels unless you only do one-night stays. 

Most hotel loyalty programs qualify members for elite status by either nights or hotel stays. Carlson, Hilton, Hyatt and Starwood require fewer stays than nights for elite qualification. 

Top-Tier Elite Qualification Published Requirements (in a calendar year)

• Marriott Rewards Platinum = 75 Nights
• Club Carlson Concierge Elite = 30 Stays or 75 Nights
• Hilton HHonors Diamond = 28 Stays or 60 Nights or 100,000 base points ($10,000 hotel spend)
• Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond = 25 stays or 50 nights
• Starwood Preferred Guest = 25 stays or 50 nights 
• InterContinental Royal Ambassador has unpublished qualification terms which are generally reported to be around 50 to 60 nights in IHG brand hotels with stays in at least 3 different InterContinental Hotels in a 12-month period of Ambassador paid membership.

I have met many business travelers who spend 40 to 50 nights a year in hotels and never have attained top elite status. Most business travelers average two or three night stays. If you spend 60 nights a year in hotels with 20 hotel stays and 42 nights Hilton and 18 nights in Marriott, then your HHonors Gold and Marriott Silver elite receives minor attention compared to what you would likely experience as HHonors Diamond. 

The leisure traveler spending $3K to $4K can have four or five extended stay vacations a year staying in nice upper-upscale hotels at $150 to $200 per night. Most of my friends fall in this category of travelers who pay high rates in desirable places and never qualify for more than low-level elite hotel loyalty membership.

My objective throughout the year is finding upper-upscale hotels where my average daily paid rate is well below the average $155 per night for a U.S. upper upscale hotel. I regularly find upper upscale hotels in the $100 range during slow business and low occupancy periods. This allows me to stay 30 to 40 paid nights and the ability to maintain top-elite status with good elite benefits and hotel selection whether that loyalty program is Hilton, Hyatt, SPG or another hotel loyalty program.

Typically I spend about 80% of my paid hotel nights in upper-upscale hotels and around 20% in midscale brands like Four Points, Hyatt Place, Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn/Hilton Garden Inn.

Conventions and Events are a Leisure Traveler budget buster 

Conferences like the International Pow Wow in San Francisco this past week tend to push the daily hotel rates up to $250 to $300 per night for upper-upscale hotel brands like Hilton, Hyatt Regency, Marriott, and Westin. These high rates force the leisure traveler down to 10 to 16 nights a year if staying within a $3,000 to $4,000 budget. You are severely limited on your ability to earn hotel elite status while staying in the upper-upscale hotel market segment and paying high rates. 

I plan for hotel travel 12 months a year with a goal of maintaining top elite status in at least one program (currently I’m top-elite in four hotel programs). I seldom book a hotel more than one week in advance, but when I see good value hotel deals, like my W Silicon Valley $64 Best Rate Guarantee nights this weekend that I found a few weeks back, I jump on them to earn loyalty points and elite credit stays. 

Then, when I really need a hotel in a specific place like downtown San Francisco last week, I am able to spend points for nice upper-upscale hotel rooms with elite benefits like free internet or free breakfast and free room upgrades. Rates were over $200 and $300 at hotels around Moscone Center during International Pow Wow 2011 travel convention. Rates are about the same next month in downtown Vancouver for the Travel Blog Exchange 2011 conference.  My points earned steadily over the past year allow me to stay in upper upscale hotels in the center of the action at a fraction of the published paid rates by using points awards. 

The fact that most other guests at these hotels are paying $200 to $300 per night does not impact me. I spent $120 and 60,000 Priority Club points to stay two nights at the InterContinental San Francisco and saved nearly $500 on the published lowest rate. I stayed at the Starwood Luxury Collection Palace Hotel on a Cash & Points award and paid $103 (after tax) and 4,800 points to save over $200 on the lowest published rate. My SPG Platinum elite status also waived the $20 daily internet fee at the Palace Hotel. I booked both of these hotels within 24 hours of arrival during one of the year’s biggest conventions in San Francisco.

