Starwood Preferred Guest - SPG Bonuses, Corporate Discounts and other Newbie questions

Hi,

I am new to the SPG program - just started today. I will be staying in the Westin Chicago Northshore Monday through Thursday for the next 6 months and want to maximize the points I receive.

I've been reading through the posts on this board and have come across some cool tips and info, but I have some questions I was hoping someone could help with.

I have no current status with SPG but I have an Amex platinum card, so I am going to get an automatic gold status. I will be using the Amex platinum to pay for the hotel stays. I am considering getting the Starwoods Amex and using it a few times to get the 10000 point bonus.

The company I am working for has a negotiated rate with Westin. Does this mean I am not eligible for the bonuses listed on http://www.frequentflyerbonuses.com/starwood.html?

Does anyone have any other suggestions on how I can maximize my points and achieve Platinum more quickly?

TIA

E

One bump?

First off, welcome to FT!
The *woods amex card is a great idea - not only would you get the 10,000 bonus points, you will also get additional points for paying for your stays with your card.

You should still be eligible for the starwood bonuses, just make sure you sign up on time.

To achieve platinum quicker, you can split up your stays so you can reach 25 stays quicker - I did this last year when I joined *wood - YMMV.

...The company I am working for has a negotiated rate with Westin. Does this mean I am not eligible for the bonuses listed on http://www.frequentflyerbonuses.com/starwood.html?...

It depends on whether you pay at check-out or the company pays via a direct bill vs. Master Bill. If you pay at check-out, it should be no problem. If the company pays via direct bill, it should be no problem. If the company pays via a Master Bill, then your stays would not be eligible.

One other thing might also come into play regardless of how the bill is settled...if this rate is so low that the company agreed that no Starpoints would be earned for it in their contract, then your stays also would not be eligible.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

Here are a few other obvious points:
1) If you have status with any other hotel chains, you should call SPG Customer Service and ask for an upgrade to a comparable level immediately - or for recognition of your Gold status immediately. It will significantly increase your point accrual rate (assuming your rate qualifies)
2) if you're really there for 6 months, check out every so often - there are lots of other Starwood properties in the Chicago area - and increase your stay count. You DO know that if you stay longer than 30 consecutive days, you stop accruing points AND stay credit? So you MUST check out for a day, at least, every 30 days or you're screwed.
3) Food purchased in the hotel counts for points, too? So all other things being equal, enjoy the room service :)
4) You definitely want to get the SPG Amex ASAP, it will earn you another point per night
5) Check out superdawg's site: http://www.frequentflyerbonuses.com/starwood.html for lots of bonus point earning opportunities,

Thanks for your replies - I am going to get the Starwoods Amex ASAP. My question for this is it better to pay with the Starwoods Amex instead of my Platinum Amex? Is a Starwoods point worth more than a Amex rewards point?

Yes, in most instances, an SPG point is worth more than an Amex point.

There are plent of discussions about this in this forum, but in short, Amex points transfer at an unfavorable ratio if you want to use them for hotel stays whereas SPG points get a premium if you intend to transfer them for airline miles.

Thanks for all the help - I am going to apply for the *woods Amex

2) if you're really there for 6 months, check out every so often - there are lots of other Starwood properties in the Chicago area - and increase your stay count. You DO know that if you stay longer than 30 consecutive days, you stop accruing points AND stay credit? So you MUST check out for a day, at least, every 30 days or you're screwed.
...
4) You definitely want to get the SPG Amex ASAP, it will earn you another point per night
A couple clarifications:
2) if you stay longer than 30 consecutive days, then you don't even get stay or night credit for those first 30 days! :td:
4) SPG Amex will get you another point per dollar. (Clearly, "per night" was a typo.)

It may be worth your while to introduce yourself to the GM to see if the hotel might give you Plat-like perks (upgrades and bonus points per check-in) from the beginning when at their hotel.