Double Take is the next major promotion from Starwood Preferred Guest offering 2 bonus points per dollar at about 1,000 hotels globally from May 1 through July 31. There are about 150 hotels not participating so check the list carefully. Four of the nearest Starwood Hotels to Monterey, California are not participating.

SPG Double Take registration required by June 30, 2013. One of SPG’s great hotel loyalty features is the common practice for allowing stays made during the promotion period, but prior to registration, eligible retroactively for these bonuses.

The SPG promotion registration page is not currently active. SPG members can register for a text message notification when promotion registration opens.

Double Take Earning Rates:

Double points means only the 2 base points per dollar are doubled to earn 4 points per dollar. Elite bonus points are earned in addition to the 4 points per dollar, but these points are not doubled. Add SPG American Express payment and members can earn up 6 to 8 points per dollar for Starwood Hotel stays for three months in 2013.

• Base Member = 4 points/$1
• Gold/Platinum elite = 5 points
• 75-night Platinum = 6 points
• SPG American Express payment for Starwood stays = 2 bonus points/$1
• SPG free award nights and Cash & Points nights do not earn bonus
• Double points are earned on the entire stay for a stay with nights before and including May 1 or including and after July 31.
• Double Take promotion may be combined with other SPG promotions like $50 TicketMaster credit through May 5.

500 points Mobile Booking Bonus

Even better than double points for low spenders is 500 points per stay online booking bonus.

Someone booking an average room rate at $100 per one-night stay over 6 stays will only earn 1,200 bonus points from Double Take double points ($600 x 2 points), yet these same six stays can earn an additional 3,000 bonus points with six mobile bookings.

Mobile booking bonus applies to stays booked before the start of the promotion, however, only stays during May 1-July 31 earn 500 bonus points. 

How can I earn the mobile web and mobile app booking bonus?

Registered members are eligible to receive 500 bonus Starpoints for each completed stay during the promotion period that was booked through a Starwood mobile website or mobile app. The following channels are included: SPG.mobi, Sheraton.mobi, Westin.mobi, StRegis.mobi, WHotels.mobi, Alofthotels.mobi, Elementhotels.mobi, Luxurycollection.mobi, FourPoints.mobi, LeMeridien.mobi, the SPG App for iPhone^®, the Chinese SPG App for iPhone, the SPG App for Android™, the SPG App for BlackBerry and the W Hotels App for iPhone. Please note tablet bookings made through the SPG App for iPhone or SPG App for Android will also qualify for the 500 Starpoints bonus, but tablet bookings made through a web browser will not qualify.

SPG Double Take FAQ

Time for me to download the SPG app on my wife’s iPhone.

SPG Points Analysis

Assume $600 in spend on six stays:

• 1,200 base points
• 600 elite bonus points (Gold/Platinum)
• 1,200 Double Take bonus points
• 3,000 mobile booking bonus points (6 x 500 points)
• 1,200 SPG American Express payment

7,200 points for $600 hotel spend. This is about a $200 value in points based on the rate SPG sells points at $28/1,000 during promotions. Sufficient for two nights at Category 2 hotel or one night at Category 3.

This is a decent rebate for an elite paying low rates and earning all bonuses possible. This is the kind of stay pattern I would predict for my travel.

The value declines at higher spend levels on fewer stays.

Assume $600 in spend on one stay:

• 1,200 base points
• 600 elite bonus points (Gold/Platinum)
• 1,200 Double Take bonus points
• 500 mobile booking bonus points (6 x 500 points)
• 1,200 SPG American Express payment

4,700 points for $600 in spend. $130 value. Drop the SPG Amex payment and elite status and the points drop to 2,900 points with $600 in spend. This is about a $100 rebate value on spend. One free weekend night at a category 2 hotel.

I am planning a long road trip through the desert and somewhat deserted southwest states in May. There are not too many Starwood Hotels along the way. I might find myself staying again in that big smog town of Bakersfield, California with the oil jackpump in the parking lot of the Four Points Bakersfield hotel. That hotel is so quintessential Bakersfield.

