Programs: SPG E Level; AA Pa Kettle; CO/UA Pa Kettle; PWP Plenipotentiary Ombudsman of :rolleyes:
Posts: 27,639
SPG Status Match Request and Challenge Policy : Discussion Master Thread
The folks at SPG want to give advance notice to the Flyertalk community that there will soon be a change in policy regarding status match requests from competing frequent stay programs. Starwood Preferred Guest is evolving its policy on status matches to Platinum to a Stay Challenge format beginning April 1, 2011.
Any contacts regarding a Stay Challenge offer will be done via email to the Platinum Concierge department. Any member wishing to apply for a Stay Challenge beginning April 1, 2011 can contact them at platinum.liaison@starwoodhotels.com in order to request consideration.
Members will be advised on the full requirements of their Stay Challenge and then contacted to advise if the Stay Challenge has been met. Should a member not successfully complete a Stay Challenge, they may request another once the original Challenge has expired.
Best regards,
William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
The folks at SPG want to give advance notice to the Flyertalk community that there will soon be a change in policy regarding status match requests from competing frequent stay programs. Starwood Preferred Guest is evolving its policy on status matches to Platinum to a Stay Challenge format beginning April 1, 2011.
Any contacts regarding a Stay Challenge offer will be done via email to the Platinum Concierge department. Any member wishing to apply for a Stay Challenge beginning April 1, 2011 can contact them at platinum.liason@starwoodhotels.com in order to request consideration.
Members will be advised on the full requirements of their Stay Challenge and then contacted to advise if the Stay Challenge has been met. Should a member not successfully complete a Stay Challenge, they may request another once the original Challenge has expired.
Best regards,
William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
William, can you give us a summary of what the change is? I am not averse to status comping other hotel schemes (that is how I came to be SPG Plat in 2006 and maintained under my own steam ever since), but is this a loosening and extension to more schemes elite members or a tightening and restriction?
Why not be transparent? Presumably it would be quite easy to find out this information by calling the Plat concierge and a process of trail and error?
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, Virgin America Elevate Gold, Hilton HHonors Diamond, SPG Platinum & Others
Posts: 19,282
Since SPG is matching Hyatt just in about every department (including this one, the status challenge instead of a match), you think they'd already match the free breakfast for Platinums part, but of course, no.
Programs: SPG E Level; AA Pa Kettle; CO/UA Pa Kettle; PWP Plenipotentiary Ombudsman of :rolleyes:
Posts: 27,639
Quote:
Originally Posted by Land-of-Miles
William, can you give us a summary of what the change is? I am not averse to status comping other hotel schemes (that is how I came to be SPG Plat in 2006 and maintained under my own steam ever since), but is this a loosening and extension to more schemes elite members or a tightening and restriction?
Why not be transparent? Presumably it would be quite easy to find out this information by calling the Plat concierge and a process of trail and error?
Respectfully, this is what I was given to relate to the community. I would take that to mean that anyone requesting a Stay Challenge after today will get all the information they need when they send their email in to request it.
Best regards,
William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Glad to see SPG is keeping its ranks from becoming bloated
I'm not sure that is what this will accomplish. Have you considered that many of those who had previously been granted status matches to SPG Platinum will now be able to get fast-tracked to Platinum status (after having lost SPG Platinum status) when that was generally not available before for those accounts that had a history of being status matched to Platinum?
If this is something like X nights or 10 stays within 90 days for SPG Platinum status and includes people who had been status matched before, then that is a way to bloat up the Platinum ranks while Starwood gets some faster-pace revenue collection out of it. The counter-trend to that from this transition to challenges is that status matching won't occur absent Starwood's getting some accelerated business from the challenge stays.
If there are more customers who can take up a challenge to Platinum status under the new policy than could get status matched under the old policy, then the results will be a bloating of the Platinum ranks who use the Platinum benefits. If there are fewer customers who can take up a challenge to Platinum status under the new policy than could get status matched under the old policy, then the results may be as you desire (with less competition from other Platinum members) but not necessarily as you desire (when those granted the challenges are far more likely to use the Platinum benefits than those who are status matched without any X-stays challenge).
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Like TSA, DL SkyMiles management treats airline customers as if they are the enemy or sheep to be fleeced and it shows.
William, can you give us a summary of what the change is? I am not averse to status comping other hotel schemes (that is how I came to be SPG Plat in 2006 and maintained under my own steam ever since), but is this a loosening and extension to more schemes elite members or a tightening and restriction?
Why not be transparent? Presumably it would be quite easy to find out this information by calling the Plat concierge and a process of trail and error?
Not to worry, I'll bite on this offer and report back. I was planning to do a couple of mattress runs over the next few months anyway, this might make my life easier.
