PROMO: SPG Free Weekends 2010 earn thru July 31; redeem through Dec. 19
Apr 16, 2010, 11:51 am
#91
Join Date: Jun 2003
Programs: Plat. Starwood, Fairmont Premier, Omni Black, Hyatt Diamond, USAir Gold
Posts: 12
Can't agree more...
Yes, I will definitely get used to it.
I will get used to enjoying my diamond status at Hyatt and renew it for 2011
I will get used to earning a free weekend or weekday night after two stays
I will get used to complimentary full breakfast every morning
I will get used to not having any regrets about dropping my SPG platinum status this year
I will get used to enjoying my diamond status at Hyatt and renew it for 2011
I will get used to earning a free weekend or weekday night after two stays
I will get used to complimentary full breakfast every morning
I will get used to not having any regrets about dropping my SPG platinum status this year
Apr 16, 2010, 11:54 am
#93
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: MKE
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, AA Plat Pro, MR LTP, others from cards
Posts: 890
Looking at my calendar: I should be making 6 free nights with Hyatt and 1 with Starwood. With this promo I might rearrange things to get it to 2 Starwood nights -- shift some stays from C&P to cash. Shame it overlaps so much with the BWB -- only one month of SPG only free night earning.
Apr 16, 2010, 11:55 am
#94
Join Date: Jun 2003
Programs: Plat. Starwood, Fairmont Premier, Omni Black, Hyatt Diamond, USAir Gold
Posts: 12
I just used Hilton Certificates in Bora Bora and Moorea for 4 free nights. The Le Meridian was 70,000 points a night..and the St. Regis was closed.
Well said! I for one truly appreciate the active participation of SPG in this forum
I am like the majority disappointed with the three stay requirement. It does not stack up well against Hyatt's current promotions. Also the exclusions are annoying, I am actually staying at both W Maldives and St Regis Bali in June and would have been nice to have shaven something of the very high cost. Frankly it is also a bit annoying that those two stays are the same from this promo's perspective as say say two stays at Four Points North Raleigh for $60 a night. I would LOVE to see something extra for those of us paying for those SPG7 properties. We may not do as many nights but I will probably be spending more than your average plat in a couple of weeks
I am like the majority disappointed with the three stay requirement. It does not stack up well against Hyatt's current promotions. Also the exclusions are annoying, I am actually staying at both W Maldives and St Regis Bali in June and would have been nice to have shaven something of the very high cost. Frankly it is also a bit annoying that those two stays are the same from this promo's perspective as say say two stays at Four Points North Raleigh for $60 a night. I would LOVE to see something extra for those of us paying for those SPG7 properties. We may not do as many nights but I will probably be spending more than your average plat in a couple of weeks
Apr 16, 2010, 11:58 am
#95
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,668
i have a lot of travel coming up in may & june....21 stays in total....will be travelling around india, indonesia, malaysia & belgium ....of all the cities i will be in over the next couple of months:
in india there are 0 hilton, 0 hyatt & 9 spg....
in indonesia there are 0 hilton, 2 hyatt & 6 spg....
in malaysia there are 3 hilton, 1 hyatt & 8 spg....
in belgium there are 3 hilton, 0 hyatt & 5 spg....
that gives me a choice of 6 hilton, 3 hyatt & 28 spg properties to choose from....
so hilton might have a free night based on stays & nights, hyatt has a free stay after every 2 stays, but with the large number of spg properties i think for me spg has the best promo this quarter....
in india there are 0 hilton, 0 hyatt & 9 spg....
in indonesia there are 0 hilton, 2 hyatt & 6 spg....
in malaysia there are 3 hilton, 1 hyatt & 8 spg....
in belgium there are 3 hilton, 0 hyatt & 5 spg....
that gives me a choice of 6 hilton, 3 hyatt & 28 spg properties to choose from....
so hilton might have a free night based on stays & nights, hyatt has a free stay after every 2 stays, but with the large number of spg properties i think for me spg has the best promo this quarter....
Apr 16, 2010, 12:03 pm
#96
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NAPA
Programs: MARRIOTT LIFETIME TITANIUM ELITE, HYATT LIFETIME GLOBALIST, UAL SILVER, AA EXECUTIVE PLATINUM
Posts: 476
Mixed emotions...
