Hello, I am new to this forum and happy I found this thread. I am planning a trip for this December for eight nights and have some questions, but first a little background:
-I am an SPG Gold member, but will probably reach Plat by the time I check-in
-My wife and I will be traveling with our three kids, ages...13, 11 and 2 (yes a nice surprise!)
-We just remodeled our house and my wife has an SPG credit card that we used for much of the renovations, thus a differrent SPG account than mine but with lots of points.
-I booked two reservations, the first two nights using my points (20k) and the last six nights using her credit card points (50K points).
-We booked at the Swan for the bigger beds, we can put all three kids in a Queen if needed. I did call the hotel and they told me they would provide a roll away crib at no charge (but on the forums I have read they charge for this.)
-My order of preference is...size of room, view of fireworks, balcony, convenience.
So, my questions...
-I booked the first two nights with my points hoping to get an upgrade as an SPG Gold (and hopefully Plat by the time I travel) and then maybe they will keep the same room for the my wife's reservation. Chances?
-If I am still just a Gold, will I have to pay a resort fee as opposed to being Plat? I've read conflicting posts on this.
-Which hotel between the Swan or Dolphin will I have a better shot at an upgrade? I would love a suite, with balcony and view, for my family of five.
-There was no option to book an upgarde with points at time of reservation. I have read here that others paid 11,500 points per night. Why didn't I get that option?
-Overall, based on the above, what do you think is my best path to get what I want?
also, one last side question...does anyone know if it is possible to combine mine and my wife's SPG account? I also have a credit card under her account and do all of the traveling. Would love for it to be combined.
Thanks!