So if you are one of those high-paying guests during hotel convention times, or even worse, you are staying at the airport and spending two hours a day commuting to and from the city center from your budget hotel…

“Welcome to Loyalty Traveler.” 

This is where you will find tips on getting hotel value for the frequent guest. 

You do not have to book far in advance to get the best hotel rates. You just need to plan far in advance so you have plenty of points and hopefully elite status, rather than plenty of cash to cover your hotel needs when staying in a city of high-rise and high rate hotels.

Article Correction May 31: This post originally listed occupancy for upper-upscale hotel segment incorrectly at 68% rather than 78.0%.  The upper-midscale hotel segment was 68% occupancy.

The offer counts stays from May 1 to July 31, 2011. Free nights earned can be redeemed through December 21, 2011. There is no limit for the number of free nights earned except for the time limit.

SPG Stay Three, Getaway Free registration. Must register by June 30, 2011.

SPG Promotion FAQ.

 To redeem your Free Night Awards, contact SPG Customer Service and mention Award ID 3FRN.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

This promotion for me is a fast-track to a fabulous getaway. I happen to have quite a bit of travel I can plan around California and the Pacific Northwest over the next three months. Portland, Oregon and Fresno, California have Starwood Hotels under $100 per night after tax. These are not my destination cities, but I can probably pull out six one-night stays in these two locations while enjoying the locale. Portland, Oregon is a great location for maximizing cheap Starwood stays.

$600 for six hotel nights on a couple of trips while I see locations like Yosemite National Park and visit some Portland microbreweries is a great deal when my paid stays earn two free nights for a place like Westin Mammoth which will be an even better hotel stay than the Four Points Fresno on another trip to Yosemite National Park later in the year. Or I can stay at St. Regis Monarch Beach rather than cheap Orange County Airport hotels when I go south to see my sister’s family. Basically what I spend for the three nights to earn a free resort night will be the going rate for the hotels where I redeem my free nights. Paying $600 for hotel stays I need to earn $600 in free resort hotel stays I desire is a good deal for my travel pattern.

The San Francisco Bay Area shows several hotels at under $100 in May. This is a great place to maximize cheap Starwood stays, but not in downtown San Francisco and the other locations kind of bore me now since I have been to these places so often.  A night at the Sheraton Palo Alto offers the free Stanford University Museum for a day of culture, a thought provoking lecture or two and the restaurants in Palo Alto are reliable for some interesting direct conversation or common eavesdropping if you comprehend the language.

The sensible strategy for someone in the US for this Starwood Resorts free night offer is to try and stay Starwood heavy in May before summer travel and room rates pick up. That is if we actually see a travel increase this summer with higher prices. Sure, occupancy has been up for the past year by 5 to 10%, but the room rates are not significantly higher than two years ago.

I actually thought San Francisco had been much higher priced hotels in 2011 and then I tracked May 2011 Starwood Hotel rates alongside May 2009 hotel rates and at least 50% of 20+ Starwood Hotels in the Bay Area are actually lower rates now on average.

Six Starwood Resort nights on a Greek or Italian Island can be a $3,000 hotel stay. I don’t know if I can get to Europe this summer for a trip. Loads of Starwood nights are less valuable if I can’t travel with my wife during summer school break when we both benefit from a luxury hotel stay.

Earning six nights with 18 hotel stays in the next three months is a plan I think makes economic sense for encouraging summer travel for me. My back-up California locations are St. Regis Monarch Beach (category 6), Westin Verasa Napa (category 5) and Westin Monache Mammoth (category 5).

Westin Napa has suites with a full kitchen, dining table, balcony patio, sitting room, bedroom and 1.5 bathrooms that I received an upgrade to when I stayed there as an SPG Platinum on free nights earned in the 2009 free weekend nights promotion.

We might even go for a Rocky Mountain tour to St. Regis Park City, Utah and St. Regis Aspen and Westin Beaver Creek Mountain, Colorado.

