ryry2003

I am not worried about not being upgraded, as I have even knocked back upgrades in the past as the people I travel with don't get any, the points accrual is what I look forward to so I can get free nights.

I was making the point that the hotel came out upfront with the statement "that they don't recognise Platinum Status and therefore you don't receive any benefits for being Platinum with them".

I just think that they should not expect people to be looking for something unless they ask for it. If benefits are available they can mention it then.

95 Z/28 LT1 It was a paid stay booked 4 months in advance.

bearvest

That's my experience also.

I'm routinely upgraded (in Canada). Once, the desk clerk apologized as the hotel was booked solid and an upgrade was unavailable.

Off to Michigan on the weekend to accumulate nights for the Crack the Case and free nights program. The two hotels I'm staying at have lots of upgraded rooms available.

So I'll see if my good fortune holds true.

95 Z/28 LT1

I'm not sure that participation in the program is voluntary. If I were you I would send a note to Priority Club and let them know about your experience.

Points Surfer

True Plat is relatively easy to obtain but in any brand the only certainty of upgrades or getting the room you want is book it...I stopped gambling on personal stays ,take what I can get on biz stays, and build points to convert to stay anywhere cards for other brands with more preferable locations, etc. Good to know about that at Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf San Francisco so might not bother to stay there if thats their attitude.

Markie

Personally I don't often get an upgrade - although the HI SeaTac did for me this past Saturday. Usually, in the Uk if I ask they tell me they are sold out. Only worked once, Crowne Plaza Leeds, where I ended up with their suite!

iang000

I am already Gold Elite for 2010. I need only about 3000 points for platinum. Is it worth purchasing the 3k points or getting them from a partner? I might stay at a few properties next year but probably not too many.

I believe the 3k points cost about $40.

Tax Dude

One decent upgrade and the extra bonus points would probably be worth it. Have you already exhausted all the bonus point opportunities that don't require a stay like surveys or can you earn some with car rentals that you might currently be putting towards a FF plan? I'd think you should be able to scrounge up that many points before the end of the year.

sth1984

I'm happy enough... My reservation at the CP Abu Dhabi - Yas Island had been changed before check-in from a superior room to a club room, even though the hotel is now fully booked for my stay... ^

But I agree with the OP that the mentioning of 'no benefit for plats here' is, to say the least, very customer and PCR member unfriendly...

A-club might be worse, but as a mere Gold member I've been able to secure a room upgrade + lounge access at the Pullman in Dubai Mall of the Emirates ;-) So again, no complaining here... ^

Joe Flyer

Maybe that hotel's staff is used to Plats asking and they were being proactive to the point of being rude? I know some hotels only have 1 kind of room (1 bed or 2 beds, but otherwise the same). I can understand no upgrades there. Free breakfast and internet is hit or miss. I've had better luck at CP's than at HI's. I like HIX because everyone gets breakfast and internet.

But essentially, I'm in it for the points and how easy it is to get them. PC showers us with opportunities to get points. I made Plat with just 7 nights - I got points by dining (plus bonuses with that program), shopping, Coke rewards (now very limited though, maybe on Coke's side?) and contests like their recent Anywhere Challenge. I also like that I can buy points when I reserve a points room - 5000 point for $30. I'd have to spend over $300 in hotel stays ($300 x 10 plus 50% Plat bonus) to earn 5000 points.

enterotoxin

Do you all generally ask for upgrades at checkin or do you just wait and see if they give you one automatically? Should I contact the hotel beforehand and ask? I've been PC Plat this whole year and I've gotten upgraded once when I was in Toronto. I've got a couple of nights booked in Michigan and Chicago and wanted to know what works for other FTers.

CokeandTaco

I will call or email the hotel in advance if the stay is going to be longer than 3 nights.

Another good idea is to search FT for the exact hotels you will be using in Mich. and Chicago. Other FTer's, that are PC Plat, have posted their hotel experiences with upgrades/benefits. Here is a link:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/inter...periences.html

sdsearch

Well, then, next time stay at the Holiday Inn Anaheim on Manchester Ave. It gives free breakfast buffet to Platinum Members. An ok-but-not-great buffet (given the free-ness), includes coffee and/or water but no juice. (It's primarily designed as an adjunct to paid meals, rather than as a type of paid meal, which is why the weird inclusions and exclusions when you get it as your "entire" free breakfast.)

Or stay at the Holiday Inn Santa Ana (Orange County Airport North). It gives a free breakfast buffet to all Priority Club memebers, I think, and it does include juice.

Or stay at the Holiday Inn Kansas City Airport. It gives free breakfast to Platinum Members (although I didn't have time to try it the one time I stayed there, so I can't comment further on it).

In other words, it varies completely by the hotel. Often I think it's based on nearby competition: the first hotel I list above is next door to a Staybridge where everyone gets free breakfast; the second hotel I list above is next door to an Embassy and one block from a Hampton, where everyone gets free breakfast; etc.

There's a thread in here that tries to catalog elite benefits at individual Priority Club hotels, but admittedly it can be a pain to have to search the whole giant thread to find out what you may or may not get at a particular hotel.

The simpler approach: Only book Express or Staybridge locations, and (within the US, at least) you'll always get a free breafkast as a Platinum!

mnredfox

Short of calling the hotel ahead of time, how else do people find out? And for the mentioned thread, any method faster than using the FT search engine within the IC forum?

Keyser

very true....

mnredfox

saad, I know you often bash the worthlessness of PC Plat, and I know I typically will chime in to say my experience is actually quite good and my upgrades have been just as good if not better than Hilton. Hilton's only advantage right now is the gauranteed exec UG for Diamonds.

Was your experience as PC plat really that bad?