I am kind of excited the Giants are going to the World Series. Hopefully this will be a better show than 1989.

I booked a couple of nights in the city for the first two games this week. Rates shot up to over $600 per night after the win this evening, but I snagged the W San Francisco and InterContinental Mark Hopkins on points. Who you gonna call?

I left out mattress runs as a component of the Chicago Seminar DO hotel loyalty programs presentation.

Here is a tutorial on how I approach planning multiple one-night stays for the purposes of earning elite credit fast and maximizing promotions. Points and elite status come in handy at times.

Remember the Future

The end of 2010 is quickly approaching with only about ten weeks left for securing elite qualifying hotel stays for the 2011 membership year.

In the remaining 10 weeks of 2010 I need more Hyatt stays, more Priority Club stays, and more SPG stays. I want some cheap rooms since several of these hotel nights are more about elite status and promotion bonuses for 2011 hotel stay opportunities rather than a need for so many hotel rooms before the end of this year.

Elite Qualification is Based on a Calendar Year

Basically all the major hotel loyalty programs determine a member’s elite status level by the number of stays or nights completed in a calendar year. Most major hotel loyalty programs only count paid stays for elite status (Accor A-Club, Best Western Rewards, Carlson goldpoints plus, Hyatt Gold Passport, InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards, Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest and Wyndham Rewards). Hilton HHonors and Choice Privileges also count reward nights and stays for elite which adds an additional strategy component for hotel stay elite qualification. Priority Club counts almost all points earned for elite status (notable exception is points purchased for Points + Cash award stays.) HHonors also counts base points earned for elite status, but that is generally a more expensive route to elite status than qualifying by hotel stays.

Starwood Preferred Guest Stays Count Double and 4 stays to Gold promotions.

I find myself running short on SPG hotel stays in 2010 for Platinum elite requalification. Platinum elite members receive 500 welcome amenity points for most Starwood Hotel stays, except 250 points for aloft, element, and Four Points brand hotel stays.

Another major benefit of SPG elite is complimentary upgrades at full service hotels. In the past year my upgrades have varied from as basic as a top floor room with hotel lounge access, but the less desirable view at the Sheraton San Jose to a junior suite preferred view room at the Walt Disney World Dolphin on a Cash & Points rate to a full suite at Westin Market Street San Francisco on a $99 hotel rate.

Planning Mattress Runs

One of my main objectives is to get cheap room nights since I am planning to book more room nights than I really need for work or leisure. I must complete 5 stays to earn a SPG Rewarding Returns promotion bonus that will allow me to book a five night Category 5 hotel for 36,000 points rather than 48,000 points in 2011. That works out to essentially 2,400 bonus points per stay.

Five stays at Four Points, aloft, or element hotels during Stays Count Double will also fast-track requalification for SPG Platinum elite in 2010 to retain my Platinum elite membership through February 2012. SPG Platinum elite normally requires 25 stays in a calendar year.

I definitely prefer to stay at Westin, Sheraton and upper-upscale Starwood brands, but the option to get 10 stay credits with only 5 paid hotel nights for around $500 compared to needing around $1,500+ for 10 stays at Starwood upper-upscale brands is a major motivator to downscale my desired hotel market segment over the next two months.

Personally I give SPG Platinum elite a $1,000+ value over being SPG Gold as long as I spend 15 nights or more at Starwood Hotels in 2011. I estimate I will average around $100 per hotel night in added value by being SPG Platinum. Some complimentary room upgrades are $100 to $200 in added value like when booking a lowest rate room in the bottom category and getting a suite upgrade.

Not all Starwood Hotel stays will have that high an added-value due to Platinum elite. My two Starwood Hotel stays in Chicago this past week actually fell short of my $100 per night estimate since I only received Preferred view rooms with no substantial room category upgrade at either hotel, lounge access at the Sheraton Chicago ($15 value) and two free beers at the W Lakeshore Chicago ($12 value) + 500 bonus points at each hotel (1000 points = $29 purchase price value with current Starpoints promotion). That works out to about $28 added value per room night. Still, even at that rate I can expect to get about $420 in added value in 2011 with 15 room nights, in addition to the 12,000 points discount 5-night category 5 hotel reward stay.