This “Stay Three Getaway Free” offer is a good promotion for making a $1,000 to $3,000 investment if you are in a position to travel frequently from now through July and still have the opportunity to get great value from free nights earned.

Starwood Resorts participating in free nights. These are the hotels where you can redeem free nights earned. Three stays at any of 1,000+ Starwood Hotels worlwide in all nine Starwood brands qualify for earning the free Starwood Resort night. Starwood brands include Sheraton, Westin, Four Points, Le Meridien, Luxury Collection, Aloft, W Hotels, St. Regis, and Element.

United States  

Arizona

• Sheraton Desert Oasis
• Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa
• The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician
• The Phoenician, Scottsdale
• The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
• The Westin Kierland Villas, Scottsdale
• The Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa

California

• Four Points by Sheraton Ventura Harbor
• Le Parker Méridien Palm Springs
• Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa
• The St. Regis Monarch Beach
• The Westin Desert Willow Villas, Palm Desert
• The Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa
• The Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas, Palm Springs
• The Westin Monache Resort, Mammoth
• The Westin Verasa Napa

Colorado

• Sheraton Mountain Vista Villas, Avon / Vail Valley
• Sheraton Steamboat Resort
• Sheraton Steamboat Resort Villas
• The St. Regis Aspen Resort
• The Westin Riverfront Mountain Villas
• The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa

Florida

• Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel
• Sheraton PGA Vacation Resort, Port St. Lucie
• Sheraton Sand Key Resort
• Sheraton Suites Key West
• Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas
• Sheraton Vistana Villages Resort Villas, I-Drive/Orlando
• The Westin Beach Resort & Spa, Fort Lauderdale
• The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Florida
• The Westin Key West Resort & Marina
• W Fort Lauderdale
• W South Beach
• Walt Disney World Dolphin
• Walt Disney World Swan

Georgia

• The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa

Guam

• Sheraton Laguna Guam Resort
• The Westin Resort, Guam

Hawaii

• Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach
• Sheraton Kauai Resort
• Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa
• Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa
• Sheraton Princess Kaiulani
• Sheraton Waikiki
• The Royal Hawaiian, Waikiki
• The St. Regis Princeville Resort
• The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas
• The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka’anapali
• The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas

North Carolina

• The Ballantyne, Charlotte

Pennsylvania

• Cove Haven Resort
• Paradise Stream Resort
• Pocono Palace Resort

Puerto Rico

• The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico
• W Retreat & Spa – Vieques Island

South Carolina

• Sheraton Broadway Plantation
• The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

Texas

• The Westin La Cantera Resort, San Antonio

Utah

• The St. Regis Deer Valley

Vermont

• The Equinox Golf Resort & Spa, Vermont

Virgin Islands

• The Westin St. John Resort & Villas

Virginia

• Sheraton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotel

Algeria

• Sheraton Club des Pins Resort and Towers

Argentina

• Sheraton Iguazú Resort & Spa

Aruba

• The Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba

Australia

• Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort
• Sheraton Mirage Resort and Spa Gold Coast
• Sheraton Noosa Resort & Spa

Austria

• Schloss Fuschl Resort & Spa, Fuschlsee-Salzburg

Bahamas

• Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort

Brazil

• Sheraton Rio Hotel & Resort

Cambodia

• Le Méridien Angkor

Canada

• Four Points by Sheraton Quebec Resort
• Le Westin Resort & Spa, Tremblant, Quebec
• Sheraton on the Falls Hotel
• The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver
• The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort & Spa, Victoria
• The Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler
• The Westin Trillium House, Blue Mountain

Cayman Islands

• The Westin Casuarina Resort & Spa, Grand Cayman

China

• Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhou Peninsula Resort
• Le Méridien She Shan Shanghai
• Le Méridien Shimei Bay Beach Resort & Spa
• Sheraton Dameisha Resort, Shenzhen
• Sheraton Haikou Resort
• Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort
• Sheraton Huadu Resort
• Sheraton Huizhou Beach Resort
• Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort
• Sheraton Qiandao Lake Resort
• Sheraton Qingyuan Lion Lake Resort
• Sheraton Sanya Haitang Bay Resort
• Sheraton Sanya Resort
• Sheraton Shenzhou Peninsula Resort
• Sheraton Yantai Golden Beach Resort
• The Malus Resort, Sanya
• The St. Regis Lhasa Resort
• The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort
• The Westin Resort, Macau

