Some people think I get free travel. The hotels and opportunities I get for discount rooms are the same opportunities open to any loyalty program member who plans with good travel strategies. I do not take complimentary rooms from hotels when I travel.

My goal is to show readers what is possible with hotel loyalty programs. Sometimes I probably get a nice upgrade due to being Loyalty Traveler, but the nice upgrades were a benefit I received as an elite hotel loyalty program member for many years prior to writing this blog.

Here is an example of how I stayed mostly in upper upscale and luxury hotels in Chicago for under $100 per night this past week even though a major Opthalmologist Convention was happening and filling many of the downtown Chicago hotels.

Holiday Inn Elk Grove (O’Hare Airport)

• Points & Cash = 0 points + $30
• Priority Club elite benefit = free Gatorade and chips from hotel pantry
• Published room rate = $109 or $122.08 after tax
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $30 + $5 maid tip = $35
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $87.08

 

 

Holiday Inn Elk Grove Village (O'Hare)

Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers

• SPG Cash & Points $60 + 4,000 points
• SPG Platinum benefits = 33^rd floor lounge access with evening snacks and sodas, morning lounge breakfast, free internet, SPG Platinum Welcome Amenity 500 points and late checkout
• Published Room Rate = $265 or $304.75 after tax.
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $69 + $5 maid tip = $74
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $230.75
• There is no cash equivalent value given for the 8,000 Starpoints used in Chicago since I earned 70,000 free Starpoints through this “My Midas Touch” promotion. There was also an option to buy SPG points at the rate of $145 per 10,000 points through DiscoverAmerica.com in May 2010. The cash equivalent value for 4,000 points would have been $58.

 

W Hotel Lakeshore

• SPG Cash & Points $60 + 4,000 points
• SPG Platinum benefits = Lakeview room, high floor, two free drinks at the Wave Bar, free internet, SPG Platinum Welcome Amenity 500 points and 4 pm checkout
• Published Room Rate = $309 or $355 after tax.
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $69 + $5 maid tip = $74
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $281

Crowne Plaza Hotel Avenue

• Priority Club 25,000 points award ( I purchased 25,000 points last May for $150 through DiscoverAmerica.com Priority Club discount offer).
• Priority Club elite benefits = 15% off breakfast buffetat 40^th floor lounge; free beer at Elephant & Castle pub; complimentary upgrade to Tech floor with Mac computer and free internet.
• Published Room Rate = $329 or $379.67 after tax
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $15 (Elephant & Castle pub meal) + $5 maid tip = $20
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $229.67

Park Hyatt Chicago

• Hyatt Gold Passport Category 6  award for 22,000 points ( I purchased 22,000 points last June for $206.25 through DiscoverAmerica.com Hyatt Gold Passport discount offer) (oops … I posted this a few minutes ago incorrectly stating I paid $123.75, so now my average is a little over $100 per night.)
• Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite benefits = complimentary breakfast at NoMI ($33 value for crab omelette); free internet; Diamond member welcome amenity of 1,000 points; preferred view room on top floor (18) of hotel facing historic Chicago Water Tower.
• Published Room Rate = $422.50 (AAA) or $487.56 after tax
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $5 maid tip
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $281.31

5 hotel nights in Chicago = $564.25 for Loyalty Traveler

Actual lowest published rates for these hotel rooms = $1,649.06

That is why I am a loyalty traveler.

Starwood Preferred Guest is selling points for $14 per 500 points through December 31, 2010. This offer is 20% off the regular purchase rate of $17.50 per 500 points. SPG has a calendar year purchase limit of 20,000 points. Pay $560 for 20,000 points compared to $700 normal rate.

Is $28 per 1,000 points a good deal?

My Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers stay Thursday night cost 4,000 points and $60 for a Cash & Points award stay. The American Academy of Opthalmology is holding its annual convention in Chicago and hotels like the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Westin Chicago River North and many others were either sold out or sporting room rates in the $400+ per night range.

Sheraton Chicago room rate was $265 + tax and the only Starwood Cash & Points hotel in downtown Chicago for the date I needed. The hotel was packed with doctors. I saved $240 on the published room rate by spending 4,000 Starpoints and I received a value of $60 per 1,000 points with this award night.

Bottom line: There are many opportunities at Starwood Hotels worldwide to get much higher value than $28 per 1,000 points when redeeming Starpoints; particularly for Cash & Points stays.

This is the time to buy Starpoints if you need points to get to a desired award level. And the 20,000 points annual limit is per calendar year. You can buy up to 20,000 points for $560 in 2010 with this promotion. In January 2011 you will have the ability to buy up to 20,000 more points, but at the regular price of $35 per 1,000 points.

