Have you checked (by phone or online) to see if the charge has hit your credit card yet? Was your card actually charged the higher rate? Was it even charged at all?

I wouldn't assume that the wording on the reservation is correct. Most likely, it is in error. @:-)

I've booked a number of these "3 nights for 2" deals over the years. One of two things has always happened:

1. Even though I booked weeks in advance, my card was actually not charged until arrival, or

2. My card was charged more or less immediately upon making the reservation.

In both cases, the amount charged was the correct amount (i.e., the rate for two nights).

Furthermore, I recently (a few days ago) made another such reservation; this time I saw the same misleading language as you saw, but I'm not worried. The charge has not hit my card yet. If the charge ends up being wrong, I'm sure I can resolve it via Starwood and/or my credit card company. (As always, I have printed out all the supporting web pages.)

Anyhow, I am as curious as you as to why this strange wording appears. But as we all know, the Starwood website is full of glitches, although improvements have definitely been made over time. This appears to be a new glitch -- haven't seen it before.