jibi

I agree.

honflyer

This is my point. I never forced them to do this. However, they first offered me this, agreed to do this, then changed the terms at the end and gave me a "do or die" offer.

I obviously told them that I would make this public. Quite frankly after the interaction I wouldn't have expected them to offer any side deals to me whatsoever.

But yes, I myself have done various "side deals" with the Moments team in the past, it happens. What I don't like here is that there was a commitment to something and they decided to make/change their rules at their own will. That's not how you make business.

honflyer

Life isn't fair...

Mora

Yeah same goes for you plus "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose" - either go through with the deal SPG offers you now or find other resources to buy those tickets you want with cash.

yosithezet

It sounds like SPG did honor the deal. But since the terms were never finalized, the OP had no way of knowing if he would like them or not. In the end he didn't like the terms and the clock ran out.

Per your original post they did not offer. You requested.
Aaaand then you threatened.
There was no commitment. You never settled on terms. When it came time to agree to terms, you didn't like what they offered. Eventually you failed to come to a mutually acceptable agreement for a perishable good. Rather than passing up the opportunity to liquidate that good, they chose to do so.

At the end of the day it seems like you were making up your own rules and agreements with SPG Moments, to the detriment of the rest of us members, and it eventually caught up with you.

Oxon Flyer

Could you expand and clarify this point please ? SPG has been privately selling you Moments packages instead of offering the packages for public sale ?

karenkay

nope. see below.

my edit: SPG: We guaranteed you the tickets and this is what we've 'figured out.'

Honflyer: But I don't like those terms!

see above.

Look, to be fair (see what I did there?) if they agreed originally to make you a back room deal, they should have honored it...and my interpretation is that they tried to, you just didn't like the new terms. back room deals can go awry, and because they're back room deals, it's best not to do too much complaining when they do.

sbrower

At the point that it was necessary to get your legal team involved it was the point where SPG may decide that even with all of your business it isn't worth keeping you as a customer. I agree that it sounds like things didn't work out well, but the ambiguity in the terms was the result of doing the deal as a favor.

porciuscato

Sounds to me like your ambassador made on honest mistake. And you want SPG to fall on its sword and give you something you weren't really entitled to because of it.

It also sounds like you are an extremely high-maintenance customer. Getting your legal team involved over a couple of show tickets? Seriously?

I will be very disappointed in Starwood if they don't fire you as a customer. I wouldn't want you as my customer. Anybody who is that quick to talk lawyers isn't worth the trouble.

broadwayblue

Yeah, who threatens legal action over concert tickets? Yikes. This whole story just goes to show that no good deed goes unpunished.

MSPeconomist

I think they were sporting event tickets, not concert tickets.

When OP declined to purchase the needed points (with SPG willing to waive annual limits on the purchase of points), the deal was off.

I also agree with others that it's not right for some people to be able to make their own special deals for SPG Moments packages before they are offered/auctioned to the public. It erodes the availability for others and can drive up the price of auction items.

I think it was wrong for the OP to request special favors, not just this time but for previous Moments offers.

Dr. HFH

I don't see it that way. When they made the agreement, they agreed to "figure something out." To me, that implies some sort of cooperative effort. Then when the time came, SPG unilaterally took the position that OP had to purchase points immediately. Sounds to me as though the only one doing any figuring was SPG.


Agreed.


Disagree. Nothing wrong with asking. SPG's response might have been more along the lines of, "You're joking, right?" But, no. SPG agreed. What's wrong with asking? The worst that can happen is that they will say No. Anyone here ever ask a Concierge or Ambassador to get a hotel to cancel and refund a nonrefundable rate when travel plans changed unexpectedly? That's inconsistent with the rules, too.

remymartin

This is just plain wrong. Moments are underused as-is already and it's a shame some people are dealing under the table.

If OP earns 100x$350x4 starpoints per year as claimed, I don't see how the account Balance issue is realistic.

Overall, I find a sense of overentitlement, starting from the first sentence.

aCavalierInCoach

OP also mentioned he uses points for hotel rooms and flights so there is an earn dynamic in addition to the burn dynamic which could mean he had point constraints.

That point of fact aside, OP's highlighting of age, industry, and travel pattern leads me to a similar conclusion around the sense of entitlement.

honflyer

Yes, also to other friends of mine. You just need to ask them in advance, if you're a platinum/ambassador they (used to) do it.

Don't get why people are giving me .... about that, it's SPG's fault, not mine.