Croatia

• Le Meriden Lav Split

Cyprus

• Le Méridien Limassol Spa & Resort

Egypt

• Le Méridien Dahab Resort
• Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel & Spa
• Sheraton Luxor Resort
• Sheraton Miramar Resort El Gouna
• Sheraton Sharm Hotel, Resort, Villas & Spa
• Sheraton Soma Bay Resort

Fiji

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

France

• Le Méridien Nice

Gambia

• Sheraton Gambia Hotel Resort & Spa

Germany

• ArabellaSheraton Alpenhotel

Greece

• Arion Resort & Spa, Astir Palace, Athens
• Blue Palace Resort & Spa, Elounda
• Santa Marina Resort & Villas, Mykonos
• Sheraton Rhodes Resort
• The Romanos, Costa Navarino
• The Westin Athens Astir Palace Beach Resort
• The Westin Resort, Costa Navarino
• Vedema Resort, Santorini

India

• ITC Mughal, Agra
• Le Méridien Jaipur
• Le Méridien Kochi
• Sheraton Udaipur Palace Resort & Spa
• The Westin Sohna Resort & Spa

Indonesia

• Sheraton Lampung Hotel
• Sheraton Mustika Yogyakarta Resort and Spa
• Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort
• The Laguna Resort & Spa, Nusa Dua, Bali
• The Westin Resort Nusa Dua, Bali
• W Retreat & Spa Bali – Seminyak

Israel

• Le Méridien Dead Sea
• Le Méridien Eilat

Italy

• Le Méridien Rimini
• Sheraton Catania Hotel & Conference Center
• Sheraton Golf Parco de’ Medici Hotel & Resort, Roma

Japan

• Sheraton Grande Ocean Resort
• Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay Hotel
• The Westin Awaji Island Resort and Conference Center
• The Westin Miyako, Kyoto

Malaysia

• Four Points by Sheraton Langkawi Resort
• Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort
• The Andaman, Langkawi
• The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa

Maldives, Republic of

• Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa

Malta

• Le Méridien St. Julians Hotel & Spa
• The Westin Dragonara Resort, Malta

Mauritius

• Le Méridien Ile Maurice
• The Grand Mauritian Resort & Spa, Mauritius
• The St. Regis Mauritius Resort

Mexico

• Hacienda San Jose
• Hacienda Santa Rosa
• Hacienda Temozon
• Hacienda Uayamon
• Le Méridien Cancun Resort & Spa
• Sheraton Buganvilias Resort and Convention Center
• Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Golf & Spa Resort
• The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort
• The Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort Villas, Cancun
• The Westin Resort & Spa, Cancun
• The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos
• The Westin Resort & Spa, Puerto Vallarta

Monaco

• Le Méridien Beach Plaza

Morocco

• Le Méridien N’Fis

New Caledonia

• Le Méridien Ile des Pins
• Le Méridien Nouméa

Nigeria

• Le Méridien Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort
• Le Méridien Ogeyi Place

Panama

• Westin Playa Bonita

Peru

• Hotel Paracas, Paracas
• Tambo del Inka Resort & Spa, Valle Sagrado

Poland

• Sheraton Sopot Hotel & Coference Center

Portugal

• Convento do Espinheiro Hotel & Spa, Evora
• Le Méridien Penina Golf & Resort
• Sheraton Algarve Hotel, Albufeira

