Hotel Loyalty 2012-Q3 Promotions Starwood Hotels Starwood Preferred Guest

Starwood double points and booking bonus Oct 1-Dec 20, 2012

SPG Better by the Night is the newly announced promotion. Starwood Preferred Guest offers double Starpoints, 4 points per $1, on 1 or 2 night stays from October 1 through December 20, 2012. Stay 3 nights or more and earn triple points, 6 points per $1.

Bonus points are in addition to the additional 2 points per $1 using the SPG American Express card to pay for the hotel stays and 1 bonus point per $1 for SPG Gold or Platinum elite status.

About 10% of Starwood Hotels are not participating in this offer. The list is not fixed though. Starwood Lurker has posted several hotels that decided to opt in over the past day and more may follow. See the August 23 list of hotels not participating in this offer at the end of this post.

You will earn from 4 to 10 points per $1 during the SPG promotion.

  • 4 points per $1 on 1 or 2 night stays.
  • 6 points per $1 on 3 or more night stays.
  • 2 points per $1 if hotel paid with SPG American Express.
  • 1 point per $1 if Gold or Platinum elite.
  • 1 point if super Platinum (75 nights/year)

Plus Online or iPhone App Booking Bonus

  • 250 bonus points for eligible stays booked on spg.com
  • 500 bonus points for eligible stays booked on SPG app for iPhone.

Promotion registration is required by November 30. The registration page currently is not active, but the T&C and FAQ are posted for this offer on the page.  You can request a text message to notify you when the registration page goes live.

  • Bookings made prior to promotion registration are eligible for bonus points as long as member registers before completing the stay within the promotion period October 1 – December 20, 2012.

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Loyalty Traveler Analysis

The value of this promotion depends on your travel lifestyle.

A business traveler SPG elite staying 3 nights on a $1,000 hotel bill will love this offer when collecting 9,000 points on a single stay. That is like a $300 rebate on a hotel stay you likely didn’t pay for out of pocket.

A 5-night vacation getaway for a leisure travel couple spending $1,500 will have a nice bonus of 14,000 points when paying with the American Express card as SPG Gold elite on a reservation booked over your iPhone. Those points can be redeemed for $500 in hotel credit with a good value SPG Cash & Points award stay.

The one night guest with no elite status, no SPG American Express card and no iPhone, staying on a $150 Westin rate, might not find 850 Starpoints to be much of a rebate for the hotel stay. Certainly better though than earning 300 points on a $150 Westin stay without this promotion.

Double and Triple Points Promotions

Hotel loyalty promotions based on double or triple points favor the high spender.

This SPG promotion also favors the extended stay with triple points for hotel stays of three nights or more.

SPG iPhone app bonus points

There is a major tie-in to the Apple iPhone with this SPG promotion. SPG members get 500 bonus points per reservation by downloading and booking the hotel stay through the iPhone app.

Reservations booked on spg.com earn 250 points. I have to wonder if SPG is only offering the 250 points spg.com online booking bonus simply to appease the outcry that the program discriminates in favor of iPhone users.

The booking bonus is an interesting twist. Club Carlson has offered booking bonuses for the past 18 months, but most hotel chains stopped booking bonuses years ago.

The 250 points spg.com or 500 points iPhone booking bonus favors the one night stay traveler.

Example: Assume 5 stays of $100 per night during the promotion period.

$500 Starwood Spend

  • Earn 1,000 base points ($500 hotel spend).
  • Earn 1,000 bonus points (double points).
  • Earn 1,250 booking bonus points spg.com or earn 2,500 booking bonus points SPG iPhone app.

Online booking bonus with the iPhone app generates more points than $500 in hotel spend after five 1-night $100 stays:

4,500 points for $500 in hotel spend is a decent rebate with 2,000 points for the Starwood stays and 2,500 points for booking the stays on an iPhone.

Example: Assume one stay of 5 nights at $100 per night during the promotion period:

$500 Starwood Spend

  • Earn 1,000 base points.
  • Earn 2,000 bonus points (triple points).
  • Earn 250 points from spg.com booking.

3,250 points for a single 5-night stay spending $500 shows the real value with this promotion is the online booking bonus that earns 1,250 more points for the same $500 spend on five 1-night stays.

Looks like this promotion has something for everybody, unless you are in a location with several nonparticipating hotels.

Don’t have an iPhone?

Might be worth sharing your passion for points and miles with an iPhone friend who can help you book the stays,

My challenge is loading the iPhone app onto my iPad which appears to be possible according to the FlyerTalk thread on this SPG Better by the Night offer.

