MilesTalk

From me, this gets a gigantic ^.

I do earn a majority of my SPG points from CC spend and use mostly C&P / Award nights as it's silly to pay cash (unless it's a poor redemption rate vs. cash) when I have so many points.

With the stays from the credit card and this, I only need 6 award or C&P stays to at least requalify for Gold (which helps overseas).

Sure, I see why people that earn most points from hotel stays see this as a downside, but I see it as mostly helping CC earners get Gold which they will see as an additional reason to stay loyal to SPG in general. And I don't see too many burning enough award stays in a year to make Gold...

Again, ^.

montreid

Okay, so if I use the 4night get 5th day free on points, I will double dip and get 5 nights credit?

This is indeed a very nice perk included and makes requal much easier via point use instead of transferring points to miles.

Thank you SPG!

broadwayblue

I apologize if I missed it...but does a 5th night free award count as 5 nights towards the 25/50 night requirement?

EDIT: found the answer. Yes.

Q: If a member redeems for five nights, does the Fifth Night Free also count toward elite status?

A: Yes, all nights of the redemption stay will count toward elite status qualification, including the Fifth Night Free Award.

mahasamatman

I think you mean exactly one other (major) program.

mreed911

If I had to guess, "free" nights are likely joined to paid nights. In other words, people have enough for ONE or TWO free nights, but buy the rest of the nights they need (vs. not buying any since they can't afford to without the free nights). Mine's a really simple example, but you get the gist - encouraging people to spend miles brings in incremental revenue that they'd never otherwise get, vs. the miles just building up or being transferred out so that SPG earns no revenue whatsoever.

Bigshaker

This is great news and will work out perfectly for me! Having been Plat the last 11 straight years I'm a few stays short this year with mostly award stays the rest of the year, so I'm now saved by those counting!

Thanks
Bigshaker

ktjan

So technically, someone can spend as little as 37,500 points to retain his/her platinum status a year...

yeunganson

I thought about this new benifit a little. For me, it will decrease the total number of pay stays per year and replace it with less profitable point redemotion stays.

I think these few years, Starwood has opened more hotels - especially in China. However, the ratio of Number of Platinum members VS Number of hotels may not have grown. So maybe this is a way to increase the number of Gold and Plat members.

I do need to point out most of the new hotels seem to open in China. They are likely unprofitable due to high price compared to the local standards of living. So I speculate the number of Platinum members inside China is very low compared to the numbers in North America. So if they make it easier to qualify for gold and plat, then it may "increase" the total number of Gold members and Plat members.

Unfortunately, most of these new Gold/Plat will be in developed nations like North America.... We would be treated well in Asia where concentration of platinum members are low, but may not be treated as well in North America due to high concentration of plat members.

That's how I see it.

yeunganson

I think those SPG points are considered "liability" on a balance sheet. So they are considered unclaimed service a company need to provide.

So by reducing the total SPG points in circulation, they are decreasing the liability/debt on their balance sheet.

allbrosca

I think this is a great move. I am a former Platinum who has an SPG AMEX. Since I got the SPG AMEX, all my leisure travel has been on points. As a result, I am not close to Platinum, so I have taken to staying elsewhere if it is more convenient. Hyatt's, Hiltons, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Preferred Hotels, etc. Now that my reward stays will count towards Platinum, I will probably focus my business spending back on Starwood to once again achieve Platinum.

boxweaver

As someone who would re-qualify for plat one way or the other, I find this to be great news. Bravo SPG! I'm sure SPG monitors the number of Platinums very carefully, and I doubt this will have a more dillutive effect than a double stays/night promotion. It only seems right to give a bump to people who stay in the hotel (and presumably have other spend on their stay), than to people who so happened to have business travel during a promotion period.

camsean

Big thumbs up from me.^^

But it wouldn't be flyertalk if everyone was happy.

Flying Lawyer

Great idea. And it will certainly help to keep SPG points within the chain. In the past I hardly had any award stays but used my points for other purposes. This will certainly change.

And I do not see too much problems with "heavy SPG Amex points users". Some people seem to forget that this CC is a US thing and this forum is a US dominated forum. Given that, this card plays an important role on this forum.

However, SPG markets are by far bigger than the US. I assume the biggest emerging market is China and Asia. SPG plays an important role in Europe and we are not spoiled by CC points. So on a global level, the importance of this step in regard of numbers of Platinums is by far lower than some assume from a US perspective. And the effect is certainly by far lower than the effect of these double-stay-promos.

A platinum member short on stays in a world without a SPG Amex might earn enough points for five award nights a year and this will not have a big effect on the number of Platinums.

itsaboutthejourney

I like that this removes any confusion or second thinking about stay types: any stay is now a stay. Just like Plat benefits applied to paid, point or cash & point stays, this streamlines everything. ^

And knowing how many nights I've previously not had credited due to points or cash & points, this will likely boost my lifetime stay numbers going forward.

mreed911

Different deal, though. I'm ignoring the liability of the points, I'm talking specifically about the additional increased revenue spent due to "free" point stays, even if it's just as simple as a resort fee, etc.