I’ll certainly come out ahead more than $500 in 2011 by planning five stays at Four Points hotels before the end of 2010. 

Finding Cheap Rooms

Stays Count Double only applies to Aloft, Element and Four Points brands. There are no Aloft or Element Hotels in the San Francisco Bay Area so I will focus on finding low cost Four Points hotels.

In the San Francisco area I have five hotel choices within 150 miles of my home:

• Four Points San Francisco Airport
• Four Points San Francisco Bay Bridge
• Four Points San Rafael
• Four Points Pleasanton
• Four Points San Jose Downtown

Price factors:

Book refundable rooms whenever possible to lock in rate, but have the option of rebooking if rate drops before stay which is highly probable. 

Nightly Parking fees  – $20 per night San Jose Downtown impacts the $89 room rate; the other Four Points locations offer free parking.

Cost of gas to reach hotel – San Rafael is 250 miles roundtrip so $30 in gas compared to San Jose at 140 miles roundtrip or $16 in gas.

Location factor – accessing San Francisco Bay Bridge and San Rafael require driving in heavy traffic areas. San Jose Downtown is only hotel that has interesting sites within walking distance around hotel. Pleasanton is in the burbs. SFO is quite familiar and boring location.

Weekend vs. weekday – San Rafael is the only hotel here that consistently has lower weekday rates than weekend rates. Most of my stays will need to be on weekends to get the best price. Four Points Pleasanton is in a corporate business park area and weekday rates will be double the cost of weekend stays.

Holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays can result in really low rates and provide a good opportunity for end-of-year mattress runs. Four Points Pleasanton has $79 and $80 rates from November 19-28. Unfortunately this hotel is the most distant from the other hotels. Pleasanton is good for mattress runs by alternating nights between Hyatt Place Dublin ($62/night during Thanksgiving week) and Four Points Pleasanton to earn low-cost bonuses in two loyalty programs.

How to find low rates:

Travelocity allows me to check room rates over next 90 days. These rates will mirror the rates available on Starwood sites. And if the low rate is not showing up on the Starwood site, then I can file a Starwood Hotels Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) claim and receive 2,000 bonus points for the hotel stay. I filed a BRG today with SPG.

Four Points San Jose Downtown

Friday, Saturday and Sundays are inexpensive.

My initial thought is book San Jose on Friday night, go to another Four Points for Saturday night and get San Jose for Sunday night on the drive home. I can check in Sunday and go home and receive 2 stay credits for about $100. For about $300 I can receive 6 SPG elite stay credits over a single weekend.

San Francisco Airport tends to be cheap on Saturday nights. Here is the Travelocity calendar for Four Points SFO.

Four Points San Rafael drops to $99 per night every night in December 2010. Not bad for Marin County. Maybe even see George Lucas at the Starbucks.

Then there is always East Bay on the east side of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. I rarely venture into those parts, but I have wanted to check out the Four Points San Francisco Bay Bridge for several years.

I think it is time for the Four Points Industrial Tour of northern California for SPG hotel loyalty enthusiasts and wannabes.

I have always liked the feel of platinum.

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.

Room view from Sheraton Chicago

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

View of Navy Pier from W Hotel Whiskey Sky Bar (similar to my room view)

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

Chicago at sunset from 40th floor rooftop pool deck at Hotel Avenue Crowne Plaza

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

Breakfast at 7th floor NoMI Restaurant Park Hyatt Chicago

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.

Today October 11 is last day to book this Marriott offer.

