Starwood Preferred Guest - Would you spend $500 to achieve Platinum Status?

Thank to the double stay credit promo I am 5 stays away from Plt.
I can do this for around $500 give or take a few bucks.
Would you do it?

If you keep it through next year and will make use of it, absolutely!!




Thank to the double stay credit promo I am 5 stays away from Plt.
I can do this for around $500 give or take a few bucks.
Would you do it?

Yes.

I would bite your hand off.

HUH? :confused:
Down boy!Down !
At least let me cook you a nice dinner first and then you could bite off the hand that feeds you :eek:

Platinum status has been good to me. A couple of suites in Oahu and Maui were worth more than $500 to me. I'm writing this from my second suite upgrade in Frankfurt. However, it all depends on whether you will be using Starwood enough to take advantage of the upgrades. If you do, then the status is definitely worth it.

Henry

Yes!

Last year I did $800 MR for Platinum status. this year, I have been upgraded to a suite almost everytime but one.

I would do it, but thats because I stay in SPG properties a lot.

If I stayed in SPG for say, 20 nights a year (not stays) then I would probably not.

It depends on your hotel activity next year. For me, the biggest benefit to plat is the platinum amenity points. I might stay in a hotel for 1 or 2 nights and get a total of 600 points based on room rate, but get 250 - 500 amenity points. That gives me great earning power.

Yes!

Last year I did $800 MR for Platinum status. this year, I have been upgraded to a suite almost everytime but one.
hi, what's an $800 MR?

hi, what's an $800 MR?

A Mattress Run, I believe.

Essentially a stay at a hotel made exclusively for the purpose of gaining a higher status with the hotel chain in question. A mileage run, only for hotels. :)

Am in the exact same boat. I was ready to just Matress Run the five stays, until my favorite local matress-running hotel left starwood (could usually get $50-60/night, w/ breafkast buffet, etc....a lot cheaper than $500). I still think I'll do it. SPG has been GREAT to me as a Gold, and I've read much of how much "better" Plat is than Gold. Will I earn the stays again to keep it another year? Hard to say. Maybe they'll have another double-stay promo that would either make it more possible, or "dilute" it for those already earning it. I'd enjoy it while I had it, and the extra points would be a consideration.

A couple of cost-cutting ideas...if you're flying, is there an SPG prop. with airport transport that wouldn't cost huge-ly (a word? now it is) more than airport parking.
There's a couple of threads on FT with hotel recco's for Matress Running. The Sheraton Pleasanton comes to mind, if you get up north. There's prolly SOMETHING in SoCal with MR-able rates.

YES! Well, at least it would be for me. We use our *points primarily for properties in Italy. And we almost get upgraded to rooms/suites that sell for $400 - $1500/nite.

Status, for status' sake? No. If you plan on travelling next year, definitely g for it. I'd give my right pinky to be in your shoes, but unfortunately, I didn't start travelling again this year until this month. Too late to do Platinum, since all the properties in Seattle are $160 and up (I pay for them - no expense account) Sad. :(

As most everyone has said, it depends on your future travel plans.

For example, if most of your stays are Four Points Fresno (CA), where the upgrade gets you a pool-side room, then I would not.

IF you are going to the Tokyo Westin, where an upgrade got us a suite for 4 days and got us (and Sister and BIL) lounge access (breakfast, afternoon happy hour, and evening snacks), then yes.

Something to look out for throughout the year......I have made several "MR" stays when I happened to be passing thru an area with a cheap *W hotel. When I go home to visit my Mother, I may make a reservation at a local cheap hotel, even though I am staying with family. I can sometimes get reservations for $55-65.

Because Gold status can be acquired from 1,000 things besides actually staying at SPG Hotels the quality of SPG Gold has fallen slightly. The differences between Plat and Gold are HUGE now, so basically, YES. I certainly would go for it, if you will use it frequently.

Also, if you ever need any special treatment, being plat helps. I have occassionally forgotten to cancel a room reservation before the cancellation deadline. The platinum desk has been able to get the property to waiver the cancellation fee each time. That benefit alone would have more than worth the $500 difference for me.

It really will be less then $500, after all as aPlat you will get either 500 or 250 pts as Your Amenity Gift if its the Pts that You chose. Right now at 20 stays that you have done thats 10,000 pts worth if your stays were at Westins or Sheratons, at 4P is 250. So those extra Pts will bring you a free night or 2 that should be worth at least $250 if not more. so even a combo of Westin, Sheraton, and 4P should net you around 7000 pts which is either a Cat3 night or a Cat 4 for a reg night and and weekend night, or a Cat1 for 1 weekday night and 2 weekend nights.

So if I was you its a no Brainer, Id do it, and FYI I am doing it, I needed 8 stays to requalify and did 4 of the 8 already, all 4 stays were needed so no Mattress running, Yet. Also the Hotels I stayed at were less $$ then any other one that I would have stayed at instead, so it didnt cost me any more to get the SPG stays. Good thing I got my Hilton requalification out the way months ago, and only 3 more needed for Marriott, that will be in Dec or if I get the other 4 SPG done before I expect to.

Thank to the double stay credit promo I am 5 stays away from Plt.
I can do this for around $500 give or take a few bucks.
Would you do it?


When was the double stay promo? - it seems like that i totally missed that

UA100K it is this promo
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=586148