Hotel Loyalty 2012-Q4 promotions Starwood Hotels Starwood Preferred Guest

SPG award stays 30% to 50% rebate at 21 North America Resorts Oct 21-Dec 20, 2012

Starwood Preferred Guest has a high value promotion “Redeem & Reward” geared for members with high account balances seeking high value award stay rebates in points. Members can receive a 30%, 40% or 50% rebate in points redeemed for award stays from October 21 through December 20, 2012 at 21 select Resorts in North America.

Redeem & Reward Promotion registration is required by November 30.

Standard award nights and 5th night free awards are eligible for this rebate. 

Cash & Points, Nights & Flights and award nights using SPG Suite upgrades are not eligible for this rebate offer.

The amount of the rebate depends on the specific resort.

50% savings:

• The St. Regis Aspen Resort, Colorado, USA (Category 7)

• The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico, USA (Category 7)

• The St. Regis Bal Harbor Resort, Miami Beach, Florida, USA (Category 7)

• The St. Regis Monarch Beach, Dana Point, California, USA (Category 6)

• The Phoenician, a Luxury Collection Resort, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA (Category 5)

• W South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida, USA (Category 7)

• The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Florida, USA (Category 5)

40% savings:

• W Retreat & Spa — Vieques, Puerto Rico, USA (Category 6)

• The Westin Trillium House, Blue Mountain, Ontario, Canada (Category 5)

• The Westin St. John Resort & Villas, Virgin Islands, USA (Category 5)

• The Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa, Rancho Mirage, California, USA (Category 5)

• The Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa, Cayman Islands (Category 5)

• The Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba (Category 5)

• Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort & Casino, Bahamas (Category 4)

30% savings:

• Sheraton Steamboat Resort, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA (Category 5)

• Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, Chandler, Arizona, USA (Category 4)

• The St. Regis Deer Valley, Park City, Utah, USA (Category 6)

• The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA (Category 5)

• The Westin La Cantera Hill Country Resort, San Antonio, Texas, USA (Category 4)

• The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, Georgia, USA (Category 4)

• The Westin Whistler Resort & Spa, British Columbia, Canada (Category 5)

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Loyalty Traveler Analysis

This promotion rebate means a category 7 hotel like W South Beach at 30,000 points per night will still cost 30,000 points per night for your award reservation. You will receive 15,000 points per night back, up to 6 weeks after your award stay.

You need to have 120,000 points available in your account to make a 5th night free reservation for a category 7 hotel at 30,000 points per night. Your 5 nights will ultimately cost only 60,000 points or 12,000 points per night once you receive the 60,000 points rebate for this hotel.

SPG is currently selling points at $28 per 1,000 points with a member limit of 20,000 points for $560. A couple with the same residence can each buy 20,000 points, then transfer points into one account for 40,000 points at $1,120. I explained this in detail in a post this week on buying Starpoints.

Why you should consider buying Starpoints at 20% off.

So even if you have no Starpoints currently, you can purchase 40,000 points as a couple to redeem for a 5th night free stay at a category 4 resort on the list. The category 4 hotels listed for this promotion provide only a 30% or 40% rebate and you will receive back 12,000 or 16,000 points.

Promotion FAQ

One of the FAQ states that an award stay including December 20 will receive a rebate for the entire stay. This means a 5th night free stay is possible for Dec 20-25, 2012 and the rebate will apply for the entire stay.

Q: If I have an Award stay that starts prior to October 21, or checks out after December 20, is it still eligible to receive the redemption savings?

A: Yes. As long as one (1) night of the eligible Award stay falls within the promotional period, the registered member will receive 30%, 40% or 50% of his or her Starpoints bonused back for all standard room Free Night Award nights at a participating property during that stay.

Stays booked prior to this promotion are eligible as long as one night of the stay falls within the October 21-December 20 promotion period.

Q: I booked my Award stay months ago, prior to the promotion starting. Am I still eligible for the offer?

A: Yes. As long as the member registers for the promotion and his or her eligible Award stay falls within the promotion period, the member is eligible for the offer. There is no need for a member to cancel and rebook an Award stay.

This offer can be used for multiple award stays during the promotional period.

Q: Is there a limit to the number of times I can take advantage of this offer?

A: Members may take advantage of this offer multiple times, as long as they meet the registration and promotion earning criteria previously described

There are some other FAQ items with explanations that members should read, but I think these are the main points.

This looks like a great promotional opportunity for some members. In general though, this looks like a pitch for SPG whales with huge account balances.

I noticed Google’s daily page design today is celebrating the 161st anniversary of the novel Moby Dick. 

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.

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3 Comments

  • Mike October 19, 2012

    Any promo is a good promo I suppose (especially since Starwood hasn’t offered any good quarterly promos in 2012), but it’s hard not to think that almost all of the hotels/resorts on this list are a category above where they should be.

    More importantly, since these hotels are offering a significant discount to their point level, one can only hope that the Cat6 & Cat7 hotels on this list will drop a level in 2013. The St. Regis Bahia Beach (for example) is a great resort, but to ask 30,000 points for a standard room–in addition to a $60 resort fee–for a resort in Puerto Rico is INSANE!

    Again, I recognize that some people (who have lots of banked SPG points) will benefit from this promo. My issue is that Starwood continues to increase resort categories so quickly (and clearly NOT in-line with each hotel’s daily rate) that Starpoints are worth less & less. And now, rather than reduce the category of some hotels (with the owners likely complaining that they’d leave Starwood) we get these 11th hour promos, that a very small percentage of us can benefit from.

    My two cents…

  • Ric Garrido October 19, 2012

    @Mike – I think I was not fair and balanced in evaluating the SPG promotion in this post.

    This is a great promotion offer. My primary complaint is that making this a rebate offer excludes a large portion of the SPG members who could afford award nights at 50% the rate, but do not have sufficient points to book a standard award and wait for a 50% rebate on points redeemed.

    That said, I think this is a fantastic offer to get a taste of a category 7 hotel for 15,000 points – if you have 30,000 points to book an award night.

    Of course planning a trip to Orange County, California or Miami or Puerto Rico or Aspen for a one night stay is not practical.

    Great deal though if you are in the region and want to sample a resort for one or two nights.

    With regard to the cost of high category hotels, I have criticized SPG many times over the years for the really high cost of awards at upper tier hotels and the trend to push hotels to higher categories each year.

    I find category 6 and 7 hotels generally a poor value for spending points. There are some exceptions, but I value my points much more highly with Cash & Points and category 2 and 3 hotels where I can save $1,000 for 20,000 points compared to one night at a high-priced Starwood resort.

  • Mike October 19, 2012

    @Ric

    I completely agree with your post & reply. I’m sorry I didn’t word my response better–I meant to aim my anger at Starwood exclusively.

    This promo is definitely a good deal for those who can benefit from it, however I think (simply by offering the promo) it’s clear that most of the hotels on this list do not belong in their respective categories.

    Personally, I think that all SPG resorts (excluding St. Regis resorts) should be capped at Cat. 5, since you only get a standard room & still have to pay resort fees. And rather than reduce hotel category levels to where they should be in 2013, this 11th hour promo is essentially a mea culpa from Starwood. A promo that is so last-minute that it benefits very few people.

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