Westin Premier - Starwood new FG program info coming

On my latest Westin Premier (soon to be RIP
it seems) Starwood says teh new membership cards (and I assume info) will now come in mid February. Starwood says until then use your CURRENT Westin Membership cards. The membership number is still vaid.

It also says you can still earn Westin points and miles until 1-31-1999. It also says, quote, "In addition, Westin Premier award points may be redeemed for any of our current awards through June 30, 1999."

Now my head is spinning. It's time to give us the facts Starwood! CATMAN

Then why did they transfer my Westin points to Sheraton? Yes, lets have the facts first, and then we can decide on the merits/demerits of the changes.

That's what I wrote to them about and got a very vague response saying only the points were transferred.

I did NOT ask for the points to be transferred. I prefer Westin as I said before. It's making my head ache even more!
CATMAN

Catman, Hi don't waste your time and get all stressed out just think of it as that your old program still exist. as you will carry on redeeming them in the same manner as earlier till you get all the new details. I agree they are taking too long on providing all the info. But I also think the new program will be much better and in the same league as that of marriott.

I hope you are right. A big fan of Westin, and Sheraton has helped me out of several last minute emergency stay situations.

But it would have to be a very special program to be in the same league as Marriott.
Or even HIlton. Or Sheraton. Or even the late, great Westin Premier. CATMAN

I do believe the new Starwood Preferred Guest program will be worth the wait. It will have unprecedented rewards without restrictions-there are no blackout dates on free nights, and no point expiration for active members. There is also a promotion you can receive 10,000 WorldPerks Bonus Miles (the equivilent of 10,000 Starpoints) when you stay five (5) times between February 1 and May 31, 1999. That's in addition to the two Starpoints you earn for every eligible dollar you spend during your stays. And Starpoints are redeemable one-for-one for WorldPerks Bonus Miles.And remember Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide features a collection of six premier brands: Westin Hotels & Resorts, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Caesars World and Four Points Hotels.

I do not know whats so unprecedented about these features. Sheraton already has no blackout dates - and since there is likely capacity control the utility of blackout free dates is reduced because these are high demand dates. And having no point expiration for active members is no big deal - tell me which hotel program does not.

While the Starwood promoton sounds nice it too is not unprecedented considering the 50,000 Hilton point bonus, Night after night promotion by Hyatt, and the 15,000 Marriott bonus.

Oh boy! WorldPerks bonus miles! Maybe I can be one of the lucky ones who end up sitting on a runway for over 10 hours while the toilets overflow! Couldn't Starwood have picked a better airline partner for the promo?

Tutt, tutt, tutt.

Now we must play nicely with our hosts! :-)

thank you flygirl - some of your informations are new to me.

where on the web can I have a closer look on that future program?

Now, now, boys and girls let's play nice. I know not everyone likes or appreciates the same programs or partners, but believe it or not pgupta011 and MileKing there are loyal WorldPerks fans! Anyway,we happen to get a few "news" items here that may not be out there for everyone's eyes just yet, and I was just trying to offer a little information. Thank you Rudi.There are two websites you might try www.starwoodhotels.com and www.starwoodlodging.com which may give you some insight to the new SPGP however, it appears that the last info is dated 12/98 at this time. I'll try to give you Westin and Sheraton fans more info as soon as it crosses our phones or faxes. In the mean time Happy Traveling!

Please reread my earlier posting Flygirl. I never said anything bad about the Northwest WorldPerks program (I was once a very satisfied Northwest gold member - and have even posted in other forums about it), or even about the upcoming promotion you mentioned. Good promotion - yes, unprecedented - no. Now lets not get brainwashed by this "unprecedented" Starwood marketing blitz.

I was just kidding flygirl! I DO appreciate any information related to the new program as that info has been too slow coming from Starwood. And while I am NOT a Northwest fan and don't think I've ever stepped on one of their planes, I AM a fan of the Sheraton program. Looks like the new Starwood program will retain much of the Sheraton program's benefits while offering some others (at least for those who fly NW).

Thank you FlyGirl for whatever information about the Starwood program you can get. I appreciate any info I can get since Hyatt is starting to tempt me with some decent offers (Are you reading this RWeber?) And if I'm not happy at Starwood, Hyatt could suddenly see a big boost in business.

ALTHOUGH HILTON AND MARRIOTT REMAIN THE CAT"S
SETTLED HOTELS OF CHOICE http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Although I have to agree somewhat with MileKing... If they were going to do a bonus miles promotion shouldn't they have picked one of the larger airlines (like United or American or Continental.) That also would be good publicity for the new program to be linked to one of the larger FF programs.
Just a thought! CATMAN

Great Northwest- what about us poor Europeans who got thrown out of WorldPerks last year?

I suspect - as so often - American companies just think about Yanks

Speaking with a Westin Premier rep yesterday, I learned that Westin Points would be
converted at a 5:1 ratio, and that the breakfast gratuity would no longer be offered.

I stayed at the Westin Ottawa yesterday. Apparently the launch of the program has been delayed until at least mid Feb. I wish the info was more forthcoming. Oh well, I recd the breakfast gratuity (my meal allowance is sub standard)

I don't know if the service rep I talked to yesterday had a clue. I just called Starwood at 888 625 4988. They had my account and status info right there. I mentioned that Gold seemed difficult to achieve with SW, and they upgraded me, even though I was only Burgandy with WP. The rewards seemed good, and I wasn't disapointed with the conversion. Although we will be hit with the low value of C$ once again. 1US$ = 2 Starpoints. SO they will convert Can$ to US$ before arriving at Starpoints. Too bad that they lost Air Canada (neither Canadian nor Air Can would belong to the same hotel club) The rep on the phone was very helpful. Also check out a review of the SW Plan on the Inside Flyer web page.

As always, look out when they say new and improved. Yes, Starwood has luxury hotels all over the world. But, of course we lose the breakfast and the air miles.

I would disagree with people who say the new program is worse. Now you can transfer points to many different airlines and also get a bonus of 5000 miles when you transfer 20,000. Also if you are a platinum level member the breakfast allowance is not needed as the club level already includes breakfast. The points required for a free night are lower. No black out dates. Soon they will come ut with all inclusive awards too.

To Hussar,
Yes, it's too bad that they lose Air Canada. But they announced a marketing alliance with Canadian Airlines. Canadian Plus members earn up to 1,000 points for each qualifying stay at Westin properties worldwide. And as an added bonus, Canadian Plus members will receive double points when they stay at participating Westin hotels in Canada through April 30, 1999. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

why is it still "Westin". Shouldn't it be all Starwood-hotels now?

Rudi, I agree. But, Starwood is not that well known as the popular brands.