SPG made the program rule change in October 2009 to allow SPG Category 1 and Category 2 Cash & Points awards in the US and Canada.

Every couple of months since last year I looked and never found any category 1 or 2 hotel in the U.S. offering a Cash & Points award. I just checked today and went through eight states before I finally tried Wisconsin. Today is the first time I found a SPG category 2 hotel in the USA offering this elusive Cash & Points award opportunity.

Aloft Green Bay Wisconsin has a Category 2 Cash & Points award available this weekend for Friday, September 24, 2010. Green Bay Packers have a Monday Night Football away game in Chicago so the weekend football crowds are out of town.

There are only 10 SPG category 1 hotels in the USA. Good luck finding a SPG category 1 hotel, let alone a Cash & Points offer. There are about 100 category 2 hotels in the US and Canada. 

Simple calculation for hotel stay redemption point value  

Aloft Green Bay is $101 after tax for a paid stay or 3,000 points for a weekend rewards night or 1,600 points and $30 for a Cash & Points award. 

Points Redemption Value of a 3,000 points Award Stay

$101/3,000 = $33.67 per 1,000 points 

Points Redemption Value of Cash & Points Category 2 Hotel $30 + 1,600 points Award

$101 – $30 cash portion = $71 saved with 1,600 points

$71/1,600 = $44.38 per 1,000 points.

 

Advanced Points Redemption Value Calculations 

To be more precise you might want to consider the points for a paid stay not earned when spending points. Paying $89 for the Aloft Green Bay room will earn points and elite credit.

In general, I always try and pay when the room rate is around $100 to earn elite credit and points. But assume elite credit is not a concern and the value of points can be adjusted to include points not earned with a paid stay. The base points generally are not a big factor compared to the loss of SPG promotion points.

Currently SPG has the Every Night Counts promotion for double points or triple points. This promotion is really not a big effect on this stay. But sometimes promotions are worth 1,000 or more points per night or even credit towards a high value free night offer. High-value promotions can greatly impact the value of points calculations and should be considered when determining the value of a point.

Starpoints earned on paid Starwood stay: 

$89 x 2 base points/$1 = 178 points

SPG Double points promotion (Sep 8-Dec 15, 2010) = 178 points

Gold or Platinum elite bonus = 89 points 

• Base member earns 356 points (with double points promotion)
• Gold or Platinum member earns 445 points (assume double points)

 

SPG Platinum Elite 

• Platinum member already requalified for 2011 status earns extra elite bonus point or 89 points = 534 points
• Platinum member, requalified and with 10 nights in Every Night Counts (triple points) earns 712 points 

To keep this post shorter I will ignore the Platinum member who could potentially earn more points from a paid stay with the current promotions.

Two other points earning situations I will ignore since these are not relevant to the value of a paid stay vs. award stay:

• Platinum member earns 250 points amenity regardless if paid stay or award stay so this is not included.
• SPG American Express payment is also negated since 2 points/$1 earned for Starwood Hotel spend whether a paid stay or Cash & Points stay.

  

Redemption Value of Standard Award Stay for SPG general member:

Non-elite member earns 356 points paying $89 base rate ($101 after tax)  with the current double points promotion. 

• $101/3,356 points =
• $30.10 per 1,000 points.

This is still good redemption value.

Redemption Value of Cash & Points Stay for SPG general member: 

• $101-$30 = $71 saved;
• $71 saved ÷ (1,600 points Cash & Points Award + 356 points not earned for paid stay) =
• $71 ÷  1,956 points =
• $36.30 per 1,000 points

This is still excellent redemption value since you can buy points for $35 per 1,000 points from SPG.

 

Gold or Platinum elite member earns 445 points paying $89 base rate ($101 after tax)  with the current double points promotion.

Redemption Value of Standard Award Stay for SPG Gold/Platinum member:

• $101/3,445 points =
• $29.32 per 1,000 points.

This is still good redemption value. 

Redemption Value of Cash & Points Stay for SPG Gold/Platinum Elite: 

• $101-$30 = $71 saved;
• $71 saved ÷ (1,600 points Cash & Points Award + 445 points not earned for paid stay) =
• $71 ÷  2,045 points =
• $34.72 per 1,000 points

This is still excellent redemption value since you can buy points for $35 per 1,000 points from SPG.

The main point of this post is finding a Cash & Points for a SPG Category 1 or 2 hotel is a rare find in my searches. This is the first time I have seen a hotel offer this award in the U.S. since they were placed on the SPG award chart in October 2009.