Qatar

• Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Hotel

Seychelles

• Le Méridien Barbarons
• Le Méridien Fisherman’s Cove

South Africa

• Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa

Spain

• Castillo Hotel Son Vida, Mallorca
• Le Méridien Ra Beach Hotel & Spa
• Marqués de Riscal, Elciego
• Sheraton Fuerteventura Beach, Golf & Spa Resort
• Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa, Costa Adeje, Tenerife
• Sheraton Mallorca Arabella Golf Hotel
• Sheraton Salobre Golf Resort & Spa
• Sheraton Santa Maria de El Paular

St. Maarten

• The Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa, St. Maarten

Switzerland

• ArabellaSheraton Hotel Seehof
• Sheraton Davos Hotel Waldhuus

Syria

• Le Méridien Lattakia
• Sheraton Ma’aret Sednaya Hotel & Resort

Tahiti

• Le Méridien Tahiti

Thailand

• Le Méridien Chiang Rai Resort, Thailand
• Le Méridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort
• Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort
• Sheraton Grande Laguna, Phuket
• Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa
• Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort
• Sheraton Pattaya Resort
• The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa, Phuket

Turkey

• Sheraton Cesme Hotel, Resort and Spa

United Arab Emirates

• Le Méridien Abu Dhabi
• Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort
• Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort & Towers
• Westin Abu Dhabi Resort & Spa

United Kingdom

• Turnberry Resort, Scotland

Uruguay

• Sheraton Colonia Golf & Spa Resort

Vietnam

• Sheraton Nha Trang Hotel & Spa

A shift of one week in hotel stay dates results in 32,000 points savings on a normally 80,000 points two-night reward stay. Even a three night Point Stretcher stay requires just 72,000 points for the HHonors hotel category 6 Conrad Brussels.

I burned over 2 million Hilton HHonors points in the past 12 years. More than 90% of those reward nights were reduced points rewards – either Point Stretcher nights or HHonors VIP discounted 6-night rewards. Singapore, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and Belgium are a few of the locations I stayed on Point Stretcher nights. These discounts allowed me to stay about 50 more nights at Hilton properties than if I had redeemed using standard rewards like 40,000 points for the HHonors category 6 Conrad Brussels.

Discount Hotel Rewards

Several hotel programs offer discount hotel reward nights. Marriott Rewards calls them PointSavers, Hilton HHonors trademarked Point Stretcher and Priority Club has PointBreaks.

Starwood Preferred Guest has Cash & Points and a similar reduced points and cash component offer is available for Priority Club at IHG properties and Goldpoints Plus for Carlson Hotels’ Radisson and Country Inn.

There are differences in each of these program’s offers. Here is a summary of how each offer works and what you can reasonably expect to find.

Three categories of hotel reward discounts.

Limited Date Discounts

• IHG PointBreaks = 5,000 points per free reward night. (IHG reward nights are normally 10,000 to 40,000 points per night.)
• Marriott Rewards PointSavers = discount to next lower hotel category reward level; for example, category 5 hotel (25,000 points/night) requires category 4 points (20,000 points/night) for free nights. 5^th night free does apply to PointSavers rate.
• Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher  = Pay 60% of standard reward points per night (40% discount); for example, category 6 hotel at 40,000 points is 24,000 points per night with PointStretchers. HHonors VIP Extended stay discount (4 or more nights) does not apply to Point Stretcher rewards. 

Extended Stay Reward Discounts

• Marriott Rewards =  5^th night free (pay hotel category level points for four nights)
• Starwood Preferred Guest =  5^th night free (pay hotel category level points for four nights)
• HHonors VIP rewards for stays 4 nights (15% discount); 5 nights (20% discount); 6 to 14 nights (25% discount). VIP discount rewards are restricted to HHonors elite members Silver and higher.
• Goldpoints plus = 10% fewer points for additional reward nights after first night.

Cash and Points Rewards

• Starwood Preferred Guest Cash and Points nights require 40% normal points and cash portion ranging from $15 to $150 depending on SPG hotel category level from 1 to 6. Not applicable to SPG category 7 hotels. Cash & Points have the potential for very high savings and points value. There are opportunities to save more than $200 on published room rates and receive a very high redemption value for your points, particularly at the category 4 ($60 + 4,000 points) and category 5 ($90 + 4,800 points) award level.
• SPG Cash & Points awards are capacity controlled.   