The hotel room is truly the environment that matters when you really want to be inside from the world. The room at the St. Regis Bal Harbour met nearly all my needs.  Access to ice and a coffee maker without staff assistance would have been better.

Room 1110 at St. Regis Bal Harbour is a Grand Luxe Ocean View Guest Room. This is the same 650 square feet design as Deluxe Ocean View Guest Room on lower floors 4-7. The hotel has 24 floors. Read More…

At $1,099 per night, without a doubt, this St. Regis Bal Harbour hotel room is the most expensive hotel room I have ever stayed the night. And I am in the standard room. I tried using SPG suite upgrades, but apparently they are not allowed at this hotel.

I did not pay the $1,099 rate myself. The room here is a complimentary benefit of being a 2012 SPG Amex Star blogger for a free taste of Miami luxury.

You can stay here too for two free nights if you are the winner of 60,000 Starpoints from Loyalty Traveler courtesy of SPG American Express.

Although, I see next year the St. Regis Bal Harbour will have SPG peak season category 7 rates at 35,000 points per night from Dec 26, 2013 through Jan 4, 2014.

St. Regis Bal Harbour where every guest room has an Atlantic Ocean view.

How does every room have an ocean view?

There are no rooms on the west-facing sides of the hotel.

St. Regis Bal Harbour hotel is center building with two windowless walls viewed from Collins Avenue. The St. Regis residences are the left and right towers flanking the hotel building.

I will describe the hotel and room in separate blog posts.

How to enter the 60,000 Starpoints giveaway:

You can enter this giveaway through both Twitter and Loyalty Traveler blog. You are allowed one entry per method per day.

To enter on Twitter:

1. Follow @LoyaltyTraveleron Twitter.

2. Tweet your answer to the question “Which Starwood property is an aspirational property for you?”

3. Include @LoyaltyTraveler and hashtag #SPGAMEX in the tweet.

4. You can enter with a tweet once per calendar day 12:00AM California Time (PST) – 11:59PM PST. The contest will run through 12 noon PST Monday, December 31.

For example, an eligible tweet would be:

@LoyaltyTraveler St. Regis New York #SPGAMEX

To enter on the blog:

1. Leave a comment on this post to the question “Which Starwood property is an aspirational property for you?”

2. You can enter with a tweet once per calendar day 12:00AM California Time (PST) – 11:59PM PST. The contest will run through 12 noon PST Monday, December 31.

For example, an eligible post would be:

W Retreat & Spa Maldives

Sweepstakes terms:

You have to be at least 18 years old and have an SPG account to be eligible to win. The winner will also have to complete an IRS W-9 form (ARV of prize is $1,500).

Winner will be selected at random.

Good luck.

Comfortable lounge chairs on the balcony deck of the St. Regis Bal Harbour.

My wife’s Tumi luggage enjoying the Bal Harbour Miami Beach view. Her bag has traveled to two more states than she has in 2012.

Last week I had the opportunity to stay two nights at the St. Regis San Francisco courtesy of SPG American Express and the SPG Amex Stars blogger program for 2012. San Francisco was my staycation destination.

25,000 Starpoints Sweepstakes

As part of the SPG Amex Stars staycation opportunity at the St. Regis San Francisco, I have also been authorized to run a Loyalty Traveler 25,000 Starpoints sweepstakes courtesy of SPG American Express. The winning reader will receive 25,000 Starpoints to redeem for a stay at a Starwood hotel or miles or whatever you choose to do with 25,000 Starpoints.

Sweepstakes entry:

To enter the 25,000 Starpoints giveaway please leave a comment on this blog post about which Starwood Hotel you would choose for a staycation in San Francisco or anywhere else you might be.

You may enter once each calendar day from Monday, December 17 to Saturday, December 22 at 12 noon California time when the sweepstakes entry period will end.

Winner will be chosen at random from eligible entries.

