Partnerships between hotel and airline loyalty programs are not particularly rare, but they are mostly focused on earning airline points for stays at hotels, and then generally in lieu of earning with the hotel directly. Starwood and Delta have launched a new Crossover Rewards program, allowing SPG elites to earn points towards their Starpoints balance for flights taken on Delta. The SPG elite status will also translate into elite benefits on the day of travel, including free bags and priority boarding.
On the points earning front, SPG members with linked accounts will earn one Starpoint for each dollar spent on Delta base fares. This correlates with the recently announced idea of MQDs and Delta’s ability to track spending on a per ticket basis. It seems that they are quite happy to leverage that new technology both for internal bits and for partnerships.
On the day of travel front, the benefits are limited only to SPG Platinum members; gold elites are excluded. The benefits include one free checked bag (up to four passengers on the reservation), Zone 1 boarding (up to nine passengers on the reservation) and SkyPriority access and day of departure upgrades on routes where complimentary upgrades are offered (Platinum elite only).
The benefits for SPG Platinum elites rest somewhere between Delta AmEx cardholders and Silver Medallion status. That’s not to shabby at all, especially for basically no additional effort on the part of the SPG member. The only real drawback I can see is that it requires crediting the points to Delta rather than Alaska Airlines, which is how I normally roll with my Delta flights. Then again, I’m not SPG Platinum so the extra point/dollar isn’t really all that valuable to me anyways.
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So this in addition to DL miles (EQM and RDM incl. CoS and elite bonuses) and whatever credit card points you earn (3x Amex PRG)?
Cautiously positive, but nervous that this is step1 in moving all earning over a revenue basis.
When does this go into effect? Any word on an official communication from SPG or Delta?
Yes, the SPG earning appears to be in addition to the Delta credits. No official start date yet that I have seen.
And there is no doubt that this is one of many steps down the path of revenue-based earning.
Where’d you get this info?
There are active discussion about it on both FlyerTalk and MilePoint, Chris. Probably elsewhere, too, but those are two of the more active discussions I’ve seen.
how can i link my SPG to Delta? and when will this be effective?
It is expected soon, Andy. Not quite there yet.
Why are you not crediting LoyaltyLobby.com, the source for your post and the FlyerTalk and MilePoint threads?
@Seth This is interesting if this it comes to fruition, but I am sure it will get tweaked (to our detriment) in time.
@Reader: I was just about to say that I read it on the Loyalty Lobby site first too, then it appeared on here and FT. Good eye!
Based on official T&C, the upgrade benefit is not included. Probably should update the blog entry.