Marriott Weekend Stays Free Breakfast and $100 Bonus Bucks at Marriott, Renaissance, JW Marriott

• Stay October 14 to January 2, 2011, Continental U.S. and Canada hotels only
• Book this special offer between September 24 and October 11 (today) for arrival on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.
• Stay just one night on Friday or Saturday and earn a $100 Marriott Bonus Bucks certificate for a two-night stay between Thursday and Sunday within 90 days. $100 bonus bucks may be used for room rate on future weekend stay.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/09/25/marriott-weekend-stays-oct-14-jan-2-free-breakfast-and-100-bonus-bucks/

Carlson Hotels – Country Inn & Suites

October 3 – November 21, 2010; U.S., Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama

• 15,000 bonus points for one-night stay on a Sunday through Thursday. (Limit one bonus per member)
• 3-day advance reservation required. Promo code = 15000PTS.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/09/28/country-inn-suites-one-night-stay-for-15000-goldpoints/

SPG Nights and Stays Count Double at Starwood’s Four Points, Aloft and Element brand hotels.

• October 1 – December 31, 2010 

(This is basically the offer for fast-track Platinum or for an SPG member who is already just a couple of stays away from SPG Gold Elite since the other offer gives Gold elite after 4 stays.) 

SPG Fast-Track to Gold elite after 4 stays at Starwood’s Four Points, Aloft and Element brand hotels.

• October 1 – January 31, 2011 

There are about 200 hotels in these three Starwood brands, mostly in U.S.

Gold elite status good through February 2012 and earns a 50% elite bonus points. This is a great time to grab cheap elite with SPG.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/10/04/spg-stays-count-double-oct-1-dec-31-2010-aloft-element-and-four-points-brands-only/

Hyatt 5,000 points for two-night stays at 27 West Coast hotels.

• September 25 – December 30, 2010, use Special Offer Code 5000GP
• 5000GP rates are reasonable and do not appear to have a mark-up like most special offer rates.

Combinable with Great 10K offer for 10,000 bonus points every 5 nights. You can potentially earn 35,000 bonus points after 10 nights. This is a good deal. Two reward nights at high-end Category-5 hotels will cost 36,000 points. 35,000 points will get 7 free nights at a category-1 hotel. And unlike other hotel loyalty programs, you will find lots of Hyatt category-1 hotels 

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/10/07/hyatt-5000-points-for-2-night-stays-at-27-west-coast-hotels/

2010 Hotel Reward Distribution Hyatt vs. SPG

IHG Priority Club Sweet Dilemma Free Night offer

• September 20 – December 31, 2010
• Earn one free night for every two stays. Five night maximum earning limit.
• Free nights must be used December 1 – May 31, 2011

This offer is the equivalent of earning 40,000 Priority Club points if free night used for high-tier InterContinental Hotel. Hopefully it does not become a trend to exclude earning base and elite bonus points for the entire promotional period when choosing a free night offer. 

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/08/30/priority-club-free-nights-or-double-points-sweet-dilemma/

Marriott MegaBonus Free Night after Two Stays (Earning Limit = 2 free nights)

• September 15 – January 15, 2010
• Must register for this promotion by October 31.
• Free nights restricted to Marriott Rewards category-1 to category-4 hotels.

This Marriott offer is potentially worth the equivalent 40,000 points after 4 stays. A category-4 hotel reward night is a 20,000 points value.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/08/19/marriott-megabonus-registration-live-today/

Hilton Double Points and 4x Sundays  

October 12 – December 30, 2010

Stay Sunday night and the entire stay earns a bonus equivalent to quadruple base points. Elite base points are earned at regular rate of 10 points per $1. 4x Bonus ends up being 30 bonus points per $1.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2010/10/08/hhonors-double-points-and-stay-sunday-for-4x-points-2010-q4/ 

A summary of other hotel loyalty program promotions can be found on this Loyalty traveler page.

Starwood American Express card members will receive 2 stays and 5 nights annual elite qualifying credit beginning October 14, 2010 when the new card terms and $65 annual card fee go into effect. Starwood Lurker states on FlyerTalk the new benefit will apply for up to two cards for 4 stays and 10 nights elite credit for the primary card member of a personal and business SPG American Express card.

What is the big deal?