Questions for readers:

Have you ever redeemed a Cash & Points award stay in the U.S. or Canada at a Category 1 or 2 hotel?

Do you even see them offered?

I have to wonder if SPG and American Express raised the cardmember bonus points offer from 10,000 to 30,000 points in anticipation of the new Hyatt Visa card to be launched in the next couple of months? This sure makes me wonder what kind of initial membership bonus will be forthcoming for the Hyatt Gold Passport Visa card later this year.

The current American Express deal for SPG members is sign up for a new American Express personal or business card by July 6 and spend $1,000 during the first three months of card membership to receive a 30,000 points bonus.

Update: July 15 – Lucky reports this offer has been extended to July 31. Links are provided on his One Mile at a Time blog here.

30,000 Starpoints exchange into 35,000 airline miles with almost two dozen airline partners.

But, that is not the best value for Starpoints in my opinion unless you are getting a high value premium class award ticket with the miles. There are several hotel loyalty programs – Carlson goldpoints plus, Hyatt Gold Passport, Marriott Rewards, and Wyndham Rewards with similar or better points-to-miles exchange rates than Starwood Preferred Guest.

30,000 points will get you one free night at Starwood’s über-luxury Category 7 hotel resorts like the St. Regis New York or Mystique on the Greek Island of Santorini.

But in my analyses I find the better value is generally to pay for a free night and save your 30,000 points for higher value opportunities.

I am writing about this deal because I see a high value opportunity for someone who may not typically stay at Starwood Hotels. 30,000 Starpoints can easily provide over $1,000 in real hotel savings and as long as you do not find yourself leaving a balance on your card that gobbles up the points value through interest payments, then you have a good opportunity to open up cheap access to Starwood Hotels using your 30,000 points sign-up bonus.

I generally do not write about credit card bonuses. My interest is getting people into hotels and not into bank card debt. We all hear the advice about paying off your card every month and you will have minimal expense from a credit card. That is great advice until you find yourself suddenly unemployed or you have an emergency, charge up the credit card to help with the emergency finance need and find yourself unable to pay off the balance the next month. Credit cards would not be propping up bank balance sheets if everyone could pay off their cards every month. The debt cycle keeps these cards highly profitable for the banks.

You can’t even buy 30,000 points for your account for $1,000

The value of 30,000 points is $1,050 based on the purchase price of Starpoints from SPG, however, the annual purchase limit imposed by SPG is 20,000 Starpoints in a calendar year. Lucky on his One Mile at a Time blog last week listed point values for several airline and hotel programs and he suggested the value of Starpoints is $25 per 1,000 points. This is a figure I support in general based on the ability to easily get that value when redeeming points.

That is still a $750 value for this credit card sign-up bonus.

 

The Real Value Opportunity for 30,000 Starpoints

I generally try to get $50 per 1,000 points value when making room redemptions and that is most easily achieved through SPG Cash & Points awards. These awards require only 40% of the points for a free night and a cash supplement saves 60% of the points cost.

There are many category 4 Starwood Hotels that will post room rates around $300 after tax that can be purchased with $60 cash and 4,000 points. The cash and points award will have a value of $240 for the 4,000 points redeemed for a free night. This is $60 equivalent value per 1,000 points and significantly more than the $25 per 1,000 points value suggested by Lucky.

The main drawback of Cash & Points awards are limited availability. Most Starwood Hotels are available on any given night in any given location for a standard free night award, but Cash & Points awards may only be available for about half of these hotels – sometimes more and sometimes less.

The other disadvantage of Cash & Points is no elite qualifying credit is given for the stay and the SPG member does not earn points on the Cash portion of the award night payment. Incidental spending does earn points and you need to contact the hotel if the stay does not post and you should have earned points from incidental spending.

 

Here are some sample Cash & Points values:

Le Meridien Vienna

• December 6-9, 2010 = 179 EUR/night or about US$220
• Category 4 hotel Cash & Points Award = $60 + 4,000 points ($180 + 12,000 points for 3 nights)
• $660 – $180 = $480 saved with 12,000 points.
• SPG Points Value = $40/1,000 points. 

Hotel Des Indes, The Hague, Netherlands

• May 16-19, 2011 = 255EUR/night or about US$318
• Category 5 hotel Cash & Points Award = $90 + 4,800 points ($270 + 14,400 points for 3 nights)
• $954 – $270 = $684 saved with 14,400 points.
• SPG points value = $47.50/1,000 points.

