What's the right point structure?
 

I am very very confused.

On the rundown of my Sheraton SCI activity
I see a posting for Merged account for a very large number (but a tenth of my Westin balance.) I had about 200 points in my Sheraton account (used most to get free nights at Westin Maui) then I see this large number and a merged account with what I beleive is the balance from the Westin account! Have not stayed at Sheraton in several months.

Yet: the Westin account still exists.

I am very confused? I thought the program we were to be with in the Starwood changeover was the one we stayed at most. For me its
Westin (I like Sheraton, but I get better deals at Westin.)

Wrote Starwood for an answer. I'm curious because I'd like to know how many points I'll have, since I'm planning to stay at Westin Maui after Party in Paradise in November.

Sorry about the long rant, and maybe I'm just
plain stupid but WHY COULDN'T STARWOOD LEAVE SHERATON AND WESTIN'S FREQUENT GUEST PROGRAMS ALONE???!!!??? CATMAN

Catman, it should be a fifth of your Westin balance, since 5 Westin points equals one Sheraton points.

Agree with you that Starwood should have left the programs alone. If they wanted members to access the so called "unprecendented portfolio" they should have allowed some reciprocity, like the airline alliances have done. The problem is that they are taking two very different programs and merging them into one.

So it appears that my status in the new
Starwood program would be with Sheraton, not Westin since it seems my Westin points have been transferred.

I wished I was asked what chain I wanted to be with (it would be Westin, since I tend to stay with them MORE!)

Thanks Pgupta011 for clarifying what's going on.

I'll wait for Starwood's answer on my confusing question before whining any further. Sorry to give you all a headache
but TWO hotel chains stand the risk of losing my business. CATMAN

Take it easy Catman. It really does not matter to which program they transfered the points since it is one program, and in the new program you will be able to use your old Westin points to stay at your favorite Westin hotels.

yes - easy please CatMan: it will be/is ONE program (the Starwood preferred costumer-program) in the future.

Sorry about getting so hissy... I have to remember its just a frequent guest program.
Just that I was invisioning staying at the Westin Maui after the Party in paradise and I wanted some early idea on how much I will need to stay for free. Thanks for your patience my friends! CATMAN

Starwood Preferred Guest program wrote back to me regarding the point structure of their new program. Some minor details:

Your Westin Premier Points transfer into Sheraton Club International (SCI) at a ratio of 5 to 1. This ratio is used to keep the point values equivalent to each other.

Your SCI account and credit will automatically be rolled into the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program when it is launched on February 1, 1999. The point structure of the SPG program is nearly
identical to that of SCI. We can not discuss the specific details of the SPG program until they are finalized.

Any additional points credited to your Westin Premier account will roll into your SPG account automatically.

SO basically The Starwood program:

*Will be point wise similar to Sheraton.
*All the Sheraton and Westin members are being rolled into Sheraton.
*I thought if you stayed more at Westin than Sheraton that that would be the program you would be a member of when Starwood launched the new program.

It's almost as big a secret as the new Star
Wars first Pre-Quel movie! CATMAN


Your point balance on the Westin Premier Web site reflects the number
of Premier points you have earned. This does not reflect the
combination of accounts or credit.

Since the ratio is 5:1, does this mean that the Westin hotels which required 20,000 Westin pts for a night stay will now require 4,000 points in the new program (Category 2 Sheraton)?

Will the new program be points and miles, like Westin, or just points? If they go with just points, they will lose most of my business.

I do not mind points only (like Marriott Rewards and Sheraton currently offer). Note that with both Marriott and Sheraton you can convert your hotel points to airline miles if you so desire.

Going from hotel points to airline miles is OK, but for me I have more airline miles than I can use and am always looking to transfer airline miles into hotel points. Unfortunately, neither Marriott or Sheraton allow me to do this. Thus, Hilton is still the best game in town.

Hmm, if you have more airline points then you should welcome a program which offers only hotel points. I do not understand why they would lose your business if they offered just hotel points.

Catman, Hi just to give you a brief idea on the new program. All your stays in either starwood hotel such as Sheraton, Westin, Ceasers,W etc will earn points in the new program at the rate of 2 points per dollar for basic membership. There are talks that there will be 2 elite levels the first being Gold where you will earn 3 points. The highest level will be platinum but the details on that are still very little basically you get that after staying 10 times or 30 nights in one year. Another thing you can still use the points for the westin rewards or Sheraton rewards as of the old mileage level till 30th June 1999. The main benefit of the new program is now you get more hotel choices and if you earlier stayed in both SCI and Westin now you can reach the Platinum level faster.

Thanks for the info on Starwood. I just hope the award levels are not impossible to obtain, based on the point earning formula you outlined. CATMAN

There are basically going to be 5 levels of point redemption. The earlier Sheraton had 4 levels of 3000pts for 1 night, all the way to 10,000 pts for 1 1 Night at the Luxary collection. But now they will add a new level which will require 12,000 pts for 1 night. So depending on the category of the hotel you want to stay in you will have to shell out 3000-12000 points for one night. Also the Gold level will be based on stays which at this time is 10 stays or 25-49 nights. The platinum level will be for 25 stays or more or 50 nights or more or for those spending $15,000 in one year. Both Gold and Platinum will receive 3 points per dollar but the platinum will receive extra upgrades etc.