FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - "Taste of Gold/Platinum" promotion and Platinum challenge [Merged threads]
Old Aug 24, 2018, 8:07 am
  #2839  
RogerD408
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA LTG (EXP), Hilton Silver (Dia), Marriott LTP (PP), SPG LTG (P) > MPG LTPP
Posts: 11,329
Originally Posted by Flying for Fun
I am guessing there won't be many suite upgrades for anyone other than those who have Suite Night Upgrade Awards. How many millions of those are out there and who holds the bulk of them?

As a Platinum pre merger my upgrades were virtually non-existent. A former SPG property in Seattle would have been happy to upgrade me to a suite if I was happy to gorego my 4:00 pm check-out guarantee. Suites must be vacated by noon! They put me in a standard room requiring 2 different elevators to get to the Lounge.

I was also downgraded at check-in at a Marriott in Puerto Vallarta. Good thing I took a screenshot of my reservation. I was upgraded to an oceanfront suite with a jacuzzi on the deck. After check-in I was given a standard oceanview room.

Access to the lounge & breakfast are all that I am interested in, the rest is just fluff. Some properties are excellent while others dim their lights and travel in the gray area.

Being loyal is not cheap. When it is my dime I would appreciate more consistency.

I was upgraded to PP today. I have 16 stays in the next month and I am not expecting to find anything marginally different from my prior experiences as a Platinum . Maybe I will be surprised.

James
Many reports in the SPG forum that SNAs were denied only to get Plat upgrades when checking in! The system has been built to be opaque meaning no one can see what is happening. There is a secret SNA upgrade inventory that does not match what is shown online. Availability of the same room for the duration of your stay needs to happen. The property or SPG can not manipulate the system, so if everything looks good and it doesn't happen, no one can change it. Success seems to vary greatly with choice of property and time of year having the most influence.
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