mcgahat

When I was plat I had longer stays on frequent 1-2 nighters so the points did not add up so quick for me and since a lot of my travel these days is personal and a suite upgrade isn't a huge deal to me. If you have a lot of stays and value a suite upgrade then Plat is great value and in Asia especially the recognition difference is huge between gold and plat as gold gets nothing and plats get suite upgrades pretty consistently and most properties have really nice exec lounges. I am generalizing of course but I believe the recognition in asia is the best. Gold is good for some extra points but I would not break my neck for it but Plat is worth going the extra mile if you are close.

yosithezet

I guess you just don't get around much.

yosithezet

We just had a discussion about this a few weeks ago. They shouldn't.

sharklover

To me the difference is huge. I have received many amazing suites as a platinum usually without even asking. SPG gold is pretty useless to me. It also seems that several hotels with club level have told me that they only upgrade plats to them and not gold. This year I gave SPG a fair amount of my business becasue I had plat. Next year they will get close to zero when I lose plat and will only have gold.

nfg05

Never seen priority check-in for platinums (or golds for that matter).

yosithezet

Have you never seen the SPG sign at check-in counters and desks? Priority check-in is available at lots of properties. Some in the lobby. Some in the lounge. Some properties include:

* Westin Grande Sukhumvit (Lounge)
* Le Meridien New Delhi (Desk in lobby)
* Sheraton Hong Kong (seperate queue in lobby)
* Four Points Darling Harbour (seperate queue in lobby)

Just a few...

Keyser

i get about 25k points per year as my platinum amenity bonus....that alone makes it worth it for me....

add to that the fact that i get free internet, free lounge access & breakfast at some properties, very nice suites at most of my stays, its a no brainer that plat is definitely something i want to hold on to...

i lot of people complain about not getting suite upgrades....90% of my stays are in asia & i have a 95% suite success rate during those stays....it comes down to about 75% in europe & about 40% in the US....

hhoope01

Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing that sign. Its where the hotel keeps a stack of boxes, newspapers and other sundry items. I thought it was a "keep your storage items here" sign.

nfg05

Comment is not on the lack of a physical sign, it's on the fact that there is generally one line with all available agents checking in everyone who is there in the order they arrived.

Certainly not a dedicated SPG checkin agent...

Keyser

the sign is very helpful at most of the properties i stay at in asia....

Flying Lawyer

I can only agree: There is a world outside the United States and the SPG grass is by far greener there. I avoid Starwood in the US and prefer whenever I can InterContinental. This is completely different in Asia and Europe where IC and SPG are on par.

MikeBOS

I am in the "not worth extra stays" camp. The difference in upgrades is minimal -- basically no upgrades as Gold, and 1 category upgrades (often unnoticeable) as Platinum. In Europe it used to be better, but on my last two stays (LM Piccadilly and Maria Cristina in San Sebastian) I got a 1 category upgrade (unnoticeable) at LM and no upgrade on the other. Overall in the last year I got 1 suite upgrade, 5 no upgrades and the rest 1 cat upgrades out of 30 or so stays.

FlyerBeek

While maybe not quite as "excited" by my Platinum status as I used to be, in my experience the different between SPG Gold and Platinum is far superior to the difference between HHonors Gold and Diamond. For that reason alone, I'm continuing to concentrate on my SPG status first.

YMMV,
FlyerBeek

BulaRae

I just turned Plat a few weeks ago and have had about 5 or 6 stays since then and there is a dramatic difference over being Gold.

I got a suite twice but the others the hotels were at capacity and they did everything they could to give me their best available. But the free internet (especially in Europe where they are still raping you for up to $20-28 Euro a day in most hotels and it's pitifully slow), access to the Club without booking a club room, and the amenity have all been worth it. And most of the time I have gotten a personal welcome card or letter with a biz card inside for the manager or a special service rep.

As Gold I feel that the only benefit I ever really got was late checkout. And Priority checkin. I always look for the sign and walk straight up, even if there's no agent standing by it. When I do that, an agent will come over. I'm sure I get lots of dirty looks behind my back from all the people standing in the regular line!! lol

I have concluded that Westins take the statuses less seriously than any other brand. Le Meridien is the other end of the spectrum—I felt like royalty there.

I just checked into the Westin Riverfront in the Vail Valley in Colorado last night, and they have a $20 resort charge that covers internet and health club. I asked why, as Platinum, I should have to pay that when I get those as part of being Platinum, and was told that "because we are a resort, we don't do that here for Platinums." That is completely false. I rechecked their website and the Plat membership benefits.

It's little things like that, which I wish there would be some consistency across the chains. It seems like lots of staff and properties don't understand the meaning of "Loyalty Program" and that we are being rewarded for spending tens of thousands of dollars with them, not given free things that should make us perceived as less than a "paying guest". In my case my status was earned spending personal money, not a company's that I work for, so it really irks me when my loyalty is not taken seriously.

jaejaez

There is a reason behind this. Westins cater mainly to business travellers i.e. mgnt consultants than the other brands and as a result have many more platinums staying per night on average.

It is not uncommon to have a Westin where dozens of rooms have been booked for several months for consultants on projects. This happens less in other properties - i.e. W or Four Points where their target market segments are made up differently.

This means less likelihood of suite upgrades, more crowded lounges, and staff who are more likely to be indifferent as they see platinums all the time at Westins (especially during weekdays). There are always exceptions but I have found this general rule to be quite accurate throughout the years.