theres another way to Gold w/o even staying 1 single night at any SPG Hotel. Get the Amex SPG CC and spend 30k on it by 12/31 every year. I think the reg Plat Amex and the Centurion CCs give it away as part of their benefits

what some havent mentioned is if you reach Plat level then you get a Welcome Amenity at the 4 Pts and Loft its 250 pts or at the others its 500 pts instead of the other items that are offered. So a 4 night stay at 2 different Hotels will yield 4 x 500 = 2000 pts , while 1 stay of 4 nights = 500 pts. Again thats for Plats and boy do those 500 pts add up very fast