SPG Cash & Points chart

• Category 1 = $25 + 1,200 points (only in U.S., Canada, Asia-Pacific)
• Category 2 = $30 + 1,600 points (only in U.S., Canada, Asia-Pacific)
• Category 3 = $45 + 2,800 points
• Category 4 = $60 + 4,000 points
• Category 5 = $90 + 4,800 points
• Category 6 = $150 + 8,000 points
• Category 7 = N/A

Priority Club – Points + Cash is a system for buying points to complete a hotel reward stay booking. Two options: Pay $40 for 5,000 points or $60 for 10,000 points. This option is available even if you have sufficient points for the hotel reward stay. This is a way to buy points at a huge discount and save Priority Club points for more hotel free nights. Buying points directly from Priority Club costs $230 for 20,000 points.

Goldpoints Plus Cash & Points offers the option to pay a cash supplement for reduced points reward nights. Category 1 to 3 hotels require 5,000 points and category 4 to 6 hotels require 10,000 points. Cash portion determined at time of hotel booking.  

Important to Remember: Reward stays, including Cash and Points rewards, do not earn hotel stay credit for annual elite qualification, with the exception of Hilton HHonors and Choice Privileges where reward stays earn elite qualification credit.

IHG PointBreaks

These are the cheapest hotels available in hotel loyalty world at 5,000 Priority Club points per night, but I am wondering if Prioity Club members have seen the best days pass for this incredible reward discount. The last two PointBreaks lists may indicate a new pattern for PointBreaks with mid-month release in December and January for hotel stays through the end of the following month. The list released this week does not include a single InterContinental Hotel which I hope does not become a new trend.

June 7, 2010 – 118 hotels (79 US, 39 international) – stay through August 30, 2010.

August 2, 2010 – 130 hotels (79 US, 51 international) – stay through October 30, 2010.

October 4, 2010 – 126 hotels (77 US, 49 international) – stay through December 30, 2010.

December 13, 2010 – 35 hotels (15 US, 20 international) – stay through January 30, 2011.

January 24, 2011 – 55 hotels (31 US, 24 international) – stay through February 28, 2011.

The deal here is any hotel on the list is available for 5,000 points. All Crowne Plaza hotels have a standard reward cost of 25,000 points per night. A PointBreaks reward night for a hotel like Crowne Plaza Denver International Airport is an 80% discount.

InterContinental Hotels have standard rates at 30,000 points or 40,000 points per night. Landing a PointBreaks vacation at an InterContinental Hotel like IC Budapest (October 2010 PointBreaks hotel) means your 40,000 points can put you in a hotel room for an eight night Pointbreaks vacation rather than just a one night stay using a standard 40,000 points reward.

PointBreaks reward nights were an 87.5% discount at the normally 40,000 points per night InterContinental Budapest luxury hotel for stays October through December 2010.

Marriott Rewards PointSavers (Loyalty Traveler post 1/26 Marriott PointSavers)

Marriott Rewards PointSavers reduce the cost of an award night by one category level. A great feature of these rewards is the 5^th night free is still offered with PointSavers. A category 6 hotel reward is normally 30,000 points per night or five nights for 120,000 points. PointSavers reduce the nightly cost of a category 6 reward down to the rate for a category 5 reward at 25,000 points per night or 100,000 points for five nights.

Biggest savings is 33% and results at Marriott category 3 level where a 15,000 points per night reward is just 10,000 points when paying the category 2 hotel reward rate. Five nights at a category 3 hotel for 40,000 points with a PointSavers reservation will likely have a high redemption value for your points in excess of $10 per 1,000 points (this occurs when the published rate of the hotel is more than $80 per night or $400 for five nights).