I am SPG Plat through 2012 and have 600k+ points to burn between now and then if things stay the same.
I am not angrily threatening to leave SPG, they have been very good to me in the past, but I also can't turn a blind eye to other loyalty programs that seem to be willing to go the extra mile for my business.
As has been stated on this forum several times, Hyatt doesn't work with everyone's travel patterns. For me, whose travel is mostly west coast with a heavy emphasis on California, I see no drop off with Hyatt's coverage, and SPG has no propertys in or around Monterey or Lake Tahoe, advantage Hyatt.
At Hyatt on points alone, when you throw in G bonuses, promos, and club room closures I am earning 5k - to even 10k points a night. Staying at the Hyatt Mission Bay on a $159 rate earned me almost 11k last night.
Needless to say, for my travel patterns this promo from SPG is a dead fish.
I am not angrily threatening to leave SPG, they have been very good to me in the past, but I also can't turn a blind eye to other loyalty programs that seem to be willing to go the extra mile for my business.
As has been stated on this forum several times, Hyatt doesn't work with everyone's travel patterns. For me, whose travel is mostly west coast with a heavy emphasis on California, I see no drop off with Hyatt's coverage, and SPG has no propertys in or around Monterey or Lake Tahoe, advantage Hyatt.
At Hyatt on points alone, when you throw in G bonuses, promos, and club room closures I am earning 5k - to even 10k points a night. Staying at the Hyatt Mission Bay on a $159 rate earned me almost 11k last night.
Needless to say, for my travel patterns this promo from SPG is a dead fish.
Last edited by Vinodavid; Apr 16, 2010 at 12:04 pm Reason: addition
Apr 16, 2010, 12:05 pm
#97
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Homosassa, FL & Ringwood, NJ -UA-G(Lifetime); SPG-Plat (Lifetime)
Posts: 6,120
Moderately disappointing. I really don't need free nights. My business travel this year is highly compacted into Q2 and Q3. I just have to hope for a 'stays count double" in Q3. Rats.
Apr 16, 2010, 12:11 pm
#98
Join Date: Jan 2008
Programs: Delta-Platinum, Starwood-Platinum
Posts: 121
I earned 3 free nights last year and will likely earn 2 free nights this year. But last year I was unable to use any of the nights because my weekend schedule doesn't allow it during the summer months, so the extension of the redemption period thru December is a big plus for me.
Apr 16, 2010, 12:13 pm
#99
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: LAX
Programs: AA 2 MM Plt, *wood Plt
Posts: 652
For anyone in the West Los Angeles area wanting to pick up some cheap-ish stays for this promo or annual PLT credit: The Four Points LAX has $65/night Starpick stays in May. Must book/pay today. I've booked three, and should have 3 stays for biz in May/June on the East Coast, so that gets me a weekend at Monarch Bay St. Regis in August, where rates are in the low $500range.
Apr 16, 2010, 12:25 pm
#100
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: MKE
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, AA Plat Pro, MR LTP, others from cards
Posts: 890
To be fair to SPG it's not a bad promo by any means. And Hyatt must be spending a fortune on BWB. All but one of my 12 to 14 paid stays during the period will be one night. One of them will be over $300, one $200-300, and two more $150-200. The rest are sub $100, many under $70 -- mostly weekend trips down to Chicagoland suburbs. Then you factor in the free breakfast, the G codes, the regular points, and the ammenity points. FFNs tend to get redeemed in Tokyo, Paris, London, Zurich, Milan etc. at $500 a night plus hotels. This year I'll be using 5 in Kiev, which is over 400 Euros a night.
Say Hyatt corporate takes in $25 from a $70 stay. So two give it $50. Then it reimburses a 450 Euro a night hotel for an award night. Say it pays only 1/3of the cash rate -- that's still over $200. On those ballpark estimates Hyatt is kicking out many times more than it takes in from my extra business. Maybe it makes the money back long term in loyalty. But the people who rebook everything and do matress runs when a new promo comes out are likely to shift away again in seach of the next great deal when the promo finishes.
So on the one hand it's totally rational for us to chase the free nights with Hyatt. But on the other hand it's probably rational for SPG to avoid fully matching Hyatt and attracting a wave of matress runners.