The initial announcement only stated an annual benefit for five nights elite qualifying credit. That actually was not much of a helpful benefit for many SPG card members, like me, who qualify on stays for elite status. In eight years I have always qualified for SPG Platinum elite on Starwood stays and never qualified on nights. You need to average two or more nights on every Starwood Hotel stay to qualify for SPG elite on nights more quickly than stays. 

• Starwood Preferred Guest Gold = 10 stays or 25 nights in a calendar year (e.g. 2010, 2011).
• Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum = 25 stays or 50 nights.

SPG American Express card members (2 stays and 5 nights credit)

Reportedly all American Express cardmembers will receive 2 stays and 5 nights elite qualification credit for the 2010 calendar year in October 2010. Subsequent years elite credit stays and nights will be added each February, as long as the credit card account is active and in good standing. In February 2011 SPG American Express cardmembers will receive 2 stays and 5 nights elite credit for the 2011 calendar year.

Starwood Lurker FlyerTalk post (October 6, 2010)

The information I have been given up to now says that this will happen every late February. From that, my understanding is that everyone who is a cardmember as of October 14th will get 2 stays/5 nights this October for 2010 and then 2 stays/5 nights next February to apply toward 2011. Those who have both the business and personal cards would receive twice that.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

SPG Elite Qualification thresholds for SPG American Express card member

Starwood Preferred Guest Gold = 10 stays or 25 nights. 

• 8 stays or 20 nights for SPG AMEX card member – Business or Personal
• 6 stays or 15 nights for SPG AMEX Personal and Business Cards member

Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum = 25 stays or 50 nights.

• 23 stays or 45 nights for SPG AMEX card member – Business or Personal
• 21 stays or 40 nights for SPG AMEX Personal and Business Cards member

Another post from Starwood Lurker states, “Any new card members who sign up and are approved for the SPG American Express on or after October 14, 2010 will automatically get credit for 2 stays and 5 nights towards 2010.”

Five elite nights credit was little benefit to this SPG American Express card member, but 2 stays elite credit is a benefit I think will reduce my need for one more stay at an Aloft, Element, or Four Points Hotel in 2010.

Starwood Preferred Guest has put fast-track elite into play for the next three to four months with two promotions targeting SPG stays at Aloft, Element, and Four Points brands.

Nights/Stays Count Double Oct 1- Dec 31. Registration required.

Gold elite after four stays October 1-January 31. Registration required.

Last year I suggested hotel loyalty programs should focus on targeted Stays Count Double for their luxury hotel brands, but that idea wasn’t picked up. I am happy to see this promotion from SPG target the least expensive Starwood Hotels brands, at least for my wallet.

Promotion 1: Nights Count Double at Aloft, Element and Four Points Hotels (about 200 hotels).

• Every eligible night or stay counts double October 1 – December 31, 2010.
• All global properties in Aloft, Element and Four Points participate.
• An eligible night is a paid night that qualifies for earning points (Cash & Points or Standard Award Nights do not count. Must book through an SPG channel, so no Expedia or Travelocity booked stays.)
• Any SPG member may sign up for the promotion. (FAQ states SPG® members who receive the promotional email may register for the promotion, but Starwood Lurker II, an official SPG social media representative to the FlyerTalk community,  posted on FlyerTalk today that any SPG member is eligible.)
• Register by December 31, 2010. Stays completed prior to promotion registration will receive double credit.
• Stays with arrival before October 1 or departure after December 31 will count as long as one night falls in the October 1-December 31 period. (SPG FAQ: If I check in before October 1 or check out after December 31, do my stays and nights count double?  Any stays with an arrival date occurring during the promotion registration will count double. Any nights during the promotion period will count double.)
• Multiple rooms for same hotel stay will only count for one double credit.

Loyalty Traveler 5-Key promotion opportunity for Stays Count Double elite.

Promotion 2: SPG Gold Elite after four stays in Aloft, Element or Four Points hotel brands.

