Sierraraven34

Great, thanks folks.

Dr. HFH

This issue has been raised in one form or another several times. It's always interesting to read the comments of FTers who stay with Starwood until they get 100 nights then jump to another program to earn status there. I always thought that one of the purposes of earning status was to enjoy the benefits once you've earned it.

RogerD408

Yes, I've scratched my head over that one too... My guess is some are in the game for the hunt and not the rewards. Capping rewards does tend to send some to other chains, especially for those that are on the road many nights a year.

I have to admit when I was on the go, it was nice to be able to choose which of four chains to stay since I had top tier with them all. But in my case it was not always going back to the same places and many not having all chains available.

CPRich

I've kept SPG and MR top tier status for 10+ years. It provided flexibility when traveling in locations with only one of the two chains. And since my first SPG PLT was through a match, going to "another chain" still allowed me to enjoy the benefits for every stay.

The result is LT PLT status for 2 chains, with 550-ish LT nights at SPG, instead of PLT status at only SPG with 1600 nights. Looking back, I would do the same thing.

UA-NYC

You could say the same thing about airlines, yet I treasure my AA status as it's a nice hedge against never-ending UA downgrades (and gives me a separate pool of miles to burn w/different airlines).

If you fly/stay enough to have good status in multiple programs, you'll come out ahead in the long run IMO.

Riddell

I searched the forum, didn't find anything, even if i am quite sure somebody surely has already asked it. But as it is not in the wiki...sorry for once again asking:

I have reached the 50 nights yesterday, so i got 10 new SNA in my account.
At the moment i have 7 of my last 10 SNA fixed to reservations in the next weeks.

What if i use some of my new SNA now and the old ones are not accepted? Do i then burn the new ones and get the old ones back in my account?

Or are the old SNA automatically burned first?

Lappe

Yes.

Starwood Lurker II

After applying your Suite Night awards to your upcoming reservations, you should be able tell whether the old ones have been used or not by the number of certificates left in your account.

[email protected]

Thyetus Lee | Social Media Specialist
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd

MSPeconomist

Today I made a new reservation for arrival tomorrow. This was definitely done after 2 pm local hotel time.

To my surprise, the confirmation page offered me the change to apply a SNA. I clicked through because I couldn't believe my eyes and got to the customary page asking you to check the suite categories you wish to request. At that point, I declined to continue because I didn't want to waste a SNA which I assume would have been confirmed and then could not have been cancelled. When I returned to the page listing my reservations, I saw the expected "SNAs cannot be...learn why" line, which also appeared as expected when I then clicked on the reservation details.

Then I made another reservation at the same hotel for later. I clicked to look at the SNA room category choices and they were different (IIRC two suites, neither of which was the one offered as a choice earlier for my close in booking). Again, I didn't want to use a SNA here, but I was just curious how the website would behave at this point.

Strange!

megalab

I was in a Sheraton lobby earlier this week where they were playing an SPG promo video. At one point members talked about how they could use SNAs to "confirm" awesome suites "in advance" in all sorts of important situations. I was annoyed by the overselling, but was really taken aback by one member saying he could "confirm" suites for his "friends" for their "whole stay". While technically he could have meant friends staying with him, in rooms he booked, for a total of ten nights or less, and confirmed by SPG, not him, it sounded more like something he could gift to anyone at anytime for however long they wanted, nothing like what is allowed.

What the whole thing needed was a "results not typical" disclaimer. I know the big print giveth and the fine print taketh away, but if this thread taught SPG anything it should have been stop over promising and under delivering. Part of my annoyance stemmed from the irony of wanting to use my SNAs at that particular Sheraton, but it didn't even participate! However, once again I got the Plat upgrade to a suite anyway. Bah; I'm two for four on suite upgrades this year but still 0 for 2014 with SNAs.

Dr. HFH

Standard marketing stuff. I'm sure that everyone knows by now that all of the details are rarely contained in marketing materials. BTW, I have "'confirm[ed]' suites for [my] 'friends' for their 'whole stay.'"

mahasamatman

It's not uncommon to accumulate 20 and it should still be possible to have up to 30 active at the right time of year.

TravelinSperry

I recently booked a stay and the system said my SNA was ineligible to be applied to the reservation. I reached out to my Ambassador and he looked into it and said no eligible suites are available. Does the SPG system recognize this and as such not show the SNA's as applicable? Seems doubtful to me - and rather coincidence (which still leaves me with the ? of why the SNA isn't applicable in the first place).

UPDATE: Lurkers, my Ambassador claims an SNA request cannot be submitted if at the time of the request no Suites are available. Even if it is weeks prior to the reservation and Suites may come available due to cancellations. Is this correct?

CPRich

IME, if you immediately apply all 13 you have to a reservation later this year, and then cancel your reservation currently holding 7 SNA, Jan 1 next year you will have zero.

SNA are "used" in the order of their age, but "used" means applied to a reservation, not actually staying in an upgraded room.

By reserving 13 more nights, you have "used" your 3 expiring this year and 10 expiring next year. So when you cancel the current reservation, your 7 expiring this year are what you have left in inventory. So despite only getting 13 upgraded nights (assuming they all clear), you would have none left after 12/31.

That's my experience from last year. Others have said they were in the same boat and simply called SPG to get them back. I didn't have the same result.

Starwood Lurker III

Hi TravelinSperry,

The information provided by your Ambassador is incorrect.

If you could let me know your reservation confirmation number via private mail here or by email, I will be happy to find out why you could not apply Suite Night Award on the reservation.

Best Regards,

Christina Zhou
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]