While my stay specifically was at the St. Regis San Francisco, this post will share views of the city  with photos I have taken over the past few years from rooms in each of the seven Starwood Hotels in San Francisco.

Westin Market Street San Francisco, SPG category 5

View down Third Street to AT&T Ball Park on the waterfront, home of the San Francisco Giants MLB team. Moscone Convention Center and Yerba Buena Park are right foreground, San Francisco MOMA Museum of Modern Art is left foreground with W San Francisco the tall white building at left.

The Palace Hotel San Francisco, Starwood Luxury Collection

SPG category 5

The Pied Piper of Hamlin is a 1909 Maxfield Parrish painting in the Pied Piper Bar of the Palace Hotel. Most rooms at The Palace Hotel do not have much of a scenic vista view of the city outside with the historic 9-story hotel dwarfed by newer skyscrapers all around.

The charm of the Palace is its interior.

The Garden Court stained glass dome, The Palace Hotel, San Francisco.

W Hotel San Francisco, SPG category 5

San Francisco Bay and AT&T Ball Park seen from W San Francisco Hotel.

WET at the W San Francisco offers 24 hour swimming. Nightswimming is one of the pleasures I enjoy at the W.

The W Hotel and the St. Regis are located on the same city block separated by the San Francisco MOMA. The two hotels have many of the same views.

Looking west across the city at night from W San Francisco.

St. Regis San Francisco, SPG category 6

View at Sunrise from St. Regis San Francisco.

Westin St. Francis, SPG category 5

Union Square view at night during the holiday season. Westin St. Francis is another historic hotel originally opened in 1904 and restored in 1907 after the great quake with the 12 story old building and the 32 story Pacific Tower.

One of my great delights was seeing a rare peregrine falcon on the ledge outside our window during a stay in 2008.

Le Meridien San Francisco, SPG category 5

San Francisco Bay Bridge seen from Le Meridien San Francisco.

Top of Le Meridien Hotel reveals its close proximity to San Francisco’s iconic TransAmerica Pyramid skyscraper in the financial district of the city.

Sheraton San Francisco at Fisherman’s Wharf, SPG category 5

Most rooms in the four story Sheraton do not have much of a view. Iconic Coit Tower can be seen from a few locations around the hotel. This is the only Starwood Hotel in San Francisco with an outdoor pool. W Hotel, St. Regis and The Palace have indoor pools.

The real advantage of this tourist location at Fisherman’s Wharf is the room rates are typically lower on weekdays November to May than all other San Francisco Starwood Hotels. The hotel is one block away from the waterfront, yet the proximity of the hotel to the Alcatraz Island Prison cruise and tours from the Fisherman’s Wharf area is another feature of this hotel.

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary

Starwood Hotels offer many choices in San Francisco.

Watching the surf roll into shore while taking a shower in a luxury hotel room is a very different experience than my last stay on Kauai 35 years ago when I lived on the beaches of Kauai.

Hanalei Bay view from St. Regis Princeville, Kauai.

In 1977 I flew from California to Honolulu with a 6-inch hunting knife in my carry-on backpack and in my possession was an open date ticket to fly standby between the Hawaiian islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii. The times have changed travel and me. I have no memory of what airline I flew to Hawaii back then.

For the weeks I stayed in Kauai I lived on the beaches seen in the distance in the photo I snapped today. In 1977 I hiked the infamous Na Pali coast to Kalalau Valley where I was out of reach of Hawaii Five-O, the beach police who harassed me frequently arguing I was not allowed to camp without a state camping permit as I argued back that the State of Hawaii would not allow me to purchase a camping permit since I was a minor at 17 years old.

I’ll probably share more about my youth in the coming days as I reminisce about life on Kauai and the major alterations of travel in general and my personal travel style specifically.

The Bar, St. Regis Princeville

Where will you go with 50,000 Starpoints?

This post is my SPG Amex Star giveaway while I am staying at the USA Starwood Hotel of my choice. 50,000 Starpoints, to be precise, is what I have been authorized to give away to one lucky reader who can use the points for their own special hotel getaway.