SPG Better by the Night — Non-Participating Hotels and Resorts

Below is a list of hotels and resorts that are NOT participating in the Better by the Night promotion. (as of August 23 – subject to change)

United States

California

  • Sheraton Palo Alto Hotel
  • The Westin Palo Alto
  • Palace Hotel, San Francisco
  • Sheraton Sunnyvale Hotel
  • Sheraton Anaheim Hotel
  • Le Parker Méridien Palm Springs
  • The Westin Verasa Napa
  • Four Points by Sheraton San Jose Downtown

Colorado

  • The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa at Beaver Creek Mountain

Florida

  • Walt Disney World Dolphin
  • Walt Disney World Swan
  • Four Points by Sheraton Destin-Fort Walton Beach
  • The Westin Tampa Bay

Georgia

  • The St. Regis Atlanta

Hawaii

  • Moana Surfrider, A Westin Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach
  • Sheraton Waikiki

Illinois

  • Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers
  • The Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago
  • The Westin Chicago River North
  • The Westin Chicago North Shore
  • W Chicago-Lakeshore
  • W Chicago-City Center
  • The Tremont Chicago Hotel at Magnificent Mile

Indiana

  • Sheraton Louisville Riverside Hotel

Louisiana

  • Sheraton Metairie – New Orleans Hotel

Michigan

  • The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit

Minnesota

  • The Westin Edina Galleria

Missouri

  • Four Points by Sheraton Kansas City Airport

New Jersey

  • The Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village

New York

  • The Manhattan at Times Square
  • W New York-Union Square
  • Le Parker Méridien New York
  • W New York

Pennsylvania

  • Sheraton Great Valley Hotel
  • Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel

South Carolina

  • Sheraton Columbia Downtown Hotel

Tennessee

  • Four Points by Sheraton Knoxville Cumberland House Hotel

Texas

  • The Westin Galleria Houston
  • Aloft Las Colinas
  • The Westin Houston, Memorial City
  • Aloft Plano
  • W Austin
  • Aloft Frisco

Utah

  • Sheraton Salt Lake City Hotel

Virginia

  • The Westin Washington Dulles Airport

Washington

  • The Westin Bellevue
  • Four Points by Sheraton Downtown Seattle Center

International Starwood Hotels

Australia

  • Lilianfels Resort, Blue Mountains
  • Echoes Resort, Blue Mountains

Austria

  • Four Points by Sheraton Panoramahaus Dornbirn

Bangladesh

  • The Westin Dhaka

Brazil

  • Sheraton Sao Paulo WTC Hotel
  • Four Points by Sheraton Curitiba

Canada

  • The Westin Ottawa

China

  • The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel Beijing
  • Sheraton Chengdu Lido Hotel
  • Sheraton Dongguan Hotel
  • Sheraton Changsha Hotel
  • The Westin Guangzhou
  • Sheraton Urumqi Hotel
  • Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel
  • Aloft Beijing, Haidian
  • Sheraton Shunde Hotel
  • Le Méridien Shimei Bay Beach Resort & Spa
  • Aloft Nanhai, Foshan
  • Four Points by Sheraton Luohe
  • The Westin Pazhou

Colombia

  • Sheraton Bogota Hotel
  • Four Points by Sheraton Medellin
  • Four Points by Sheraton Cali

Germany

  • Four Points by Sheraton Munich Olympiapark
  • Four Points by Sheraton Munich Central
  • Le Méridien Munich
  • Sheraton Munich Westpark Hotel
  • The Westin Bellevue, Dresden
  • The Westin Grand Munich
  • The Westin Leipzig
  • Le Méridien Stuttgart
  • Sheraton Hanover Pelikan Hotel
  • Sheraton Munich Arabellapark Hotel

Greece

  • Sheraton Rhodes Resort

Hong Kong

  • Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers

Hungary

  • Le Méridien Budapest

India

  • ITC Maurya, New Delhi
  • The Westin Gurgaon, New Delhi
  • ITC Kakatiya, Hyderabad
  • ITC Sonar, Kolkata
  • Le Méridien Pune
  • The Westin Sohna Resort & Spa

Italy

  • Sheraton Firenze Hotel & Conference Center

Japan

  • Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers
  • The Westin Osaka
  • Sheraton Miyako Hotel, Tokyo

Jordan

  • Sheraton Amman Al Nabil Hotel & Towers

Kuwait

  • Sheraton Kuwait Hotel & Towers
  • Four Points by Sheraton Kuwait

Lebanon

  • Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun

Malaysia

  • Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort
  • Four Points by Sheraton Langkawi Resort

Pakistan

  • Sheraton Karachi Hotel

Russia

  • Sheraton Palace Hotel, Moscow

Saudia Arabia

  • Sheraton Jeddah Hotel
  • Sheraton Riyadh Hotel & Towers
  • Sheraton Dammam Hotel & Towers
  • Le Méridien Medina