Say Hyatt corporate takes in $25 from a $70 stay. So two give it $50. Then it reimburses a 450 Euro a night hotel for an award night. Say it pays only 1/3of the cash rate -- that's still over $200. On those ballpark estimates Hyatt is kicking out many times more than it takes in from my extra business. Maybe it makes the money back long term in loyalty. But the people who rebook everything and do matress runs when a new promo comes out are likely to shift away again in seach of the next great deal when the promo finishes.
So on the one hand it's totally rational for us to chase the free nights with Hyatt. But on the other hand it's probably rational for SPG to avoid fully matching Hyatt and attracting a wave of matress runners.
Apr 16, 2010, 12:35 pm
#101
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: From: PWM
Programs: United GS, Fairmont Platinum,SPG LTPlat, Hilton Diamond, MarriottGold..like the rest of the world
Posts: 4,401
Maybe/maybe not. Regardless, this is a step down from SPG's long standing pattern of aggressive promos that really incentivized a lot of us to rack up the nights and stays. SPG's promos were aggressive long before the economy turned sour -- so it's not fully accurate to justify that promos will weaken as the economy stabilizes. This may mark a change in the promotional-driven direction of the SPG program.
I'm sorry to say it, but a FWN after 3 stays won't sway my business at all. I'm a SPG fan, but I also spend a lot of time with Marriott and Hilton. When the offers are rich, I'm willing to drive an extra 15 miles out of my way. This promo isn't worth the aggravation to me.
Sorry to say that I'm really disappointed.
I'm sorry to say it, but a FWN after 3 stays won't sway my business at all. I'm a SPG fan, but I also spend a lot of time with Marriott and Hilton. When the offers are rich, I'm willing to drive an extra 15 miles out of my way. This promo isn't worth the aggravation to me.
Sorry to say that I'm really disappointed.
Apr 16, 2010, 12:35 pm
#102
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Los Angeles, CA,USA
Programs: AA Plat, DL Gold, UAL Premier, SPG Plat, HH Gold
Posts: 566
For anyone in the West Los Angeles area wanting to pick up some cheap-ish stays for this promo or annual PLT credit: The Four Points LAX has $65/night Starpick stays in May. Must book/pay today. I've booked three, and should have 3 stays for biz in May/June on the East Coast, so that gets me a weekend at Monarch Bay St. Regis in August, where rates are in the low $500range.
Apr 16, 2010, 12:38 pm
#103
Moderator: GLBT travelers, India-based Airlines and India; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Asia
Programs: Yes!
Posts: 15,512
I'm disappointed too. Been Plat (qualifying with well over 25 stays each year, for 9 consecutive years.) Will be looking at Hyatt for the first time now.
Apr 16, 2010, 12:48 pm
#104
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,565
I don't look at it as vastly inferior to Hyatt - just different.
Hyatt's earning period only extends a little over 1 week into summer. SPG's runs through end of July. And the redemption window is a lot longer. The trade-off is the 3rd stay. For some, it's worth it...others are better at Hyatt.
Hilton had to do something bigger and longer after gutting their program like they did in January.
At least SPG and Hyatt are running some decent promos - I get few good Marriott offers.
Hyatt's earning period only extends a little over 1 week into summer. SPG's runs through end of July. And the redemption window is a lot longer. The trade-off is the 3rd stay. For some, it's worth it...others are better at Hyatt.
Hilton had to do something bigger and longer after gutting their program like they did in January.
At least SPG and Hyatt are running some decent promos - I get few good Marriott offers.
Apr 16, 2010, 12:52 pm
#105
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: SEA
Programs: SPG Platinum, MVP Gold 75K, HH Gold
Posts: 215
I thought the Q1 promotion was really smart to keep folks like me around (very close to re-qualifying for Platinum after the Q4 '09 promotion). But now with only 5 stays needed to secure Platinum for next year (which I can do in my sleep this quarter-literally), this doesn't grab me. I already have 2 free nights from Hilton and can add 2 more while also completing a Diamond challenge. So that makes more sense to me. I'd go with Hyatt if they had more coverage with properties. But I'm not leaving SPG forever or anything. I'll just move some stays to Hilton and wait for Q3.