One of the hotel stays as part of my SPG Amex Star contract benefits was two complimentary nights at any Starwood Hotel I desired in the USA.

St. Regis Princeville on Kauai was my Starwood Hotel preference of any Starwood Hotel in the USA. I picked this location in combination with an American Airlines ticket I purchased to pick up double elite qualifying miles and double redeemable miles on a trip that will earn me American Airlines 50,000 mile Platinum elite status for 2013.

Flying over the vast Pacific Ocean on American Airlines to Lihue, Kauai.

In addition to picking up American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum elite status, this stay is my third stay at a Starwood Hotel this week in my quest for SPG Platinum elite status for 2013.

Enough about me and my loyalty plans. It is time for you to think about what you would like to do with 50,000 Starpoints.

Rules to enter the Loyalty Traveler 50,000 Starpoints Sweepstakes:

1. Follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter.com.

2. Post a tweet sharing which Starwood Hotel in the USA you would choose to stay with 50,000 points. NOTE: Winner of this prize receives 50,000 Starpoints and there are no restrictions to how you use the points. You can stay in any Starwood Hotel you choose or transfer them to airline miles or whatever. I simply am interested to know which hotel you would choose, if like me, you had to choose one hotel in the USA for a Starwood Hotel stay.

3. Use the hashtag #SPGAMEX in the tweet and use @LoyaltyTraveler in the tweet. This allows me to filter tweets and see all the entries on Twitter to pick a random winner.

4. Eligible entries accepted from 9 pm Pacific time Monday, December 3 through 11:59pm Pacific time Friday, December 7, 2012. Note #2: This giveaway is open to SPG members worldwide.

5. Limit of one tweet entry per calendar day.

6. Prize winner will be chosen at random.

7.

Sample Eligible Tweet:

@LoyaltyTraveler St. Regis Monarch Beach #SPGAMEX

Here are some Twitter Guidelines I read over to help with this sweepstakes:

• Creating multiple accounts on Twitter to win a contest can result in all your Twitter accounts being suspended. I discourage you from doing this.
• Posting the same tweet over and over is discouraged by Twitter. Try and change up the order of words or hotel. One #SPGAMEX tweet per calendar day for my Loyalty Traveler sweepstakes is acceptable. Posting more than one tweet per calendar day for this contest is discouraged and may result in your elimination from the prize.

Every winner is surprised. Back in 2000 I won a prize for 50,000 Starpoints. It happens. But, I have not won any big prizes since.

Good luck.

Lobby view at St. Regis Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii

Ric Garrido, writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.

JohnnyJet is giving away 25,000 points as part of his SPG Amex Stars Starwood staycation at the St. Regis New York.

Leave a comment on JohnnyJet’s blog post: Win 25,000 Starpoints by sharing your dream destination.

Contestants must either subscribe to Johnny’s newsletter or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Only one entry per person, and a winner will be chosen at random. All official contest rules apply.

Johnny Jet 

Comment entries will be accepted by JohnnyJet through 6pm Pacific time Tuesday, November 13.

I’ll be living the 1% life with St. Regis in December

I am also a SPG Amex Star blogger for 2012. My planned time-spaced travel schedule initially included being at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Miami Beach last week, Boston’s Liberty Hotel at Thanksgiving and St. Regis San Francisco in December.

That has all changed.

I did not follow my advice I posted Monday, Nov 5 for a cheap mileage run to Boston to earn American Airlines Platinum status for 2013 on a single $280 roundtrip ticket from Monterey: Planning out AA mileage runs for 2x EQM/RDM. I opted instead for a trip to Kauai via San Diego for $410.

Loyalty Traveler is staying Coast to Coast to Coast in December

Now I am booked for three 2-night stays in December at St. Regis Princeville, Kauai, St. Regis San Francisco and St. Regis Bal Harbour. This will be my biggest ever dip into luxury hotel travel.