• October 1, 2010  – January 31, 2011
• Register by January 31, 2011. Stays completed prior to registration, but during the promotion period will be counted.
• Gold elite membership earned after four qualifying hotel stays from October 1 through January 31, 2011 will be valid for all of 2011 and through February 2012. [There is no point in waiting for January 2011 since the Gold elite offer is only for the 2011 membership year.]
• The four hotel stays can be at any hotels in the three brands of Aloft, Element, and Four Points. You can stay four times in the same hotel or complete four stays in four different hotels.
• Gold elite membership earns 50% more Starpoints as elite bonus (3 points/$1).
• Gold elite members receive complimentary internet at Starwood Hotels.

Loyalty Traveler 5-Key promotion opportunity for fast-track Gold elite after four stays.

Loyalty Traveler Theorizes Why Stays Count Double is Limited to 3 Starwood Hotel Brands

The FlyerTalk thread on this SPG Stays Count Double promotion questions Starwood’s motivation for offering elite fast-track opportunities at the lower level hotel brands of Starwood Hotels. Here is some data which may shed light on why there is an effort to stimulate business in this hotel market segment.

There are currently about 45 Aloft Hotels (40 USA/Canada; 5 international), 7 Element Hotels (all USA) and around 153 Four Points Hotels (104 North America and 49 international).

Four Points Hotels are a Midscale with Food & Beverage hotel brand. This market segment is not seeing the occupancy recovery being led by the upscale and luxury hotel market segments in 2010. STR Global reported the 2010 outlook broken down by hotel market segments. The Midscale with F&B hotel market segment has less than 1% occupancy increase for 2010 when the luxury segment is looking at 8% and Upper Upscale 6% and Upscale near 5% occupancy increase for this year. Room rates are still in decline in the Midscale F&B hotel market segment. The RevPAR hotel profits indicator reveals the Midscale F&B hotel market segment is on pace for the worse statistics of 2010 in all hotel market segments.

Starwood Hotels numbers through June 30, 2010 show Four Points room rates in North America barely moved during the first six months of 2010 from $99.14 Average Daily Rate (ADR) in June 2009 to $99.36 in June 2010. At least the rates did not decline year over year. The room rate data is not broken down for Aloft Hotels or Element brands.

Four Points occupancy actually increased on average by 2.7% from 60.8% in June 2009 to 63.5% in June 2010.  While Four Points is faring better than the average North American Midscale with F&B hotel chain, Four Points shows an occupancy gain that is less than half the average gain (5.5%) for Starwood Hotels as a whole in 2010.

Aloft and element are the newest Starwood brands still trying to make an impact in the midscale to upscale business traveler market. That is tough with other new hotel brands like Hyatt Place, Marriott’s Edition, Hilton’s Home2Suites, IHG Hotel Indigo and other relatively new brands trying to grab the traveling public’s attention.

Aloft Hotels – Loyalty traveler review of Aloft Cascade Station Portland Airport (PDX) Oregon (November 2008). These are colorful hotels and my review includes many photos. But once you have seen one Aloft Hotel, you basically have seen them all. Looking out the window is the best way to tell where you are in the country.

Element Las Vegas (Summerlin) – Loyalty Traveler review with lots of pictures (August 2009).

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?

Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum elites who have requalified for 2011 Platinum status will receive one extra bonus point per dollar in spend from October 1 through December 31, 2010.  Promotion registration is required by December 30, 2010. Stays prior to registration will not earn the extra Starpoint. Four Starpoints promotion terms and conditions.

The extra bonus point for SPG Platinum only applies to stays after the member has requalified in 2010 for 2011 platinum elite status. This promotion is a small incentive for Starwood loyalists who reach 25 stays or 50 nights well before the end of the year.

This offer is combinable with the SPG Every Night Counts double/triple points promotion.

Platinum members who have requalified for 2011 Platinum elite will receive at least 6 points per dollar from the combination of double points and the platinum extra point for Starwood stays during the overlapping promotion dates.

SPG Gold and Platinum elite members normally receive 2 base points and 1 bonus point for 3 points per dollar in Starwood Hotel spend.