Westin Grand Cape Town, South Africa

• February 7-10, 2011 = 1,722 ZAR/night or about US$222
• Category 3 hotel Cash & Points Award = $45 + 2,800 points ($135 + 8,400 points for 3 nights)
• $666 – $135 = $531 saved with 8,400 points.
• SPG points value = $63.21/1,000 points.

 

Do you get the picture now?

30,000 points has the potential, when used with discretion, to save nearly $1,900 in hotel room rates at a hotel like the Westin Cape Town. That is a great sign-up bonus for a credit card that has no membership fee for the first year and $45 per year thereafter. 

Just don’t fall into the credit card interest payment trap.

A reader’s comment the other day asked if I would give a simple points value for the different hotel chains. I quickly made an educated assessment off the top of my head.  

Hilton $6-9/1,000 points
Hyatt $15-$20/1,000 points
IHG Priority Club $7-$10/1,000 points
Marriott Rewards $7-10/1,000 points
Starwood Preferred Guest $35-$50/1,000 points

The comment had me thinking this past week about a method for making an accurate and precise calculation. I do not have the advanced mathematical tools to create a sophisticated analysis. Here is a great business idea for a fellow entrepreneur. Create computer programs that can evaluate high value redemptions for points and provide a list of hotels with great value for points.

My Loyalty Traveler corollary applies for this analysis:

“Points only have potential value until they are redeemed.”

Location is the key component of any program assessment when comparing one hotel chain to another. You have a good idea of the value of Starpoints or HHonors points if those are the points currency you frequently work with for your hotel stays. When it comes to comparing hotel programs and the value of points, then location comes into play along with other factors.

1.       Location – the objective variable. Look at the hotels in a particular city and compare points cost to rates for specific dates. That is what I have done for this assessment and in tribute to the Colbert Show I have titled this piece “Better Know a City”.

2.       Potential to earn points in the hotel loyalty program. This is the subjective variable and is related to the promotions offered, hotel stay pattern, elite status, and credit card earning.

My subjective evaluation of points earning ranking:

a.       IHG Priority Club

b.      Starwood/Hyatt

c.       Hilton/Marriott

Better Know a City – New York City

NYC is the most expensive hotel city in the US and therefore the hotel categories are also high for the different chains.

I picked a 3-night stay for Monday through Wednesday nights, April 5-8, 2010.

This is a date far enough in the future that awards were available 49 of 50 hotels in the city of New York and rates have probably not been discounted yet. Hotels typically begin heavy discounting within a few weeks of a stay date when occupancy is too low.

As will be seen from this analysis, the typically high hotel category placement for New York City hotels gives IHG Priority Club a competitive advantage in a hotel loyalty program comparison.

Priority Club bases the cost of a free night on hotel brand rather than hotel category. For this reason the cost in points for a free night at the Candlewood Suites in New York City is the same 15,000 points as a free night at the Candlewood Suites in Flowood, Mississippi.

Here are some observations on free night award searches across hotel loyalty programs:

 

1.       Starwood Hotels is the easiest program to check award availability compared to cash price. The initial search results for a location show the cash room rate, free night availability, and Cash & Points, if available. The search results also show the hotel category level for points. A member must be logged in as a member to check award availability with the other hotel chains.

 

2.       Hilton and Marriott require a check of the hotel’s homepage to see Hotel Category level. Hyatt requires a check of hotel category through Gold Passport award chart links.

 

 

3.       Marriott Rewards design is a mess. Has it always been this way?

I searched New York, New York and up to 92 hotels were displayed. I saw no function on the webpage to narrow this list down to just NYC downtown hotels.

 

Hilton and Starwood both offer a function to limit the geographic search to within a few miles of the location desired. Marriott Rewards did not even show a New York City hotel on page 1 of the search results.

 

I ended up searching by Category. The problem here is only one category could be searched at a time. I had to check Category 8, then Category 7, then Category 6, each time starting the search from scratch with New York City and filtering the 90+ hotel list down to the desired hotels so I would see only NYC listings.

 

New York City Results:

 

 

Hyatt Gold Passport  

Redemption value $20.02 for 2 hotels;

range $19.21 to $20.83

The best deal is Grand Hyatt New York, a Category 4 hotel at 15,000 points per night.

 

 

Starwood Preferred Guest  

Redemption value $22.14 per 1,000 points for 9 hotels;

range $14.40 – $34.92

Starwood Preferred Guest in New York City

 

SPG typically is a poor value for points when redeeming high category hotel properties. An unexpected result in this study was the relatively good redemption value for the Category 7, St. Regis New York. At $845 per night or 30,000 points, the points value of $28.16/1,000 points actually came out as one of the best deals for the SPG member in New York City. But seriously, $845 per night? That is some Wall Street level cash to spend for a hotel night.

