Originally Posted by
jameswes
I'm really interested in this promo. I'm a first-year Diamond and love it so far (yes, status matched, from Marriott).
I'm also a bit of a math/statistics nerd and am always looking for how to make the best deal.
$2500 spend
~135K points (Paying about 1.8 cents per point)
Diamond status re-qualified.
~62K points (paying about 1.9 cents per point)
Diamond status re-qualified.
$1900 spend ($1800 after deducting $100 for TYP value)
~108K points (paying about 1.75 cents per point)
Diamond status re-qualified.
As a side benefit you only need to check in 7 times (6 if you just do one 5 night stay).
So they all net around the same cents per point.
- If you value HGP points significantly >1.9cpp, then the original option is best
- If you value minimal cash outlay for Diamond (or value HGP <1.8 cpp) then variant #2 is best
- If you value your time and only have options for 6 mattress runs, Variant #3 is best. Plus it's the lowest cost per point. Also the best option if you don't currently have Diamond (since # of stays don't matter if you don't have a Diamond amenity)
I was working through your numbers and I think you're overestimated points earnings somewhere along the way. I get something closer to 2.5cpp with option #2 and that's assuming you find a FS Category 1 hotel w/ 1,000 point diamond amenity. It may be the lounge closure bonus points, which I didn't include because I don't think there are any Cat 1 properties with lounge closures. I would probably take this out of the calculation altogether since the number of properties with closed lounges on weekends is pretty small now so the majority of FTers probably don't have easy access to one, especially at <$100/night.
Very interesting nonetheless; I was just trying to compare to my own calculations.