Singapore

  • The St. Regis Singapore

South Korea

  • The Westin Chosun, Seoul
  • Sheraton Incheon Hotel

Taiwan

  • Sheraton Taipei Hotel
  • Le Méridien Taipei

Turkey

  • W Istanbul
  • Sheraton Istanbul Ataköy Hotel

United Arab Emirates

  • Le Méridien Abu Dhabi
  • Aloft Abu Dhabi
  • Le Méridien Al Aqah Beach Resort
  • Grosvenor House, Dubai
  • Al Sondos Suites by Le Méridien
  • Le Méridien Dubai
  • Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina
  • Le Royal Méridien Beach Resort & Spa
  • The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina
  • Le Méridien Fairway

United Kingdom

  • The Lanesborough, a St. Regis Hotel

Yemen

  • Sheraton Sana’a Hotel

 

Ric Garrido, writer and content 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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14 Comments

  • Sweetvibes August 23, 2012

    Of the many other bloggers who have posted about this Starwood program, this is the most clear and easy to understand with the breakdown of points and scenarios. Well done.

  • MJM August 23, 2012

    The FAQs plainly state that you get the 500 point bonus if you make a reservation on your iPad using the iPhone app. We are all so used to reading the T&Cs and for this there are some good details in the FAQs. Also that you can modify your reservation using a different channel, as what counts is how you originally made your reservation. That’s what it says. Hope it all works out that way.

  • Raj August 23, 2012

    Great opportunity to earn some points that can be used anytime in the future. Great analysis as usual!

  • YL August 23, 2012

    What about spg gold/platinum? Are the double points based on the base 2pts/$ or the 3pts/$ from gold/plat?

  • Geoffrey August 24, 2012

    I’m staying 3 nights in Rome on a points/cash basis . Should I use my Chase Sapphire Preferred (no foreign transaction fee) or my SPG that has a 3% foreign transaction fee ? I f I’m reading this correctly, I should use my CSP and still get 7 x points and save the foreign transaction fee versus using SPG and getting 9 x points but paying the foreign transaction fee. What would you do ?

  • Ric Garrido August 25, 2012

    @YL – In hotel promotions the double points, triple points and so on always uses base points only for the multiplier.

    SPG = 2 base points/$1.
    Double points = 4 points/$1.
    Triple points = 6 points/$1.

    Hilton HHonors = 10 base points/$1.
    Double points = 20 points/$1.
    Triple points = 30 points/$1.

    Elite status bonus points are separately earned points.

    In HHonors the Points & Points earner with 15 points per dollar is getting 10 base points and 5 bonus points. Promotions for double or triple points only apply to the 10 base points.

    HHonors Points & Points earner double points = 25 points per $1. Triple points = 35 points per $1.

  • Ric Garrido August 25, 2012

    @Geoffrey = Cash & Points stays do not count for the triple points promotion. They will count for elite qualifying nights.

    My preference on credit cards is no foreign transaction fee.

  • Sarah August 26, 2012

    You can actually earn 2 extra points per dollar I’d you are platinum 75 nights plus, so you could earn 10 per night!!!!! With 3 plus night stays. also, in your example above of a 5 night stay of 100 per night, you only doubled the ponts, you did not triple them. Iti is a no brainier that if you have some status and can earn extra points through 3 plus night stays, you ignore the 3 per cent charge fee, like I do with these special promotions.

  • Ric Garrido August 26, 2012

    @Sarah – you are correct about the potential to earn 10 points/$1. I have not internalized that super Platinum 75 nights level yet for 4 points/$1 earning rate since that is a tier I will unlikely ever see.

    In the example for the 5-night stay the points earned was correct for triple points. I had copied and pasted the term “double points” from the first example of five 1-night stays and tripled the points, but forgot to change the wording to triple points.

    $1,000 spend earning 2 points/$1 with SPG Amex = 2,000 bonus points. 2,000 points are certainly worth $30.

    Using the SPG AMEX for the hotel looks worthwhile and using a credit card with no foreign transaction fees for spend outside the Starwood Hotel is likely the best way to go.

    Thansk Sarah.

  • Dave From BNA August 29, 2012

    The price of the Chicago properties alone may them some of my favorites for redemptions whenever possible. So I can live with them leading the non participating list. I still like to brag about snagging a free night in a suite at the Westin River North just for staying 2 nights at EWR and Atlanta Perimeter about $175 total. SPG redemptions for LAX mid week are fantastic and none are on the list. What are the chances this may be combined with another promo given the uncertainty about the election and the economy?

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