 

4 of 9 Starwood hotels had a redemption value of less than $20 per 1,000 points.  That is a poor value and far below the $40 to $50 per 1,000 points a member can easily receive in many locations. I’d spend cash and save my points for another day.

 

Hilton HHonors  

Redemption value $6.68 per 1,000 points (17 hotels);

range $4.91-10.98 based on 2009 category levels.

 

If all these properties move up one category in 2010, then the

2010 redemption value = $5.62 per 1,000 points

range will be $3.98-$8.78.

 

The Waldorf=Astoria was the only New York City hotel not available as an award among the 50 hotels searched across the different hotel chains. The hotel was available for Sunday night April 4 at 40,000 points (50,000 points as of January 15, 2010.)

Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square was the only hotel to have a redemption value over $10/1,000 points, however, this hotel was by far the most expensive Hilton brand property in the city for the April dates at $439 per night for this Category 6 hotel. The Waldorf Towers was only $399 for the same dates.

 

Marriott Rewards

Redemption value = $7.54/1,000 points;

range $5.97 to $8.63  (11 hotels)

 

Marriott Rewards in New York City

 

 

 

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club

Redemption value = $9.96/1,000 points;

range $7.00 to $17.00  (10 hotels)

IHG Priority Club in New York City

 

Conclusion: My initial off-the-top-of-my-head estimates of points redemption value were within the range I found for New York City with the exception of Starwood Preferred Guest where the value was significantly lower than I estimated.

In my defense, SPG has poor redemption value at most high category hotels. I have repeatedly made this criticism of the program on Loyalty traveler blog. The St. Regis New York at $845 per night is an exception to the rule. This is actually a good use of 30,000 points for a SPG category 7 hotel.

I have never actually redeemed points for any hotel higher than a category 5 in the Starwood hotel chain. My analyses generally conclude a member is better off paying the big bucks for a high category hotel and saving your points for higher value hotel stays at Category 2 to 4 hotels and Cash & Points stays.

As someone who has burned several hundred thousand Starpoints, I typically get around $50 per 1,000 points with my free night redemptions. Cash & Points is usually the high value deal. Unfortunately, there were few offers of Cash & Points rates for the New York City Starwood Hotels so far in advance of the April date.

Priority Club and Hyatt Gold Passport show high value points redemption opportunities. Points & Cash rates with Priority Club provides even higher value for your points at these hotels.

Hilton and Marriott both showed redemption values in the lower range I initially estimated. Hilton, Marriott, and SPG offer better value when you have a 4 or 5 night stay and receive a discount on points.

IHG Priority Club and Hyatt Gold Passport are easily the winners for best value in the Better Know a City for your hotel points stays in New York.

Starwood Preferred Guest is currently running a targeted promotion whereby as a SPG Platinum elite member I can refer a new member to SPG for instant Gold elite and bonus points.

The new SPG member will receive instant SPG Gold elite membership valid through February 2011 and earn 1,000 bonus points for every night you stay in a Starwood Hotel between November 15, 2009 and March 31, 2010.

This offer is only valid for new members to Starwood Preferred Guest. Current SPG members and expired SPG members will be purged from this offer according to SPG representatives.

Starwood Hotels has about 1,000 properties globally. The hotel brands in the Starwood family include Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis, the Luxury Collection, Le Meridien, Four Points, element, and aloft. The hotel chain is regularly one of the top performers on Condé Nast’s annual Gold List of the World’s Best Hotels with far more hotels selected than the much larger hotel chains of Hilton and InterContinental Hotels Group.

Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Benefits link.

My new SPG friends earning 1,000 points per night will be earning more points per Starwood Hotel stay than me on my stays for the duration of this promotion. I only receive 500 points per stay for an SPG Platinum amenity and I don’t even receive that at some hotels.  1,000 bonus points per night is a great Starwood promotion for any member and a fantastic deal for a new SPG member.

SPG Gold elite membership normally requires 10 stays or 25 nights in a calendar year. Gold membership has the benefit of increasing your earnings to 3 Starpoints per $1 compared to 2 Starpoints per $1 as a base level SPG Blue member. The 1,000 bonus points per night is on top of points normally earned and other promotional bonuses you may be eligible to receive during this promotion period. 