While I’ll be swimming with the 1 percenters, my plane travel will still be flying with the masses in coach.

Illogical cancellation policy at St. Regis Kauai

One of the strangest cancellation policies I have ever seen came to my attention with the St. Regis Kauai reservation.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel between 11/09/2012 and 4:00 PM hotel time on 11/11/2012, there will be no forfeiture amount. If you cancel after 4:00 PM hotel time on 11/11/2012, the forfeiture amount will be a 3 night stay.There may be additional applicable charges and taxes.

St. Regis Princeville Resort

The cancellation penalty within 30 days of a reservation at St. Regis Princeville is the amount for a 3-night stay even if your reservation is only booked for a 2-night stay.

What’s up with that?

Anyway, I will be offering three Starpoints giveaways over the next seven weeks for 50,000 points, 25,000 points and 60,000 points associated with my three St. Regis stays in December.

Check out JohnnyJet’s 25,000 Starpoints giveaway now. Look for my 50,000 Starpoints giveaway blog post in a couple of weeks in conjunction with my St. Regis Princeville hotel stay.

Blogger disclosure: Starwood Preferred Guest American Express is providing me with the three complimentary St. Regis hotel stays in December.

Westin New York at Times Square is a large hotel near the theater district of New York. Numerous Broadway theaters are within a few blocks of the hotel. The Westin Hotel address is 237 West 43rd Street at 8th Avenue. Most of the 40 large Broadway theaters are located between West 41st and West 52nd Streets also with addresses in the 100 and 200 blocks. Read More…

As part of this 2012 SPG Amex Star blogger gig I received free access to the official American Express Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Cardmember  event at the 2012 US Open.

There was not much information provided to me prior to the event and I had no idea what to expect. My understanding is 85 tickets were sold exclusively to SPG Amex cardmembers for $165 per ticket for the September 5, 2012 event from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Turns out that was a pretty good deal in my opinion after attending the event and seeing what was provided with the Amex SPG cardmember deal for the US Open event.

$165 for the SPG Amex event included lower promenade seating at Arthur Ashe Stadium ($105 value), a gift bag (SPG cap, SPG luggage tag) and a cocktail reception with Lindsay Davenport, former #1 ranked tennis player in the world and the 1998 US Open Women’s Singles winner.

Lindsay is also a Californian. 

Read More…

The blog giveaways from SPG and Marriott keep on coming.

MoneyTalksNews.com is another blog offering 30,000 Starpoints for leaving a comment on which Starwood Hotel you would stay to stretch your summer.

You can enter once per day up to 6pm ET, Monday Sep 3.

Don’t Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth

There are still at least 400,000 points available from eight travel blogs in a Marriott Rewards giveaway, in case you missed Sunday’s Loyalty Traveler post on the Marriott Pointsalooza.

Don’t bother leaving a comment about your Marriott travel type on my blog though. I did not run a Marriott Rewards 10,000 points giveaway offered to Loyalty Traveler in the first week of August.

Marriott upped the giveaways to 50,000 points after they contacted me.

What is that saying about gift horses?

I learned from this Marriott experience that being early to the party is not always a good thing.

This is the second of six SPG Amex Star giveaways on Loyalty Traveler in 2012. The US Open Experience is your chance to win 50,000 Starpoints in a Loyalty Traveler sweepstakes sponsored by The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express.

My prize as a 2012 SPG Amex Star is a trip to New York Westin Times Square in four weeks with tickets to the US Open tennis match. Generally I prefer watching sports from the comfort of my couch with my TV, kitchen food and beer. Perhaps the SPG Luxury Suite with food and beverages will change my attitude about the best location to view a sports event.

“Stretch Your Summer”with a US Open-inspired vacation courtesy of The Starwood Preferred Guest ® Credit Card from American Express.

Win 50,000 Starpoints to redeem at a world-class tennis resort like The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort or The Phoenician, Scottsdale, which features an on-site, professional tennis instructor available for private lessons.

Here’s How to Win 50,000 Starpoints: Read More…