Marriott Rewards PointSavers Chart

PointSavers Free Nights

• Category 1 – Standard =  7,500 points; PointSavers = 6,000
• Category 2 – Standard = 10,000 points; PointSavers = 7,500
• Category 3 – Standard = 15,000 points; PointSavers = 10,000
• Category 4 – Standard = 20,000 points; PointSavers = 15,000
• Category 5 – Standard = 25,000 points; PointSavers = 20,000
• Category 6 – Standard = 30,000 points; PointSavers = 25,000
• Category 7 – Standard = 35,000 points; PointSavers = 30,000
• Category 8 – Standard = 40,000 points; PointSavers = 35,000

PointSavers are also available for select Ritz-Carlton Hotels offering 10,000 points per night discount. 

Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher (Loyalty traveler Dec 3 post HHonors Point Stretcher)

Hilton HHonors published a long list of hotels in early December offering Point Stretcher reward dates through May 2011. This is a welcome change for a program feature that languished a couple of years with very weak offerings. The hundreds of hotels on the current Point Stretcher list make Marriott Rewards, at just 25 hotels currently posted as PointSavers, look like the Hilton HHonors of old.

But don’t count on finding a Hilton HHonors Point Stretcher Category 1 Reward anytime soon.

Point Stretcher Free Nights Chart

• Category 1 – Standard =  7,500 points; Point Stretcher = 4,500
• Category 2 – Standard = 12,500 points; Point Stretcher = 7,500
• Category 3 – Standard = 25,000 points; Point Stretcher = 15,000
• Category 4 – Standard = 30,000 points; Point Stretcher = 18,000
• Category 5 – Standard = 35,000 points; Point Stretcher = 21,000
• Category 6 – Standard = 40,000 points; Point Stretcher = 24,000
• Category 7 – Standard = 50,000 points; Point Stretcher = 30,000

Extended Hotel Stay Rewards

Carlson Hotels goldpoints plus (Radisson, Park Inn and Country Inn) discount every reward night after the first night by 10%. This is the best standard discount available for two or three night stays in hotel loyalty world.

Four night stays: Hilton HHonors steps in with a 15% total points discount available as an elite member VIP reward.

Five night stays: Hilton, Marriott and Starwood all discount five night stays by 20%. Hilton restricts all VIP discount rewards to elite members.

Hilton HHonors unquestionably wins the biggest discount contest with 25% off the reward cost for stays of 6 to 14 nights. Marriott Rewards was the best discount until they went to 5^th night free in 2009. That being said, there is still competitiveness for Marriott with Hilton in that the hotel category reward distribution is much more skewed to lower categories for Marriott than Hilton. For example, there are many places where Marriott Rewards category 4 and 5 hotels are the same hotel market segment class as Hilton HHonors category 5, 6 and 7 hotels.

Marriott Rewards category 5 = 25,000 points per night or 7 nights = 150,000 points (5^th night free).

Hilton HHonors category 6 = 40,000 points or 7 nights = 210,000 points (25% discount).

HHonors Points & Points earner at 15 points/$1 compared to Marriott Rewards at 10 points/$1 makes these two rewards nearly comparable in points cost for the respective programs. The promotions make all the difference for the member (or credit card earning).

Hilton, Marriott, SPG and goldpoints have the advantage over all the other hotel loyalty programs offering no discount for extended night hotel stays.

Conclusion: The value of your points increases when you take advantage of discount rewards. There are many hotels offering discount reward rates at any given time.

Rooms have mountain views and some rooms and suites view the Potala Palace, the iconic historical structure of Lhasa that formerly housed the Dalai Lama until 1959 and is now a museum.

Deluxe rooms are the standard room category and currently priced in the US$300 per night range for a 61 sq. m room with Bose sound system, wi-fi, 42-in TV, separate study and separate shower and bath. 24 hour butler service is included. The basic room is about 650 sq ft which is a sizeable room for extended stay comfort. The average size of a standard luxury hotel room in the U.S. is around 550 sq. ft. There are not many room photos for St. Regis Lhasa on the Starwood site.

