May 2012
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Dec

Starwood Hotels Germany up to 1,500 bonus points to Jan 31

Posted by Ric Garrido

Germany has 18 Starwood Hotels participating in a winter season bonus points promotion for stays November 15 to January 31, 2012.

500 bonus points for 2 night stay.
750 bonus points for 3 night stay.
1,000 bonus points for 4 night stay.
1,500 bonus points for 5 or more nights stay.
Consecutive nights at same hotel required for bonus points.

SPG Promotion registration is required by January 29.

Participating Starwood Hotels

The Westin Grand, Berlin
Sheraton Essen Hotel
The Westin Leipzig
The Westin Bellevue, Dresden
Le Méridien Parkhotel Frankfurt
Sheraton Düsseldorf Airport Hotel
Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel & Confernece Center
Sheraton Frankfurt Congress Hotel
Sheraton Offenbach Hotel
The Westin Grand Frankfurt
Le Méridien Stuttgart
Le Méridien München
Sheraton München Arabellapark Hotel
Sheraton München Westpark
Sheraton München Airport Hotel
The Westin Grand München
Four Points by Sheraton München Olympiapark
Four Points by Sheraton München Central

Starwood Hotels Bonus Points in Germany 15 November - 31 January, 2012.

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Tags: Germany hotels, SPG bonus points, Starwood Hotels

2

Dec

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

Posted by Ric Garrido

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

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

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

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

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

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

Redeeming Free Nights

Contact SPG customer service and mention Award ID 4MCFN.

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

Participating Starwood Hotels for Redeeming Free Nights

Participating Starwood Hotels for earning free nights

Loyalty Traveler analysis:

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

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

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

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

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

8 Comments

Tags: Asia-Pacific Hotels, SPG, Starwood Hotels, Starwood Preferred Guest promotion, Two Days of Happy

24

Nov

Rewards Canada 10th Anniversary Contest

Posted by Ric Garrido

RewardsCanada.ca has a 10th anniversary contest offering prizes of 125,000 Aeroplan miles, 100,000 Starpoints, Sheraton Robes and Etihad Airways miles. You must be a Canadian resident to win a prize. Entry deadline is 11:59pm November 30, 2011.

Patrick Sojka also runs FrequentFlyerBonuses.com which is a great resource for airline, hotel and car rental loyalty promotions. FFB has been on my go to list for finding deals many years now and a site you should bookmark too.

frequentflyerbonuses.com

Happy (U.S.) Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers.

Hey all you Americans, go back to eating, drinking, talking to friends & family, watching football and planning your points and miles earning for the next month of shopping.

I am heading to Spa Gaucin for coffee and a paper. We are resorting for Thanksgiving thanks to the May-July 2011 free resort night after three Starwood stays. Yesterday was 73 degrees here in southern California.

Thanks for being a Loyalty Traveler reader.

And closing my laptop…now.

St. Regis Monarch Beach, Dana Point, California

2 Comments

Tags: frequent flyer bonuses, Patrick Sojka, Rewards Canada, St. Regis Monarch Beach, Starwood Hotels

21

Nov

SPG CyberMonday Sale for room and suite discounts

Posted by Ric Garrido

Starwood Preferred Guest has two Cyber Monday Advance Sales for SPG members at participating Starwood Resorts and Hotels. One offer is advertised as 50% off every other night on Suites and Upgraded Rooms - promo code S2S. So this is actually a 25% discount if you stay an even number of nights; or lesser discount if you stay an odd number of nights.

The other CyberMonday offer is 15% to 35% off Standard Room rates for each night at select hotels – promo code CYBERLTO. The offers are shown below followed by the list of participating hotels.

50% off Premium Rooms and Suites – Promotion Code S2S

Book by Sunday November 27 for stays from December 1 through April 30, 2012. Discount applies to every 2nd night.

Book online and use promotion code S2S for this offer or book by phone at 866-716-8147.

