2009 Fall Promotions Hotel Loyalty 2010 Winter Promotion Starwood Hotels Starwood Preferred Guest

My Midas Touch Gives New SPG Members Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Elite

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

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

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

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

Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Benefits link.

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

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

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

So what is in it for me?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is a picture of the email offer I received.

My SPG Platinum member referral form for new SPG members
My SPG Platinum member referral form for new SPG members

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

SPG Email for new SPG member registration with instant Gold elite
SPG Email for new SPG member registration with instant Gold elite

Terms and Conditions for the SPG Platinum Member Referral Promotion:

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

28 Comments

  • drnzyme November 23, 2009

    Just wish this was opened up to Gold level members instead. How am I ever going to get up to Platinum?

  • Ric Garrido November 23, 2009

    A current SPG Gold member would have been eligible for a promotion for Stays Count Double for the end of 2009. SPG has run a Stays Count Double promotion for each year for the past several years.

    One excellent reason for taking advantage of this instant Gold elite offer is the probability that a Stays Count Double promotion will be offered in 2010.

    The threshold for Platinum is then reduced to as little as 13 nights with 13 one-night stays. (SPG Platinum normally requires 25 stays or 50 nights in calendar year.)

    As SPG platinum and requalification not an issue for my 2010 year, I took the alternate offer to Stays Count Double and my stays are counting as 2010 stays. My Starwood stays for the end of 2009 are already qualifying me for 2011 status.

    I love these SPG promotions in 2009.

  • […] breakfast for SPG elites is an added bonus to a Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf stay. (Read this Loyalty traveler post if you are not currently a Starwood Hotels loyalty member and want to become an instant SPG Gold […]

  • dd December 10, 2009

    hello Garrido,

    did you receive my email about requesting SPG gold elite membership please?

  • Ric Garrido December 10, 2009

    Hi dd,

    Yes. You were referred today.

  • thomas January 8, 2010

    I hope i get the invite before tuesday. I have 7 stays at spg in the next 3 weeks.

  • Ric Garrido January 8, 2010

    Referral email generally happens within 24 hours.

  • […] Here is my initial Loyalty Traveler post from November 20, 2010 regarding this SPG offer with pictures of the referral form I submit and promotional fine print. http://loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com/2009/11/20/my-midas-touch-gives-new-spg-members-starwo… […]

  • sb January 11, 2010

    hey ric, i sent you an email yesterday…have you had a chance to submit my referral form yet…i used a liz…email for you to submit on the form, thanks

  • Ric Garrido January 12, 2010

    sb – referred you yesterday morning. You probably have already received the SPG invitation.

  • j stratton January 14, 2010

    Ric,
    Can you still refer people. I would love to be referred, thans so much, macie

  • KS January 15, 2010

    Hey Ric – Did you get a chance to submit my email for SPG referral? I am looking at staying in Sheraton on Monday night and holding on to the bookings until I get the referal.

    Many Thanks

  • Ric Garrido January 15, 2010

    KS- Referred you yesterday morning. You should have an email from SPG today I would think.

  • KS January 15, 2010

    sorry, havent received it yet – could you send the referral to this id as my work id might have blocked SPG mail…thanks

  • KS January 15, 2010

    Thanks Ric – got the mail few mins back!!

  • dyschan January 20, 2010

    hi, can you share the link for the Stays Count Double for 2010? Thanks 🙂

  • Bones January 29, 2010

    Figures, I just randomly joined SPG this morning and now just read this post, I wish I could take it back and get the Gold Status

  • Ric Garrido January 29, 2010

    SPG offered Platinum member elites rollover stays in late 2009 rolled over to 2010 for SPG. Gold and Platinum elites received an offer for double stays/nights in 2009.

    Here is the Loyalty traveler post:
    http://loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com/2009/09/09/starwood-elite-fast-track-promotions-for-current-spg-gold-and-platinum-members/

  • kwab February 1, 2010

    Hello Ric,

    I just sent an e-mail to your gmail. If you could refer me that would be great!

    Thanks

  • Michael February 12, 2010

    So an existing SPG user can’t get bumped up to Gold with this, right?

  • Michael February 12, 2010

    New thought: could you refer me at a new email address, and I open a new account to get Gold, and then merge the accounts, getting my points from my old account plus the Gold from the new one?

  • Oliver February 13, 2010

    Michael, I think SPG is going to catch you. I am sure you’re not the only one coming up with that idea.

  • olegliz February 13, 2010

    Hi Ric,

    Sent you an email yesterday. Would love if you could help me take advantage of this offer!

    Thank you.

  • Lancaster April 26, 2010

    Hi Ric,

    Is it too late to join this promotion? If it is too late, any possible I can get the Starwood Preferred Guest membership via your refferal? Starwood Preferred Guest is better than regular membership right?thank you.

    Lancaster

  • Ric Garrido April 26, 2010

    The referral promotion for Starwood Preferred Guest instant Gold elite membership is over as of February 28.

    You can still join SPG as a regular member, but you will need 10 stays or 16 nights to earn Gold elite in the program.

  • […] 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 […]

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