Starwood and CP Gold
 

In my recently delivered GOLD package, I noticed that by registering as a GOLD with Starwood, I get all the benefits of Starwood Elite, except the bonus points from Starwood, AND I get the 1000 CP points. I am now Starwood Elite.

Has anyone done this? Have you had any success with the upgrades? If it works, it is a wonderful program, almost like double dipping. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I don't see the reference to the 1000 Cdn+ points per stay, just the other things you mentioned. As a GOLD in both programs, I've always just had my stays credited to STARWOOD PREFERRED GUEST to get 3 points per US$ spent. I also get regular mailers from Cdn+/STARWOOD promoting the 1000 Cdn+ point offer, but never took this to mean a return to "Double Dipping" (as existed when WESTIN PREMIER offered this with AC and other carriers). You choose to have you points credited to either PREFERRED or Cdn+, not both.

I may be wrong on this, but can't see anything about the 1000-point airline credit in the new Cdn+ GOLD guide.

It is probably better to have points credited to Cdn+ than PREFERRED GUEST: It would take 4 or 5 nights (or more) per stay to get 1,000 points in the STARWOOD program (@2x per $US1) which could then be transferred to Cdn+ at a 1 to 1 ratio. You'd just need one night to get the Cdn+ 1,000 points, or 500 under normal circumstances.

Have you called the number to find out?

I usually get 1000 points credited to my CPlus account for every "Stay". This happened because I registered for airline direct deposit with Starwood. I think it's wonderful because my stays usually don't cost enough to reach a 1000 points even as a Starwood Platinum.

Shareholder
As Empress mentioned, you can get 1000 CP points per stay. If I register as a CP GOLD, I think that I will also get 2x Starwood (not 3x as a Starwood Elite) but I also get the CP points and all the other benefits as though I was Elite. As an Elite, I would only get the 3x Starwood points.

Seems like double dipping (and a great deal).

[This message has been edited by IsleTraveller (edited 02-26-2000).]

Just got off phone with STARWOOD. They have nothing in their system which even refers to the Cdn+ NK code as given in Cdn+ Gold 2000 guide. However, the agent did confirm that you must opt for either points in STARWOOD Preferred Guest (SPG) program or to Cdn+ program, but not both. There is no "double dipping". You must register your preference and show one card or the other when checking in, and getting res.

I agree that unless you are staying for more than three or four nights, and are a Gold SPG who gets 3 points per US$ spent, opting for points going into Cdn+ directly is the way to go. 1,000 per stay is a good deal, considering SPG points transfer on a 1 to 1 basis: from SPG to an airline plan. (You cannot do it the other way, however, unlike HHonors.)

And the offer in the Cdn+ GOLD guide is not as good an offer as SPG's own Gold elite, which as noted gets 3 not 2 points per $US spent.

If anybody has had both SPG points and Cdn+ points awarded for the same estin/Sheraton stay, let us know by email rather than posting on the board, since we don't want to jeopardize your points, but it will be worth knowing if these is a computer glitch or loop hole.

I have also double checked this and NO double dipping permitted. However I prefer to rack my mileage within Starwood program instaed of piling everything in CP+. Even if Starwood seems to give less, with all the bonuses offered you can rack a lot of points in a short period of time.

For example just before Christmas there was a promo for Platinum members (Stay 5 times and get addtional 15,000 points + the actual points for each stay etc...)

Using my two accounts (Starwood and CP) I can also get my vacation completely free by staying in a Starwood property and flying on a 1W member.... which is not bad

I agree with 767300ER. Particularly with Westin and Sheraton top-end hotels being so expensive (in anybody's dollars, but particularly in Cdn$s), having a healthy STARWOOD account can cut costs on those free trips. There seem to be enough promotions to offer some solace about the differential. I've never found the hotel or rental car dedemptions much of a bargain with Cdn+ points, and long for the days when our awards for flights came with up to a week in a deluxe hotel, and a sweek's car rental. (Ah, now those were really the days! Talk about the ravages of inflation...)

A warning for those of you staying in Starwood properties in the US: some US hotels don't/won't post the 1000 CP points. For me, this has happened only around Chicago, were I find the Starwood properties to be lacking. But it might be a problem elsewhere, as well.

Otherwise, I'm quite happy with Starwood. Sometimes I'm automatically upgraded, other times I have to ask, and sometimes, there are none available. (At least, that's their story.)

I had my Starwood account set to CP direct deposit, which comes with the 1000pt minimum -- they post the 2/$ or 3/$ points to your Starwood account, then immediately transfer them out to your CP account, bumped up to 1000pt if appropriate (but as Starwood Gold, that only takes U$333 or about three nights in the typical hotel anyway).

I later switched back and I'm glad I did. I visited family in Toronto this weekend. Friday at the Westin Harbour Castle was free (result of a Starwood Free Friday promo) and Saturday cost 3000pt. I've got enough CP and AC points and travel certificates already (and I really regret my rash decision a while back to transfer a huge pile of Marriott points to AC). C$90 worth of points for a Saturday night at the Harbour Castle (32nd floor, harbour view) is a better deal. In fact I'm thinking of looking into a Starwood affinity card for a while instead of my CIBC Aerogold.

andrew

Thanks, Andrew. Once I leave this Sheraton, I will switch to the 1000pts. Did you register with Starwood under the NK code?