15% to 35% off standard rooms – Promotion Code CYBERLTO

This offer is up to 35% off Best Available Rate and may be booked through December 2, 2011 for stays from December 1, 2011 through April 30, 2012.

This deal brought the rate of Westin Verasa Napa down to $129 if you want to wake up Christmas day in wine country.

Participating Starwood Hotels for S2S Suite Discount – Book by November 27., 2011

Arizona

The Phoenician, Scottsdale

The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician

W Scottsdale

The Westin Phoenix Downtown

Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel

Four Points by Sheraton Tucson Airport

California

The US GRANT, San Diego

SLS Hotel at Beverly Hills

W San Francisco

The Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites

The Westin Verasa Napa

The Westin San Francisco Market Street

The Westin Monache Resort, Mammoth

The Westin St. Francis

Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa

Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina

Sheraton Suites San Diego at Symphony Hall

Colorado

The St. Regis Aspen Resort

District of Colombia

The Fairfax Hotel at Embassy Row, Washington D.C.

W Washington D.C.

Florida

W Fort Lauderdale

The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood

Walt Disney World Swan

Walt Disney World Dolphin

Hawaii

The Royal Hawaiian, Waikiki

The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas

Sheraton Kauai Resort

Illinois

W Chicago – Lakeshore

Louisiana

Sheraton New Orleans Hotel

Massachussetts

Sheraton Boston Hotel

Michigan

The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit

Minnesota

Hotel Ivy, Minneapolis

W Minneapolis – The Foshay

Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis

New Jersey

Sheraton Lincoln Harbor Hotel

New York

The Chatwal, New York City

Sheraton Brooklyn

Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers

Pennsylvania

Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel

Texas

W Austin

Sheraton Suites Market Center

Sheraton Gunter Hotel San Antonio

Sheraton Suites Houston Near The Galleria

The Westin Riverwalk, San Antonio

The Westin Houston, Memorial City

The Westin La Cantera Resort, San Antonio

Sheraton Houston Brookhollow Hotel

Four Points by Sheraton Tucson Airport

Virginia

The Westin Reston Heights

Caribbean

The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico

W Retreat & Spa – Vieques Island

The Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba

The Westin St. John Resort & Villas

Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel and Casino

Canada

W Montreal

Le Meridien Versailles

Le Meridien King Edward

The Westin Grand, Vancouver

The Westin Bear Mountain Golf Resort and Spa, Victoria

The Westin Trillium House, Blue Mountain

Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel

Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel

Mexico

Le Meridien Cancun Resort & Spa

The Westin Lagunamar Ocean Resort Villas, Cancun

The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos

The Westin Resort & Spa, Cancun

The Westin Santa Fe, Mexico City

Sheraton Buganvilias Resort and Convention Center

Sheraton Hacienda del Mar Golf and Spa Resort, Los Cabos

Sheraton Miramar Hotel & Convention Center

Sheraton Ambassador Hotel

South America

Park Tower, Buenos Aires, Argentina

W Santiago, Chile

Sheraton Colonia Golf & Spa Resort, Uruguay

Sheraton Mendoza Hotel, Argentina

Sheraton Salta Hotel, Argentina

Sheraton Panama Hotel & Convention Center

Sheraton Porto Alegre Hotel

Sheraton Montevideo Hotel, Urguguay

Sheraton Libertador Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sheraton Lima Hotel & Convention Center, Peru

Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center

Four Points by Sheraton Santiago

Four Points by Sheraton Montevideo

Participating Hotels for CYBERLTO 15%-35% off Standard Rooms – Book by Dec 2, 2011.

You must go through a 4-step tedious dropdown menu to see participating hotels for this offer.