Platinum elite Starpoints earning potential is 10 points/$1 from October 1-December 15, 2010

• 2 base points/$1
• 1 elite bonus point/$1
• 2 bonus points/$1 (Every Night Counts double points bonus for 1-9 nights; Sep 8-Dec 15)
• 1 platinum elite bonus point (Oct. 1-Dec 31; platinums who have already requalified for 2011 platinum)
• 2 bonus points/$1 (Every Night Counts triple points bonus for 10+ nights; Sep 8-Dec 15)
• 2 bonus points/$1 (SPG American Express payment)

Fee increase to $65. No big deal.

Sheraton 3^rd night free offer. No big deal.

Five nights elite credit per year. No big deal.

Elimination of SPG50 annual certificate. No big deal.

The July 30 announcement on FlyerTalk by Starwood Lurker (Starwood Hotels employee) of two exciting new benefits pointed out changes coming to the SPG credit card from American Express. To date there have been 28 pages with over 400 responses on the SPG-AMEX changes.

All in all I find the changes to be no big deal and nothing too exciting.

Fee Increase

The $20 fee increase is a drag, but this is really only equivalent to about 500 starpoints lost for the year. When you stay at Starwood Hotels you receive 2 points/$1 when you use your SPG American Express card. Points for $250 in hotel room stays is neutralized with the annual fee increase.

Sheraton 3^rd Night Free Benefit

The Sheraton 3^rd night free offer is not clearly a new benefit as of yet. The restrictions for the ZHA or ZRA are the same as for the current 3^rd night free offers. Room is prepaid and you must arrive Thursday through Saturday. The fact that you must use your SPG-AMEX card is even more restrictive than the long available 3^rd night free Z3H/Z3R rates.

The 3^rd night free benefit will actually be an enhancement only if there is hotel availability using ZHA/ZRA codes for hotels unavailable using the Z3H/Z3R codes. The current 3^rd night free offers are available for Sheraton Hotels – as well as Westin, W Hotels, and Four Points.

Starwood Hotels 3^rd Night Free link

Starwood Resorts 3^rd Night Free link

Five Nights Elite Credit

I am in the camp who sees little personal benefit from this enhancement. I have never qualified for SPG elite status on nights.

Gold elite requires 25 nights at Starwood Hotels in a calendar year. The SPG-AMEX benefit reduces this threshold to just 20 nights.

But you only need 10 stays in a calendar year for Gold status. A person can earn SPG Gold elite with as few as 10 one-night stays in a year, or a total of 10 nights.

How many SPG-AMEX cardmembers stay 20 to 24 nights in a year, with fewer than 10 stays? Cardmembers who finish the year with 20 to 24 paid nights and fewer than 10 hotel stays are the only Gold elite recipients of this SPG-AMEX enhancement.

Platinum elite requires 25 stays or 50 nights in a calendar year. The five nights elite credit only makes a difference if you are in the subset of SPG-AMEX cardmembers who stay 45 to 49 nights in a calendar year without 25 stays.

The five nights elite benefit affects a small subset of cardmembers.

50% off award discontinued as annual benefit.

The SPG50 certificate is 50% off the rack rate for a hotel stay up to five nights. Most of my annual certificates have gone unused. I have only found a lower rate using SPG50 twice and the last time was in 2008. There is almost always a lower rate available. And I avoid prepaid rates whenever possible.

But any SPG member still has the same 50% rack rate option available for just 1,000 starpoints and there is no requirement to use an SPG-AMEX card.

If you regularly used your SPG50 certificate, then the changes are equivalent to losing another 1,000 points per year.

Conclusion:

Some SPG-AMEX cardmembers lost an equivalent value of 1,500 Starpoints with the annual card fee increase and loss of the SPG50 certificate.

For some cardmembers the five nights elite credit may be the difference between general SPG membership and Gold elite. Some frequent guests will find the 20 night threshold will be easier to reach than 10 stays for Gold elite.

