Starwood Asia-Pacific Free Weekend after 3 Stays

Starwood Asia-Pacific Free Weekend after 3 Stays

SPG Offer:Earn a Free Weekend certificate valid for Starwood hotels in Asia Pacific region after just 3 stays in participating hotels in Asia-Pacific region paid with a MasterCard.

Promotion registration is required by December 15, 2008 online at www.SPG.com/mastercardfreeweekend or through SPG customer service requesting Registration Code “MFW”.

Promotion Hotel Stay Dates:  Eligible stays must be booked between September 15, 2008 to December 15, 2008 for stays with arrival dates between October 1 and December 31, 2008 using a rate eligible for earning Starpoints.

Award Redemption Dates: Free Weekend Award will be earned after two qualifying stays and must be redeemed for a stay between November 1, 2008 and January 31, 2009.  Award will be received two to three weeks after second stay.  Free weekend award is not transferrable.

Participating hotel properties: All Starwood hotels in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand, India, Nepal, and the Maldives appear to be participating with the exception of the resorts in French Polynesia (Tahiti and Bora Bora Starwood hotels).

 Link to SPG Asia-Pacific Free Weekend Promotion Terms

The drawback (for non-Asia residents) to the current Free Weekend promotion is the time-limited need to redeem the certificate by January 31, 2009.  Unless you live in the Asia-Pacific region you need to have two trips to Asia-Pacific or one long trip on the order of a month or more to be able to qualify for the certificate, wait two to three weeks to receive the certificate, and then redeem your free weekend.  This Starwood promotion could work well for someone seeking to earn elite qualifying miles with two trips to Asia on your preferred airline carrier before the end of 2008.

By the numbers:

Malaysia has some of the lowest rates in the world for major hotels with luxury hotels in Kuala Lumpur and beach resorts on the island of Langkawi and rates typically around $80 to $120USD per night.

Thailand Oct 1 for 1 night 

Several Starwood hotels are under $150 per night for beach resort locations.

Indonesia October 20, 2008

Several Starwood hotels in Indonesia have rates after tax under $75USD/night.  On the other extreme is the St. Regis Bali, SPG Category 7 hotel, with daily rates in the $500 to $650USD range. 

Redemption Opportunities for Free Weekend Certificate

St. Regis Bali, Indonesia (SPG Cat 7 hotel) December 5-7, 2008 $665/night or $1,330 weekend value

ITC Maurya, New Delhi, India  (SPG Cat 6 hotel) December 5-7, 2008 15,250INR or 34,300INR after tax = $760USD weekend value

W Retreat and Spa, Maldives (SPG Cat 7)   Before you get your hopes up that you will be spending a free weekend at the luxurious W Retreat in the Maldives, Loyalty Traveler was unable to find any availability for this hotel for any weekend during the promotion redemption dates from November to January.  I mean the website at this time does not show any availability for a Friday-Saturday weekend to even book a room for cash.

St. Regis, Beijing (SPG Cat 6) 4,025 CNY (after tax) for Jan 16-18, 2009 = $589 USD for weekend stay

St. Regis, Singapore (SPG Cat 6) 1,225 SGD (after tax) for Jan 16-18, 2009 = $856 USD for weekend stay.

Le Meridien Ile des Pins, New Caledonia (SPG Cat 6) 61,800XPF for Dec 5-7, 2008 = $730USD for weekend stay.

Westin Tokyo, Japan (SPG Cat 5) 78,940JPY for Dec 5-7, 2008 = $733 for weekend stay

W Hong Kong (SPG Cat5) 6,050HKD for Dec 5-7, 2008 = $776 for weekend stay

For the Starwood traveler in Indonesia the opportunity is there to earn a free weekend certificate with stays at a variety of Starwood hotels with nightly rates under $100, as well as having one of the best redemption values for the free weekend stay with the St. Regis Bali, a Category 7 hotel being one of the most expensive Starwood properties in Asia.

And as far as getting the W Maldives for free.  That redemption opportunity looks highly unlikely at this time, however, Loyalty Traveler found midweek availability starting at $1,200 USD per night for dates in December. 

Personal aside on 2003 Asia-Pacific SPG promotion

In 2003 Starwood ran a promotion for 50,000 points after hotel stays in 5 different Starwood brands in the Asia-Pacific region.  I had planned to hang out in Scandinavia for summer 2003 and burn through a couple hundred thousand Hilton HHonors points staying at Scandic brand hotels for 10,000 points/night.  The combination of British Airways announcing frequent flier program changes to raise the First Class award level for a USA-London-Australia award from 150,000 miles to 420,000 miles, along with the Starwood promotion motivated me to alter my summer travel from Scandinavia to Australia.  My wife and I were able to earn 100,000+ Starpoints with 10 hotel stays in Australia for about $1,600 in hotel room stays.  A status match to SPG Platinum due to my Hilton activity made for some nice complimentary upgrades on these stays.