No Comments

Tags: cybermonday discount hotel rates, SPG CyberMonday sale, Starwood Hotels, Starwood Hotels cybermonday, Starwood Preferred Guest

11

Nov

Starwood Hotels 1,111 Bonus points and $11 add-ons

Posted by Ric Garrido

Starwood Hotels in North America have an 11/11/11 special rate offer for bookings from November 11-21 for stays completed by January 31, 2012. This special rate comes as a hotel value-added package with 1,111 bonus points and either $11 breakfast for two, parking for $11 per night, or a room upgrade.

Most hotels offer these rates for Thursday through Sunday nights and resorts offer these rates seven days a week.
The special rate is available everyday at all hotels November 20-26 and December 18-30, 2011.
Rate Plan = FMNOV1-9.
Promotion Rate Code = FMV

The guest does not receive the option to choose between parking, breakfast or room upgrade. Each hotel package rate includes one of these options and they are shown on the promotion booking page for the specific hotel.

Starwood ELEVEN Promotion Link

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Breakfast for two persons at $11 is a great deal for many Starwood Hotels. Parking for $11 in cities where the daily rate is $30 to $50 is a good deal.

The problem I see are higher rates for some hotels I checked that pretty much negate the savings of discount parking and breakfast. You need to check hotels and compare rate options carefully to see if this is the best deal. I have provided examples below where this is a good deal and where it is not.

This promotion has more value for SPG members who are not Platinum elites. As a Platinum I generally receive complimentary upgrades at most Starwood Hotels and free breakfast when staying at Sheraton Hotels in North America.

St. Regis Monarch Beach

This hotel offers a room view upgrade. I have stayed at St. Regis Monarch Beach where I had the end room on the wing with ocean view and I have stayed at the hotel where I had a room view of the sidewalk and grand stairway wall. An upgraded view is highly desirable here.

St. Regis Monarch Beach November 24-25, 2011

FMNOV rate = $416 King Balcony Room with Preferred Resort View
AAA rate = $348 King Balcony Room with Preferred Resort View
11/11/11 rate exceeds AAA rate for same room by $68 + tax to net only 1,111 bonus points.
11/11/11 Special Rate offer is not a good deal in this example for St. Regis Monarch Beach.

Westin Verasa Napa, November 24-25, 2011

FMNOV rate = $180 King Deluxe Room with $11 Breakfast for Two
AAA rate = $194.55 King Deluxe Room (no breakfast).
Both rates have same cancellation terms of 3 days before arrival.
11/11/11 special offer rate is $15 less than AAA rate and includes breakfast for two and 1,111 bonus points.
Special Rate offer is a good deal for Westin Napa with a lower room rate than AAA and breakfast included, plus 1,111 bonus points.

Be sure to compare different rates before booking. This can be a good Starwood Hotel deal…or not.

Starwood Lurker, the Starwood Hotels representative on FlyerTalk stated this offer for 1,111 bonus points may be combined with the current Triple Up promotion running through December 18, 2011. The 1,111 bonus points will post separately from bonuses earned for the 2X/3X SPG promotion.

One Comment

Tags: 11/11/11 hotel special, St. Regis Monarch Beach, Starwood Hotels, Starwood Preferred Guest, Starwood Preferred Guest promotion, Westin Verasa Napa

10

Oct

Finding St. Regis Florence low rates using SPG.com Compare Rates and Calendar tools

Posted by Ric Garrido

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

SPG.com Starwood Hotels Compare Rates Tool

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

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

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

Finding the SPG Compare Rates and Rate Calendar tools

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

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

SPG.com St. Regis Florence Nov 3-6, 2011

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

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

Starwood Compare More Rates checklist for quick rate checks.

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

Starwood Compare Rates display for AAA, Senior and Breakfast rates.

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

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

St. Regis Florence Compare Rates Display for November 3-6, 2011

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

St. Regis Florence 3rd night free rate.

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

St. Regis Special Offer 20% off Rate is higher than Starwood Z3H rate.

