kevinsac

My question is about earning SPG points in restaurants when not staying at the property.

Last week, I was at the Westin Market St in SF. Some buddies and I walked down to the Palace for drinks at the Pied Piper (aka, Maxwell's). We had several rounds of drinks.

When I paid the bill, I also gave the bartender my SPG card. He had no idea what to do with it ..... he asked around, and no one had any idea they a member could earn points.

So, I called SPG the next morning. I was advised that at many properties, the restaurants/bars do not participate in SPG .... but the PLAT concierge checked the T&Cs to confirm that Pied Piper did participate.

However, when she called the Palace and spoke to someone at the property, she was advised that per California law, the purchase of alcoholic beverages can not qualify for amenity points.

HUH?

William -- what's the real story?

controller1

That is not uncommon. Several states prohibit that which is probably why Starwood has this in their T&C's for SPG (emphasis added):

5.3. “Eligible Charges” are charges incurred by you on your room account for Eligible Rates, food and beverage (excluding alcoholic beverage purchases where prohibited by law), direct dialed telephone and direct-dialed in-room fax, laundry/valet, and in-room movies and video games only.

pinniped

I had no idea that California had such far-reaching authority to regulate the price of alcoholic beverages - especially in bars.

I know many states have liquor laws about giving away free alcohol (or effectively doing that with "penny pitchers", etc.), but you'd think a 9-12% discount off of the price of hotel drinks would not approach that part of the law.

chanp

I know for sure that I have gotten points on alcohol, but I think it is stated somewhere, that we are not supposed to on alcohol.

mahasamatman

It's possible that you may not be able to get the points if you only purchase drinks, but you would if you also purchase some food.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

I produced my SPG card at the Sheraton Grand SMF for our drinks in the bar. Only drinks. Was given the chit showing my SPG number and spend. In the end no points posted to my account.

sc flier

I don't believe it. If CA was a state that didn't allow rebates on liquor, I'd believe it. But they do.

SanDiego1K

California also prohibits alcohol sweepstakes.

controller1

sc flier, maybe now you'll believe it. This is from SanDiego1K's link (thanks SanDiego1K):

No licensee shall, directly or indirectly, give any premium, gift, or free goods in connection with the sale or distribution of any alcoholic beverage...

That would seem to cover the awarding of SPG points. A rebate is a reduction in price and probably escapes the above clause.

conroy

Same thing happened in Hawaii on my recent vacation. A number of states have rules prohibiting loyalty programs/marketing promotions associated with alcohol.

(In my case, I found that even non-alcoholic beverages purchased at the hotel bar were not credited with SPG points, likely due to how it was coded in the computer at purchase)

SPG has a clause in their terms that describe that alcoholic beverages don't (always? can't recall) get SPG points.

controller1

It's further up the page in post #2.

sc flier

Thanks! Yes, I do now believe it.

Over 25 years ago, the CA courts ruled that the clause that you mentioned allows cash rebates. But since Starpoints are not cash, they are disallowed.

This isn't a regulation on the price. It's a regulation on giveaways.

Part of the problem here is that it would not be a cash discount. Even if it were, the discount would be targeted at specific customers and not available to everyone (at least at the elite level) -- something else that CA seems to disallow.

Starwood Lurker II

Well the portion from our T&Cs is correctly applied in this case though I would not know if there is such a law in California that forbids earning of points on alcoholic beverages.

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Thyetus Lee | Online Forum Coordinator(AP)
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd

Triley

Losing your mind today Thyetus? Haha.


Guys, there's a few posts over it in the FAQ thread about earning points on F&B without stays. There's also a few standalone threads that William basically quoted that you can receive points on alcohol in certain states. Here's a link to where Thyetus listed the states.

Keyser

when you eat in a participating restaurant & have a spend of over $10 (excluding alcohol in some places) then you are eligable to earn points, but in my experience most of the time you have to chase down the points....they hardly ever post on their own....