Spend $300 for a three night Starwood Hotel stay and you will earn 3,900 Starpoints rather than just 600 Starpoints normally earned by a new SPG Blue level member. Free nights with SPG start at 2,000 points for a Category 1 weekend. Category 4 Cash & Points Awards are just $60 + 4,000 points per night.

So what is in it for me?

I will earn a one-time 1,000 Starpoints bonus if a referral member stays at least one time in a Starwood Hotel during the promotion period ending March 31, 2010.

Let me help you. And you help me. My wife and I would thoroughly love a nice hotel vacation in 2010 far away from California in a European Starwood Hotel courtesy of our SPG friends.

Let’s make social media work for both of us.

What would really be cool for Loyalty Traveler blog is to have my new SPG Gold friends submit a photo of a Starwood hotel stay. Let’s see if Loyalty Traveler can spread the Gold touch of travel around the world.

What you need to do for me to refer you for this promotional offer:

1.       Send me an email to ricgarridolt@gmail.com using the email address you want for the referral to Starwood Preferred Guest. I’ll try to check it at least daily for referral requests. The SPG referral only requires your email so you don’t even have to provide your name if you so choose. And if you choose to write me a note, that is cool too.

2.       I will submit your email address using the SPG promotion referral form. (see picture)

3.       You look for the referral email from SPG. You should receive the email from SPG within a day of my referral. (see picture)

4.       Join SPG using the email referral link provided in the email from SPG.

5.       Your membership status should be Gold (assuming you are truly a new SPG member)

6.       Stay in a Starwood hotel and earn 1,000 bonus points for every night by March 31, 2010.

7.       Enjoy your Starwood Hotel stays. I have enjoyed most of mine over the years.

This promotion is a targeted promotion received by SPG for selected Platinum members.

Here is a picture of the email offer I received.

Here is what the email you receive from Starwood Preferred Guest will look like.

Terms and Conditions for the SPG Platinum Member Referral Promotion:

Existing SPG® Platinum members (“Referrers”) will earn 1,000 bonus Starpoints® for each referred friend or colleague (“Referee”) who joins the Starwood Preferred Guest® program and stays at least one eligible night between November 15, 2009, and March 31, 2010. Referrers must be Platinum status as of November 13, 2009. Referrers can earn a maximum of 1,000 bonus Starpoints per Referee, but there is no limit to the amount of Referees one can enter. Bonus Starpoints for Referrers will show up in the account within 4–6 weeks after the eligible night posts to the Referee’s account. Referrers must recommend Referees by registering and entering Referee’s email addresses on the promotion referral page. Deadline for referrals is February 28, 2010. Referees who enroll based on an existing member’s referral will earn 1,000 bonus Starpoints per eligible night between November 15, 2009, and March 31, 2010, plus receive elite Gold status through February 2011. Referees excluded from the promotion include existing SPG members, past members whose accounts have expired, or anyone who has opted out of Starwood Preferred Guest communications. There are no limits to the number of Starpoints a Referrer or Referee may earn during the promotion period. This offer is only open to Referrers who are existing Platinum members and were targeted through email directly. An eligible night is a night spent at any of the over 940 SPG participating properties while paying a qualifying rate that is eligible to earn Starpoints in the Starwood Preferred Guest program between November 15, 2009, and March 31, 2010.

Between Cash & Points, Birth Year rates, and the 24-hour Hyatt sale today, my parents trimmed their 7 nights of upscale hotel stays in Florida from over $1,000 to under $600 for the week. A free night at Hyatt will be earned and Starpoints earned from paid stays will offset the cost for an SPG Cash & Points night.

My parents scored another nice deal using the Pay your Birth Year rate at Starwood Hotels. The rate dropped the cost of the hotel from $385 for three nights to $163 using the birth year rate for a 3-night hotel stay in Florida.

The Pay Your Birth Year rate is a great deal for older people and generally a savings for younger travelers in Starwood Hotels where the rate is offered. There is a set rate for the first night; often a higher rate than otherwise available (Luxury Collection Diplomat Golf Resort & Spa at Hallandale Beach was $60 over otherwise lowest $189 rate for first night). The Birth Year rate savings kick in on the second and third nights (2-night minimum, 3-night maximum stay) when you pay the rate of your 19xx birth year.

My parents were born in the 1930s. While $250 for one night is higher than the average guest might want to pay, the 3-night rate of $320 using the Birth Year rate for someone in their 70s makes going upscale not such an extravagance in cost.

And no, you can’t use your third grade child born in 2001 to get a birth year rate of $1 per night. Guest must be 18 or older for the birth year rate. And the rate is adjusted by the hotel for the 2^nd and 3^rd night billing, so your identification and proof of age will certainly be verified at check-in.