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

Deluxe King (no river view)

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

Deluxe King – Panoramic river view

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

Premium Deluxe Panoramic River View

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

St. Regis Florence Rate Comparison on 4-night stays

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

Starwood Compare Rates function for Z4H 4th Night Free promotion.

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

St. Regis Florence 30% discount on four night stay.

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

Rate Calendar for Quick Checks of other dates

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

Starwood Rate Calendar for quicker comparative rate checks.

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

Starwood Calendar Quick Rate Check Nov 19-23 St. Regis Florence

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

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

Starwood Rate Calendar quickly reveals rate drop Novemebr 24-28, 2011 for St. Regis Florence.

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

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

5 Comments

Tags: Starwood discount rates, Starwood Rate Calendar, Starwood Rate Comparison tool

21

Sep

Better Know a Rate: Starwood Hotels Z3H and Z3R and other extended stay promo codes

Posted by Ric Garrido

Starwood Hotels has several little advertised high value discount rates for select city and resort hotels around the globe when staying two to six nights. This is simply a reminder for these options of a big discount on longer stays with prepaid, nonrefundable rates.

These rates are always posted on my Current Hotel Loyalty promotions page.

Starwood Hotel Rate Discount Codes for Multiple Night Stays - Hotels

Starwood Hotel Rate Discount Codes for Multiple Night Stays – Resorts

3-key or sometimes a 5-key discount rates.

These rate discounts are for stays of 2 to 6 nights. Third night free tends to be one of the best discount rates. Important to check other rates (AAA, Senior, Special Offers) as these discounts are generally based on the Best Available Rate (BAR) and may not be the lowest overall rate for some hotels.

When I checked the SPG.com website today I saw only an offer on the homepage for 40% off every other night using the SPG Better Tomorrows rate.

Better Tomorrows rate is limited to North America and South America properties. One night at 40% off is the same as a 20% discount on a two night stay. The fine print even states the discount is up to 40% off based on the best available non-restricted rate.

SPG Better Tomorrows rates use rate code ZBT or ZB4. The maximum savings is going to be 20% based on the unrestricted best available rate (BAR). The links provided for 2 to 6 night stays earlier in this post have the potential to be a 33% savings on the unrestricted best available rate.

Book 2 Nights = up to 20% savings, promo code Z2H or Z2R
Book 3 Nights = up to 33% savings, promo code Z3H or Z3R
Book 4 Nights = up to 25% savings promo code Z4H or Z4R
Book 5 Nights or 7 or more Nights = up to 25% savings, promo code Z5H or Z5R
Book 6 Nights = up to 33% savings, promo code Z6H or Z6R

Basically you should check these rates and Better Tomorrows rates and compare rates when staying two, four or six nights.

These rates are not always the lowest rate for your stay when compared to other specials. Other times they work out to cost more than the lowest AAA or hotel limited time special rate offers.

But, in my experience when checking these special extended stay rates over the past four years is the best deal for the Starwood hotel is found using Z3H or Z3R, Z4H or Z4R, Z5H or Z5R and Z6H or Z6R when staying three or more nights.

Same Hotel, Same Room, Same Dates and Several Different Rate Discounts

I compared different rates for the same dates at the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel in San Francisco using several of the rate codes shown in this post. This rate check of one hotel for one 6-night stay illustrates why you should compare the different types of Starwood rate discounts.

Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco – Tuesday November 22- Monday November 28, 2011 (6-night stay)

Better Tomorrows – 40% Off Every 2nd Night – Rate Rate Code = ZB4

Better Tomorrows ZB4 rate = $858 for 6 nights. This is 20% off the $179 BAR rate reducing the nightly rate to $143 for a total room rate of $858 for six nights.

AAA Rate for same six nights November 22-28, 2011 = $912.90.