Villa Grand Deluxe Room is the next room category at about 85 sq. m. or 914 sq. ft. This is a sizeable room comparable to the size of most large two-room suites in U.S. hotels. (A basic size hotel room is about 275 to 325 sq. ft.). The description of room amenities is the same as the Deluxe room. The Villa Grand Deluxe room is priced around US$500 per night.

Shigatse Suite is around 100 sq. m. room or about 1,100 sq. ft. The main difference noticed here is a 50-in plasma screen tv in the room.

Lhasa Suite – Taste of Luxury Limited Time Offer Rate is a 4^th night free rate plan available for stays through March 2011 and includes daily breakfast. The Lhasa Suite is 115 sq.m. or about 1,300 sq. ft. with a pantry, Potala Palace view, butler, two 42-in TVs. This rate is about 18,000 CNY for December 17-21, 2010 or US$2,710 using the 4^th night free rate.

12,000 feet is quite an altitude for a vacation. If you are going to be altitude sick, then the St. Regis Lhasa is probably as good as any place to acclimate on your journey to the roof of the world.

Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet

W Chicago Lakeshore view

The disadvantage of the W Lakeshore is its location is less convenient for transportation and activities aside from being near the Navy Pier with the Children’s Museum, rides, attractions, and restaurants.

W Chicago Lakeshore view of Navy Pier

The hotel is about four blocks east of Michigan Avenue in a mostly residential area of tower blocks.

Chicago W Lakeshore city view to Michigan Avenue from 33rd floor Altitude

The serene beauty of viewing the lake from a bedroom at the W Lakeshore is better than a lakeshore walk due to the eight lanes of traffic on North Lakeshore Drive bordering the bike and walk path alongside Lake Michigan. My room on the 23^rd floor of the 33 floor hotel did not have any noticeable road noise.

Chicago W Lakeshore 33rd floor Altitude lake view north

The hotel bar Wave at the lobby was fairly packed with finely dressed gents and ladies. I did not fit in with my jeans attire. That didn’t inhibit me from redeeming my coupons for two free beers while I read a poorly written book with great hotel photos.

W Chicago Lakeshore lobby

Whiskey Sky is the 33^rd top floor hotel bar open in the evening, but there was nothing happening there on a Sunday night at 9pm.

W Chicago Lakeshore Whiskey Sky 33rd floor bar

The bar has primarily a south and west facing view.

W Chicago Lakeshore view of Navy Pier from Whiskey Sky

In contrast, the large room Altitude also on the top floor of the W Lakeshore had a roaring party, however, this wonderful viewing space is only for private events.

W Chicago Lakeshore Altitude room on 33rd floor

I found daytime access and snapped a few photos from Altitude.

W Chicago Lakeshore, Altitude is circular room on 33rd floor

The Bliss Spa, WET pool and fitness room SWEAT are located on Floor 7.

W Chicago Lakeshore WET, 7th floor indoor pool

There is a small lakeside outside deck by the indoor pool.

W Chicago Lakeshore sweat

The W room had all the mod cons, but I wasn’t really inspired by the layout and design.

W Chicago Lakeshore bath shutters

As a Cash & Points room I received good value for $60 and 4,000 points for a $350 or so room rate after tax.

-W Chicago Lakeshore bath

The double beds made for a cramped space, but there were no lake view rooms with King beds available.

W Chicago Lakeshore double beds

The usual nice Bliss bath amenities were present and I received one of the three pricey Fiji bottled waters in the room complimentary as a SPG Platinum elite.

W Chicago Lakeshore bathroom

The seating was adequate for one person, but not for two with only one cushion chair by the window and one desk chair.

W Chicago Lakeshore chair

The TV was large with some HDTV channels. Internet worked easily and was complimentary for me as SPG elite.

W Chicago Lakeshore desk space and TV

I liked the rooms and lobby better at the W Chicago City Center, but that location and hotel is a totally different Chicago experience.

W Chicago Lakeshore

Related Post: Loyalty Traveler – W Chicago City Center in Blue Ray (Oct 27, 2010)