Here is a link to an April 28, 2009 Loyalty Traveler post about the Birth Year special offer rate with more details and strategy for using this promotion. I’ll repeat the strategy here. The promotion allows you to book higher category rooms so your best value is to book the highest category you can afford since the 2^nd and 3^rd nights will be a set low price. You can take the cost of a $1,200 suite for 3 nights down to below $600 for 3-nights in some hotels.

Starwood website Pay Your Birth Year link.

Starwood Preferred Guest

New Members Offer for Instant SPG Gold Elite through February 2011 (normally requires 10 hotel stays or 25 nights in a calendar year), plus 1,000 bonus points per night through March 31, 2010.

Details:  http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/11/20/my-midas-touch-gives-new-spg-members-starwood-preferred-guest-gold-elite/

Starwood points may be purchased for $14.00 per 500 points ($28/1,000 points) up to the 20,000 points calendar year limit from November 10 to December 31, 2009. This is a 20% discount on the regular purchase price for Starpoints at $35 per 1,000 points. The sale price is not yet posted on the SPG website. Starwood Lurker made a pre-sale announcement last Friday on FlyerTalk. Tuesday, November 10, the price will be reduced for purchases made through the link shown below.

www.spg.com/starpointpurchase

 

Some reasons why you might consider purchasing Starpoints are if you need additional points for:

Cash & Points night,

5^th night free award,  

Nights and Flights award  which includes 50,000 airline miles and 5 nights at a Category 3 hotel (60,000 points) or 5 nights at a Category 4 hotel (70,000 points). This is basically a way to get a 5-night Category 3 hotel stay for 20,000 points or Category 4 hotel stay for just 30,000 points in combination with the 40,000 starpoints exchanged into 50,000 airline miles.  

Starpoints exchange 1-to-1 with most SPG airline partners. Members receive a 5,000 points transfer bonus when exchanging a 20,000 mile block of Starpoints to a frequent flyer program.

20,000 Starpoints can be exchanged into 25,000 airline miles with about 20 frequent flyer programs.

Continental, United, and Singapore have a poor exchange rate at 20,000 Starpoints = 12,500 miles.

Buying 25,000 miles for $560 is probably not a good deal for economy class domestic travel, but this is likely a lower cost route to miles than a purchase through most airline programs if you plan to top off a frequent flyer account and redeem miles for a premium award airline ticket or upgrade to business or first class.

SPG members with accounts registered at the same address can transfer Starpoints between accounts to combine points for awards. This is one way around the 20,000 points calendar year limit if you have multiple SPG accounts in one household.

Last week I posted tables for excellent SPG hotel award value. The tables were based on the purchase price of $35 per 1,000 points needed for Cash & Points awards, free night awards, and 5^th night free awards. These awards are even a better bargain at lower room rates than shown in the tables with the 20% discount SPG points purchase option for the member needing more Starpoints to buy a great hotel stay value.

 

 

Starwood Preferred Guest Cash & Points awards are the best way to get excellent value out of your SPG points. Cash & Points Award Nights, when offered, provide a 60% discount in the points required for a free room night in exchange for a specific cash co-pay that is set according to the SPG hotel redemption category.

Free nights using points-only is covered by the SPG “No Blackouts” policy, but the Cash & Points option is not. Cash & Points may have blackout dates, and in fact, are frequently not offered on the SPG website when points-only rooms are available. [Tip from Gary Leff is to call the hotel anyway and check for Cash & Points even when they are not appearing on the website. He reports this frequently works for Cash & Points awards.] When you have the Cash & Points award option it is a great way to conserve points on a hotel stay.

Here are some important points regarding Cash & Points award stays:

1. Cash & Points Awards are not applicable to the 5^th Night Free Awards. A 5-night stay requires 5 nights of Cash & Points payment. A “Points-Only” 5^th night free award requires only 4 nights of points-only payment.

2. Cash & Points award stays do not earn Starpoints on the paid cash portion. You are eligible for Starpoints on other eligible hotel charges like dining. A Cash & Points stay may not even show up on your account. Check with the hotel or SPG if no points post on additional charges from your Cash & Points hotel stay.

3. Cash & Points award stays are not eligible for elite qualifying credit. This also applies to points-only award stays.

4. Cash & Points award stays may not be upgraded in advance with supplemental points. Points-only award stays may be upgraded in advance based on availability using additional points. As an SPG Platinum member I have frequently received very nice upgrades on Cash & Points awards.

