RogerD408

Still no. Properties may load more suites (or other room types for that matter) for sell than they have in reality (or some may be out for maintenance), so whatever the computer says they have may not be anything near what they actually have. Plus, what rooms are ready to check-in aren't shown anywhere. And the FDC is still able to rightly deny an upgrade.

All to often people take the computer as gospel and that's just outright wrong. Not saying the FDCs are always right. I've seen many just say no to keep from doing the extra work to move you to an upgraded room. That's why I like going back to the same property when I can. They get to know me and they pre-block me into an upgraded room (also against the T&Cs) and I don't have to depend upon the FDC's mood.

Viking547

Yep - checked w/Plat Concierge, said it should've been eligible and showed available rooms, but blamed it not clearing on a "computer problem". I ended up canceling my reservation

Starwood Lurker II

Well, there will be lots of reasons your SNA request did not receive an approval.

Anyway, according to the first post of this thread:

What happens if its four days before my stay but my request hasn't been approved or denied and the property is still showing my suite types available online?

If you find the property still showing selected suites available and you are four to five days of your stay, please send an email to [email protected] with your confirmation number and full details of your stay so we can look into it.

[email protected]

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

EuropeanPete

I have what might be my final SPG stay of the year coming up next week.

I'll have a disappointing 32 nights, but I managed to use all 10 of my SNAs - They were all on leisure stays and got me quite a few rooms at rates which would have been quite a bit over £1,000. The highlight was probably a Serenissima Suite at the Gritti Palace (on points) which at the time was €3,500 a night. A Junior Suite at the St Regis Florence would have been more expensive bit a bit less grand.

SNAs have a pretty bad rep on here, but I'm really going to miss them next year. Interestingly I think I only had 2-3 other nights upgraded to Suites, so I do hope that the Platinum Suite upgrade hasn't gone away otherwise.

Cathay Boy

I'm not sure if it is Chinese hospitality and western SPG properties are more frugal with upgrades. Because so far as a Platinum that never uses the SNA (by challenge) I have been upgraded to a suit 90% of the time. Yes it makes the few time that I didn't get upgraded very disappointing, but again, if upgrade to suite is "when available" at check-in a published benefit, why SPG needs to have SNAs issued? The only reason is that you don't want to run the risk of suites fully booked by the time you checked-in, but how rare does that happen?

Anyway, I really hope SPG brings back some of the more useful benefits in the past. Like 50% off rack rate vouchers, or in the past I've been sent $25, $50, $100 "thank you gift" to be use at SPG establishments. These are much more useful to me than the 10 SNAs.

geminidreams

50% off is a permanent fixture for all SPG members. From the SPG website ''One flat rate is all it takes. Cash in 1,000 Starpoints for 50% off the full price for a one- to five-night stay.''

silentbob1974

Unless I've misread something, it seems like you're assuming that the number of standard suites available at a property usually exceeds the number of platinum guests who are staying there at the same time as you. And you have no way of knowing the latter. Nor do you have any way of knowing where you rank on SPG's platinum upgrade recommendation list (assuming the property considers it). When staying in a major city, I pretty much assume there are plenty of other platinum guests, and that at least some or most of them rank ahead of me for one reason or another. By using SNAs that can theoretically clear 5 days out, you presumably get to bypass the "lottery" of any day-of-check in ranking the property's management may use. That holds great value to someone like me who is almost never going to be among the highest value platinum guests on the day of check in.

Also, some properties are generous enough to make non-standard suites available for the SNA upgrade pool, and we've managed to take advantage of that often in the last two years.

ENIAC

So it looks like they are not being extended this year. I wonder why SPG aligned them with calendar year and not with elite status expiration. I have a trip over the holidays, but won't hit 50 nights posted until Dec 30, so the early Jan stays will be over before the 2015 SNAs hit my account. Aligning the expiration with the other elite benefits would fix this.

angelboi2001

I completely agree. I'm in the same boat. I'm sure many are as well. Many people are taking holidays crossing the calendar year and this expiration date just makes no sense at all.

beachfan

Since a Starwood executive, in an interview with Gary Leff, left open the possibility they would be extended (last month) and it seems like they aren't (as it's pretty close to the last hour), it would be nice if one of our Starwood Lurkers could confirm that the decision not to extend has been made.

silentbob1974

As noted, this is the article that got my hopes up about the potential SNA extension. I've got 3 unused and would love to apply them for our trip to Asia in January or March.

djibouti

For those of you who, like me, are wondering what time these get processed 5 days prior to arrival (answers to which I'm sure are buried in this massive thread under other terms), my upgrade e-mail came in at 2:19 PM local time 5 days prior to arrival.

JK

Yeah, I wondered about the content of that article too. Nothing really ever seemed to come of it? Unless they're waiting for the new year. Much like the SPG renewal gift etc... I still live in hope that they'll announce something early next year (hopefully allowing people enough time to actually use whatever they may or may not offer).

drron

Well my 10 SNAs will expire unused.
Though at the SGS BKK now.Got the email 24 hours out that they couldn't confirm a suite but on arrival we are in a suite.Great that they don't use the SNAs if you are going to get a suite anyway.

MSPeconomist

This was stated when the program was first introduced. The first attempt to confirm your suite upgrade sweep starts at 2 pm local hotel time (not your local time) five days prior to check in. I suspect that later intermediate sweeps occur at 2 pm local hotel time three and two days before check in. I suspect (but do not know) that there's no sweep for you four days before arrival, which allows someone arriving a day later than you to grab a suite that has become available if you're staying more than one night. SPG basically states that the last attempt is at 2 pm the day before arrival. You have until 3 pm that day to cancel the SNA use and get your SNAs returned by cancelling the entire reservation.

IME it takes about ten or fifteen minutes for the sweep to confirm the upgrade on spg.com. The email then is sent, so the 2:19 pm claim in the post I'm quoting refers to when the email is sent/received.