There are 3 types of pilots you will see in uniform. To the casual observer, their uniforms will make them seem identical, but they are not. They are:
1) Scheduled airline pilots (AA, Southwest, UPS, etc.) These pilots have firm schedules that are booked months in advance, and they are generally NOT eligible for hotel points (see SPG rules cited by Flyerbeek).
2) Non-scheduled (charter) airline pilots (Miami Air, World Airways, Omni, etc.) These pilots have schedules that change often, and they MAY be eligible for hotel points (depending on whether their charter company has a relationship with the hotel in question).
3) Non-airline pilots (business jet pilots, fractionals, NetJets, private aircraft, etc.) These pilots OFTEN are eligible for hotel points, as they book rooms based on the travel whims of their clients, and sometimes have discretionary power over what hotel to book.
Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
I've noticed airline pilots in uniform, apparently staying in a way that is paid by the airline, getting Plat benefits. In the case I recall where this was particularly obvious, the front desk staff seemed to know the pilot, so I would infer that he stayed at the property regularly. Nevertheless, I was surprised by the conversation about that that I could not help overhearing while waiting to check in.
There are a couple of possibilities here. Many pilots travel avidly on their personal time (which is easy to do, because they have many days off and free airfare). This could lead to platinum status by itself. Furthermore, as there is no need to accumulate airline miles, some pilots choose to focus spending on a hotel affinity credit card, which can lead to platinum status. Lastly, not all hotels enforce the rules equally. A hotel that values a particular airline's business (or whose employees have developed a particular rapport with some crew members) may choose to award them points for their stays anyway. (It doesn't happen a lot but there are several cases I know of.)
It is also possible for a pilot whose stays are not eligible for points to trick the system sometimes. By putting down a personal credit card for incidentals charged to the room (along with their SPG or other hotel loyalty membership card) and then charging something to the room (a meal, a drink at the bar, a movie in the room), the computers tally that as a "stay," which provides advancement to higher tiers. Note that this does not always work. Using a hotel loyalty affinity credt card for the incidentals will improve the chances of success. Furthermore, as the cost of the stay is being borne by the airline, it will not yield much in the way of points. For that, the pilot would have to either 1) stay at hotels often on their own personal trips, and/or 2) obtain and use often a hotel affinity credit card (e.g.: Starwood Amex).
Returning to the original question of whether the OP's pilot friend should join SPG, there are several points worth considering:
1) Which of the 3 categories of pilot listed above does he fall into?
2) How often does he stay at SPG properties vs. other brands? Most airlines wind up with a hodgepodge of point program properties; it is pointless to try to build status in all of them. Which program's hotels is he in the most?
3) Is he willing to charge things to his room (that he may not even want) in order to bump up his status?
4) Is he interested in building a portfolio of SPG (or other hotel) points at all? (i.e.: some pilots travel enough for work that the last place they want to spend vacations is in a hotel.)
Unless the pilot in question is motivated to build and use a SPG point portfolio, it is a waste of time to join. However, should they choose to do so, it is possible to generate far higher point- and tier-performance with far less spending that would otherwise be necessary.