5. International hotels priced in non-US Dollars will be converted to local currency for payment. (Loyalty Traveler note – some exchange rates are wacky. I have ended up paying 20% less than the US dollar amount and I have paid 20% more than the US dollar amount for Cash & Points stays outside the US.)

 

Yesterday’s Loyalty Traveler post displayed a qualitative table based on a scale where an excellent redemption value for your points results in a cash savings greater than $35 per 1,000 points spent. The table points out the difficulty in getting a high redemption value in the range of $35 per 1,000 Starpoints when redeeming points for SPG high category hotels.

An SPG Category 6 hotel needs to be over $700 per night when spending 20,000 points for a free night in order to realize a cash savings of $35 per 1,000 points redeemed. Most Category 6 hotels are not priced that high in the present hotel travel economic environment.

 The value of Cash & Points becomes apparent when running the numbers for these awards at a Category 6 hotel.

 

 

For example, St. Regis Monarch Beach at Dana Point, California is a SPG Category 6 property. A check of rates for next week shows Cash & Points availability for the dates Tuesday, November 3 to Friday, November 6 for a 3-night stay.

Here are the options: (I am ignoring the $25 per day resort fee in these calculations. The resort fee is additional to numbers shown for the three options. Tax is a confusing issue. Sometimes I have been charged hotel tax on the Cash portion of the Cash & Points award and other times I have not paid the tax. In the past two years the hotel tax has usually been applied to the cash portion for my US hotel Cash & Points award stays.)

St. Regis Monarch Beach Payment Options

Cash & Points: $150 + 8,000 points per night = $450 + 24,000 points

Points-Only: 20,000 points per night = 60,000 points

Cash-Only: $470 per night (includes 10% tax) = $1,410

The SPG redemption options are either spend 60,000 points to save $1,410 or spend 24,000 points to save $915.

$1,410 cash-only rate – $495 cash portion  of Cash & Points rate = $915 equivalent value of points.

(I added 10% hotel tax to the cash portion of $450 for 3 nights = $45 tax for the award stay).

Spending 60,000 points for 3 hotel award nights gives a redemption value of $1,410 ÷ 60,000 = $23.50 per 1,000 Starpoints. 

I rate this as a “Fair” redemption value in my Redemption Quality table shown above for SPG Category 6 hotels.

Spending 24,000 points to save $915 gives a redemption value of $915 ÷ 24,000 = $38.12 per 1,000 Starpoints and now the redemption value rates as “Excellent” in the Loyalty Traveler Category 6 redemption quality scale.

At this rate of redemption value the remaining 36,000 points saved by using Cash & Points rather than 60,000 points for Points-only free nights at the St. Regis Monarch Beach next week has a value of $1,372 for future cash savings on hotel stays.  (36,000 points x $38.12/1,000 points = $1,372)

The economics of Cash & Points provides high value opportunity for Starwood Preferred Guests.

Here are SPG Cash & Points Redemption Quality tables to correspond with the Points-Only tables from yesterday’s Loyalty Traveler post.

SPG Cash & Points Redemption Quality Guide

Starwood Preferred Guest has just changed the terms for SPG Cash & Points awards to allow Category 1 and Category 2 redemption level Starwood hotels in the USA and Canada. Cash & Points awards for these lowest level hotel categories had previously been limited to Asia-Pacific region only. Link to SPG Cash & Points table.

SPG Category 1 Cash & Points award is just $25 and 1,200 points. Redeeming a points-only award night costs 2,000 points on Friday or Saturday night and 3,000 points for other nights of the week at a Category 1 Starwood hotel.

SPG Category 2 offers even better value at just $30 and 1,600 points. Redeeming a points-only award night costs  3,000 points on Friday or Saturday and 4,000 points for other nights of the week at a category 2 Starwood hotel. Spending $30 cash will save 2,400 Starpoints on a weekday night using a Cash & Points award. This is an incredible savings.

There are a far greater number of Category 2 hotels in the US and Canada than Category 1 properties.

This is huge value for SPG members at US and Canada Category 1 and 2 hotels offering the Cash & Points option. 

Remember — Cash & Points are offered at the hotel’s discretion so I expect members will often find a room is available for points-only, but not Cash & Points. Unfortunately, at this time, I am unable to locate any Category 1 or 2 hotels in the US offering a Cash & Points option for dates I checked over the next week.

For now, here is the revised wording on the SPG Cash & Points chart. Category 1 and 2 hotels – “offered at Asia Pacific, U.S., and Canadian hotels only”.

Starwood Preferred Guest shows its members another positive hotel loyalty program change.