Better Tomorrows saves over $60 on the 6-night hotel stay after 15.5% tax is factored into the rate. The advantage of the AAA rate for this hotel stay is the reservation can be canceled with no penalty up to 6pm San Francisco time November 21, one day before arrival. The ZBT/ZB4 Better Tomorrows rate is prepaid at time of booking meaning your credit card is charged the day you reserve the room, the entire stay cost is nonrefundable and you are not allowed any changes unless the hotel is willing to work with you on alternate arrangements.

An extra $10 per night for the AAA rate is basically trip cancellation insurance in my mind. Sure you can actually buy trip cancellation coverage for a $1,000 hotel stay from some insurance providers at a lower cost and you might even have some type of credit card coverage, but the “I changed my mind and did not want to stay at that hotel” is not a payout condition for trip cancellation insurance coverage.

Now don’t stop comparing rates because Better Tomorrows is $60 less than AAA rate and $22 less than the prepaid advance purchase rate you find when checking the same dates on SPG.com for the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf.

Advance purchase Rate is lowest rate available without a promotion code for this stay.

$146.48 x 6 = $878.88 or $20.88 more than the Better Tomorrows rate with the same prepaid terms. Better Tomorrows ZB4 rate looks like a good 2.4% savings on the rate you would have been shown on SPG without a promotion code.

Don’t stop searching!

Keep Checking Rates!

Here is the rate using Z5R which offers a 25% discount on stays of 5 or more nights.

Z5R rate reduces the total rate to $804 for this 6-night stay Nov 22-28, 2011 at Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco.

$134 per night is even lower than the $143 per night Better Tomorrows rate.

Z5R is a special rate code to remember since it can be used for 25% off stays of 5 nights or more. This same rate of $134 per night is available for an 8-night stay from November 22-30.

I specifically chose a 6-night stay to show the rate differences with different promotion codes.

Z6R is a two free nights code and uses the same $179 unrestricted BAR rate used for all these different rate codes for the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf on these dates.

Z6R 6-night rate with two nights free.

Z6R rate = $716 for six nights or $119.33 per night for this prepaid and nonrefundable promo code rate. This is a 33% discount on the $179 rate per night. This is over 20% off the AAA rate at $152 and more than 16% less than the Better Tomorrows discount rate of $143 for the same dates and same room at the same hotel.

Z6R rate = $119.33/night or $716 for six nights. Prepaid, no changes, nonrefundable.
Z5R rate = $134/night or $804 for six nights. Prepaid, no changes, nonrefundable.
ZB4 Rate = $143/night or $858 for six nights. Prepaid, no changes, nonrefundable.
Advance Purchase rate = $146.48/night or $878.88 for six nights. Prepaid, no changes, nonrefundable.
AAA rate = $152.15/night or $912.90 for six nights. Cancel to 6pm day before arrival with no penalty.

The promo code Z6R rate for the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco with two free nights is $716 compared to $912.90 for the AAA “day before arrival cancellation with no penalty” rate.

Saving $197 on a hotel stay looks like a much better deal than Better Tomorrows 40% off every second night. The Z6R promo rate might be worth risking a prepaid, nonrefundable rate gamble.

You can always buy trip insurance to cover your loss if something more dire than “I changed my mind about staying at that hotel” happens before your stay.

No Comments

Tags: Better Tomorrows, Starwood discount rates, Starwood Hotels, Starwood Preferred Guest

12

Sep

3,000 SPG points for a Suite and 3x points for upgrade room to Dec 31, 2011

Posted by Ric Garrido

SPG has an Earn Your Dreams promotion for some US and Canada hotels in 21 states and D.C. offering 3,000 points for booking a suite using rate code EYD3K. This offer is available through December 31, 2011. An upgraded room booking earns triple points using rate code EYDTRP.

Each participating hotel has its own criteria for eligible rooms so you need to check the specific hotel to see if it offers triple points, 3,000 suite points, and what room types qualify for each bonus. This offer can be earned unlimited times. Multiple rooms count as one stay for this bonus.

