T&C
Jan 15, 2014, 1:52 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 79
T&C
hi, I'm a rookie traveler and would like to ask your advice for my itinerary with a budget of +/- usd 1500 (its fine if paris stays is eliminated or shorten if required to) :
2-8 february New York
29/30-2 february Paris
two rather expensive cities
Id really like to do these possibilities:
1. would it be possible to purchase SPG points and use all of the purchased point to partly/fully pay for paris or/and new york hotel stay?
2. does SPG reward program require at least 30% point earned by staying to pay for free nights instead of paying with points thats 100% earned by purchasing them or something like that?
3. is it allowed to buy points aside from the hotel or buy award stay from somebody who has points? (like broker service)
4. how much time needed for purchasing points to be available for redemption?
5. i have both some asiamiles and qatarmiles is it possible to redeem them for marriot stay?
6. any suggestion will be greatly appreciated
2-8 february New York
29/30-2 february Paris
two rather expensive cities
Id really like to do these possibilities:
1. would it be possible to purchase SPG points and use all of the purchased point to partly/fully pay for paris or/and new york hotel stay?
2. does SPG reward program require at least 30% point earned by staying to pay for free nights instead of paying with points thats 100% earned by purchasing them or something like that?
3. is it allowed to buy points aside from the hotel or buy award stay from somebody who has points? (like broker service)
4. how much time needed for purchasing points to be available for redemption?
5. i have both some asiamiles and qatarmiles is it possible to redeem them for marriot stay?
6. any suggestion will be greatly appreciated
Jan 15, 2014, 5:58 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2001
Programs: DL 1 million, AA 1 mil, HH lapsed Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 28,190
1. Yes.
2. No.
3. No - sale/barter of points and awards is prohibited by the T&Cs
4. Other posters speak to a week or so.
5. This isn't the Marriott forum.
6. You would do well to read the SPG Terms and Conditions, instead of making up stuff and coming here to ask if your fantasies are true.
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefer...spg_terms.html
2. No.
3. No - sale/barter of points and awards is prohibited by the T&Cs
4. Other posters speak to a week or so.
5. This isn't the Marriott forum.
6. You would do well to read the SPG Terms and Conditions, instead of making up stuff and coming here to ask if your fantasies are true.
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefer...spg_terms.html
Jan 15, 2014, 6:13 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,387
I saw your other post in the AA forum. Welcome to FlyerTalk.
In my opinion, you are better off using your $1500 on deal sites like Quikbook (which I find has some decent pricing for NYC- $150-200 a night is easy to find, in places like Ace Hotel that are pretty "hip") or opaque bidding sites like Priceline or Hotwire, than buying points with hotel chains to use for redemptions. It is difficult to be able to use purchased points to get value in excess of the cash you spend- it can be done in SOME cases, but I wouldn't recommend it for someone like yourself who isn't aware of all the nuances, especially in expensive markets like NYC (chains tend to make NYC hotels very expensive with points). You risk being stuck with a lot of points and a suboptimal hotel room (or worst case, none at all), or paying more than what you would have paid with cash.
Also, for a leisure traveler such as yourself, I would argue there isn't a particular need to use your stays in NYC and Paris to chase status, so boutique, non-chain hotels would work fine.
You may also find the following FT forums of use to you:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals-607/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/new-york-city-465/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/france-467/
In my opinion, you are better off using your $1500 on deal sites like Quikbook (which I find has some decent pricing for NYC- $150-200 a night is easy to find, in places like Ace Hotel that are pretty "hip") or opaque bidding sites like Priceline or Hotwire, than buying points with hotel chains to use for redemptions. It is difficult to be able to use purchased points to get value in excess of the cash you spend- it can be done in SOME cases, but I wouldn't recommend it for someone like yourself who isn't aware of all the nuances, especially in expensive markets like NYC (chains tend to make NYC hotels very expensive with points). You risk being stuck with a lot of points and a suboptimal hotel room (or worst case, none at all), or paying more than what you would have paid with cash.
Also, for a leisure traveler such as yourself, I would argue there isn't a particular need to use your stays in NYC and Paris to chase status, so boutique, non-chain hotels would work fine.
You may also find the following FT forums of use to you:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hotel-deals-607/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/new-york-city-465/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/france-467/