Originally Posted by
cldflyer
Worthless to me. I hotel jump when I can. I need stays more than double points.
I have never seen so many non-participating properties for a promotion.
What gives? It's only a few extra points.
Kind of a turn off for international travelers.
Originally Posted by
Out of my Element
Originally Posted by
ThreeA4Me
Is it smarter to book two one night stays at LAX (say westin and then sheraton gateway) and get the 2 stays in or is it better to stay at one property and get one stay/two nights and double promotion? I should be able to make ten stays this year but not 25 as Spg won't status match my Diamond status so I'm sticking with Hyatt this year.
Depends on how badly you need the stays to keep gold status. If you expect to barely make it, then jump around. If you are pretty confident in reaching it, grab the points.
The math is more obvious if you're Plat than if you're Gold.
As a Plat:
Hotel-hopping, you get the 500-point Plat welcome amenity on every night (unless you choose something else). Staying in one hotel, you get the double points (but not on your plat bonus) if it's two nights, triple points if it's three nights.
Ok, so the math: Your rate has to be over $250/night for you to come out with more points from this promo staying two nights at the same hotel, instead of hotel hopping and staying only one night at each hotel. Your rate has to be over $125/night for you to come out with more points from this promo staying three nights at the same hotel, instead of hotel hopping and staying only one night at each hotel.
So if you're budget conscious, yet want to earn maximum points, and are somewhere where there's choice of SPG properties with decent rates (below $250), and you only need two nights, ignore this promo and hotel hop if you don't mind doing that. You'll come ahead!
At three nights, it may get more even, assuming you're not staying for way under $125/night. (But it still depends if you're planning to requalify on points or stays, of course. If the latter, be happy that you don't lose much still on 3 nights by hopping instead of using this promo.)
It's only on stays that are longer (or more expensive) that the promo clearly trumps the 500 point welcome amenity (per night, if you hopped).
(Obviously, there are places where you can't hop, and also for many people convenience may trump earning the max SPG points. In those cases, though, the math presumably doesn't matter.)
But I am amazed at how bad a deal this promo is for someone who is Plat and only needs two to three nights in inexpensive places and has the option of hotel hopping (and doesn't mind it).