Rate code EYD3K = 3,000 bonus points per stay for booking a suite.
Rate code EYDTRP = triple bonus points for booking an upgraded room category.
Triple points is 4 bonus points + 2 base points for 6 points/$1. Triple points applies to room revenue only.
Suite or 3x points bonus may be earned unlimited times.
Multiple rooms booked on one reservation count as one stay.
Available for stays through December 31, 2011.

SPG Upgrade Promotion Offer link. Offer expires December 31, 2011.

Loyalty Traveler analysis:

3,000 bonus points for booking a suite is quite reasonably a $100 value just for the points when redeemed for a future hotel room. SPG charges $105 to buy 3,000 points. A free night category 2 hotel weekend award costs 3,000 points. Besides getting a much larger room when you book a suite, the 3,000 points basically covers about $100 of the additional cost for the upgraded hotel room.

Four Points Chicago O’Hare Friday 9/16/2011

AAA = $89.10
(Total Points = 356 points for room rate with double points fall promotion)
3K Suite rate = $179
(Total Points = 3,358 points for room rate with suite upgrade 3,000 bonus points)
$90 higher rate earns 3,000 more points. Basically getting a suite and buying points for $30/1,000 points.
Technically Earn Your Dreams promotion is not combinable with Fall 2x/3x bonus points promotion, but you might be pleasantly surprised and get both bonuses.

Upgraded Room 3x points rate code EYDTRP for the Earn Your Dreams promotion differs from the SPG Fall 2x/3x bonus in that rate code EYDTRP triple points are earned for any night of the week, but only apply to the room rate whereas the SPG Double points/Triple Points Sun or Thursday Fall promotion offer applies to all eligible spend for your stay which means bonus points for dining and possibly other folio expenses.

Triple Points Upgraded Room Cost Analysis at Four Points Chicago O’Hare – Friday, September 16, 2011.

EYDTRP rate = $109 Deluxe Room, Upper floor x 6 points/$1 = 654 points for $109 room rate.
AAA rate = $89.10 Traditional Room x 2 points/$1 = 178 points for $89 room rate.
Paying $20 for 476 extra points for likely the same room design on a higher floor in the hotel.
This promotion rate earns bonus points at the rate of $46/1,000 points and is a very high premium to pay for little benefit in room upgrade when you can just buy Starpoints for $35/1,000 points.

The Suite is the sweeter deal in this promotion analysis of bonus points earning at the Four Points Chciago O’Hare. The high added nightly cost for a suite rate at many Starwood Hotels will make the 3,000 bonus points not so enticing.

2 Comments

6

Jul

SPG $40 gas card for 2-night stay Aloft, Element or Four Points

Posted by Ric Garrido

Aloft, Element and Four Points in North America offer a free $40 gas card with a two-night stay booked by July 31 for hotel stays completed by September 15, 2011. The SSBGAS rate code is the same as the Daily Rate. The $40 gas card requires a daily rate $5 to $10 per night more than AAA rate for several hotels I checked.

Earning a $40 Gas Card

Book your stay using this link: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/gas with special rate plan SSBGAS.

About 150 participating Starwood Hotels are shown on the promotion page.

Members with an eligible stay will receive an email gas coupon code valid for $40 gas credit at member’s choice of participating major gas suppliers like Exxon, Mobile, BP, Circle-K, Chevron, Texaco, Shell and Petro-Canada.

SPG $40 Gas Card Terms and Conditions.

SPG $40 gas card for two night stay at Four Points, Element or Aloft by Sep 15

2 Comments

Tags: Aloft, Element Hotel, Four Points hotel, SPG gas card, Starwood Hotels, Starwood Preferred Guest, Starwood Preferred Guest promotion

26

Jun

SPG Triple Starpoints in Japan for stays or dining June 1-August 31

Posted by Ric Garrido

Earn triple Starpoints for hotels stays in Japan from June 1-August 31. This is 6 points per $1 at 13 hotels in Japan for room rate and food/beverage purchases. No registration is required.