For most Platinum elite members I do not see the five nights credit having any impact unless you are in a very select group of cardmembers having 45 to 49 paid nights and less than 25 stays.

October 14, 2010 we will see if the Sheraton 3^rd night free ZHA/ZRA offer is actually an enhancement to the SPG American Express card.

Starwood Preferred Guest Rewarding Returns promotion is a choice between the offers of 25% off an award stay or 4,000 points or a $50 certificate after completing 5 hotel stays from July 1 to Dec 31.

Registration for this offer is required at SPG.com/rewardingreturns.

I had no hesitation choosing the 25% off award. The discount award is potentially worth 12,000 points in savings compared to the choice of 4,000 bonus points. Points are potentially a much higher value than the $50 certificate. The limitation of the 25% award discount is the discount is only valid for category 1 to category 5 hotels and the stay is limited to five nights. The best aspect of the award discount is the redemption period is good for one hotel stay up to five nights through July 31, 2011.

Update: 7:00pm, July 14

Well it turns out that SPG changed the terms and conditions on this offer yesterday to allow 25% off a 5th night free award. The original terms excluded the 25% discount on the 5th night free offer. I missed that change posted by Starwood Lurker (official SPG representative)  on page 21 of the FlyerTalk thread from July 13. The 25% discount in points for an award is now even a better deal.

To redeem the 25% award discount you must call SPG Customer Service 1-888-625-4911 and request award ID 485.

Blue colored cells are greater award discount than 4,000 points.

The best value for the 25% discount award is a four or five night Category 5 hotel stay for 36,000 points rather than 48,000 points – a savings of 12,000 points.

The 25% award discount is for one stay up to five nights, however, SPG normally discounts 20% points for any member booking a five night stay using points. There is only a slight savings using this discount for a five night stay since the discount is not combinable with the already discounted 5^th night free award option for any SPG member.

For example, the 25% discount on a five night Category 5 hotel stay only saves 3,000 points, reducing the cost from 48,000 points (5^th night free award) to 45,000 points (25% award discount). In this example the member is better off getting the 4,000 bonus points rather than the 25% award discount.

Basically any hotel stay of two to five nights at a category 4 or 5 hotel or a three to five night stay at a Category 3 hotel will save more than 4,000 points and is a better value than the 4,000 bonus points choice with this Rewarding Returns promotion offer.

The exclusion of category 6 and 7 is a relatively small number of properties. I can understand the restriction on category 7 hotels, but I sure would like to have seen category 6 hotels included for this offer.

In my opinion a nice touch by SPG would have been to offer SPG Gold elites up to Category 6 hotels in the 25% discount offer and SPG Platinum members the option of a discount on a category 7 award. There really has not been much from SPG this year to recognize SPG elite members with additional incentives. The SPG Platinum gift this year was a $25 hotel certificate when in the past there has been an offer of 50% off one award stay for Platinum members.

It is not too late SPG to recognize your elites with a distinctive offer.

February 28, 2010 is the last day I can refer new members to Starwood Preferred Guest for an instant upgrade to Gold elite membership. In addition to the benefits of Gold elite through February 2011, the new SPG member will receive 1,000 bonus points for every night stayed through March 31, 2010.

This offer has been around since November. For every new member I refer who stays at a Starwood Hotel by March 31, 2010 I will receive 1,000 bonus points.

So far I have received 11,000 points after referring over 200 members. Looks like I have earned sufficient points for one night at the Walt Disney Resort Dolphin after three months of referrals.  

I was kind of hoping for 5 nights at the Prince de Galles, Paris so my wife will forgive me for putting us up at the Marriott Courtyard Airport that December trip when we visited Disney Paris in the pouring rain and only managed to make it on one ride after a day of standing in lines in the cold rain. She has not walked through the Louvre. She never had the opportunity to see the inside of Notre Dame cathedral. I am not even religious, but something touched me and brought tears to my eyes when I stood in that 800 year old cathedral a decade ago.

Anyway, this is a great opportunity for new members to Starwood Preferred Guest.

Here is my November post with all the details for this offer:

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